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		<title>8012/Cryptid Hunt Finale - FELL LIZARD LINDBAUM</title>
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				<updated>2022-07-09T02:51:54Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2022/07/08 |Location=The Great Ocean |Synopsis=A scene in which the multiversals beat up a zombified dragon and dealt with its plague. Elsewhere, J...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2022/07/08&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=The Great Ocean&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=A scene in which the multiversals beat up a zombified dragon and dealt with its plague. Elsewhere, JRPG intrigue happens.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=7145, 7494, 7417, 7359&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tangram Gate, usually an orderly place located down one of the highways leading out of Crossbell State, was one of the better-equipped fortifications in the area. It was home to a regiment of Crossbell's own Guardian forces, a paramilitary organization that typically received some of the best training and equipment that the state could buy. As Crossbell itself did not have a standing army, it was the closest thing they had to something of that scale - being the only arm of Crossbell's law enforcement to possess armored vehicles and state of the art orbal armaments.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Which is what makes their current predicament so striking.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;EARLIER..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I said I was sorry,&amp;quot; Lloyd says, sheepishly, using his fork to push around one of the grape-tomatoes on his plate. The S.S.S.'s breakfast was a medley of greens, courtesy of their eternally cut budgets; it was all prepared by the recipient of his apology, Elle, who only narrows her eyes further. &amp;quot;We could have had meat tomorrow.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Y..yeah.&amp;quot; Lloyd admits&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy wisely stays out of the debate, cleaning his plate with the precision of a hungry man who did not particularly like raw vegetables. &amp;quot;I could go on and on about all the things that mira could have bought, Lloyd.&amp;quot; Elie contiues, deadpan, while Lloyd quietly murmurs out a squaky &amp;quot;b-but it was my paycheck, so - &amp;quot; before being cut off, &amp;quot;Yet you spent several thousand mira on a model car.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;..yeah..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ugh, you're such a little kid sometimes,&amp;quot; she moans, putting a hand to her forehead. Randy finally decides to pitch in, saying, &amp;quot;Well. He could've spent it on worse things, you know. Besides - it /was/ his paycheck, he has a point. Or do you wanna' tell the class all about all the makekup, shoes, and nick-nack whatnots you pony up for with your pocket change?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Losing the ice in her veneer, Elie bites back a rosy cheeked &amp;quot; - that's different, Randy -!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Uh huh.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;See? It ain't an issue. So my suggestion is to live and let live, and let no one complain about Miss Elie's raw veggies 3 meals a day regiment, yep.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; .. yeah, Randy's got it right.&amp;quot; Lloyd nods. &amp;quot;For what it's worth, I am sorry though. I should have been thinking about more than just me, Elie.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; ... well, yeah, but it wasn't /really/ fair to take my frustration out on you. It's not supposed to be your responsibility to fund our rations, anyway.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Before the conversation could progress much further, the orbal computer at the end of the room goes off, letting them know that they had priority mail. &amp;quot;Huh? Usually the ole' ball and chain doesn't show up until nine sharp.&amp;quot; Randy says, folding both arms behind his head. &amp;quot; .. is it really okay to call our employer that? Well, nevermind.&amp;quot; Elie sighs, getting up to head to the computer, along with Lloyd, Randy, and Tio. &amp;quot;Let's see...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd puts a hand to his chin, &amp;quot;Looks like it's an emergency request from Tangram Gate.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;Lately, our patrols have been getting horribly sick shortly after returning, some of them having to call it in early because of rapid on-set symptoms that include nausea, blistering, swelling, delireum, etc. This isn't an official request from the Guardian Corps. but I would really appreciate it if you guys could come help us investigate.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_b bg_n ++ hb&amp;quot;&amp;gt;- Noel Seeker&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well, that sure sounds prickly. What say you, Lloyd?&amp;quot; Randy says.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; - there's only one answer to that, obviously.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;NOW...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After a hard day of investigating on their end, the S.S.S. turned up signs of a large creature that had been prowling the various wood-and-wetlands surrounding the gate, poisoning everything it came across with fungal toxins. The real sign of alarm came at the discovery of telltale glowing, blue flowers, prompting them to reach out to their contacts in the multiverse for support.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;By the time Hibiki, Rita, Rose and Violet arrive to link up with them, though, Tangram Gate is not only under attack, but had been for some time. Several of the buildings had been smashed in and the three APC's that managed to deploy in time have been beaten into piles of scrap. The security gates leading deeper into the base had shut to try and keep the creature out, a massive, rotting lizard with bulbous parasites bulging out of its body an expelling thick, smog-like spore clouds with each breath.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Elie and Tio can be seen trying to treat some of the poisoned victims while Randy and Lloyd do their best to hold the front gate, a difficult task when all they have to protect themselves from the spores are handmade filters tied around their faces. &amp;quot;Finally, some help,&amp;quot; Randy says with sagging shoulders. &amp;quot;Give a guy a handicap, yeah?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The creature, Lindbaum, turns its glassy eyes towards the new arrivals like a caught-deer.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7494|KNK (7494)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There wasn't really that much fixing up to do after their last group outing, but keeping busy on their own, Rose and Violet have barely had real opportunity to settle in and go through their now extensive list of Watch contacts and resources before this request goes out. As long as there's appropriate compensation, you can count on a merc.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Dealing with a 'fungus problem' sounds pretty easy to Rose, on account of their spaceworthy environmental sealing, but it's dangerous to even think of calling any particular mission a milk run. Maybe it'll be the kind of fungus that can extend roots into synthskin. Maybe it leeches iron and chrome. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Or maybe it's just a huge beast who can squash you flat by stepping on you. Yeah, that'd do, too.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;The hell is that?&amp;quot; An actual dragon? &amp;quot;Tch, whatever.&amp;quot; Just a big lizard, in the end, isn't it? And a sickly one.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Go wide. I'll get its attention.&amp;quot; Rose doesn't approach, but instead speaks over the radio, still invisible, but signaling her position up a steep, area-boundary-like hillside at nearly a right angle to where Randy and Lloyd are. She's far off to the right (the lizard's left), and its the heavy equipment she was lugging that appears, first, dropping out of cloak as the twin missile tubes and long, linked barrels of a rotary cannon, with no visible trigger, digs stabilizing claws into the dirt.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If all goes according to plan, she won't even be there when it turns to face the smoke-trailing rockets and the bullet barrage. A simple AI, remote control, and laser guidance is all the jury-rigged security turret needs to work.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Violet, meanwhile, heads out in the exact opposite direction, circling wide and to the target's right.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita, in the same blue-cropped-jacket-and-green-skirt outfit she'd worn when she and the Crossbell team first met, comes up short at the Gate's entrance. The physical strength- alright, that's what she expects from a Cryptid. The toxins, though, are going to be uniquely hard on her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;There's a good chance it has some kind of 'surprise technique' or 'second wind',&amp;quot; she says to her teammates. &amp;quot;Half of them did so far. Stay careful even if you think you've got it beaten, okay?&amp;quot; Rita waves at Randy and Lloyd with a pluckier smile than she really feels. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Okay. Good luck.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita herself tries to stay outside of those poison clouds. A single tentacle unwraps itself from around her arm, fading into invisibility as if a spiraling strip of her jacket sleeve had just dematerialized. She circles around towards its back. First up: testing the effects of brief exposure. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The sharp-edged tentacle slashes at the monster's tail, passing through the poisonous miasma fast enough to create a whipcrack-like sound. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then, examination. What does that brief exposure do to her tentacle? (She doesn't dare to sneak a taste of its blood yet, tempting as it is.) &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Crossbell again...it's been a bit. As much as Hibiki like to believe that means things have been quiet and peaceful in the vein of 'no news is good news', that's like saying events back at her home have been 100% fine. It just means nothing worth calling for outside intervention has happened in all that time, which you can probably look at as either good or bad. Good, if you don't think about it as the calm before some awful storm. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;One good thing: she'll get to see the Special Support Section crew again.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;One bad thing: They're going to be locked in mortal combat with some terrible monster again, for sure.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The other bad thing: ...She doesn't know if C is going to show up again to try and capture it. He wasn't there when they fought Gilderganon way back when, and she hasn't heard from him in a while either.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Well, first things first. This one is covered in smog that's definitely not good to touch or breathe. With Rose going to draw attention, she has a lot of avenues of attack.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She promptly chooses to come in from a blind spot at its side with enough speed to disperse any clouds threatening to drift into her path, going for a straight-line punch into its body with enough strength to try and force it away several meters and clear out some space, before she pushes away from the point of impact and flips away to get clear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her scarf and Symphogear's barrier might afford some protection from any spores, but even she'd rather not stay too close to them. &amp;quot;Lloyd, Randy. You guys went and ended up with your hands full again, huh?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The deployed turret's barrage of bullets shred into the beast's hide with a relative amout of ease - unlike many of the prior Cryptids, this one seems to be a good deal frailer, perhaps by its nature. However, despite getting littered with enough holes to fill a cheese grater, it shows no visible reaction to it, as if it hadn't felt the gunshots piercing it at all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In fact, the only stimuli it seemed to respond to were the very basic impulses of a lizard's brain to recognize and seek prey.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And to prove this, Rita Ma's disappearing tentacle leaves it completely oblivious to what she was doing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The result on her appendage is gross to the eye, and fills the limb with an acute burning sensation that could best be ascribed to something between having the worst blackhead pimple of your life clustering all over it, and having an infected finger. Visually, it was already beginning to blister with warts and 'scales' - like some kind of pox.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hibiki sends it staggering back a whole step with her powered punch, leading to the generally silent creature to gurgle and wheeze, a thick and stinking sludge regurgitating from its throat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Its body had already been littered with wounds from the fighting prior, but it seemed to ignore them just as quickly as it ignores the ramifications of the ones it just received - the skin around the fist-sized hole Hibiki had punched into it sloughing off with an uncomfortably wet sound.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hoo' ... yeah, you can say that again.&amp;quot; Randy sighs, glad to finally have even a minute amount of breathing room. &amp;quot;Hey, be careful not to let Ritty Bitty too close to that thing, yeah? I think it'd be - bad.&amp;quot; he warns, as while Randy didn't know a great deal about her unique situation, he did know enough to speculate that the infectious thing in front of them was probably more threatening to her in particular than the rest of them. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;At least if Tio was right about what it's supposed to be..&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd nods, &amp;quot; - it's strange .. it seemed to mostly stay away from human civilization before, with its 'home' being a field deep in the wetland. It shouldn't be here, and be so aggressive.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy shakes his head, &amp;quot;Well, it is though. And while we've done plenty of damage, as you just saw, it doesn't seem like it cares how badly its getting hurt. Its got terrible senses, too, unless you shove your fingers up its nose or move in its line of sight, it hardly responds to anything going on around it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; - which makes it extra fishy that it's been so determined to attack Tangram Gate, and seems to have pulled off now that you guys have showed up.&amp;quot; Randy murmurs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lindbaum hunkers its body down low, before the many tall, thin mushrooms on its back begin to chug and gurgle, before firing off what appeared to be parasitized bone shards with thick, fleshy buds wrapped around them, which rain upon the group like a hail of arrows. &amp;quot;Incoming -!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Ugh, friggin' gross..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7494|KNK (7494)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rose asks over the radio about what their present clients and/or requestors are like, and gives a grimace no one can see at hearing the answer. But Rita says they're 'kind,' so she'll shelve her misgivings until there's something actionable.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Violet tries getting in there without being spotted, but it doesn't work out quite as intended. A wide-area attack sees her getting struck, and the active infection vector is horrendously aggressive. There's hardly anything truly organic about her body, except for the very tightly sealed-up part of her head, but even the slight scratches are proving dangerous. With a thought, she activates a chemical flush in her arm, searing away the growth, but she's only equipped to do that so many times.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rose leaves the turret where it is, letting it fire until its ammunition runs out. Might as well, even if it's not proving the distraction she'd hoped for. She, herself, moves around to another angle, keeping out of the dumb beast's field of view as well as she's able, until she can find a foliage-covered area from which to settle down with her other gear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;While Rose is moving around, Violet is moving in. She's got her high-frequency blade drawn, necessarily visible as it glows with heat, taking the first real opportunity to move in and cut off... something, as it gets within her reach. She's not thinking about it too hard. If she can get close enough, and this thing is that fragile, she can slice through. Whether it feels it or not, it can only get easier by reducing the number of limbs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That sure was a solid hit...though almost all of them, even that one after the fact, don't seem to be getting much of a reaction out of Lindbaum. And is that flesh sloughing off where she hit it? That's just gross. She'd really rather not have to touch that thing for any longer than she has to - not that this is any time to worry about what is or isn't disgusting.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Almost like someone or something lured it this way...&amp;quot; Hibiki murmurs to herself at Lloyd's comment, mirroring Randy's own before raising her voice to actually be heard. &amp;quot;Don't worry. Even if it's not reacting to it, damage is still damage. Hit it enough and in the right places and it'll have to stop eventually...!&amp;quot; Easier said than done, though.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Those even /nastier/ bone projectiles come firing in, and Hibiki sprints forward and at an angle off to the side to stay ahead of the barrage. &amp;quot;Rita! Randy said to be extra careful with that thing! I'm sure I don't gotta tell you, bu--&amp;quot; She's cut off in the middle of her bobbing and weaving by one scratching her and throwing off her rhythm, forcing her to block another with her gauntlets and be sent flying back some.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The small gash is felt, exhaling roughly as she stops herself, only to lunge back in at full speed. Closing the distance before it can lob too many more projectiles at her, this time she comes in with a kick into Lindbaum's center of mass - once again packing some ridiculous force, and then promptly using the foothold to spring higher up, go into a flip, and bring her heel down on top of the cryptid's head.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She'll just have to think about the circumstances when she's not worrying about getting inflicted with...whatever the hell this thing spreads.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita makes a grossed-out face and slices off the infected tentacle, well away from the contaminated part, with another. They're expendable; they grow back, barely feel pain. Still, if she attacked with all of them at once like she likes to... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Yeah,&amp;quot; she says to Randy, grimacing. &amp;quot;It's... I'll stay away. Please don't worry.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita is perfectly comfortable fighting in the shade. Her body moves near-autonomously to dodge the untargeted rain of bone-arrows, threading the gaps between them effortlessly or deflecting them out of the air with a hidden tentacle where they're too dense to simply slip through. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She leaps backwards, next, trying to stay even further out of the toxin cloud's range. Pointing with her finger to aim, Rita looses a volley of four &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;glowing-blue venom globs&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; from 'empty space aorund her' towards the lizard which splatter and soak in on contact. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rather than being 'poisonous', as it's elementally likely to resist, they're mainly 'corrosive'. If enough of them concentrate in a specific area, glowing an ominous azure beneath the skin, they're prone to self-catalyze and cook off in an explosion within its body. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita tries to ensure that happens, focusing on crippling one of its back legs while staying mobile. The volleys keep a constant pattern: one-two, three-four, repeat. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy, having been already pushed pretty close to his limit already, falls with several of the spines lodged in his shoulders and forearms, &amp;quot;U...ugh..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Randy! Hn, hang on, I'll drag him out of the way..!&amp;quot; Lloyd was significantly more agile, and managed to parry off what he couldn't avoid by using his tonfa. He commits to trying to drag Randy to a safer spot where he wouldn't be in danger of getting crushed or eaten, and in doing so, it exposes how badly Randy had been affected by the spore clouds, as the flesh seen in his torn up uniform through the shears were pulsating with abnormal growths and leaking pus. The venom now coursing through his bloodstream surely wouldn't help.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Drag him over here with the rest of the infected, Lloyd!&amp;quot; Elie calls out, moving to help him drag Randy over by the pile of dozen-and-a-half or so bodies sequestered off to the side of the complex, something they'd only been able to afford thanks to Lindbaum's single-minded focus on prancing through the main gate, as if to make way towards Calvard.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Violet and Rose are blessed in ways that virtually everyone else present were not, in that they had airtight combat suits and themselves had enough synthetics that they were not in an immediate danger, beyond the corrosove properties of the venom. This affords Violet to get close with her sword and show her stuff - testing the efficacy of her weapon at first, it seems effective at lacerating Lindbaum's hide. But trying to take out a larger chunk; namely, swiping the blade strongly through its wrist, is difficult yet not impossible. The difficulty comes entirely from the mass of syrupy, rotten flesh that could only be chewn through by her vibro-blade, as a typical edge would have gotten stuck partway through.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lindbaum loses its balance and falls on its side, barely stopping itself from toppling over by using its elbow, providing an opening for the others to exploit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hibiki's powerful blow to its head drives it directly into the earth, kicking up a dust-cloud and popping one of the large pustules lining its skull, drenching her in an unfortunate amount of viscera that although mitigated by her Symphogear, quickly begins to prompt sickness to begin taking a physical form on her body.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Something that was distinctly not the lizard they were fighting screeches as she does this, the sound high-pitched like, like a woman's falceto mixed with nails on a chalkboard.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The acidic globs pockmarking its body from Rita's assault along its flank is telling, as it melts away enough of the beast to show its true form, revealing the countless bundles of wriggling parasites that infest its insides, wrapped along its spine and living inside of every former organ. It should be no wonder the lizard was so dumb - it was dead, and this colony of mycetes were moving it along like a poorly tailored meat-puppet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lindbaum moves to swipe at Violet vicious with its claws, still as sharp and hard as dragon-talons ought to be, before opening its maw in Rita's direction, the sputtering gagging being the only warning before a wave of thick, sticky black tar pours out of it like a jet stream to coat her in it thoroughly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita smells human blood, somewhere. Her eyes snap to Hibiki first, as if magnetically drawn. Then they snap to Randy a second later. The latter's injuries jolt her into action, sprinting over with a hand on her leather satchel. &amp;quot;Mr. Randy, are you o-?!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She looks up just in time to see the torrent of poisonous tar descending towards her. Rita kicks off in an explosion of earth, diving out of the way- but it's a little too late. Some of it splatters on her leg, with disastrous consequences. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rather, it splatters on 'the tentacles forming her human disguise', on her leg. She unravels them; what looked like a shoe and one leg of charcoal tights comes undone, tar and all, and is amputated. New tentacles clumsily replace the old. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As she picks herself back up and hops away from the Cryptid again, Rita casts a worried glance over at Randy- will he really be okay after that?- but forces herself to turn her focus back to the monster. Maybe if they kill it, he'll miraculously be okay? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Probably not. But she can hope. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's body begins to glow from within until a blinding light has washed out all its details. She sprints up the Gate's wall, kicks off of it, and pivots in the air to aim down at the Cryptid from above. The glow in her body- really the whole thing looks like a lightbulb- condenses down into just her arm, then just her hand. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The torrent of light she fires down at it is concussive, scouring, and crushing rather than burning. It scrapes the paint from metal, reverberates the air, turns living flesh to pulp. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita lands a little distance away, her arm sizzling. She needs just a second to catch her breath, whether the Cryptid is dead or not. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7494|KNK (7494)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Compared to the spines being thrown everywhere, a swipe is a lot easier to dodge. It comes out fast, much more quickly than a meat-puppet could have been reasonably expected to react, and as close as she is, Violet's in a terrible position, mid-sword-sawing, to dodge it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But that doesn't matter, as she reacts at speeds to make one wonder if time has any meaning. It might as well be glacial, the only thing that matters being the few physical limitations of her own body. Thrusters fire from her lower legs and around her waist, jetting her compressed air, both feet and one hand on the tail as it's coming at her, then flipping up and over it, letting the dragonswipe's speed transform into her own spin. With absolutely uncanny precision, she shoots, not tosses, tiny metal canisters from the similarly-tiny cannons that pop out of her arms. They stick, barely penetrating the target, then open up to spray their tightly pressurized, foul-smelling, cloying aerosol all over Lindbaum's length.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Violet hits the ground at a roll, then moves directly away, speaking into her radio, &amp;quot;Oil out!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rose, ignoring the rifle she'd set down to drop the rest of her heavy load of just-in-case weaponry onto the ground in front of her, responds with, &amp;quot;Clear!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The rifle would have been good for blowing a dragon's brains out, but if it doesn't have any, that'd be a pointless gesture. It's barely even using its eyes. Far better to rely on the multi-rocket launch system Rose has somehow, despite her small frame, carried all the way here. It'd be overkill against a human-sized opponent, but that's not a word she believes in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She sights in the aim herself, wired directly into the launch system. It's a wide-angle dispersement, aimed to drop absolutely unreasonable levels of incendiary munition over every part of that infected mess the moment Rita, Hibiki, and Violet are clear of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Muck and all sorts of gross infected innards splash up onto Hibiki, which is really the expected response from hitting it really hard. The force of the pustule popping plus her own 'get out of dodge' instincts are enough to propel her up and send her spiraling higher away into the air, where she just barely manages to flip into landing half-properly a short distance away.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Ugh...I should really take my own advice...&amp;quot; The sarcasm helps her put off how bad she's feeling after that, with the cut she received before leaking a little more than just blood and some of her bare skin starting to discolor. Randy has it even worse than this, too... Still, if it means taking this thing down as quickly as possible, she doesn't mind. The sooner th--&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She can finally get a good look at this thing's insides, now that it's been partially melted away--that's /really/ disgusting. &amp;quot;Is that the real cryptid...!?&amp;quot; She feels like she's gonna hurl, looking at all of those writhing masses. No wonder Randy didn't want Rita messing with it. She just barely manages to swallow it back down, gritting her teeth and grimacing while bracing against that sickly sensation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The magical girl stomps a foot back, clenching her fists. She sends herself into a jump straight upwards, one of her sets of leg armor ejecting a series of spike-tipped pistons behind them as she ascends. Inside the gaps left behind, a golden glow shines out as Gungnir's internal power builds--&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot; And spinning into an overhead flip, she kicks down at the same time the mechanisms pound back in, launching a comparatively massive crescent of raw energy down towards Lindbaum - where it'll try to slice down it lengthwise, rending directly through most of its parasite-infested spine, and then down into the ground beneath it. After a one second delay, the gashed-open earth will burst up in a plume of light to barrage the dead beast and all of the creatures taking home in it from below.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's just going to kind of fall to the ground on a knee after the fact, getting some of her breath back. Fortunately, far enough to be clear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There...Elie -&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'll hit you if you leave him here with me,&amp;quot; she squeaks, keeping the detective in place. &amp;quot; - let's...trust the Watch, okay? Help me pull these out.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;R..right..&amp;quot; Lloyd says, putting his tonfa down to help her in getting the invasive bio-darts off of Randy. Tio had brought a large barrel typically used for oil to store them in until they could be disposed of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Using scissors to open up his shirt and coat, she up-ends a tearal balm onto a clean towel and covers his gaping sores with it. &amp;quot;Keep pressure on this,&amp;quot; she commands, and then focuses on her orbment. She'd been using &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_g bg_n ++ hg&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Recuria&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to stabilize the victims of the Guardian Corps. before, but all it had done was stymy the symptoms. They had taken samples of the spores and venom they'd found investigating in the wetlands off to St. Ursula's for analysis and some kind of serum to administer - but with the rapid assault on Tangram, they hadn't been able to wait it out for the results to come back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Thus, she was stuck unable to help anyone, only able to prevent them from getting worse. And in Randy's case, that wouldn't be for very long, given she was exhausted and her Orbment was ready to give up the ghost.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Meanwhile...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hibiki's divebomb down the zombie's spine drenches her in further gore, but she finds such purchase that its like cannonballing into a pool of sludge, before coming out the other side and skidding across the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lindbaum opens its mouth and releases an earth shaking roar in conjunction with the screech of the parasites - something it was capable of now that the gunk was cleared out of its throat, perhaps.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The colony of parasites inside writhe and coalesce with one another, evidently adapting to the holes in the body by moving to fill it up, re-arranging organs and marrow to force the body into functioning somehow, even as it splits the dragon's gut in two and uses its intestines to sew it over the new holes Hibiki had made; a move made for naught, as it is firebombed promptly by Rose and Violet, setting it ablaze.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The way it all wriggles in the flame is horrific. Oily as it all was, it was difficult for them to actually burn, being cooked by the heat instead, much like a slug.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The misery of the monster and that of those around it from its awful cries are finally stomped out once and for all by a great light that flattens it into the dirt, smashing it into paste.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Thank Aidios,&amp;quot; Elie breathes out, slumping slightly. &amp;quot;Yeah. And our friends of course..&amp;quot; Lloyd adds with a grimace.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;They both stand to go check on the Watchmen, with Lloyd hesitating to pull Hibiki up due to the sludge coating her body, before he gets over it and grasps onto her so that she could be carried over to where the rest of the victims were laid out. Elie sees to Rita in the meantime, just to ensure she didn't catch anything untoward from interacting with the monster, &amp;quot; - it seems that you were able to amputate the infected extremeties quickly. You - should be alright, I'm so relieved.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd motions over to Rose and Violet, making to ask if they were okay before a haunting melody fills the air, played from a flute. &amp;quot; ... an instrument? Actually, isn't that - &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The tune ends, and the remains of Lindbaum disappears into motes of light. &amp;quot; ... it's gone.&amp;quot; Lloyd murmurs, before frowning deeply, his face full of thought.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Meanwhile..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A cloaked figure puts his instrument away. &amp;quot;Well, that was pretty disappointing.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A beautiful woman stands away from him, balancing herself precariously on a stump so that she doesn't have to sully her dress, or legs, in the muck. &amp;quot;Is it truly~? It may have wiped out Tangram Gate and the S.S.S. if left to its own devices.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The figure chuckles, &amp;quot;Yeah - but, Tangram Gate is still slim pickings compared to the military power of the Imperial Army. That thing's biggest boon is how infectious it was.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; .. so why did you send it after an isolated army base, instead of deploying it in Heimdallr? After you went through so much trouble to borrow those three girls from Arianrhod to capture it, too.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;...- well, even I'm not that bad, you know? The devil flute can't just tell the spores not to make people sick. I wanted to see how well it performed against a modest armed force.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I have no complaints about that,&amp;quot; the woman admits with a small shrug and a smile. &amp;quot;I'm sure the battle data we've accumulated will be worth something to a certain someone, either way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Mhm,&amp;quot; the figure mumbles, and the two disappear shortly after as the woman waves her staff, vanishing them with a fading glimmer of light.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7494|KNK (7494)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rose is staying away, under cover, scanning the area, as if expecting a post-boss ambush or a double-cross. It's Violet that waves cheerily to Lloyd, leaving the business of spotting entirely to her partner.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I'm okay! I got it cleaned out.&amp;quot; There's a gash on her arm, but the wound is entirely covered -- or filled -- with foam, as if she'd used a very precise fire extinguisher. &amp;quot;Are you okay? You're not, like, secretly armored or made of metal or anything, are you? That'd be pretty cool, though. Hey, wait. Are we on a different planet? Does that mean you're aliens? Huh, but you look human...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rose, meanwhile, is trying to track that flute down, but she's set up for precise EM-based target locating, not aural. It's rough going, for only a short melody.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's expression is closer to &amp;quot;relief&amp;quot; than &amp;quot;triumph&amp;quot; when the thing finally dies for real (well, probably not for real for real, but you know). &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She seems a little uneasy with Elie's concern for her, even though she herself was just panicking about Randy's state a moment ago. &amp;quot;Yeah. I think I'm fine. What &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;was&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; that sickness, Ms. Elie?&amp;quot; A little pause as she tries to peek over the woman's shoulder, visibly worried. &amp;quot;Is Mr. Randy going to be okay? I saw him get hit, and...&amp;quot; Her hand still fidgets with her satchel of first-aid supplies, for all the good they'd do. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki gladly takes the assistance from Lloyd, much as he might (understandably) not want to. At least partially, that can be managed thanks to the wonders of Magical Girl Transformations, where a harmless burst of gold covering her body has her Symphogear vanish into flecks of quickly dispersing light as if it were never there, making a great deal but not quite all of it vanish into thin air along with it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Doesn't do anything about anything that got into her though, or that discolored skin. That's not what's making her frown though - it was that sound going through the air. She can't tell where it was coming from, but...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...I hope not...&amp;quot; She murmurs to herself, only one person who'd be playing one at a time like this coming to mind.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7873/Solipsism_of_the_Sword_(1)&amp;diff=16761</id>
		<title>7873/Solipsism of the Sword (1)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7873/Solipsism_of_the_Sword_(1)&amp;diff=16761"/>
				<updated>2022-03-12T09:02:02Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2022/03/11 |Location=The Great Ocean |Synopsis=An emotionally charged confrontation capending a long arc. |Thanks=Lilian Rook |Cast of Characters=6...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2022/03/11&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=The Great Ocean&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=An emotionally charged confrontation capending a long arc.&lt;br /&gt;
|Thanks=Lilian Rook&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=6953, 7435, 7412, 7377, 7359, 7417, 7408, 7308, 7173, 6895&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Following the map with an &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;X&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; on it - a magical item which revealed the location of any treasure that the holder desired - leads the Watch-affiliated group sailing the deep blue waves eventually to a particular, post-industrial world in the vastness of the multiverse. It was fairly contemporary to a modern-day earth with a mildly futuristic slant; seated upon the ocean is a man-made isle segmented into multiple shells, each connected by massive struts that served a dual-purpose as great bridges. The structures were constructed out of some space-age alloy, carbon fiber filaments, and a variety of other marvels that allow it to serve as a majestic metropolis floating out by its own strength.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Generally speaking, its only purpose was to serve as a garrison for local Paladins, providing them housing and various recreations in the city itself to spend their salaries on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arriving during the peak morning hours, the sun reflects in a splendid rainbow that seems to coat the city in an incredible atmosphere.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Sneaking in by way of the docks was unlikely to yield favorable results, and it goes without saying that they had no permission to be boating out in these waters - and so, the only real way to enter the island the way they intended would be by tresspassing shamelessly. The question is whether or not the Watchmen had the gall to do that, all for the sake of confronting one person.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Meanwhile&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A red-headed teenager sits seiza in front of a coffee table, a frown on his face. In the end, the weight that felt like it was going to crush him flat did not get any easier to carry, nor had he found any sort of fulfilment by accepting his lot in life. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;No matter how long I sit here and think about things, my prospects don't look any less bleak ... maybe that's just how it was always meant to be, hm?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Although it wasn't known to him at the time - his morning exercises and the wallowing that would typically follow was going to be cut short, this particular day.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Captain Hook always pays his debts. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He can never pay off this one. Not to these people - not to Muramasa, to Hibiki, to the people who had pulled him out of his own story-imposed suicide and back into a world of bright and color and given him a *choice*, a real *choice*, for the first time since he was a small child. No, there was no amount of repayment that could ever call them square, no amount of aid he could render that would ever make this debt go away. Indeed even calling it a 'debt' made it sound dirty. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On the other hand, calling it a 'debt' made it easier for people to understand why a pirate would be here on this speedboat, one leg on the railing, coat flowing over his shoulder, the Map With The X On It unrolled in front of him. 'Debt' was easy to understand. It made it sound like an obligation. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Few people argued with or distrusted obligations. People distrusted 'friendship' and 'affection' a great deal more. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A man who says he'll never fail to pay a debt is a man who can be trusted where the debt is concerned, after all. It was just easier that way. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He has no fear of falling off the boat. He's Captain Hook, for God's sakes. Nor has he any fear of the Map being ripped from his hands by speed and wind. Indeed if he *wasn't* supposed to stand in front with his foot on the prow he'd be back at the controls. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He really didn't want to drive a ship again yet. Personal reasons, he'd said. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The boat passes through the worlds. Hook quietly takes note of various places, jotting them down in a mental notebook, in case he sees anything interesting as the ship slices through the waves. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then they've arrived. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Vast structures floating on the ocean. Massive struts spreading over the waves. A city of splendor for the Paladins. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; For the moment, a prison. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Hook rolls up the Map and disappears it into his breast pocket with a flourish of his hand. He leans forward, draping one arm over his knee. This reminds him of an adventure he didn't have, or did have, or may have had in the storybook world of his life that flowed together like grey water, like the grey and bleak misery of a red-headed teenager in front of a coffee table. Hook's hand tightens into a fist. He holds up a hand above his brow. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then he about-faces, his coat whirling like a cloak, his foot swinging off the railing and onto the floor of the ship. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Well, we've three options.&amp;quot; He holds up three fingers, then lowers one. &amp;quot;There's the sneaking way, bit of a long trek through dangerous streets gambling on not being caught, which is never a gamble I like to take because a good story says you'll get caught quite quickly else there's no real tension. Nobody wants to hear that they snuck in, snuck out, end of story.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He walks through the boat. Another finger lowers. &amp;quot;There's the forward way - land on the docks, fight through the alerted guards, derring-do sort of thing, blades flashing, et cetera. Very flashy but not very inspiring. Anyone can do that sort of thing to break someone out of prison.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But,&amp;quot; Hook rounds again as he stops at the back of the speedboat and grabs the wheel, &amp;quot;We're not breaking him out of prison. No, what we need is a story that no one else could do. The kind of story that rouses a man from his misery and makes him go, 'wait, they did what just for me?'&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He beams a winning grin. &amp;quot;And we want to hurt as few people as possible on the way, aye? We're not here to hurt them. We're here to inspire him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;So!&amp;quot; Hook whirls the wheel into place, &amp;quot;We're going to speed up as fast as this can go, we're going to hit a great big bump, we're going to fly into the sky, we're going to land in the middle of the town, the boat is going to go into my treasure chest so we don't hit anyone, and we're going to run as fast as we can so that when Muramasa hears how we came for him he blinks and loudly goes, 'excuse me?' in the most incredulously shocked tones he can!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He holds up his hand, still pointing at the sky, as the boat starts to acceletate. &amp;quot;Any questions?!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Unfortunately we've no time for them, so save them for later!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He stamps on the pedal and points the boat directly at the best possible beachhead for the best possible angle to avoid hitting any of the buildings. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This might get a bit bumpy.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Of course Featherman Neo is here. Muramasa is a friend of his and Hibiki's, and he owes the man for being so eager about being a Featherman. Besides...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He knows Muramasa's truth - so it's only fair to help him in that regard.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As Hook explains the plan, Featherman is at the wheel of the large speedboat. He's listening. And then, suddenly, the wheel is yanked from him, the pedal is pushed, and-&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He accepts it, laughing. &amp;quot;A hell of a plan! Sorry that I forgot the nitro on this thing, hope we get enough speed!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman braces for a landing once they go flying, moving to flip stylishly off the boat right before it enters the chest. This isn't the first time he's crashed a vehicle, and the last time was...actually, like, two days ago.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy's on the bpat and dressed for the occasion. A red-and-white striped shirt that looks as though it escaped the pages of a pirate adventure story clings tightly to him, and his long hair is kept from his eyes with a matching red bandana. Denim pants and work boots round out the attire, the former both tighter and lower on the waist than they perhaps ought to be. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Shading his eyes to peer out at the horizon, Candy utters a low whistle at the sight of the city. &amp;quot;Fancy,&amp;quot; he says, taken in by the rainbow that glimmers above its skyline. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy nods in agreement with Hook. &amp;quot;The Paladins are like the flies, over by the dock. I might have a way, but...&amp;quot; He pauses. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But you'd be out here with your d--&amp;quot; He stops himself, blinks, having almost forgotten about Rita--more specifically, Lilian's ultimatum regarding his language around her. &amp;quot;With your thumbs--&amp;quot; That one's not much better. &amp;quot;You'd be out in the open,&amp;quot; he says after a huff. Why does Lilian have to make everything so hard? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He opens his mouth for a question, a rare innocence gleaming in his eyes--before he's slammed back in his seat by the sudden acceleration. He's got the general idea, anyway! Playing cards fly into the air, timed at the precise moment the boat disappears. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FFFFFF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Illusory copies of everyone in the boat&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; are conjured, none of them quite flawless in their imitation. All of them run in a chaotic star pattern the moment their real counterparts take off, the display intended to further disorient and confuse anyone who'd show up to stop them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki's lead-up to the events of today was not in the form of any kind of real briefing or detailed plan to give a rundown of. As anyone who knows her would know very well, those are just about the opposite of her strong suit. Instead, she was completely transparent about what she's coming here for and what she wanted to do, one way or another.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's here to confront Sengo Muramasa and drag him out of whatever hole he's gone and put himself in, because she's not going to let him shut himself away from the world - and what he really wants - for all the wrong reasons. It's something personal to her more than anything else, so she wouldn't have faulted anyone for not wanting to come. Just like Lilian was talking about the other day, and just as she herself said she would, she's going to keep doing dumb things because it's what she thinks is right.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If she wasn't okay being dumb, she wouldn't have approached Captain Hook days ago to tell him that she was finally ready to make good on something they had talked about what seems like forever ago. Nor would she be standing tall in this speedboat fast approaching a well-populated Paladins garrison shining on the sea, fists clenched at her side and expression resolved, looking 'past' the massive bridges and tall structures towards 'something' beyond all of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She remains in that position all the way until the Captain mentions his final proposition, at which point she finally breaks the stoic act to look up at him as the look on her face lightens up, and she actually...smiles. It looks almost uncharacteristic for how she usually is. &amp;quot;That's exactly right. I want him to know that we're all here, coming for him no matter what. His head is so thick, I don't think just talking to him normally would get us anywhere. You know, I'd almost compare it to when you played back everyone's voices from that music box when you visited me before, but that didn't have any high-speed crashing.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And she shifts back to resolve immediately after, punching a hand into her palm as they start picking up on acceleration without a hint of concern. Must be the fact she was in another crash not that long ago. &amp;quot;So I couldn't have come up with a better plan myself! Let's do it, and I'll apologize for all the trouble later! And...thanks, everyone!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;he boat goes airborne--and it's going to come down with one speedy not-crash thanks to Hook's timely chest. And when it does, she's going to kick right out of it before it's gone to hit the ground at as fast a speed as possible, and let the momentum keep carrying her forward in a dead sprint towards where the crimson X marked.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita the &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;perfectly ordinary girl&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; is, totally unsurprisingly, a really really good first mate. In fact she's far &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;too&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; industrious at the job. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I took the noon sight and reduced it to a position, captain! From the known starting point, we're still on course.&amp;quot; (But they have Hook's map, and probably a GPS too.) &amp;quot;I checked the hoses for cracks and tightened the engine mount screw clamps, captain!&amp;quot; (But they're only using it for a few hours...?) &amp;quot;Cleaned salt residue from metal surfaces belowdecks, captain!&amp;quot; (Rita &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;please&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.) &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She is circumspect, knowledgeable, responsible, and dutiful. So of course Hook's plan terrifies her. And prior experience with Featherman's driving terrifies her even more. Her wide-eyed shock lasts long enough that she barely has time to open her mouth for an objection before Featherman fucking floors it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Whatever she was about to say is cut off by a strangled yelp. Her fingers grip the nearest handrail hard enough to leave indentations in the metal. When they 'land', she hits the ground in a perfect low crouch, then straightens up and takes a few ragged calming breaths to soothe the coursing adrenaline. &amp;quot;Aaaah... ahh. I've never seen anyone do that with a boat before. Can we please not do it again??&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she's adequately recovered, Rita shimmers out of view, leaving her illusory Candy-made copy as the only Rita around. When she shimmers back, she's &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;being Hibiki's body double&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, sprinting right alongside the magical girl as her mirror image. The second Hibiki gives a reassuring wink to the first. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Hibiki should be the one to make contact. Of course she'll be the tip of the spear. But it won't be that easy. If I can pull a little attention off her, that'll be a good use of my efforts.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After so much time had passed since the disappearance of Muramasa, it's finally time to find their wayward brother in arms! Gareth's looking rather excitable as she keeps her hands braced on the edge of the ship, peering forwards while bobbing back and forth on her heels. She's dressed less like a knight and more like a stereotypical swashbuckler, complete with high boots, an unbuttoned top button on her loose-fitting yellow shirt, and a bandana that actually looks kind of bad on her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As excitable as Gareth looks, though, something does seem to be troubling her. She squints a little longer at that steadily growing pile of buildings before turning to to Hook as he goes through the three ideas of approach. She nods slowly in agreement with the first two's flaws, then nods the same way for the third before realizing that that one actually sounds way cooler.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;... Hmhm! I like it! We're meant to be protectors of the weak and heroes to all, so sneaking in or just fighting our way in wouldn't do at all.&amp;quot; She announces her approval as well, waiting a moment, and then nodding in approval at Candy as well while giving him a thumbs-up. &amp;quot;That sort of mindfulness should make it easier for Muramasa to realize we're not just a bunch of idiots or criminals to be ashamed of, either. And if we do end up hurting a few people on the way...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth pauses, then grins at Hibiki's latter comment. &amp;quot;Yes, we'll apologize later! I heard a wise person on the internet once say that it's easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The boat starts picking up speed, and Gareth settles into a crouch to stabilize herself for a little longer. &amp;quot;Ah, but how are we going to stay on the ship as it starts flying?&amp;quot; As she asks that, the boat goes speeding along, and she just winds up grasping onto the nearest fixture to maintain a MIGHTY STANDING POSTURE even if it means nearly falling off the boat in the process of coming down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once it's go time, meanwhile, Gareth starts sprinting in the general direction of the X, leaping onto smaller fixtures and using them as springboards to take the high ground whenever she can.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7308|Chase (7308)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Things have not very surprisingly, improved since Chase and Muramasa last talked. Even if the problem is technically over, there's a lot of unresolved feelings, a lot of lingering regrets. It shouldn't sit right by most people to leave things as they are. It definitely doesn't with Chase, and the fact that Muramasa has been incredibly silent since it all happened agitates him even more. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Which leads to Chase being on the boat. It's a mostly quiet ride with him, with the only contribution to any conversation being a furrowed brow and a grunt. The man is too lost in his own thoughts over all that's happened to be a meaningful talking partner. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; At the very least, when Hook announces that they're going to be crashing into the port, Chase responds accordingly, pulling out the Mach Driver which he firmly slaps against his waist, causing a pair of straps to sprout from both ends of it as it fastens itself against him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; With very few wasted motions, Chase opens a compartment on the Driver, slotting in a toy car. The great value doppelgangers that Candy made instantly mimic his motion, and there's a sudden overlap of multiple sound effects that both drown each other out, as if the devices are having a shouting match with each other. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Whatever the Drivers are saying, it's lost to awful sound mixing as all the Chases transforms into Kamen Reaper Chaser.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7173|Tamamo (7173)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Tamamo isn't here in response to any alerts thrown out over the arrival of some air-boat-borne lunatics. She's here for much the same reason as the last time she'd visited Muramasa -- a firm desire to see him scraped off the floor and put back into a shape more 'human' and less 'undercooked pancake' -- but, as a major difference for this time, she's arrived with Lilian. Of course, there was a bit of conversation between the two preceding this, but the final result is the most important in the moment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It is therefore the moment they're on the crosswalk near their fellow Paladin's apartment when she gets the news. Even from here, her ears being rather tall, she can hear it, though not quite make out the voices. A sail-less boat sailing through the air and disappearing (into Hook's treasure chest), replaced by (illusory) duplicates of all its occupants makes for as attention-grabbing an event as (less than) reasonably possible, even before there are details on just who those sailors and/or passengers were.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The only one with whom she has no familiarity is the gentleman pirate. Naturally, this does nothing to reduce Tamamo's curiosity. &amp;quot;Oh, well, we certainly cannot have a calm conversation, with this happening outside. Shall we take a quick trip over to see? In service of what terror might this intrusion be, I wonder.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This had been a little time coming. Not a long time, like for Hibiki, but enough time that it had been bugging Lilian to think about. She's had her own . . . everything, to worry about, for months, after all. Sparing time for the people she'd hurt along the way was like a reservation list; one she had to stop and check down, step by meticulous step. If she tried to think of them all at once, she'd only fume and stress and break down and get nowhere.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian had really thought Muramasa's thread would resolve itself. She'd thought he'd be glad to get back to Hibiki. Maybe even (awkwardly) run home, after her difficult attempts to signal regret and bury the hatchet. But hearing from Hibiki herself that that idiot boy was still hiding from her has now escalated it to Her Problem. It's not really. It doesn't have to be. But she's stewed on it long enough that she's made it so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian has of course not actually shown up prepared for battle. Maybe if she'd mass checked some futuresight permutations of this situation, she would have, but the honest truth (that she won't admit) is that she didn't want to stare down that gunbarrel of all the ways talking to Muramasa could hypothetically go wrong. She's just taken a deep breath and braced to take it in whatever form it comes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In fact, she's even dressed pretty abnormally for her casual ventures. Ever the one for expensive layers of chic but conservative finery, it's sort of surreal to see Lilian outdoors with a skirt of less than over knee length, shoes beyond the ankle, and especially not that dark patterned top that exposes collar and shoulders with those semi-detached sleeves, and even a tiny bit of waist where the buttons stop, and certainly never mind painted nails. Even walking closely alongside Tamamo, it looks like she's just slightly embarrassed, but excited, to be out here, at the same time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Stopping on the street in front of the right apartment complex, Lilian breathes deeply, straightens out her clothes, adjusts her hairpin, clears her throat, and says to Tamamo &amp;quot;I'm not leaving until I get this idiot off his ass. If I have to, I'm just taking him to Hibiki by force.&amp;quot; She still hasn't lapsed back into 'Tachibana'. So--&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then something fucking explodes in the distance, because of course it does. Lilian exhales with a tone of frustration bordering on a tiny scream. &amp;quot;What are these &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;imbeciles doing&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;? Ughhhhhhh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It takes Lilian &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;literally no time at all&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to get over there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;§&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#8a8a8a;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Multiple Hibikis; probably Candelario's doing. That Feathermoron is probably here too. Ugh, if Candy's here, he's probably dragged Rita into this too. I don't see her but-- who's the fucking &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;pirate&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;§&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Making herself as visible as possible, Lilian points upwards and lets off a small explosion of magical energy into the air, raising her voice to get attention. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Don't think I don't see you there! You've picked the worst of all &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;possible&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; times for this! Now settle right down before you do something I have to punish you for; you already shouldn't be here! Now who's idea was this?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;Hibiki. You're the one who's got to talk to Muramasa, right?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [3] Hibiki Tachibana says, &amp;quot;Yeah. I don't know about anything else, but I gotta see him no matter what.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;Do you think you can keep moving? Or are you going to stop and deal with Lilian somehow?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;I'll keep her busy, if you're going to beeline for him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [3] Hibiki Tachibana takes a moment. And then, &amp;quot;I'll tell her what I'm here to do, but I'm not gonna stop. ...Thanks, Rita.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Candy says, &amp;quot;I was hoping you'd say that!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;Mmm! Good. I don't want to make this too serious. There's no reason anybody here has to get hurt. But... I'll do my best, anyway.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Candy says, &amp;quot;Believe me, Rita--serious is the last thing this is gonna be, ah?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma laughs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;What are you going to do, Mr. Candy?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#875fd7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Candy says, &amp;quot;I'm gonna clean the place up! To show I'm not here to cause no trouble.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hi Lilian! Hi Tamamo!&amp;quot; Candy pointedly does not answer when asked 'whose idea this was.' But he does run his mouth, stopping in his tracks to answer Lilian as Candy illusions spread out and vanish further into the city. &amp;quot;Don't be that way,&amp;quot; says Candy, brushing a lock of his hair behind his ear and smiling coyly. &amp;quot;I'm here to help! Honest!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There are a few more reasons for Lilian to be upset with Candy. The playing cards suddenly tucked into his back pocket, bent out of shape by the lack of space there, only account for some of those reasons. His hands are both in view at the moment. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He definitely heard, when Tamamo told him he hadn't yet been forgiven. It is clear that he didn't heed that warning. He is no longer wearing the 'sailor' getup. Instead: fishnets, frilly garters, a black maid outfit with a low neckline, complete with a little bow to hold his hair back. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There are several of him, taking to the scenery with featherdusters, brooms and dustpans. Only one of them is real, but the gauntlet has been thrown down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Approaching forward with the others, Featherman is stopped by the signs of an explosion. He stances in a stereotypical hero pose, pointing finger at Lilian. &amp;quot;The answer to your question...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;All of our bonds led us here! Our hearts are one! But...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A sad smirk under that helmet. &amp;quot;I will accept any and all punishment you want to deal to them - after all, I'm a terrible influence. But first, we must snap our good friend out of his sorry state, and then you can kick my ass...!&amp;quot; He doesn't mean it in a way he'd enjoy it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's just willing to take all the punishment so that Hibiki can win...!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With the majority of the residents of the city being either Paladins or being Paladins adjacent in their employment, its only natural that the local law enforcement are also so, at the lowest rung. The first responders are lightly armed and have their torsos, arms, and legs encased in a foaming metal composite armor that is both sleek and lightweight. Armed with handguns that fired hardlight bullets for stun and capture, the men and women in blue-and-white on scene fit the generic imagery of 'future cop mooks' to a tee.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One, a fiery looking young man with incredibly bushy eyebrows follows suite to Lilian's proclomation with a hearty nod, &amp;quot;Right, stand down at once - please!&amp;quot; he says, affirmingly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Truth be told, all of them felt far too underpaid to actually field any kind of engagement with Elites, and were hoping for a peaceful outcome.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tensions rise as Candy makes his approach, and promptly plummet as he and his copycats revel in their maid outfit, dusting and sweeping fruitlessly. None of the beat cops know what to say to it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You know, those garters are kind of..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; - yeah, but, could you stop ogling his legs? It's weird.&amp;quot; one whispers to another, who responds by saying, &amp;quot;Is it? Hey, I don't hate. Nice legs are nice legs.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Isn't it really unfair that it seems like every elite is some kind of super model? Even when they're slumming it in 'normal person clothes' they all find a way to make it work. It's totally whack.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bushy-brows frowns, &amp;quot;Now isn't the time for this kind of chatter.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead, he looks to Lilian and Tamamo, and defers to their authority as to how to respond to the intruding Watchmen. &amp;quot;Er .. orders, ma'am?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Despite the klaxon that has the city block clearing out and giving them all space - a defensive measure of the city, with the block being cordoned off with hardlight curtains that no Elite worth their salt would have trouble jumping over - Muramasa had yet to show himself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's not a stretch to imagine he's quizzically, holed up in his apartment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Hook lands with a dynamic flourish. The chest pops open and the boat vanishes harmly inside. With a light kick he sends the chest up and vanishes it back into his coat as if it was never there, a dazzling smile on his face. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He doesn't know either of the Paladins ladies, either, so of course the proper thing to do is introduce himself. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Every single illusory Hook turns to Tamamo and Lilian and bows low with a wide, sweeping arm motion. All of them. At once. They straighten, and then, &amp;quot;Good evening, madams. Captain William Hook. An inestimable delight to meet you both, though I confess it would assuredly be better under finer circumstances. As it stands I'm a bit late for tea and I've a debt to go repay. Captain Hook always pays his debts.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; They all say it at the same time. They all flash a dazzling smile. They wink at one of the lady cops. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then they're off, scattering to the winds. Hook himself produces a grappling hook (the irony is never lost on him) and fires it off into the air, vanishing up as he doffs his hat with his hook hand to the ladies and the police both. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You'll pardon me, but it wouldn't be fair of me to just let you catch me! Then you'd have one less pirate to chase, and goodness but if you're doing your job well your budget will be slashed quite extensively, I'm told!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian and Tamamo being here was not a part of the nonexistent plan. Actually, she kind of expected to take a lot of shit from Lilian specifically /after/ doing all of this (very rightfully), and that was a problem for future Hibiki rather than the Hibiki of the now. Now that things have turned out this way however, there's not really any helping it. Possibly blowing out any confusion as to which of the Hibikis running around is the real one:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Sorry, already here, not stopping any time soon! I really wanted you to kill me for it later, but I can't let you kill me now, even if I die for it! I'm going to drag that idiot out of wherever he is no matter what I have to do!&amp;quot; Despite the obvious attempt to get them to stop, Hibiki plainly keeps sprinting straight ahead at full speed without any intention of stopping anytime soon.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If it comes down to it, she'll keep going right past her if she has to. Hearing Featherman take the fall for it, she shouts back out loud right after, &amp;quot;I'm the only person who can take responsibility for me, but...&amp;quot; Candy is going to get his ass kicked either way, honestly. &amp;quot;.../everyone/ here is here for a reason, so I guess you /will/ have to kick everyone's ass! By the way, I really like the look! I'd never wear it, but I think you look pretty decent in short skirts!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki is nowhere near smart enough to compliment someone just to get an edge, so she means it from the heart.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Naturally, the klaxon ringing out doesn't do a single thing to deter her either, and she only takes a quick detour off a streetside object to leap up to something to grab onto and swing over the hardlight wall to keep moving on. That's not going to slow her down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There's a reason Rita imitates Hibiki so often: they've got similar builds, her mannerisms are memorable and distinctive, and in a pinch she can imitate the idiot punchgirl physicality pretty well. So when the imitation-Hibiki turns her head to stare wide-eyed at Lilian's magical blast, then stops cold to leap over towards her and Tamamo, there's little indication that it's not the real one. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita keeps the act perfect for a good few seconds. Everything's thought through: she adopts a tense but not yet fists-raised posture, she extends &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;invisible tentacles to arc around them in a broad dome shape&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; and thus delay disengagement when they realize she's not the real article, she gives Tamamo a wary appraising look before her eyes slide to Lilian- &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Lilian. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Ah- Ms. Rook?!&amp;quot; That definitely gives her away; tentacle-wrappings do nothing to alter her voice. Both of her hands cover her mouth. &amp;quot;What are you- why are you dressed like &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;that&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;?? Is it a vacation thing? I just...&amp;quot; Her eyes stick on Lilian's arms and abdomen. It's probably the novelty of seeing them at all. Probably. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She lets out a little groan, carrying with it some of her stress as it leaves. The Hibiki disguise melts away into Rita's usual cropped-jacket-and-skirt look in a smooth rearrangement of colors and shapes. &amp;quot;Hibiki's here to talk to Muramasa. There's no reason it has to be complicated, right? Just let her, this once.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Hastily clarifying: &amp;quot;And &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;this&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; one wasn't my idea, I promise!! You know what that looks like!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That voice... Gareth recognizes it! &amp;quot;Ah, Lady Lilian! Please, don't try to stop us!&amp;quot; She shouts in response, making it all too obvious which one of the Gareths is her even if Candelario's copies are actually pretty decent facsimiles of herself even if they're not necessarily perfect. &amp;quot;We have a very good reason for doing this, and we won't stop even for...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As she gets closer to where Lilian's actually shouting, though, she does pause to stare at her and Tamamo for several moments. She might be surprised by the wardrobe change, but she's certainly not shy about looking. &amp;quot;... Even for you! Now, you're welcome to come with us-&amp;quot; She pauses to glance at her allies, then back at the Paladin pair. &amp;quot;-probably!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She actually has no idea. When the underpaid local Paladins come to respond, meanwhile, Gareth makes no move to actually attack them. Instead, she keeps her movements high-ish, bounding off walls and tarps to go higher while trying to keep property damage to a minimum despite all the rapid movements.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yes, please continue this line of conversation! Which one of us has the greatest legs?!&amp;quot; Somehow, Gareth makes it sound like she's bellowing that out as a challenge in all seriousness, and her copies start showing off... Actually, they're not showing off much at all. The regular her is still wearing swashbuckler pants and boots that leave a lot to the imagination with how poofy and flared they are, so there's not much leg to see.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The clones do stop to let the responders look anyway. The real Gareth, though, keeps on bounding along, broadly keeping pace with Hibiki while staying far enough behind her to try and make it unclear where she actually is. At least, Gareth thinks she's tailing Hibiki, but she soon realizes she's actually been tailing Rita all along when that tentacle disguise wears off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She notices Rita covering for herself, and then Gareth laughs. &amp;quot;That's right! Rita here's far smarter than a plan like this. Her plans might have hints of excitement in them, but rest assured that they're much closer to the boring, yet practical side of things!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7173|Tamamo (7173)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Captain Hook. I am Tamamo-no-mae.&amp;quot; She'd give a more full introduction, but the pirate is in a hurry to be somewhere else, and other people never stopped running, so she only asides to Lilian, &amp;quot;Should that name be familiar? It sounds somewhat so.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;At the overall situation, and upon Featherman admitting the reason they're here, she has to say, &amp;quot;This seems quite needlessly rude!&amp;quot; Butting in front of people already here to see the poor man, like this. While Candy is his own tier of cheeky, the whole affair is likewise. She may have forgiven Hibiki for &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;one&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; thing, but that doesn't mean she can encourage this kind of thing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There is a contradiction between favoring words while acting without allowance of others to speak, you know? I assure you, I am quite good at listening.&amp;quot; It's only for those running ahead, at least including Hibiki and Hook, then, that she's going to cause trouble. Rita won't be affected, if she stays back here. Being physically in the way isn't an effective block to magic this subtle, if she stays no-contact.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Without a particularly-inclined sight, or special suspicion of the indicipherable subvocalizations of Tamamo's casting, there's little way to catch what she's done, at all, but the effects quickly mount past implausible, as every turn of 'luck' turns against those running ahead of the entrance, and the faster they move, the worse it is. Loose newspapers forming slips over spilled water right beneath their feet, passers-by turning corners into them, windows opening in the way of grappling hooks, unlucky birds not realizing they're about to dive-bomb one or another figure, perfect reflections of the Sun glinting in the eyes when they needed to avoid something, and any 'random' choice of direction being assured to have been the wrong choice before it was even made.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It doesn't stop there, but only gets worse, involving dirty wash buckets, startled and defensive cats, even more territorial housewives, and every other thing that &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;could possibly go wrong&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You!&amp;quot; Lilian calls out the moment she sees Featherman. &amp;quot;After everything I've just &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;recently&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; done for you as well! This is why you self-proclaimed hero types are &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;insufferable&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;! &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Absolutely right&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; I'm going to get you after this!&amp;quot; Captain Hook swooshes in, bows dramatically, and introduces herself. Lilian's anger abates in favour of a moment of bafflement. &amp;quot;Who the-- Are you with them? The Watch has pirates now? Is this a thing?&amp;quot; Still, she's not about to let her confusion stop her from drawing and flick-extending the two foot black metal rod from its thigh holster over her tights. It hums with menacing energies as its spiral etchings glow.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki comes barreling up. Lilian aims at her, stanced up like a pistol duellist. &amp;quot;That's what I was &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;already doing here&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; you &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;dribbling idiots&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; she cries out in exasperation. &amp;quot;Did it really not strike you to just &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ask&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;?!&amp;quot; Light coalesces at the tip of the loosely gripped, classically sized, futuristically constructed wand, and then Lilian hesitates a little, sputtering faintly when Hibiki compliments her skirt(?!). Now suddenly direly self-conscious, one hand drops to the hem to fiddle with it. Moments lost, she turns to track Hibiki getting past her, as well as Hook launching away, and then . . .&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Rita?! Oh no-- of course Candelario would drag you along for this. Rita I'm so--&amp;quot; Lilian, four seconds in, realizes where Rita is staring. Her face burns pink, arms reflexively clutched more closely around her now. All thoughts of this totally very dire situation flee from her head for a moment. The confidence drops out from the floor of her voice. &amp;quot;I-Is it too much? Someone told me to try being more confident about the way I dress, but . . .&amp;quot; The figure she was apparently hiding under all those layers and pleats and ruffles for three years is pretty astonishing, but somehow Lilian manages to look desperately nervous about it. When Gareth lines up too and starts trying to show off, Lilian practically steams. Her self-esteem and battle readiness are both ready to be gutted by the slightest negative word; a once in a lifetime chance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The cops show up. Candy shows up. Candy turns into a maid. Lilian's face goes from pink to red and nervous to furious. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CAN-DE-LA-RI-O!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; She suddenly flips and reverse grips the wand. &amp;quot;So you've chosen &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;death&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; The air around her vibrates with the massive tick-tock double thump of something like a heartbeat. Dark and light invert for just a split second. Lilian starts to move, &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;and then she is gone, leaving only smouldering, faintly radioactive footprints in the pavement&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. Pissed as all hell, the eye only perceives &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;a flash of afterimages marking Lilian in several places at once, throwing hands to break Candy's nose, aiming for all of them until one hits the real deal&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Visually acquiring her again shows her knuckles lightly smoking, though they're unburnt, boiling off &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff005f;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;strangely-coloured vapour&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. &amp;quot;Oh cram it.&amp;quot; she shoots back, apparently to the one cop. &amp;quot;I worked &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;hard&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to look like this. Apply yourself.&amp;quot; A light frown teases her lips. &amp;quot;Not that I don't understand how you feel.&amp;quot; Seeing Tamamo cast her spell, Lilian briefly projects a scatter of the worst possible times all Elites involved are bumbling into awful luck, and says &amp;quot;Stand back and let me handle this. I've beaten them all before. First I'll take them somewhere else to minimize collateral.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Not caring to qualify that rather ominous (if impressive) statement any further, Lilian does exactly what she says she will. Barring a rather stupendous combined Insight and Reflex save roll (and Luck roll, with Tamamo's interference), &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;each individual Elite is relocated in turn, the real from the illusory brute forced in six minutes of time that never existed. Nothing is felt or seen; a fraction of an instant flashes the acausal sense of being grabbed and pulled, and then the scenery changes all around them in slightly nauseating fashion.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;However, thankfully for everyone, they are not banished to the Quarry, like Lilian once did to Hibiki. They're all sent straight to Muramasa's apartment, where there aren't CCTV circuits. From the street perspective, of course this is indistinguishable from Lilian sending them all to a toku set for a mass kerfuffle. This, in the biz, is called 'plausible deniability'; something Lilian is a master of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian brings Tamamo with her, of course, to the hallway outside. Tamamo is set down gently, the others, less so. Conservation of momentum bids Featherman and Candy to collide face first with the floor, whereas Gareth gets rather unceremoniously dumped on her ass, and Hook to figure out his own footing. Rita is popped down facing a time out corner, and Hibiki is thrown up against a wall. Lilian slams her hand against it right by Hibiki's head, looming over her so closely that she is practically breathing on her neck, &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#87d700;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;eyes glowing&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; faintly in her own shadow.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Don't make noise, or I'll actually kill you. I've let the security forces believe I've warped you all off for a beating somewhere collateral free, so behave, or else I'll have to do a lot of cleaning up, and I &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;hate&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; cleaning up. You can thank me after. Actually, I'd rather like it if you praised me, groveled at my feet, and begged for forgiveness.&amp;quot; She reaches to grab Hibiki's chin and tilt it up to force eye contact. &amp;quot;Got it? I'm only letting you here because we want the same thing; I know that he'll respond to you. But the moment you step out of line . . .&amp;quot; She finally steps back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Ah, bad luck. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A window pops open in his way as someone peeks their head out. Hook grabs onto the windowsill and dangles there for a moment before reaching up with his hook. &amp;quot;A hand, if you would? Mine seems to have got away from me.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The flash of a smile is very persuasive from a man like him. He's pulled up. He balances on the windowsill very, very awkwardly. Hook is not in fact superhumanly dextrous or mobile. A lot of Elites are but he certainly isn't. In fact, he isn't superhuman at all. So for him this fall is indeed quite possibly lethal. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Pardon my intrusion for just a moment!&amp;quot; He says to the flabbergasted bystander as he slides in through the window and goes running through. &amp;quot;A lovely home and I much appreciate it! Have me over for tea some time! I'll bring something imported!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He slides out the door and summarily stumbles over a welcome mat. A quiet 'blast' under his breath turns into a much louder, 'Blast and bedamned!' as he trips forward and hits the floor. The mat must've slid out from under him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Hook pulls himself to his feet and grabs his flintlock off the ground. &amp;quot;God's wounds. I'll never get used to-&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Blip. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Suddenly his feet are pulled out from under him, again, as he's teleported directly into the hallway. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He almost falls backwards. His arms rotate a bit childishly as he tries to find his balance. Then he straightens and sweeps his hook through his bangs to straighten his hair. &amp;quot;-that. Gracious.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He adjusts his hat slightly. Man keeps in good humor. &amp;quot;Well, then.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo suddenly sprints forward for a dash, moving to leap the barrier curtain with jumpjets, and - time stops. When it returns, he's faceplanting into the ground, where he pauses for a second, before rolling to his feet. Only because of the request for a quiet does he practically whisper his words once he tracks down Muramasa, slightly dazed. &amp;quot;Featherman Neo...here to be your friend, Sengo Muramasa! Your friend, your ally, fighting for the same justice!&amp;quot; A quiet 'hoorah, hoorah'.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's a show. A force of charisma. Featherman attempting to show his friend that he's the same guy he met before.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I have no doubts you're a magnificent listener and speaker, Lady Tamamo. Perhaps one day, we could-&amp;quot; Wait. Didn't her mentor get in trouble for this kind of thing before? &amp;quot;-listen to... Things! In places!&amp;quot; Sadly, Gareth is not nearly as quick-tongued as her mentor might have been, so she just kind of fumbles that pretty hard. She can at least blame the terrible luck of so many things flying arund her, though, as she raises a hand to shield her eyes from the sun just in time to miss a bird careening right into her face.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Sputtering a bit, she only just catches Lilian's apparent rage being directed everywhere, seeing her disappear, and then suddenly seeing a ceiling as she falls flat on her ass with a light thud. There's not enough time to process what's going on before she hears a certain someone semi-threatening Hibiki and also the impact of a hand on a wall.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Naturally, Gareth's going to be staring at that little exchange without commenting immediately. It's only after Lilian steps back that Gareth looks right at Hibiki, slowly nodding while looking proud of her for some reason.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That's quite the teleportation magic in your arsenal... And those acting skills. Very impressive.&amp;quot; Gareth comments, actually having enough sense to keep her voice down as she gets up while rubbing the numbness out of her butt. &amp;quot;I knew you were a reasonable person. If you're looking for praise, I'll be glad to give it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth raises her eyebrows a few times suggestively at that last part. Of course she does. She doesn't just hit on her and Tamamo throughout this whole process, of course, as she soon turns her attention to Muramasa with a broad grin and raised hand in greeting. She kneels beside him while looking like she's about to shout a greeting right in his face, but she instead gestures at Hibiki, then backs up to give them more room.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A lot of room. She's moving towards the opposite wall for some reason.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Oh, I don't mind,&amp;quot; says one of the Candy illusons, fanning a hand assuagingly. &amp;quot;But it's sure sweet of your friend there to worry.&amp;quot; A little further scrutiny causes this illusion to dissipate, bringing the number down to seven. &amp;quot;You know, they say that quitting the force does a lot for your complexion.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Hey, Bushy Brows! Us 'dribbling idiots' are just here to talk to Mr. Blacksmith,&amp;quot; says another, while a third appears to have taken Gareth's challenge seriously. &amp;quot;How about you make like a tree and fuck off?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As it turns out, the one that uttered that last sentence was the real one. He is decked squarely in the face, and made eye contact with that irritating little smile of his all the way until he's knocked onto his stomach. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;No collateral from me,&amp;quot; promises the sole remaining Candy, rolling onto his side, lying on the ground unnecessarily in order to look up insufferably at Lilian with his hand on his cheek. He is... irritatingly resilient. Must have toughened himself up--her punch was enough to break his nose, but the fall was calculated. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I promised everybody else. But, you know, you can take me wherever--&amp;quot; Everything changes. &amp;quot;...you wanna. Wow!&amp;quot; The momentum of having been moved causes him to slam his head into the floor. &amp;quot;I really outdid myself this time.&amp;quot; The floor is cracked for the impact of his head, but the man himself is infuriatingly unharmed for that particular experience. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He stands up, dusts himself off, straightens his skirt and fixes his hair. &amp;quot;If you really wanna hurt me, I hope Tamamo packed you a lunch,&amp;quot; he grinningly offers, fixing his hair bow just so. &amp;quot;Thanks for getting us clear of the cops, though.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7308|Chase (7308)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. The Paladins and those aligned show up almost instantly, and a fight between some of the party is all but inevitable. It's very much turning out like one of Brain's plans. Hopefully, it also works out in the end like one of his plans. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Placing a hand on the top of his Mach Driver, Chase prepares to push a button. He's going to freeze time, for as long he can to minimize confrontation, and make a strategic dash with the rest of the group once his time runs out... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; That was the plan, anyway. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It doesn't happen. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's dropped on the ground with the rest of the group, though he surprisingly manges to catch his footing to prevent himself from face planting. He doesn't know what happened, but he knows Rook is probably, most likely responsible. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Turning to nod at them and thanks, Chase makes his way to the door, placing squeezing his fingers between the cracks... And just simply pries it open, completely disregarding damage to the property.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A blonde, deeply tanned policewoman swoons /just a little bit/ at the incredibly handsome and pretty-faced Hook looking her way. &amp;quot;Uhm. Really? You gonna' do that if we book a mugger that pretty?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With red tinted cheeks, she huffs, &amp;quot;Well, a mugger isn't going to look that dreamy, obviously.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;But isn't a pirate just a seafaring mugger?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The peanut gallery continues, much to Bushy-brows chagrin, even after Lilian retorts to one of them. Thankfully, though, he's given the perfect excuse to have everyone pull back, after being decked clean in the face by the real Candy, his massive eyebrows falling clean off his face to be abandoned on the ground while he squirms and is carried back by two of the officers from before, who looked exasperated. &amp;quot;You got it. We'll leave it in your capable hands!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Capable to kabedon a teenager, anyway, not that he knew anything about that happening mere moments after he excuses himself from her presence and brings his fellows back to pace with him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Meanwhile&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa's finger is frozen right above the blinds to the only window in his small two room apartment - indecisive in his willingness to crack them open and look outside to see what the commotion was about.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And now, everyone has appeared in his room and just outside it. The coffee table has sadly, not survived this encounter.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That's the second one I've gone through,&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; he thinks to himself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The apartment is simple and, as Tamamo and Lilian had both been here prior, it had not changed at all from that visit. The same barely functioning half-kitchenette merged with the living space, a single sofa with a pull-out bed, and a bathroom with a toilet, shower, and sink crammed off to the side.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was not a bad quarters by any means. It was reasonably spacious for a two-room, and the furnishings it had come with were the bare necessities to live somewhat comfortably. He kept it tidy and spotlessly clean.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But as well, it held a smotheringly cold and impersonal air. There was nothing 'homely' about it the way that there should have been - and for Hibiki especially, who had actually lived with him for a time and had even seen into his memories, it was a stark contrast.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If one were to judge only by appearances, they wouldn't be blamed for believing that it was somewhere that wasn't inhabited at all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...eh?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's a cringe of disbelief on his face.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Featherman Neo...here to be your friend, Sengo Muramasa! Your friend, your ally, fighting for the same justice!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_y bg_n ++ hy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;As she soon turns her attention to Muramasa with a broad grin and raised hand in greeting.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa's somber eyes meet Gareth's, then trail to Chase, Hook, Candy, Hibiki, Lilian and Tamamo, and catch on Featherman's visor before he shuts them in sucks in a breath.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; - what the hell is all this supposed to be ..?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Sorry, Tamamo!&amp;quot; Hibiki shouts back in a less throat-destroying voice back to the bunrei, even though she still adamantly refuses to stop. &amp;quot;If I knew you guys were already doing it, maybe things would've gone different! But since we're already here--!&amp;quot; She hits the ground on the other side of the hardlight current and keeps going.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Only to promptly slip on an inconveniently placed puddle of water, sending her almost comically flipping backwards and off her feet - it's only those ridiculous acrobatics of hers that end up her turning it into a proper backflip and sticking the landing, steadying herself out for a moment, and then continuing on around it. She proceeds to sprint right into a group of passersby, nearly getting bowled over as she apologies and pushes off to keep going, only for sunlight to force her to raise a hand up on her way to dash right into a lamppost pole.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;By the time they're stop-hauled one and all to an entire new location, and the magical girl (now half-blinded with a cats claw scratch mark on her cheek and a single pole-sized bruise down the middle of her face) is blinking the sense back into her eyes as she gets her back forced up against the surface, and then forced back further as she's menaced by the looming figure of Lilian Rook bodily trapping her against it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's wide-eyed and unresistant to chin-tilting, her mouth stuck half open as she listens in stunned silence. The expression lingers for a moment even after she's released before she closes her lips back together...and despite the threats, she breaks out into another of those uncharacteristically light, wide smiles that really has no business being on her face. Genuinely, and completely against the whole 'don't make noise' bit, &amp;quot;I'll thank you right now; thank you, Lilian. I mean it. I'm sorry we got in the way of you coming to see him too...I know that couldn't be easy for you either. I'll give you all the apologies you want later.&amp;quot; And in a far more normal tone than Good Girl, &amp;quot;...I'm not gonna grovel while I do it though.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With that, she turns and steps away towards the door, meeting eyes with Gareth and giving her a happy nod. The door is ripped off its hinges, and entry is given the hard way. Hibiki steps past the frame and into the apartment proper.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She doesn't pay any attention to the spartan affair of the place. Stopping just inside, she gives Muramasa one long stare as he turns and questions what they're doing here. Whatever's behind her eyes is entirely unreadable, but after that second, she continues moving inside to approach the redheaded smith directly. Personal space is entirely disregarded as she extends both hands to clap onto his shoulders. Here, eye to eye, she looks like she's bracing herself to say something difficult, taking in air heavily.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And she rears her head back, before throwing it forward in a deafening, loud-enough-the-neighbors-will-hear &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FFFFFF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;THUD&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; of forehead-on-forehead impact that's going to bruise and possibly even draw blood, and more than enough to send him back onto his ass.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman waits for Hibiki's speech. It never comes. Instead, she smashes her head into Muramasa's, knocks him on his ass...Featherman's expression is inscrutable behind the mask, until he finally speaks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hey, get up. That's not going to take a Featherman down, is it?&amp;quot; He tells Muramasa with a laugh. &amp;quot;What do you think this is?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We've come to bring our friend out of his slump.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Well, Hook supposes as Chase rips the door off the wall, that's really the door making the noise. It's something of a loophole! Good enough for government work, as they say. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Once everyone else has walked through the door, Hook follows, stopping only long enough to hang his coat and hat on a coatrack and kick off his boots. Apparently he's familiar enough with that sort of custom to put in the effort. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He doesn't even look up at the impact. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As soon as he's heard Muramasa hit the ground, however, Hook walks over, cool as you please, crouches down, and holds out his hook hand with a gentle smile. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; That's why he's here. That's it. He doesn't say anything. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Just a hand outstretched.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; For a brief and terrible moment, Rita holds a metaphorical silver bullet. She knows she does. Of course a sensitive girl like her notices when the confidence falls out of Lilian's voice all at once. Of course she notices the desperate nervousness. Rita very purposefully doesn't let that knowledge show on her face, but she can't keep it out of her thoughts. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I think I understand. You've tried really hard to present yourself a certain way; to cover up things you were scared might be ugly, or out-of-line with the kind of person you want to be. And now you're more comfortable revealing those parts of you. ... You're really braver than I am, Ms. Rook. But you're also prettier on the inside than me.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I can be happy for you, even if that's a little unfair.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;No. You look great, Ms. Rook,&amp;quot; Rita says. It's earnest, but also a little bittersweet for reasons that are outwardly hard to guess. &amp;quot;You should dress like that more often. I'm proud of you.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; ---- &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's startle reflex on being suddenly relocated is- of course- to turn invisible. She reappears in the same spot after a few seconds in the middle of letting out a shaky little sigh. &amp;quot;I was going to be a little grumpy if you really meant that,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;About having beaten all of us before. ... But thank you, Ms. Rook. This is a good way for things to work out, I think.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;examines&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; the kabedon in a strangely analytical, thoughtful way. One might expect her to be struck by the emotional splash damage, but she isn't. Rather, it's as though she's committing the angles, the motion, the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;mood&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; of it to memory. For what purpose, it's hard to guess. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I've heard Hibiki talk about Muramasa so much on the radio. But I don't even know what he looks like. It's probably best to leave this part to them, isn't it?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; She's likely not even visible from inside the apartment when the door's pulled off its hinges, standing behind several taller and broader figures. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her voice is audible though, soft but clear. &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ms. Rook? What's 'groveling'?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy doesn't come in at first, but he does peer into the doorway, looking over (very likely, looking -down-) at Muramasa post-headbutt. &amp;quot;We came to say we want you back, Mr. Blacksmith! This isn't part of that,&amp;quot; he clarifies, gesturing up and down at his outfit. &amp;quot;But I didn't feel like changing a second time. We all miss you! Especially them two.&amp;quot; He nods, first towards Hibiki, then Lilian. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There's a black carpet bag in his hands, now. He sets it on the ground, bends over and opens it up, talking as he 'works.' &amp;quot;So we pulled a dumbass stunt to show you how much. Well, Lilian,&amp;quot; he again clarifies, index finger on his lower lip, &amp;quot;Her and Tamamo, they was gonna do that without the dumbass stunt. But where's the fun in that?&amp;quot; Candy shakes his head, brown eyes rolling as if to say 'oh you.' &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Don't worry, we didn't bust nothing up besides this here. And the floor, but I'll get that, too, ah?&amp;quot; He hasn't come in because he's fixing the door with a slew of carpentry tools. &amp;quot;Fu--,&amp;quot; he stops himself for the presence of Rita. &amp;quot;*Golly*, Chase, you stripped the holes. So strong!~&amp;quot; Because of this, he's using a combination of nails, a hammer and industrial glue to fix the hinges back on--coating the nails in the glue, tapping them into place with the hammer. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Coyotl says it needs to dry 'bout an hour, then it oughta be good to put back up,&amp;quot; he quietly, proudly announces, before taking to fixing the floor with that same bag of tools. &amp;quot;Don't worry yourself none about it! I know you're good with your hands, but after that shiner she just gave you, I'd be surprised if you knew your name, ah? Hahaha.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7173|Tamamo (7173)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;We were to visit you, Muramasa-san, when this group insisted -- very rudely insisted, in fact -- on seeing you, ahead of us.&amp;quot; Tamamo answers this right away, while the kabdeon is happening, and then takes a few steps over to leave her geta by the doorstep. She steps back to her original place, now substantially shorter, wearing slippers that appeared from nowhere apparent, in time for Hibiki's headbutt.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hm. Is that a kind of language...?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rita asked a question. &amp;quot;It is when one begs while bowing as low as possible, Ms. Rita.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Chase's door removal notwithstanding, things are relatively quiet! At least, by Gareth's definition of quiet. She's content to keep her mouth shut for the time being as Hibiki has her moment with Muramasa, moving over to join Featherman in waiting for a speech that ultimately never comes. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead, there's a headbutt. Gareth bites back a chuckle at that, finally stepping forward roughly when more encouraging words and (hook) hands are offered. She squats by Muramasa, getting up if he does, but never breaking eye contact all the while. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;They've all said it better than I ever could, but I'll say it anyway. We're here to bring you back to your senses, whether by...&amp;quot; Gareth gestures vaguely at Hibikis' head, then continues. &amp;quot;... Or by raising your spirits. We made a grand show of coming here, and we did it all without hurting a single innocent person.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A beat, and then she smiles broadly at Lilian and Tamamo. &amp;quot;Well, not actually hurting anyone. But I doubt anyone would complain if we corroborated a little on the details for Lady Lilian's sake.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth goes quiet for a few moments, hurrying over to the door as she realizes a few things from watching Tamamo earlier. She takes off her boots, leaves them by the door, then heads right on back over.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;After all, we can't forget one of our friends when he's in trouble. That's not the way of the Watch, the Feathermen, or of proper knights.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The question had ultimately been rhetorical - it was obvious that they'd, somehow and for some reason, come to see him. It was just one more thing in a long list of them that he'd need to put to bed once and for all, he tells himself, shadowboxing in his head the various ways the next few words could play out while Hibiki clasps her arms around his shoulders. Nevermind that he was taller than she was, so it looked almost ridiculous.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;THUD.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa sees stars, as she jerked him down at the same time she butts her head forward to assault his noggin like a vicious battery ram. &amp;quot;Augh?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hard enough to draw just a little bit of blood from the busted, bruised skin on his forehead as he wallows painfully on his thankfully pristine floor for a moment, the burning and stinging thrum remaining like an unpleasant after-taste on his lobe. &amp;quot;Jeez...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman and Hook's friendship extending to him made his stomach turn in nervous nausea. It became worse every time someone opened their mouth to address him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At least Gareth was nice enough to follow Tamamo in taking off her shoes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After a short beat, Muramasa diverts his eyes and uses the back of his hand to push Hook's hook away, rejecting all of it - their kindness, their hearts, and the history they all shared.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;To Candy and, more broadly the room, &amp;quot; - there's no need for that. I'm just a Servant, you know?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa pushes himself up off the floor. &amp;quot; 'Friend' 'Featherman' '&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Na ka ma&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;' .. that's wrong. And the more you keep pushing those expectations onto me, the more hurt you're going to be in the end.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It hurt greatly to spew all that garbage from his mouth, but it wasn't the first time he'd done something like this - he supposed some things would never change, not even after fusing with a Heroic Spirit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's a deep, deflated sigh, &amp;quot; - just, go home .. everyone. I'd rather not fight in here, but if you stay, then - I'm going to arrest you.&amp;quot; he forces the hardness to come to his voice.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Most of you are wanted criminals,&amp;quot; Muramasa asserts. &amp;quot;So do us all a favor and beat it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;From the moment I put my life above the others burning in that flame ... yeah, ever since then - all I've done is selfishly step on the heads of others to get myself just a little bit farther. I've done so shamelessly and without a single person admonishing me for it. It's detestable, living like that. Such a person deserves to be hated by every person around him, and yet ... and yet they're all still trying to cling to my hands and drag me to safety.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But if he took their hands, then - he tells himself, assures himself, reinforces to himself despite the contrary - that the very same hand would be lopped off. And it would be his fault, not theirs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;His, for being shameless.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And greedy. And selfish. And completely, unabashedly, unrepentant.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo listens to Muramasa push himself off the ground. His words that follow are almost admonishing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;So, you lied to me? All that enjoyment and excitement was just breaking my heart? I want to hear you say it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman's voice isn't actually rough, but it is firm.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That all the excitement about making armor, all that time you wanted to take the trial, you picking out colors, it meant nothing to you? You were never Featherman?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo then lifts his hand up...and interrupts before Muramasa can respond. Sure, he'll be able to tell what Muramasa thinks, but he doesn't let him voice it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I don't care either way, so nevermind. You're still my friend. I'm not going to give into your self-loathing. I gave into mine long ago, and it tore me up inside. I wanted to die, so bad, because I thought I was so worthless, everyone getting hurt for me. But there's still a light at the end of the tunnel. This isn't all you can be.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You don't deserve anything but to strike forward and take another step, friends at your back. And if you can't listen to me...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman gestures to Hibiki. &amp;quot;Listen to her.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;And if you're going to arrest us...come here and do it. I'll have to use Kanshou and Bakuya. They'll lose against yours - but maybe that'll prove a point.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He still has them from the bond. He even remembers their names.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7435|Captain Hook (7435)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Hook simply adjusts his top button and turns around. He moves over to pick up his coat and his hat, to put on his boots, with every intention of leaving, or so it seems. But as he puts his hat on, he says, without looking at Muramasa, &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You know,&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I don't really like dour endings like that.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;When you get older, the more you live through things like that, the more you wind up wondering what it'd be like if things had been different.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Unfortunately, I'm not a hero, or a counselor, or even a blacksmith. I'm nothing but a pirate.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Even so, I'd really like it if everyone could walk away from this with a smile.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Those are the words Muramasa said to Peter Pan, in earshot of Hook, trying to persuade Peter to save Hook's own life.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Nope,&amp;quot; says Candy. &amp;quot;Not happening, Mr. Blacksmith. For one, I ain't fixed what I broke yet.&amp;quot; The berber carpet here is cheap, but acceptably so. Still, it's cheap enough that he can pull it up in a corner. Peeling it back reveals the floorboard his dense head had cracked. Candy daintily dabs beneath his bloodied nose with a handkerchief, then pries the floorboard loose and begins replacing it. Where did he get a replacement? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;And for two,&amp;quot; he says, after a few swift hammer blows, &amp;quot;Hook, he's got his head on straight. We jumped a boat into the middle of town to see you! What the fu-- mngh. ...what kinda story would it be if we came all this way just to go back home?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; *Can't say none of the fun words. Godddammit, Lilian, you're choking me alright.* &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy huffs, as he tears up the rest of the carpet, rolling it up and rolling out a brand new, perfect imitation of the same, as well as better padding to make the hallway a little more comfortable to walk in. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Tack strips are laid out around the perimeter of the hallway, Candy's brow furrowing in concentration as he extends a bulky tape measure. &amp;quot;I promised no collateral. Don't make me a liar *and* a wanted criminal,&amp;quot; he says. He could stop time, and have it all done at once, from the perspective of the others. But this is an excuse, a way to drag things out. A way to say that no, he won't go. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You and me,&amp;quot; he says, taking a piece of chalk along the bottom of the replacement carpet to mark a cutting spot along the length of the tape measure, &amp;quot;We're not 'friends,' exactly. But I got friends who really like you, and want you back, and to me, that's worth a busted up face and whatever the hell you think you're going to do.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Looming over Hibiki for those last few moments, Lilian pulls a little face at Hibiki's big innocent grin. A little twitch of annoyance, combined with a light flush of colour. &amp;quot;Gross. Don't look so happy at that. I'm going to think you're like Candy.&amp;quot; She walks aside, folding her arms. &amp;quot;I've really been too soft on you for a couple of months. You're starting to slip.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Shortly after releasing Hibiki, Lilian eyes Candy's chipper expression with a fuming look of intense annoyance. &amp;quot;Yet again, you fuck around and make trouble, and yet again, you owe me in the end anyways. Don't you ever get tired of it? Do you have a conscience at all?&amp;quot; She glances sideways at Hook, no longer able to tolerate Candy's smug maid-self. &amp;quot;You're not welcome, but I can do the right thing without being happy about it.&amp;quot; Lilian mutters. The look she favours Chase with is a little sour, but she says evenly &amp;quot;Happy to meet you.&amp;quot; in reference to his last words the time they had actually met already. Then she flinches as he rips the door right off. &amp;quot;Oh god dammit, what did I &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;just say&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Yes. Teleportation magic.&amp;quot; Lilian replies to Gareth, staring at her with the weary eyes of someone who's been through this song and dance for three years, but isn't about to needlessly explain it that easily. A tiny smile graces her lips as her acting skills are praised, though it is utterly joyless. &amp;quot;Thank you. I've had sixteen years of constant practice from acting like I'm fine.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Finding Rita again in the hallway, Lilian finally gets to release the tension she had been holding since asking her. &amp;quot;You're far too sweet for me to deserve, Rita. And you're too canny. It's almost eerie. But don't get tangled up about what's 'inside'. People say that to cast doubt that horrible people are really horrible and good people are really good. As far as doing the right thing, your track record still exceeds mine.&amp;quot; Her little smile is irrepressible though. &amp;quot;But thank you again. Maybe I will.&amp;quot; She makes the mistake of turning her back. And then a trademark Rita Question causes her to tense up and cough. &amp;quot;L-like Tamamo said. It's when you apologize in a really obsequious way. Like, excessively contrite and obedient and attentive. Making yourself small to show how serious you are.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa tries to deny their welcome, and Gareth closes her eyes. She listens at first, both to consider her own answer, but also because there's several others pouring their hearts out to convince Muramasa to get up. She's not going to get in the way of that, but instead is going to be there to bolster her friends' words.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We aren't going to be let off any easier if we stop now. It only stands to reason that we might as well see how far we can go.&amp;quot; Gareth breaks into another smile. &amp;quot;Besides... You know where I'm from. A knight's word is their promise, a solemn oath, a vow that can never be broken. I've already promised to support my allies... No. My friends here as long as I still draw breath. No matter how much I might falter, I know they'll be there to help me, and I'll be there to help them when they falter. That includes you.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth gets right in Muramasa's face, still wearing with that ever beaming smile on her face. She inhales slowly, exhales, then claps a hand on his shoulder. &amp;quot;I haven't stopped breathing yet, and I don't see you arresting me yet. Now, shall we get going? I did promise to carry you both back if need be, and it wouldn't be the first time!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The time it takes for everyone to get their own words out is about as much time as it takes for Hibiki to recover from her own headbutt, a double-bruise and a trickle of blood forming over the spot she's holding while slightly staggering. Despite her aggression, she doesn't look angry. If anything, everyone gathering together and doing this makes her chest turn in exactly the right way.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's only after that, that her lips purse back together tightly, going more taut with every word that comes out of the smith's mouth as he gets back up entirely on his own. The hand on her forehead slowly comes together into a tightly clenched ball, scraping some blood onto her fingers. By the end of it, the entire limb is shaking some, running down to the rest of her body as her grit teeth become visible. All at once, after everyone else has continued on, she steps back forward into his personal space.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FFFFFF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;THUD.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;--And her head crashes back into his at the exact same points, differences in height be damned. Blood splatters properly this time from the impact, but there's no stumbling away from Hibiki this time - she doesn't /let/ him hit the floor again, grabbing him by the collar before he can slip away and tugging him down to face level with her, almost nose to nose. Her eyes are fierce and almost manic...or they would be, if there wasn't nothing but sadness past the surface of anger.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Do ourselves a favor? OURSELVES? I was fine, you know; waiting for you to come back on your own after everything. I didn't mind giving you however much time you needed...and I was even scared I wouldn't know what to do if I did come and find you. I told myself it'd be fine, totally fine. And then--&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She reaches into her jacket with her other arm and practically rips out a familiar, unmarked letter that had been left in a mailbox. &amp;quot;This! You came ALL that way, after so long, and you end up just leaving this and disappearing again!? Are you dumb enough to think that this is what I wanted? That it's what /you/ wanted!? If it was, then what the hell were you spending so long just standing outside the door for!? Because you knew what you actually wanted was right behind a crappy piece of wood, didn't you!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She gives him a single, almost violent jolt with her hold on him, and it still doesn't break the eye contact. &amp;quot;You really think everyone here is going to do that same thing? Every single person who came because they WANTED to? Because they care about me, and /you/!? Chase and Candy! Gareth! Rita! Featherman and Will, who I'm not going to let you turn yourself away from! Tamamo and Lilian were coming to see you already! Lilian! Do you know how much she's been through, and how hard it has to be for her to come do that too? You don't, because you've been doing nothing but feeling sorry for yourself for MONTHS now!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;After a squeeze to his collar she lets go, only to hold that right hand straight up to his face. There's nothing on the back of it except normal skin, but the implication is there. &amp;quot;Are you going to sit in my face and tell me all that time didn't mean anything to you? Working together? Living together!? Miku wanting to get better at cooking to match you, or Tsubasa finding someone she could connect with a lot more than me? Do you think I lost my hand because I thought you were 'just a Servant'!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She looks like she's on the breaking point of anger...until tears start pooling at the corners of her eyes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You're not, you idiot! You're our friend, a Featherman, a partner, and a /person/! I don't want to hear any crap you have to say otherwise! I've seen your memories, remember!? I saw what you saw! I felt what you felt, like that self-loathing, like when you lost /your/ bond! I know how you think of yourself--not only just because of that, but because I KNOW what that's like! You're not the only person in the world who thinks they don't deserve what they have!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The letter is tossed to the ground unceremoniously, and Hibiki jams her hand back into her clothes to grab at something else. She's still at a halfway between anger and losing her composure, and visibly stopping herself from sniffling while she lowers her voice. &amp;quot;I'm not gonna let you push people away when you know you want the opposite in your heart. I'm not gonna let you sit away in here instead of having a real place you go back to at the end of the day. I don't care how much trouble you make for me, or if you think you haven't earned it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She takes out a single glove, part of a set, with a red seal embroidered on the back of it. Lilian's late gift.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;And I don't care if you think it's greedy, or selfish, or indulgent, or anything else. I'm greedy and selfish all the time. I can't help it, but nobody can live without that, I guess. I don't care if you can't stop living for other people. But live for yourself, too. You're not a tool.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She takes a moment to fit it onto her right hand, then holds it back up again, the back of it pointed up to him as if she were trying to invoke the fake Command Seal. Back when she still had them, she never used up a single one.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...I just want you to be happy. So shut up with all the stupid excuses and just come back already, Shirou.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Oh trust me, they're all in for hell later. I'm not over them by a mile.&amp;quot; Lilian says all of a sudden, entering the apartment and &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ff0087;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;just making her boots appear by the door&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, now a good several inches taller than Tamamo too. &amp;quot;And you're not going to fight them. I'll take care of it if they make too much of a fuss. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I brought them here&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, so it's my mess to clean up, and I'm nothing if not a consummate professional at denial.&amp;quot; she adds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;But I was on my way here already, so they're not going to get in my way either.&amp;quot; Lilian sighs. Utterly heedless, she kneels down by the table too, hands in her lap, fiddling compulsively with a little wristband with a &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#585858;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;black&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; stripe. &amp;quot;And now they've totally disrupted my flow and everything. I forgot half of what I originally meant to say.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;. . . I really thought you'd have figured it out by now.&amp;quot; Lilian says after a long pause. &amp;quot;It's been so long already. There were so many people I hurt that I can't hold all of it at once. I had to break it up and take it one step at a time, or I'd collapse. I thought you and Hibi-- you and Tachibana were so close that it'd take you no time at all. I thought that I could say sorry to the both of you, in my own difficult way, and when I turned around again, it'd all be better.&amp;quot; She reaches up to rub her temple softly. &amp;quot;I suppose I have rather a habit of putting too much faith in you, you brat.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I can't stand this. I hurt Tachibana very badly, and that idiot still cared about me anyways, so I've done my best to make amends appropriately. And hurt you, less, but enough, that I can't stand seeing this either. I can't leave things that are my fault alone to fester like this.&amp;quot; She suddenly raises a hand, as if to cut off objection. &amp;quot;And don't say it isn't. It is. I'm the villain. There was a whole . . . thing about this. People died, and then didn't. The was psychic . . . whatever. I won't allow you to not let me fix it, sitting around here sulking and rubbing my nose in it forever.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Because now you're the one who's hurting Tachibana, badly, and that idiot still cares about you anyways, so you're supposed to make amends. Brat.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I know what you're thinking. You have some stupid idea about how you brought it on her. That you exist by taking advantage of others in some screwed up way, and that you're a danger to be around; a burden, a problem, and nobody has punished you for it. But you didn't move in with her to take advantage of her. You're an imbecile who only thinks of other people. That other imbecile was so hopeless, you just couldn't help but try to see to her; and only after you'd been taking care of her for a while, you suddenly realized you enjoyed it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Good. That's fine. What's the point of choosing a calling if it doesn't bring you any joy? Any sense of worth? What you were doing was good. She needed you then. Feeling like that-- being happy about it doesn't cheapen it.&amp;quot; Lilian's voice briefly becomes uncharacteristically rough, as if she nearly choked on a few words coming up. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Feeling like a human being&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; can't be wrong, no matter what. I won't allow a good person to feel like a pariah, a problem, instead of a person, because of me. So fuck you for making me come here and have to say it face to face.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7173|Tamamo (7173)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;He is quite surprisingly handy, no?&amp;quot; Tamamo says in aside to Lilian, while watching Candy work. She'd looked something closer to 'deeply concerned' while Chase took the door off. Why did he do that, anyway? Did he have trouble with doors? Perhaps he was from a culture that had none. That would be a halfway acceptable excuse.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Tamamo's broken out of her wondering over what Gareth meant by 'listening to things in places' by first Muramasa's, and then Featherman's and Hook's words. &amp;quot;In the matter of us having intruded, I extend my apologies. I shall note, however, that should you be a servant,&amp;quot; without any meaningful capitalization, &amp;quot;then you have few means by which to enforce such will. It is quite the contradiction, is it not, to be so certain of the rightness of one's position, when that position is a denial of one's own rights and wisdom?&amp;quot; Waving off the topic (with a fan produced from inside her sleeve), Tamamo continues, &amp;quot;Oh, I know, of course. 'This and that are different topics,' one might say, in response.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;After a moment, &amp;quot;What was it you had said, once? 'I will not waste this life, once again. I will walk this endless road for as long as I can.' Perhaps I have misremembered, yet in words as these, and the care you showed, I felt a sense close to kinship. Need I explain why?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx&amp;quot;&amp;gt;'And the more you keep pushing those expectations onto me, the more hurt you're going to be in the end.'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You will worry for others to the end, I see. &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#e4e4e4;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;How very human of you.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx&amp;quot;&amp;gt;...the more you wind up wondering what it'd be like if things had been different.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Given another chance, I could not claim to have lacked all worry, related to my own past. And yet, I still stand, and still walk, and it is by no inhuman quality that I have managed this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Glancing toward Featherman without moving her head, Tamamo adds, &amp;quot;I had occasion, recently, to speak on that matter, of the risks of caring. I made the claim, that is, that one cannot care if one does not also worry. One cannot find more than a shallow and isolated happiness, without the possibility of anything more than that, if one does not risk unhappiness.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She shakes her head. &amp;quot;Ah, my apologies. A tendency to ramble over one's own past and circumstances may be a hazard of age. I am sure you understand. Perhaps you would be content with only an isolated contentment, like a stone set upon a hill, to 'merely be,' but this does not seem to me the case. To feel worry is the proof that you care. To feel pain is the proof that you cannot remain still.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita, trying to steal a peek from behind the rest of the party, flinches at the sharp thud of Hibiki's headbutt. A second later, as blood wells out of Muramasa's forehead, a different stimulus reaches her. Her eyes dull and defocus, no longer searching for an opening in the crowd. Her half-slackened jaw pulls her lips apart. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then she blinks, 'comes back', and startles a little on realizing that she's being spoken to. &amp;quot;Ah! ... Mmm. 'Begging with as much deference as possible'. Thank you, Ms. Tamamo. That, ah, that makes a lot of sense.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; 'Kabedon' and 'grovel'. People are teaching her such useful things. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; For Lilian, she resumes that little bittersweet smile- after all, to her, it's only been a few moments. &amp;quot;Oh. I keep forgetting you can do that. ... I don't think I'm that canny, Ms. Rook. Birdwatchers find lots of birds. That's all.&amp;quot; A soft little exhalation follows. She folds her hands dutifully, and her smile gets a little more sweet than bitter. &amp;quot;If &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;you&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; say I shouldn't get tangled up in what's inside, I'll believe you.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then, on 'track records', it becomes a little more bitter than sweet again. &amp;quot;It's irresponsible to just guess at things like that, Ms. Rook. But I'm glad you think so.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She sits down next to Candy, staring at the chalk markings he's making. &amp;quot;I want to help,&amp;quot; she says firmly. &amp;quot;Can you give me some tools, Mr. Candy? Just point me at what to do.&amp;quot; It's not for his benefit; she's definitely picked up on the fact that he's doing this as a dsiplay, more than to just have it done. But there are enough emotions and thoughts rattling around in her head that she must figure working with her hands could get some of them out. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; One of those thoughts, about Lilian's flustered explanation, bubbles to the surface. &amp;quot;'Making yourself small to seem serious'. That doesn't make much sense. ... Am I serious, Mr. Candy?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Tachibana was never your fault. I was the problem, and I was . . . am . . . a lot of people's fault. I was the one who couldn't stand you being happy. I was the one who was selfish and dangerous and who nobody punished in the end. I'd just gotten to like you, trust you, and then you said . . . &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;'that'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, and I couldn't take it. And then you ran off to help some other girl; someone I thought I was going to be able to help, even teach, but who just started stealing people away from me instead. And then the two of you . . . on the mountain . . . how clearer could it be that you didn't need me at all? Didn't think of me? Thought you'd be &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;better off&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; without me? Together, happy; a girl who has all kinds of things I wanted, and a man who got all kinds of chances I didn't. And, just . . .&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I couldn't let go of the idea that you saw too far through me, and you knew I was disgusting as I felt I was. You made it real, and I had to make it fake again. Make it go away. And the harder I tried to stop it, the worse it got, and the more angry I got at Tachibana for not getting it, and it all just . . . exploded.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You never once used her. You never once used me. Never once did you do anything wrong. You were unlucky enough to be too perceptive and too dumb at the same time. So stop &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;sulking&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; that you couldn't protect her. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Nobody&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; could. I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm about the scariest thing there is, and I was never going to let you get in the way no matter what. I had it all planned out &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;exactly so&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; you couldn't throw yourself in the way, like you always do, sacrificing yourself. That was the whole point. I couldn't stand you spending yourself on a better, kinder, more whole girl, and condemning me with that pity.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Those thoughts aren't yours. Those stupid ideas are your bratty, sullen, interpretation of them, but they're not original. I put them there. On purpose. And I succeeded, because I know all about coercing and scaring and manipulating and intimidating people, and I turned that shitty domineering aspect on you, to break you two up. You're not being noble; you're falling for the lie I fed you on purpose. So stop it. Because I don't know how to undo a lie. I'm not even good at telling the truth.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian winces when Hibiki gets up to full steam.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#8a8a8a;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;'Lilian! Do you know how much she's been through, and how hard it has to be for her to come do that too?'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Come on Hibiki. Haven't I suffered the indignity of being humanized enough by now? After the mortifying ordeal of being known, I wouldn't mind if someone still thought of me as a picture perfect bitch.&amp;quot; Lilian tries to laugh, but her heart isn't in it. &amp;quot;Don't. Everything that's happened to me isn't a good reason. It's just context. Cause and effect aren't right and wrong. The fact that it's hard to be here is my own fault-- the fact that we're all here &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;at all&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; is my fault. He shouldn't feel sorry for me at all.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki takes out the gloves. Lilian's eyes widen. &amp;quot;Oh. You . . . You liked them. I'm-- glad. I'm really happy.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;...you know I got one,&amp;quot; says Candy, pouting as he makes relief cuts in the corners of the replacement carpet. Of all the things she's said and threatened, that this one gets him to shut up is baffling. Of course, Rita is there, to cheer him up. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Sure, Rita,&amp;quot; he brightly offers. &amp;quot;Take this knife and cut along them lines I drew. Then,&amp;quot; he explains, &amp;quot;Put your knee on this thing, and you gonna -whoop- nudge it against them tack strips there.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He flips a cut section of replacement carpet right-side up, and demonstrates. The tool he's using to do this is so solid, in that same outmoded way as the tape measure, that it looks like a tool someone's visiting grandpa would insist on using. Or perhaps a blunt instrument or means of torture. Still, it comfortably seats one's knee and makes the work easy enough. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's remarkably good at using it without scuffing his knees or the outfit he's wearing, and he finishes the hallway repairs with Rita in relative silence, save for quiet little grunts of effort, and a response to Rita's question. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You can be serious, sure,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;But you never struck me as -that- type of serious. I dunno. Just can't picture it, me.&amp;quot; An answer that will no doubt raise even more questions. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When it's all done, the tools and spare supplies just &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d1a3cf&amp;quot;&amp;gt;disappear, with the retreating sound of sped-up footsteps&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; despite the fact that Candy doesn't appear to have moved. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He wipes his brow and tucks a stubborn lock of dark hair behind his ear. The second headbutt had happened while he was working. So, too, Hibiki's impassioned speech. Hands clasped in front of him, he sighs deeply, nodding. &amp;quot;...Mr. Blacksmith,&amp;quot; he gently begins, hand on the doorframe. &amp;quot;Even though I don't know you like Hibiki and Lilian and Featherman, when you talk about yourself like you're not nothing, something inside of me twists up. Ever since the first time I heard you say it.&amp;quot; He pauses, searching for words in the grain of the carpet beneath. &amp;quot;I call you Mr. Blacksmith 'cause I think being good with your hands, making stuff, fixing stuff, is something to be proud of. I still remember fighting back the Noise with you. How ready you was to work with a troublemaker like me, if it meant saving people.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His brow knits with concern. &amp;quot;I don't know how else to ask you but plainly,&amp;quot; he says, fingers trailing on the frame. &amp;quot;Please don't talk about yourself that way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman refuses him the ability to force the matter concerning his Feathermanhood - or more seriously ..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The passion he'd had for the bonds he was forging. And in the idea of playing at being a hero - Muramasa's fingers tighten into curled fists pulling the skin at his knuckles so taught, it turns white. &amp;quot;Oh..? - if you're itching to use them, I'll break them into pieces.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Those swords, which came to to be a physical representation of those ideals in their own way. But, it was plain to see his dishonesty. Even though he was blithering away such hot air, his hands and arms were not at all in a position ready to begin his Projection Magecraft - nor were his magical circuits thrumming with life.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hook and Tamamo both, one after the other, turn his own &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;utterly insipid and foolish nothings&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; back onto him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's nothing he can respond to it with, though, because anything he could say -particularly to Hook - would mean invalidating what happened. And while Muramasa held no desire to grasp onto any kind of accomplishment, he couldn't find it inside himself to imply that the words that helped pull Hook to a new life were meaningless - that choosing his life over his death was meaningless.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;But it's not the same. Why don't you get that? I'm someone who should have died many times. And every time I defy that death I'm left to wonder what the point of it was.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His association with Candy extended as far as casual banter and the incident with the Noise - the self-same one that the maid-clad magicman mentions. &amp;quot;Stop wasting those kinds of sentiments on me. Stop - &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Stop expecting this out of me..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth, Candy, everyone - even Rita Ma, a girl he'd never seen in his entire life, he felt the weight of their expectations crushing him like a hundred thousand tonne weight. As if he were being dragged down to the bottom of the ocean and left to crumple under the immense pressure.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Stop pitying me. Stop forgiving me! What's wrong with you all..?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;THUD.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's not given the luxury of falling down this time, and he gets right back into Hibiki's face. &amp;quot;And what did you see?! Not enough to actually understand any of it. You're - so damn stupid! All of you!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He genuinely felt like he was losing his mind, &amp;quot;No matter how hard I've tried, my hands have never held anything at all! It's all slipped through like blood caked dirt, and rightly so - because I'm a degenerate that can only thrive by feeding off of others. I did not save anyone. Moreover, because I was arrogant enough to say that I could, the world ended. And me .. me, my awful, unforgiveable self was saved with a wish. For the second time, a miracle saved me and no one else.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The tears mix with blood, &amp;quot;And I lied. I lied to myself so that it wouldn't hurt, so that I could make it count, so that I could say I was doing my best! But I wasn't! I didn't improve, nor did I change at all, because I am incapable of it!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's coming very close to throttling Hibiki, shoving her back to the point she might begin bumping into Lilian, &amp;quot;It doesn't matter what your intention was in bringing these thoughts of mine back to the surface. It doesn't matter if you think they're lies that you told me, because they're not lies. It's the truth.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's almost freeing, how honest he was being. How he was able to show him his most disgusting, vulnerable self.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He pants, &amp;quot;I don't understand.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I can't wrap my head around this - why .. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;People had gotten in his face. He'd gotten in theirs - now all he can do is lean back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffa500&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I just want you to be happy. So shut up with all the stupid excuses and just come back already, Shirou.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Why .. don't you hate me? Even after I've tried so hard to hurt you. Hate me. Please, tell me to die.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I hate myself.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I can't withstand living if the rest of you don't hate me, too. Make me take responsibility, if you don't, I ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I don't know how to keep living this lie. I don't want to do it anymore. It's made me so sick, down to my soul. All these memories, and I'm not sure if any of them are mine. I don't know who I am. And no matter which me I decide is real, they both should have disappeared.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I - almost want to believe them. No, I do. I want to extend my hand. But I can't, if I do, that's - .. it's too scary. I don't want to hurt others anymore, but I don't want to be hurt, either. I know that it's selfish. But I don't have the strength inside of me to stand up to my despair again.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Mr. Blacksmith... I'm real, real sorry you feel that way,&amp;quot; says Candy--once again, at a loss for words. Something turns around in his head, and he chews on his lip nervously as he tries to define it. &amp;quot;I don't want you to feel so bad. But if none of these people can hate you...&amp;quot; he laughs quietly. &amp;quot;How the fuck can I? ...sorry, Lilian. Sorry Rita.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I don't want you to disappear, because it'd make all these nice people sad. And, ah...&amp;quot; He knits his fingers together and squeezes his hands anxiously. &amp;quot;You don't wanna live a lie no more. But the thing is, you can be around, and not live that lie. You know? Don't tell me there ain't no way. People change.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;If they don't, if they can't, then... then what the fuck is the point of all this, ah?&amp;quot; He can't stop his voice from faltering slightly. &amp;quot;I'm stupid. But you are, too, motherfucker,&amp;quot; he sniffs. &amp;quot;The whole reason they're all here is 'cause they wanna make new memories with you!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His chest heaves after having hurled that Muramasa's way. &amp;quot;...would that be so bad? Wouldn't having something rattling around in there that you could look at, and say 'ha, this is mine, and nobody else's...' wouldn't that help? I hope it would.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You keep talking about this 'degenerate' that's 'feeding off other people.' But I don't see nobody like that here.&amp;quot; Candy heaves a sigh. &amp;quot;Please come back. For them.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6895|Lilian Rook (6895)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian explosively sighs back at Muramasa. &amp;quot;The entire point of a lie is that the person you tell them to believes they're true, you idiot. What on god's green Earth do you think you're going to accomplish by arguing with me that you believed them? I didn't do, didn't say, anything carelessly. I really sat down and crafted this. I labbed it out. I worked &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;hard&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to make something this awful happen. Of course it worked! Of course you--&amp;quot; She cuts off with an aggrieved little noise, standing up sharply.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I don't pity you in the slightest! I regret what I did you to you and Hibiki, but I don't feel sorry for you at all! I won't take back a single thing I said about you before or now! Even now, there are things that I hate that you got to have! Ways you were able to be! But &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;know your place&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; doesn't mean 'as a cretinous pariah', it means you don't get to talk to me &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;as if you know&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;And I haven't forgiven you either! You were so &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;far&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; out of line! You made Strawberry &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;cry&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;! I didn't deserve that! You didn't have the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;right&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to make that judgement! And running off to the Watch was an utterly ridiculous idea! You caused us all so much worry and stress and heartache; how could I possibly forgive you that easily?! How could I forgive you for &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;changing the rules&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; on me?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;To hell with you! I'm not here to tell you that you were right! Especially not about me! Everything you did was stupid and out of line! I'm here to make right what &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; did, which you're &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;still&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; acting complicit in, &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;long&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; after it's all been over! I feel sorry for what I did to you, not sorry &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;for&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; you!&amp;quot; Lilian's frustration reaches a blowoff point, and she barely restrains herself from stomping another hole in the floor Candy and Rita are dutifully repairing, venting it by pacing around in a circle.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;So how about you &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;fucking apologize&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; instead of being such a weak little &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;bitch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; she cries out. &amp;quot;And mean it! Not this half-assed self-pity! You're &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;obsessed&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; with how others want to spend themselves to help you, and even though you do the same thing, you're too &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;dense&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to realize they want to help you for good reasons too! You don't &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;get&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; that they value you! That you did good things for you! They want to repay you! They want you to be happy! So stop hurting them for no good reason!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lilian steps forward to grab Muramasa by the wrist, painfully tight. Despite how utterly livid she is, from white knuckles to bared tooth, her eyes are wet. &amp;quot;Someone like you, someone &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;decent&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, someone people &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;love&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, someone who can hurt people just by &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;disappearing&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, doesn't &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;get to&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; talk to &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;me&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; that way!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You think I don't know what it's like to reach out for something, &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;anything&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, and only get empty, bloody hands?! What do you think I'd &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;give&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to be the kind of person whom everyone would care about if I just vanished?! To be someone people see value in, instead of something they barely &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;tolerate&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;?! I can't stand how &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;spoiled&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; you are! How entitled do you have to be to stake your &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;personhood&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; on failing too many times; all that tells me is you've never &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;once&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; had to &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;fight for it&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She releases her grip in a distraught huff, pressing her eyes to the back of her sleeve. &amp;quot;I hate this. I hate you. I did this, so let me fix it. Just make up and let me get mad at you. Let me hate you for being too nice, too happy, too compassionate, too &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;human&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, and not for this. You can't just &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;change the rules&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. You can't tell me this isn't good enough. You can't keep telling me &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I'm not good enough&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. Stop making up reasons for me to be wrong. Stop lying and give back Hibiki what she deserves. Give it &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;back&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7308|Chase (7308)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You'll hurt those around you more acting this way than your poor attempts at shouldering things yourself. You are not an island. The last we talked, I told you to support Tachibana, but it's now clear to me the one that needed support is you...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; No longer content to stand outside of Muramasa's apartment, Chase finally makes his way in, ducking his head through the doorway as he towers over the group. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His towering presence is short-lived, however, as he reaches towards his belt, opening up the compartment and sliding out the small bike slotted inside. In a flash of light, the armored suit he wears disappears, and with it, most of his height. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;And if you do not know which of your memories are real, you can at least be certain the ones you've had with Tachibana and the Paladins are genuine.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7408|Gareth (7408)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's another headbutt alright. Once again, Gareth doesn't so much as flinch as the impact, simply backing off to give Hibiki some space to talk some sense into Muramasa. That emotional outpouring has her forcing her jaw to maintain the most solidly neutral expression she can, since smiling is a bit hard right now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Indeed, that poker-faced mouth is completely ruined by the tears streaming down Gareth's face and how disheveled the rest of her face looks. &amp;quot;There's nothing wrong with seeking help from others, Muramasa. Even Servants like us aren't bound by whatever happened in our pasts, or lesser beings just because we were summoned. Besides...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Muramasa pleads for people to hate him, and it's Gareth's turn to give him a headbutt of her own. It's not nearly as rough as Hibiki's, and it's more of a light tap in comparison, but she does grind her forehead into his as if that'll help her emphasize whatever point she's trying to make.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You ask the impossible of us, Sir Muramasa. I couldn't even hate the man who killed, so what chance is there of me hating you?&amp;quot; She inhales sharply once to snort in some of her ugly crying face, then backs off again to gesture over at Hibiki and Lilian. &amp;quot;And look at them. They've gotten past all of that, so of course they wouldn't be able to manage something so cruel against you. And if you don't know what old memories to believe in, then your solution is clear.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gareth takes a knee, offering a shoulder to Muramasa. &amp;quot;Make new ones! Make better ones! Make them with us, and...&amp;quot; As quick as she was to offer that shoulder, she's even faster to stay out of Lilian's warpath. Instead, she gets to work aiding Candy and Rita in trying to patch up the floor, occasionally putting her ear to the door to listen in case anybody's coming towards that apartment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If nothing else, Gareth's still trying to keep her volume down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki is pushed back, and she's left listening to the red-haired teenager in front of her pour everything in his heart out for the world to hear. Maybe for the very first time. She has to stand there absorbing every last word, and not only what he says. Everyone else's words still ringing, everything that Lilian had said, doing the same...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In the brief moment silence following Muramasa's last upheaval of emotions, Hibiki does not move right away. It takes a moment, but before anything else, she looks back over her shoulder...and gives a small, maybe even slightly tired smile still without having gotten rid of those building up tears, lifting up her glove-covered hand again. There's a thousand different things she could say after all of that, but she settles on, &amp;quot;....Of course I do. There's no world where I don't. I've kept them with me since I got them, you know.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Slowly, her focus returns entirely to the smith, and there's a sense of her words catching in her throat. Her eyes close for a second...and then reopen without any real change in expression, but a glint of /something/ behind them. The rememberance of words from a long time ago.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#696969&amp;quot;&amp;gt;This is it. This dark place is...where I belong.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#696969&amp;quot;&amp;gt;. . .&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#696969&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Why? Why would you do this for /me/?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's quiet as she listens to everyone else again - although there are more near-sniffles at Candy's comment, what almost seems like surprise at Chase and Gareth, and...more than once wince at Lilian's turn to reach her emotional peak. There's another long inhale, and then an exhale. And then she walks forward, to get within headbutting distance for the third time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It doesn't come. Hibiki brings a hand in, while he's busy leaning back and stewing in his own feelings, to take hold of his hand. Palm to palm, fingers between fingers, gentle but firm enough that he won't easily escape it. And then she lifts them both just enough to be at chest height.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Your hand is holding something right now. Look. It's not slipping away at all. ...I'm only here because of a miracle too, you know. More than one. Hating you is something I can't do.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I won't hate you no matter how much you hurt me.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I won't tell you die when I want you to live and be happy.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;If you don't know how to keep on going, I'll help you find the way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Maybe I don't know everything about the 'both' of you, but I know the person in front of me is real, and everything that you and I...you and everyone has been through isn't a lie. And I don't want them to disappear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;And if you can't take my hand, I'll take yours - and lift you back up. Because that's...what they're for.&amp;quot; Those tears are now, unbidden, becoming streaks down her cheeks. &amp;quot;And I know how hard it is to do that on your own.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ever since that time back then - he'd felt like he was traversing an ocean of tar. Wading through black pitch that tried to drag him down deep and smother him fully. And each day he was able to tell himself something to keep going. At first, it was the responsibility he'd felt towards his situation in the Seven Swordmaster Grail Battle - and after that, it was the debt he felt he'd owed Musashi, his master who had died.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And he'd kept adding on more reasons to the pile over time. Things to weigh him down, to fill up the emptiness that swallowed his whole being.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Each one of Lilian's accusations stung, but in a good way. It was all of his petiness and his cowardice being thrown into his face over and over again. Yes, he was pitiful, and he reveled in it. Yes, he was arrogant, and he'd reveled in that too. He'd said and done things he should not have and as a result of that, he'd caused others problems.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:pink1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Just make up and let me get mad at you.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:pink1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Stop making up reasons for me to be wrong. Stop lying and give back Hibiki what she deserves. Give it&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:upink1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;back!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It wasn't that easy, he wanted to say. To hurl it all back in her face like acidic spit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Inside of his world, the place that existed inside of his soul, Muramasa stands with his feet firmly planted on water that does not break and drag him under to drown him. The sky is a dark and ominous color with a dull moon hung overhead.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The reflection of the water showed a hill, a barren wasteland of swords - but the place he stood on, the real side of that reflection, was consumed by red hot flame that burned so deftly that it was not extinguished even by the lake. Intersecting with their dopplegangers in the reflection, an endless amount of blades stuck up out of the water's surface.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Standing here in the flames, his body did not burn away.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Even as I piled on endless reasons and excuses for myself to continue going on - they still believed in me. Even now that my ugliness has been exposed to its core, the products of my rotten character revealed, they still want to reach out to me.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The embers reflect in his dull eyes, ash stinging away at the edges of his vision, &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;All of those platitudes I gave myself never had any meaning. Because I knew instinctively that the character I was crafting for myself was just an image .. yes, a fake. It was my ideal self that I was trying to create. Maybe that person was not Emiya Shirou at all and thus he was ideal. Maybe that person was Emiya Shirou who had rejected such a notion, and was thus ideal. The truth was that .. the image which rejected being Emiya Shirou didn't have to carry the burdens of that name. He could speak as if those sins were divorced from himself. I grew to understand Archer a great deal more than I thought I ever could even if I refused to acknowledge any of that as fact.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;But it did not once stop me from hurting. Yes, even by rejecting myself and imagining someone in my place, it did not change anything. And most of all ..&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:pink1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That other imbecile was so hopeless, you just couldn't help but try to see to her; and only after you'd been taking care of her for a while, you suddenly realized you enjoyed it.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That's right. Something was finally able to start filling up the gaping void where my human heart should have been. It couldn't replace everything I lost to get there but .. it didn't have to.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Cooking with Miku. Cleaning up after Tsubasa. Getting into trouble with Hibiki. Being a pest at SONG. Being able to connect to others and feel something genuine because..somewhere along the way, the image started fading away. I felt real again.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffa500&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Make new ones! Make better ones!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#9b30ff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I told you to support Tachibana, but it's now clear to me the one that needed support is you.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:green1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The whole reason they're all here is 'cause they wanna make new memories with you!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6953|Muramasa (6953)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki takes his hand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A dozen small wishes of happiness, for his sake. Inside his soul, the dark sky begins to brighten under their glow, and they take the form of a rolling and bright night sky, as the moon moves to the horizon and became daybreak, paved on a road of starlight - an eternal road that he would walk, painted by the colors of his bonds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Slowly, his hands closes around Hibiki's, and he recalls the very first of those wishes. The wish that put him here.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:pink2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Do you want to die?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He hadn't. More than anything, he begged for a way to change that ending. &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:pink2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I see .. then - if that's so then .. I'll grant your wish. But you have to grant mine in return. I want you to live and have just a bit of happiness, just for you .. Shirou.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was impossible for him to do that by himself. But if he could fill himself up with all of these wishes, then he knew that one day, maybe he could. Not because of any kind of obligation, not because he felt like he owed it to anyone to do so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But because he wanted to be happy, too. &amp;quot;I'm very sorry.. - no, let me try again.&amp;quot; his voice cracks, &amp;quot;Thank you all very much. I don't deserve this. Maybe I never did and, maybe, I never will .. but I still wanted it more than anything. For my whole life. I'm not strong enough to have it. I can't stand up on my own because I'm weak.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His grip becomes tighter, and tears fall freely. &amp;quot;So thank you, for helping my weak self stand. If .. - it's really alright, then I'll be in your care.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7643/Cryptid_Hunting_File_03_-_ICE_DEVIL_SEAH_UNSURTR&amp;diff=16688</id>
		<title>7643/Cryptid Hunting File 03 - ICE DEVIL SEAH UNSURTR</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7643/Cryptid_Hunting_File_03_-_ICE_DEVIL_SEAH_UNSURTR&amp;diff=16688"/>
				<updated>2021-08-19T03:11:42Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2021/08/18 |Location=The Great Ocean |Synopsis=The Elites rescue Mishelam Wonderland from the icy clutches of Seah Unsurtr; however, tragedy strike...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2021/08/18&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=The Great Ocean&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=The Elites rescue Mishelam Wonderland from the icy clutches of Seah Unsurtr; however, tragedy strikes as Featherman's sleuthing unearths unfortunate consequences for the entire group.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=7145, 7412, 7359, 7248, 7417&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After the last excursion to take on the Hydra Plant ended how it had, things in Crossbell returned to an uneasy 'peace' as talk of independance continues brewing amongst the figureheads in the city proper. In such a tumultuous time, it's only natural that the people would seek some kind of relief for the pressures and dread building in their every day life..and that's why the proud workers of Mishelam were all too eager to take this opportunity to rake in as much business as they could.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It wasn't as if they were gouging people, though, as they launched an excellent Mishy-themed PR Campaign in the city of the cute mascot character advertising that he was lowering his theme park's cost of admission massively to make it easily affordable fun for the whole family.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;A Gift From Me-shy To You!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; ... and so in the week between then and now, Crossbell's citizens had unwound at the Island-Resort-Theme-Park and allowed themselves to escape, even if briefly, into a world where war, horrifying monsters, and other such hardships weren't a factor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This, too, is why it's such an unsettling sight for the Elites riding on an uncomfortably small set of speedboats; powered by orbal motors, to bear witness to a massive glacier floating where the artificial island should be. &amp;quot;What the hell?&amp;quot; C intones with only mild shock.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;According to what information he was able to obtain, some kind of large monster appeared in Mishelam's outskirts and had attacked the park - but this was completely beyond the pale.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;At least now we know it's gotta' be a Cryptid, a normal monster couldn't do somethingon this scale,&amp;quot; the masked man grouses. &amp;quot;Still, isn't this a little too off the wall, here?! It froze the entire damn park!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As they get closer, details become clearer and easier to make out; a ferris wheel covered in hoarfrost, massive ice-cicles dangling off the sides ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And many other attractions in similar states. Mishelam had been transformed from a cozy island get-away to a vertiable fortress of ice and galeforce wind that could sear the skin off of someone with how cold and strong it was.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot; . . . the dock is completely iced over . . .&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As they pull in, C advises everyone to watch their step as they disembark. &amp;quot;There's no real clear sign of where it is, now that it's made itself at home here. I guess we'll just have to look around, and hope for the best?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Travelling further in, they come across the main plaza - ordinarily it would be a bustling place with the flower garden depicting Mishy's charming face being the center-piece, but ... it's all been frozen over. Snow and ice coat just about everything, and the citizenry seem to have been frozen solid. &amp;quot;Are they dead? Damn.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;No.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The answer is a muffled, young girl's voice coming from a Mishy masoct suit, lumbering unevenly towards the group to stare at them for a moment in awkwardness, before she reaches up and pries her over-sized head off to reveal a head of light blue hair, and a familiar face.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio looks at the group evenly, &amp;quot;They are in a state of cryo-stasis, somehow.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot; ... uh huh,&amp;quot; C hums, reaching out to make a hand motion as Tio approaches him. Before anyone can say anything, he finds himself handcuffed to the frozen metal gating surrounding the garden. &amp;quot; ... really?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I caught the bad guy.&amp;quot; Tio nods.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She then places the oversized mascot head overtop of her own, deadpanning, &amp;quot;I'm a Mishy on a mission.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She lumbers off, towards the rotunda.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Man .. well, whatever. While I get myself out of this, we should probably spread out, and radio in when we've got eyes on the target. This place, and the people, will probably thaw safely if I can control it with my flute.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo is here, after last time he got arrested! As they move across the ice, he's appalled at the frozen bodies, but apparently they're still alive...perhaps they can still save them?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As C is handcuffed, Featherman Neo approaches him. &amp;quot;Do you need help with that?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Expecting a prideful rejection, he opens his mind, and enters C's. He has three questions for his memories:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;*Who are you really? Are you truly the incompetent?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;*What motivates you to be C?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;*What are you planning, for Ouroboros, for the Cryptids?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then, Featherman heads to the ROTUNDA, after the Mishy named Tio. She might need backup, and it's good to have that place locked down and investigated.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Just the news of one of these Cryptids attacking a theme park of all things is already awful enough news. The sight of what's actually happened is something else entirely, as they all ride in together. &amp;quot;What the hell...?&amp;quot; Hibiki outright echoes C, looking both intensely concerned and more than a little worried as they get close enough to disembark. Getting out is rough. And she didn't bring a jacket thick enough for this. Or something more protective than shorts.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Moving into Mishelam proper, and getting a better view of what things are like, her mind also jumps to the worst case when she sees the state of the people who were here. There's a heavy gulp, glancing from them to the frosted-over surroundings while she tries to keep her footing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Wait a second, that's...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Tio...? Why are you--&amp;quot; The obvious question dies off in her throat as C is cuffed and bagged way faster than she ever expected the girl to be capable of. &amp;quot;...Oh.&amp;quot; Mishy on a mission. Okay. That makes sense. And it's actually really cute, not that she'd ever say that out loud.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...Alright. Then the sooner we find this thing, the better.&amp;quot; She fully expects C to be able to get out of that perfectly fine on his own, so after a moment of thought and feeling better about the fact they can still put everything back to normal, Hibiki opts to head in the direction of the FERRIS WHEEL, while Featherman joins Tio.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;I'm having trouble believing this is supposed to be a vacation spot. Something must be wrong here.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;That's... Yes, that was rather obvious just by looking at the place.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With the entire park frozen solid, neither Pramanix nor SilverAsh look all too pleased. They had been hoping for a relaxing day away from having to fight and investigate weird stuff, after all! SilverAsh is better at hiding his disappointment, at least, or even channeling it towards new excitement as he steps off their ride and straightens out each side of his coat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix already looks like she's done mentally, but at least her own coat is well-suited for the icy area. &amp;quot;For something to have frozen such a large area... We're in for a tricky battle if we can't subdue it some other way, aren't we?&amp;quot; She asks, both of C and of Tio when she reveals herself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Neither of the siblings look surprised when C gets handcuffed. They instead look towards the costumed Tio as she heads towards the Rotunda, and Silverash is already headed in the direction of the CRYSTAL PALACE. &amp;quot;It's hard to say you don't deserve at least some of that, but...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix sighs, then takes off her tiny hat and plants it on C's head. &amp;quot;Pretend it's warmer than it really is.&amp;quot; She brushes a hand through her hair to floof it back out, then follows after SilverAsh to continue widening the search net!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; By now, most of the people present have seen Rita's &amp;quot;true form&amp;quot; one way or another. So it's quietly revealing that, even with nothing to hide, she shows up as an &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ordinary girl&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; again. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Even if my tentacles mimic clothing, they don't protect me from this chill. After all, that's still part of my body being exposed to the cold... I wish I'd thought to bring a real coat.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her arms are crossed over her stomach as she gets off the speedboat, shivering visibly. When they come to the corpses, she reaches out- hesitantly- to touch the ice engulfing one of them, brushing it with her fingertips. &amp;quot;This is horrible, Mr. C. I hadn't really realized... the damage these things can do, if they get to attack ordinary people.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;But I'm lucky it's bloodless. This many people... if they'd just been torn apart, it'd be hard to control myself around that much blood.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Tio's explanation makes her heave a sigh of relief, visibly sagging from the release of stress. &amp;quot;So they aren't dead yet? ... Well, we'd still better free them as soon as possible. No point in testing how long they can survive like that, right?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As she waves a cheerful goodbye to C, Rita uses an &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;invisible, super-strong tentacle&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to quietly break his handcuffs, then replaces them with &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;illusory cuffs&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; made from camouflaged tentacle-stuff. He's effectively free now, but it's easy to keep pretending to be restrained for as long as he wants. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;See you, Mr. C! We won't let you down!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Of course she teams up with her favorite magical girl! On the walk, she chatters companionably: &amp;quot;I was just thinking we should climb to the top of that big wheel, Hibiki. It's probably the best vantage point, right? So unless it's hiding inside a ride or something... I bet we could see it from up there.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; If it's covered in ice like everything else, though, scaling it might be a challenge. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With his answers received, Featherman Neo is able to depart from the plaza without issue, and follows after Tio.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;C, meanwhile, can only chuckle in a 'what can you do?' manner, as Pramanix lends him her tiny hat. It sits adorably on top of his visored mask, as he nods his head. &amp;quot;Ha ha ... well, it's better than nothing, right?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was hard to say anyone else wasn't starved for mercy, though, as they really do leave him by his lonesome to sort himself out. Except for Rita,who quietly and subtly breaks his cuffs and replaces them with something far easier to slip out of when he needs to, &amp;quot; -- heh. Yeah, see you guys around. I believe in you!&amp;quot; he calls back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;. . . . . .&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ROTUNDA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo finds that the various stores, the customers, employers, and general goers of the theme-park have all been treated the same as everything else in the park. Windows are shattered from the icy wind, and the frost has slathered just about anything and everything it can. After walking the circular path long enough, he'll find Tio checking up on Zeit, who has been frozen like everything else. Beside her is Ellie, who raises her thin eyebrows at the sight of Featherman, visibly shivering even as she's wearing several layers of clothes from the nearby store overtop of her uniform. &amp;quot;H..h..hey, it's y..y..you. T..t...Tio mentioned your g....group came by.&amp;quot; she greets.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio, in her Mishy outfit, breaks open a large metal suit-case that reveals itself to in fact be an Orbal computer, and gets to work wordlessly. &amp;quot;S...s...she's trying to t...t..track U...Unsurtr w...with o...o..orbments w...we.....we've scavenged..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio finally speaks up, &amp;quot;They're motion detectors.&amp;quot; as if that explains everything.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FERRIS WHEEL:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hibiki and Rita pass by several stalls, resteraunts, and other similar locales on the way that have been left frozen in time. The people look like it hadn't been a necessarily instant process, but it hadn't been too slow, either. They'd had maybe five or ten minutes before they were put into cryostasis, as Tio had put it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There is a sign of something having passed through the area, the rooftops of several of the buildings have had parts shattered off, as if they had bore a great weight.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One resteraunt looks like it had been run through roughsod by something huge, though it evidently happened a long while back. Additionally...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;An airship seems to have come through here, only to have been skewered by a spear of ice almost as big as it was. It currently rested overtop of where a stall selling Mishy memorbilia had previously been stationed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Ferris Wheel itself also seemed like it'd be a prickly pear to climb.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CRYSTAL PALACE&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;What was previously a make-believe 'castle' scaled down for entertainment has now become an actual frozen ruin. One of the towers has collapsed, having been evidently attacked by something from above, and nearly a dozen icicles skewer different parts of the complex. At the entrance, Pramanix and Silver Ash can see Lloyd Bannings being tended to on the ground, a bloodied leg being treated with a Tear balm and bandaging by a girl in black hair and clothing unfortunately ill-suited for their environment, though she seemed to excellently be toughing it out, despite all the frostbite covering her own wounds. &amp;quot;Huh? Aren't you guys ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The woman looks up, one hand reaching for a large sword at her side, &amp;quot; ..? Oh .. Lloyd and the others mentioned you all, I think ... are you here to fight that Cryptid, too?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita takes a brief detour- &amp;quot;keep going, Hibiki, I'll catch up!&amp;quot;- into one of the restaurants. She comes out with a chunk of frozen raw steak from the kitchen to gnaw on. It's important to keep your energy levels up at times like these! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; By the time they reach the ferris wheel, even the bone is gone. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita shades her eyes with one hand as she squints up at the massive ride, trying to map out the ascent in her head. &amp;quot;I could probably climb it, but probably isn't definitely,&amp;quot; she admits. &amp;quot;I'm not used to dealing with ice. ... If you throw me up there, though, I promise it'll be okay! I can just grab on with my tentacles, you know? Or do you have a better idea?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman, noticing Ellie freezing to death, nods to Tio as she grabs her motion detectors. &amp;quot;See if you can find it. I'll make it a little warmer so you stop freezing!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Spotting a trashcan, Featherman Neo summons a locket to hand. It's Featherman Engarde's.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;SNAPSHOT&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As usual, it opens up, revealing a picture of the knightly Featherman.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FEATHERMAN ENGARDE - SUMMON&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As the knightly Featherman with the lance appears, he gestures, and moves to throw a ball of flame straight at the trashcan, trying to create a bonfire to warm up the group!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ROTUNDA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;T..t...that....wo..won't....&amp;quot; Ellie chatters, as the flame ignites the cold trash inside in a great blast of life-enticing heat that .. evaporates. It visibly shrinks into nothing within moments of it appearing. That he'd lit frozen tinder alight was in and of itself a feat, however.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio, muffled behind her Mishy costume, explains as she clicks and clacks away at her computer's keyboard. &amp;quot;Seah Unsurtr absorbs heat on a massive scale. The reason everything is like this is because it is continually swallowing all of the heat and energy on the island, bringing it to entropy.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ellie nods, &amp;quot;T...t....thank you for t...trying though. I'll..t...tough it out.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We...we're waiting on L...l..lloyd to get back from i...investgating the C...C..Crystal Palace.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio interjects, &amp;quot;It's a house of mirrors. It was fun.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;This is awful...&amp;quot; Hibiki murmurs as Rita joins her on the way forward, passing by what looks to have been Mishelam's spot to get all sorts of food and snacks. It'd have probably been easier to stomach if it /did/ look like it was instant. &amp;quot;And you see up there?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She gestures up towards the rooftops, and then the restaurant further ahead in even worse condition. &amp;quot;There's no way this thing isn't huge like the other two.&amp;quot; And that airship...would that have happened if they came in from the air, too?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rita heads off, and Hibiki gives her a raise of her eyebrow as she does so. But she still keeps on going ahead, and by the time she's back, Hibiki is examining the ferris wheel carefully, glancing over her shoulder when she returns. &amp;quot;A better idea? ...Well...&amp;quot; Hibiki thinks about it. She takes a deep breath of cold air in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF8000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;After a flash of light, Hibiki's in her Symphogear, which doesn't actually look like it should make her any warmer. But she's not trying to hide her shivering anymore, and there's a warm scarf included. &amp;quot;Nope. Let's give it a try. I'll be right behind you.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She takes a knee, and holds both hands down like in a position to boost someone upwards. She has a good idea of how much strength she has to put into this. Rita can get a one way trip up to the top of the ride whenever she's set. This is probably a lot better than just throwing her up there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;What a magnificent structure... This could be worth investing into after all this cryptid business is sorted out.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;Really? With everything you have at home, you'd really want another one out here?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;... I suppose not. I'd get more of a change from a smaller apartment.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As the pair approach the castle, they look over the giant structure while taking note of all those icicles stabbing into the place. Actually working on the same wavelength for once, Pramanix withdraws her bell from her side whle SilverAsh holds an arm out as an eagle just glides in from out of nowhere to land on the makeshift perch.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Before they get to work, though, they hear and see a pair of injured people, presumably local. Lloyd is actually somewhat familiar, but the woman is not. &amp;quot;We're here to help, friends. Nothing to worry about.&amp;quot; Pramanix speaks up as she steps between SilverAsh and the woman, putting the bell away when she notices the frostbitten wounds. &amp;quot;How long have you two been here?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lacking in any sort of healing abilities, Pramanix can at least try to provide the two with some added warmth by taking off her coat and just draping it over Lloyd's non-visibly wounded side while resting her tail over the same for the woman. &amp;quot;Were you able to see the thing that did that to the castle? Or hear it or... Were you attacked by it?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh, meanwhile, sends the eagle into the sky. It makes one loud noise as it rises, starting to circle the sky above and wordlessly relaying what it sees with its superior eyesight back to the man on the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I see.&amp;quot; Featherman Neo frowns internally at the lack of fire, but it provides details. &amp;quot;What if we use cold attacks against it? Maybe it's stealing heat because of a lack of heat. Worth a try, at minimum...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then, he turns back to the lady and Mishy(?). &amp;quot;Anything I can do to help? I've gotten a lot of information already.&amp;quot; It's a double-meaning, but, they might not realize that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CRYSTAL PALACE:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The woman relaxes just slightly as Pramanix drapes her tail over her, and allows Lloyd the user of her coat, &amp;quot;My name is Rixia Mao -- thank you, for your help.&amp;quot; she introduces herself with a gentle, but grim smile. Lloyd nods his head, &amp;quot;We appreciate it. Rixia, these are the people that Featherman was working with,&amp;quot; he confirms, to which Rixia places a hand on his shoulder to stop him from trying to sit up further. &amp;quot;Ugh..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tilting her head to Pramanix, Rixia says, &amp;quot;I'm..more of a friend of Lloyd's, and am not part of the SSS proper, but I was helping them track down the monster attacking this place. We were setting up motion sensors for Tio when we came across Unsurtr. It flew off towards the other side of the island, a little bit before you all arrived.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Silver Ash's eagle can't see much of interest from its birds-eye-view, which is strange, considering how large the thing had to have been, as well as it having been described as being able to fly itself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd addends, &amp;quot;It's massive, like a moving glacier ... but once things on the island started freezing over, it was able to use all these frozen structures like a kind of camoflouge. It's also how it caught us off guard.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;It's got to be huge,&amp;quot; Rita agrees with a solemn nod. &amp;quot;If we don't see it from up there, then we know it's got to be hiding!&amp;quot; And there's only a few places something that gigantic could conceal itself. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She takes a deep breath, looks upwards at the ferris wheel one more time, and then looks down at Hibiki with a firm expression as she sets her foot in her friend's palm. &amp;quot;Ready! Three... two...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Whoosh.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita hurtles through the air at dizzying speeds. The ferris wheel's apex is right there. She reaches out with her hand to grab the icy metal- &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; -her fingers slip- &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; -and her arm's disguise unravels into &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;blue tentacles&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to grab the ferris wheel anyway, hauling her up. She perches neatly in the top seat, glancing back down to make sure Hibiki's making it up safely too. If the magical girl needs a bit of help, she'll gladly lend her friend a tentacle! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I've never been up so high before,&amp;quot; she admits, marveling, once they're both safely at the top. &amp;quot;Except in HurriKaiser, but that doesn't really count. It's kind of scary, so... I'm glad I'm not up here alone!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Even as she says that, she's shading her eyes with her hand and scanning the park below. Surely the monster must be visible somewhere...? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Or, if not, she stops to &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;sniff the air&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. Rita's got an abnormally keen nose for monsters- if it's visually hidden, could scent reveal anything? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ROTUNDA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ellie considers it for a moment before looking over to Featherman, &amp;quot;C..c...could you g...g...go out and find R...R..Randy? H...he...and N...N..Noel were s....s...supposed to g...go set up s...s..sensors at the F...F...Ferris Wheel after we f...f...fought Unsurtr on the b...beach, back the w...way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She motions further down along the Rotunda, &amp;quot;Y...you can g..get to the F...Ferris Wheel from the p...plaza.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio pipes up, &amp;quot;That is not an unfounded theory. However. We do not know. It is worth trying.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo salutes, and then rushes off to the Ferris Wheel with Featherman Engarde! Their primary objective: find Randy and Noel. Hibiki and Rita can handle themselves.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Fortunately, when Hibiki said she was right behind her, she meant it. After Rita was tossed up, she took a moment to find some proper footing on the icy ground, and then leapt up along the same path she sent the other girl on. She doesn't quite make it the whole way in one go, but a quick blast from the her armor's thrusters helps steady herself enough to grab onto the offered tentacle and get pulled up the rest of the way.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Phew...&amp;quot; After making sure she's steady beside her on the top seat, she nods. &amp;quot;And now you see why I said you still wouldn't wanna fall, right?&amp;quot; There's the slightest hint of a tease in her voice before she also joins in on scanning everything below, the opposite direction from Rita.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There are no supersenses here, so it's simply seeing if anything stands out to her visually. Unsurtr had to have been what made that damage, right? So it has to be big enough to spot. Or maybe...are there any buildings it looks like it could hide itself in?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Pramanix. Ah, you're familiar with Mister...&amp;quot; Pramanix pauses briefly, recalling the last time she had seen Featherman with anyone from this world. &amp;quot;... Anyway. Ah, easy, easy. So you saw the creature, then. And it was... A moving glacier? That doesn't sound like it should be able to fly at all.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh, after recalling the eagle, continues towards the palace and eyes one of the lowest icicles he can find. If it's close enough to the ground, he'll just try and carve off a chunk with his sword before bringing it back to Pramanix. Otherwise, he... Well, he still tries carving off a chunk, but with a stupidly fast slash of his sword that launches a cutting shockwave to do the same thing (but cooler looking).&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;And if it's camouflaged... Wait. Does that mean it's... Is it the castle itself?&amp;quot; Pramanix asks aloud while looking towards the castle again, already grimacing slightly at seeing what Silverash is doing. &amp;quot;Do you know if this attraction was this large&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;when you first got here?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FERRIS WHEEL:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While Hibiki and Rita enact their plan, Featherman pokes around the various areas nearby. As he moves to turn a corner, he finds himself face-to-halberd with Randy Orlando's weapon of choice, &amp;quot;Oh -- it's you? Man, my bad, I almost got ready to really clean your clock.&amp;quot; the redhead apologizes, stepping out fully. He's bedecked in his usual twenty-mira, cheap suit and orange overcoat, but it all looks rather tattered, presumably from the SSS's attempts at defeating Unsurtr.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Guess the rest of your guys are here, too?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After presumably being brought up to speed, at least as far as Featherman knows, Randy nods a little somberly. &amp;quot;Yeah ... about that ... while we planted the sensors alright, Noel wound up collapsing. She's gone into cryostasis, like nearly everyone else on the island. You got people in this part of the park too, right? We should try and meet up with 'em.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rita, meanwhile, does not see any better than Silver Ash's feathered friend had, but her nose gets a good deal more of a response. The scent is coming from somewhere near the Rotunda.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CRYSTAL PALACE:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rixia and Lloyd both look at eachother and then to Pramanix before mutually chuckling, &amp;quot;Oh, uhm...I don't mean to laugh at you .. but yes, it was always this big. It's more that, because so many things have been frozen over and covered in thick sheets of ice, its easier for Unsurtr to blend in with the buildings. But, it isn't here anymore; it has two great wings that allow it to fly, and it took off that way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ROTUNDA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot; . . . . &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio frowns, &amp;quot;There's no response on the scale Unsurtr would make in the areas we planted sensors. Then ... the only place it could be is where we haven't ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's sniffing is initially unsuccessful- until, her face turned away from Hibiki, she tries sticking out her tongue. This is what snakes do, right? Tasting the air? She feels a little silly doing it, until aa familiar flavor makes her bolt upright. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I've got you now.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Hibiki! Hibiki! It's over there!&amp;quot; she shouts, pointing in the direction of the Rotunda. For a brief moment, she seems ready to leap out of her seat and chase it- and then a glance down at the ground persuades her otherwise. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Uh, but could you help me... you know, get down?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix lets out a heavy sigh of relief when Rixia and Lloyd reveal that there's nothing to worry about for the time being, looking up just in time to see which way they indicate. &amp;quot;That's good, then... Well, it's not that good, but at least we have a better idea of where to find the thing. Er... Sort of.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She scratches her cheek lightly and gets ready to get up, but remains in place upon remembering that she's still trying to unfrostbite Rixia's wounds. Also, that it's way warmer with them than it is standing up on her own. &amp;quot;How long ago was that, do you think? And... How did it attack you? Did it shoot things or pull things or... What?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh, meanwhile, just keeps carving up the icicles to see if he can dig up anything else while Pramanix handles the talking side of the investigation. He looks disappointed for some reason. When Rita relays her findings, though, he breaks into the run to head towards the Rotunda! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Will you two be alright on your own? Can you get somewhere safe?&amp;quot; Pramanix asks, apparently looking ready to give chase as well if LLoyd and Rixia give her the go ahead.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman finds Randy! As he mentions what happened to Noel, Featherman grimaces audibly. &amp;quot;No...alright. We need to hurry up.&amp;quot; Rita calls over the radio.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;The other side of the rotunda. Surtr's there. With me, Featherman Ally!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then he sprints off, hoping Randy catches up with him. If they all gather together to fight The Boss, they'll have more numbers. He starts drawing his knife and red blaster, ready for combat! Engarde is just standing there with a lance. He'll be fine too.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki isn't able to find anything of note herself, but at least she /does/ pick up on Randy and Featherman somewhere down off in the distance. &amp;quot;Oh, is that...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rita's call gets her attention to snap over however, and her eyes go wide and she looks off in the direction. She's getting ready to hop off in pursuit when Rita does, but it never happens--and she gives a few actually surprised blinks when she's asked that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Followed by a snicker she has to try to keep back, and a smile that's obvious on her face even with her scarf in the way. &amp;quot;...Alright. Here, hang on.&amp;quot; Hibiki takes Rita's hand lightly - and then goes to sweep her off her feet into a princess carry before she hops the side of the seat back down to the ground, falling like a rock.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She comes down with a few cracks in the icy ground, but sets the other girl back down just as casually as she grabbed her and hurries off in the same direction as Featherman--off towards the rotunda. &amp;quot;Alright, let's go take care of this thing! It'll pay for doing this to an amusement park of all places!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CRYSTAL PALACE:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd and Rixia both nod to Pramanix, sad to see the comfy heat of her fluffy tail and demeanor go, but more than understanding of the situation. &amp;quot;We'll catch up with you as soon as we can -- this is our fight, too.&amp;quot; Lloyd re-affirms, before warning, &amp;quot;Seah Unsurtr can form ice in the air and fire them as projectile, as well as a really dangerous breath attack. ..Also, it can attack with its jaws and claws, so be careful.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;MAIN PLAZA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Everyone passes through here on their way to the Rotunda. C seems to have vanished into thin air.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ROTUNDA:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ellie is now curled up on the ground, her shuddering having stopped. Tio has already closed her monitoring equipment and done everything she could for both her and Zeit by the time the Elites and Randy arrive. &amp;quot; ... ah .. hey, Tiotot.&amp;quot; he says, with an uncertain look on his face. &amp;quot;So she collapsed too?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yes. If you're all here, you must have come to the same conclusion, that Unsurtr has momentarily lodged itself at the beach-head.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy's eyebrows wriggle in discomfort, &amp;quot;Yeah. It's where we all fought it together last time .. I guess its already flown around the island so much, its bound to visit the same place twice. Alright. We've gotta' hurry.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio secures her costume's headpiece as well as she can before reaching out to her Orbal Staff.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once the Elites make it out of the Rotunda, they see the frozen remains of what was doubtlessly a popular dating spot with an overhang and a bench overlooking the seas and what should have been a beautiful beach. The sand has been hardened by ice and covered in a layer of snow, and the entire area seems ravaged by a previous battle.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; ... but where is it?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hey ... you know, that craggy rock there wasn't here before, was it?&amp;quot; Randy wonders.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And indeed, pressed up against one of the cliffsides, the frozen 'rock' begins to move, stirred by the noise of those who'd come here. Seah Unsurtr angrily stomps towards them and unfurls its wings, roaring loudly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Me..and my big mouth?!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Grr..Randy...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita lets out a quiet, choked-back &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;eek!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; when Hibiki sweeps her up, but at least manages to keep from screaming on the way down- though she does hold on to that scarf with white knuckles. Dismounting from Hibiki's arms, she wobbles a little, still unsteady on her feet from vertigo. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; After a couple of seconds, she finally gives her friend a smiling thumbs-up. &amp;quot;Er- right!! Let's go beat it and save these people!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she takes off in the direction of the rotunda, it's with an uncanny but graceful all-fours &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;gallop&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;: her body leans into the run so deeply that she digs her fingers into the ground to propel herself along or corner more tightly. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;My mind and my body... they're finally in alignment. Right now, on this one thing, they agree. This cryptid- I'll tear it to shreds!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she arrives, it's to a deafening roar that forces her to cover her ears and wince. But that doesn't stop her for long. As she steadies herself against the roar, her body &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;unravels&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, revealing her mutated, frilly true form. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The fallen ribbons of her old skin morph and resolve into a dozen &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;menacing tentacles&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, alternately standing on guard to defend her body or pointed at the Unsurtr as if to strike. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I feel 'exposed' like this. Like anyone could see or judge me. Even around people I trust, it's a nagging feeling. ... But this is more important. While I still have a job to do, I won't let those feelings shake my focus.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita dashes in to the Unsurtr's left in a bold maneuver that's sure to draw its ire. Then she &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;flickers out of existence&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, her illusory decoy fading back into invisibility. The real Rita &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;materializes&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; on its right, too late for any reaction. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; One of her tentacles whips out as she fadeds back, slicing shallowly into a joint in the ice armor on its neck. If she can draw even a drop of blood, she'll immediately bring the cutting tentacle to her lips, greedily slurping the fluid off and taking in its essence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;This would be a nice spot if not for the... You know...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;All of this?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;Yes, exactly.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;When the pair from the mountains arrive at the Rotunda, they're not really sure where their quarry is. They remain on guard, with Pramanix already ringing her bell gently while SilverAsh keeps a hand on his sword. When Randy draws attention to the out of place rock, they're quick to turn their attention towards the roaring beast.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh moves in almost immediately, brandishing his sword to start hacking away at the creature's legs while darting in and out of casual swiping range.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He does get clipped rather badly in the process, though his natural healing means he's not staying out of the fight for more than a few moments before getting right back in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix does what she does best and starts bringing down a snowstorm, but not quite in an uncontrollable way. Instead, it almost seems as though she's trying to monopolize what ice and snow are even available as she brings it down onto the Unsurtr. The supernaturally infused attack even works to strip away the creature's defenses, almost as if the snow itself is melting on contact.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo is roared at as the group arrives. He's pushed back briefly, but manages to hold his footing. Engarde is fine, and begins preparing an attack. &amp;quot;Engarde, leap and pierce!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Engarde begins empowering holy light into his lance, and makes a running jump into a leap towards Unsurtr's face. Using superhuman legs to empower himself, he moves to use it as a drill, and start injuring the beast heavily!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo, meanwhile, is coordinating. &amp;quot;Anyone with ice attacks, attempt my theory! I'll focus holy!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Everyone's back together--but C is missing? Where'd he go? ...Hibiki knows he's prone to disappearing acts, but they usually come after everything is said and done. Is he waiting in the wings with his flute...? Or...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There's not too much time to waste in looking for him though, as the group maneuvers their way to what would any other day on the artifical island, be someplace she'd love to take any of her friends. But it's just as bad off as everything else, drawing a frown from her. Her eyes scan the area, but there's nothing odd...until Randy points that out.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Oh.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Talk about a jinx...!&amp;quot; The magical girl braces and winces against the shuddering roar, but holds her footing--no, she digs them in for extra support, cracking into the frozen-over sand. So that when it passes, she can launch off straight in towards it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's an incredibly fast movement, one that sends her straight in front of the charging Cryptid. While Rita draws its attention, she blocks its path directly, and aims to stop it in its tracks by blowing straight upwards towards the bottom of its jaw with a full-force uppercut. This is followed up by another from the other fist, to see how much give this thing's glacier-like body has.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Kept us waiting, didn't you...!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy shudders under the supernatural call of the roar, and Tio is knocked down, forced to pick herself up in a very un-Mishy way as the battle got underway. Silver Ash streaks like a flash of light as he blitzes Seah Unsurtr's legs, cleaving and slicing thick gashes in its icy armory. Rita, while Unsurtr is busy stomping around and trying to shake him off, cuts into one of its joints to draw blood; first blood, truthfully. Lapping it up allows her to supp on Unsurtr's ancient essence, something that it almost intelligbly seems to realize as it zeroes in on her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo and Engarde's combination attack with Pramanix is the last straw. The ice-element attack that assaults its body seems to have merit in what was discussed earlier; although it is not especially effective, it is not especially ineffective either. If one were to rate it with arbitrary numbers, with its full 'normal' damage being a 100, that would be what it would be doing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In other words, Ice Element attacks are perfectly suited to damaging it. Featherman has difficulties drilling through the shick glacial spoke protecting its chest, but as he does dig deep enough to begin drawing blood, Unsurtr swipes at him, and hunkers down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It weathers powerful blows from Hibiki, which crack the ice along its head, and seems like it is about to breathe in deeply.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C &amp;amp;#124; Tio deadpans, &amp;quot;Mishy is here to help. Together, we'll save Mishelam.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Mishy-clad heroinne raises her staff and connects to her Aeon System. Using it, rather than traditional orbments or even Erebonia's experimental ARCUS units, Tio is capable of casting near-instantaneous Arts, and quickly belts out two high level Arts in a row.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C &amp;amp;#124; Tio intones, &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;La Forte.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;La Crest.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;First, everyone is engulfed by an invigorating feeling of strength, from the fire-element attack-raising Art La Forte, before they are surrounded by a bright, sunny brown glow and become hardy like a mountain from the Earth-element defense-raising spell La Crest.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C &amp;amp;#124; Randy says, &amp;quot;Alright..time to earn my keep! Crash Bomb!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Reaching one hand into his coat, Randy hurls a stun grenade at Unsurtr's cracked head and, as it goes off, he charges forward and strikes it with a powerful upper-swing from his orbal halberd, hopping back to avoid Unsurtr's retaliatory bite. &amp;quot;Whew...this is goin' a good bit smoother than before. Why's it so docile-?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy, as before, jinxes everyone as it rears back up and opens its mouth, unleashing a powerful white Miasma that turns everything it touches into crystalized ice. Randy, thankfully, gets away with only having his right leg and arm covered up to his knee and elbow respectively, &amp;quot;D..damnit!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Slamming its claws down into the frozen sound, its eyes glow ominously as a dozen missiles of ice rapidly form in the air and shoot at the remaining group.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ice isn't especially effective, but you can keep it up!&amp;quot; Featherman Neo shouts to Pramanix, but Engarde is sent flying back by a blow, and then the ice breath comes in. A massive blow of pure ice...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Engarde, barrier!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Engarde suddenly raises his free hand, and throws up a multi-layered barrier to eat the frost breath. It still freezes his non-lance arm in the process, but the rest of the blow is tanked, protecting the pair from being frozen solid, even if they're worse for wear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo suddenly sprints forward, combining his knife and pistol into a rifle. &amp;quot;Let's try rifle mode, uncharged!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He begins blasting precision hits, aiming for those wings. His goal is to prevent a later escape, and to make it harder to dodge the group's attacks by flying away!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I feel... Hardier? Thank you, T.. Mishy!&amp;quot; Pramanix seems rejuvenated with those boosts to her defense, murmuring quietly as she continues her snow-calling ritual as those missiles start forming in the air. When they come firing in, she throws her hands up as an ice wall pops out of the ground. It splinters apart as the ice missiles crash through it, a few of them even stabbing into Pramanix as she lets out a pained yelp, but she returns fire with ice spears of her own.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;How fortuitous. We are in the Mishy's debt.&amp;quot; SilverAsh, feeling particularly chunkier in his own right, just keeps advancing with each empowered swing of his blade, bashing a few missiles aside with that enhanced strength and staggering back when a few others punch into him. Instead of wading right back in immediately, though, he settles into a lower stance with his blade sheathed and one hand on the sheath itself near the hilt.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;If this creature thinks it can flee so easily, then we'll have to clip its wings.&amp;quot; He flicks the blade out just a little as he dashes forward, vaulting upwards at the last moment into a rather athletic somersaulting maneuver. He unsheathes the sword not unlike a quickdrawn katana slash, aimed at the same spot Featherman shot at to try and just demolish the everloving shit out of said wings with concentrated attacks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You jinxed it again, Randy...!&amp;quot; Hibiki murmurs back as she backs off in time with his own incoming strike, getting clear of the bite herself lest she risks getting snapped right in half--and then the miasma comes in. There's no doubt it's bad news, the state of Mishelam alone already says plenty enough.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But like him, Hibiki isn't fast enough to completely get away from the haze before her right arm gets frozen over up past the elbow, armor and flesh alike being turned into ice. &amp;quot;Crap--!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She stumbles away, gripping onto her shoulder with her still-good arm and trying to move it to little effect. Her teeth clench, but the magical girl nevertheless picks herself back up and squares up, shifting her stance to level her other side forward. &amp;quot;...Then let's make sure you won't be able to freeze anything else ever again!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The others go for the wings. Hibiki throws herself into a high jump, coming down in a high arc before her thrusters kick in to send her straight down like a meteor. Her armored boot comes down into its skull from above, followed by a burst of acceleration intending to force its head to smash down into the frozen sand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot; Followed up by her still functioning gauntlet's pilebunker piston slotting backwards, fist coming down fromhigh above to impact at the same point before it hammers in, sending a wave of raw force directly down into it and out down below it. There's about to be a small crater in the iced ground below its jaw.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As Rita licks the blood off her tentacle, two different kinds of power flow through her: the first from Seah Unsurtr's ancient essence, and the second from Tio's bolstering magic. It takes her a moment to process it all- but Unsurtr isn't eager to give her that time. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;There it is again- just a taste of blood, and that aching hungry feeling comes back. Its power flowing through me is warm and incredible like always, but it comes with pangs too; my body telling me it's not enough. ... I can hold myself back, though. For Mr. C's sake, I can't eat this one.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita swerves out of the way as the Unsurtr aims its breath at her, tearing across the frozen sand in a feral all-fours gallop. She skids to a halt and &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;duplicates herself&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; with an illusory tentacle-decoy when it fires those missiles. Both versions of Rita dodge in opposite directions. Both of them are struck by projectiles anyway. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And both of them unravel into flailing azure tentacles. Neither was really her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The real Rita unravels her shroud of active-camo invisibility. She's standing on the back of the Cryptid's neck, her bare hand pressed against the base of its Hibiki-damaged head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I want to crack its shell open and suck the blood straight from its heart. I want to feel the bones snap under my teeth and pull the tendons out with a yank of my head. ... I won't. I won't! For the sake of Mr. C's trust in me, I won't do it. ... But if I can't eat its body, I'll just have to feast on its heat instead.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's body becomes wreathed in vapor, fog condensing out of the air as her body temperature plummets towards absolute zero. Her hand presses into- hopefully- a place where Hibiki has cracked its armor, seeking out flesh beneath the ice. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;You were scared of me stealing this power, weren't you? Let's see what it does to you.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman and Silver Ash work in conjunction as Unsurtr raises its haggard body, clearly exhausted from gathering the energy necessary to fire its breath attack at them. Thinking on it, it didn't seem improbable that if it stole energy from others, that with the island already being as drained as it was that it didn't have the easily refuelable source of power it may have had the first few times the SSS had tried to take care of it themselves; and it was only by working together now that they were starting to have a fighting chance against the massive creature.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Each of its massive wings are shattered and flip in the air, twirling as they impale the icy ground at the shore, water lapping at them. Unsurtr roars loud and clear in retaliation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy, struggling to maneuver properly, is forced back with a useless feeling tugging at his chest; Tio shares her energy with the others through her Orbal Staff and a substance called 'EP' to assist in keeping them going strong.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Cryptid's head slams down into the ground, Hibiki's combination shattering the ice covering its head completely and drawing blood as its actual skull cracks from the force, rattling it as it moans weakly, body slumping.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This gives Rita the exact opening she needs to touch upon its skull and use the power she pilfered from it to drop her own body temperature to nothing, and steal away all of the heat inside of its body, forcefully freezing it in an instant.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Unsurtr's eyes flash brightly as she does this, and within a moment, it rears its head back up and smashes its freshly re-covered head with an utterly colossal amount of force.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It stands to its full height, nearly imperial in its regal anger, flexing its claws and clicking its jaw.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; ... Unsurtr hasn't healed necessarily, I don't believe ... but its caught a second wind from that ... !&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy is taken aback, &amp;quot;What the hell?! I thought ice based attacks worked on it..! So if she froze him over, then it should've hurt, right?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Not..necessarily...&amp;quot; Tio frowns.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But there's no time to figure this out as Seah Unsurtr roars and gathers a monumental amount of energy in its core --&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Don't give up!&amp;quot; Lloyd shouts, standing from the entrance leading back into the Rotunda. Rixia is at his side, helping him walk as she uses her own sword as a crutch, Pramanix's coat having been swapped over to cover her up. There's a determined look about him as he sucks in a deep breath, &amp;quot;That thing ... is nothing more than a &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;barrier&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; for us to get over .. that's all we have to do! Forget everything else! Forget how strong it is, forget how tired you are..because all you have to do is -- &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;GET OVER THE BARRIER!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A frigid hurricane begins to build. This is the last chance before Seah Unsurtr uses its second wind to unleash everything it has, now that escape is no longer an option for it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As Unsurtr reaches to full height after their attacks, especially Rita's, Featherman Neo is shocked. &amp;quot;OH NO!&amp;quot; The enemy is going to attack again. A second wind...this is bad, it'll freeze them all solid!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But someone shouts out. To not give up, despite being their enemy, ostensibly. The words echo out.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Get over the barrier!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Sun shines on a new friendship, as Featherman Neo's belt dings, creating a new bond locket.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But he doesn't activate it, yet. Instead, he summons it to hand...and places it in the rifle slot.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;SNAPSHOT&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The rifle starts charging with energy, as Featherman Neo points straight for the head. &amp;quot;TAKE THIS! BARRIER BUSTER!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:blue!white&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FEATHER RIFLE - BARRIER BUSTER&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He moves for the crucial shot, to defeat it once and for all, with a burst of pure &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:blue!white&amp;quot;&amp;gt;piercing energy&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Karlan Nobles says, &amp;quot;A second wind? Hmhmhm... Unfortunately for the Unsurtr, I'm the one controlling the wind!&amp;quot; Pramanix shouts with an uncharacteristically confident laugh, ringing her bell with even more ferocity while she looks around to see if anyone's actually amused by that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh just avoids eye contact completely to try and mitigate at least some of that internal cringe. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Regardless, the pair do seem a little winded as the fights goes on, and the Unsurtr's swirling winds have them struggling just to not get blown off their feet and off the island in the process. SilverAsh even has to stick his sword into the ground to regain his footing after a while, and Pramanix conjures up some smaller ice walls to steady herself after not too long.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Anyway. It's on its last legs now. Where is...?&amp;quot; Silverash murmurs as he glances around briefly, dipping into a low stance again to minimize how much of him is exposed to the hurricane. He goes into a sprint again, but opts to start circling the Unsurtr quickly, just running around it while slashing away at its legs, its arms, its everything with steadily quickening slashes to the point that it becomes...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It doesn't quite become a blur because he's not that fast, but his slashes come so frequently and steadily that there's no real gaps in how often he's slashing. They just keep coming even as more of that blizzard punches into him, as though he's trying to outlast the creature that's on its last legs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;A-anyway... I'll take the snow right out of its hands. If it thinks it can use the wind as it pleases around me, it's got another thing coming!&amp;quot; Pramanix shouts as she puts her all into conjuring up what's basically a spiked ceiling in midair, stealing as much of the ice and snow the Unsurtr is trying to use for her own constructed attack. When it reaches critical mass, she just drops the entire thing onto it.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's eyes widen in shock as the Unsurtr gains its second wind. That should've been the deathblow, shouldn't it? And nobody else's ice attacks had reinvigorated it. A stolen power backfiring is poetic, but... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Devouring it would be easy, but I can't. What else do I have? Acid's too slow. My tentacles would risk killing it. Isn't there something else?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;5t She's flung backwards as it rears up, catching herself in a three-point stance as she skids backwards along the ice. The vapor surrounding her fades away when she releases her focus on Unsurtr's essence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I tasted Elon Ark. I ate the Hydra Plant utterly. And I've tasted Seah Unsurtr, too. There's enough of the Cryptids' essence in me to do this. If I make contact with it like 'that'...&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita wraps herself in her tentacles again, resuming the appearance of an &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ordinary girl&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. There's no need for her to use them anymore. She raises a hand towards the Cryptid, and her left eye is shining with a piercing &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;blue.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;STOP,&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; she yells. And for a brief moment, their hearts are linked by that devoured essence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita is suddenly, abruptly its offspring in need of protection- no, its Queen giving an absolute order- no, its parent dispensing gentle instruction- every hijackable biological instinct it has, and several it doesn't, are bent to her service. Its reflexes and rules are warped by the metaphorical gravity of the biological singularity at her core. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; With something like Seah Unsurtr, she likely can't expect to seize control of it for more than a moment. But a moment is all her friends need. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Let them hurt you.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As Seah Unsurtr rises back up, right after she thought Rita using its own power against it would've sealed the deal, Hibiki's eyes go wide and she's thrown off. Her instinct to catch herself with her frozen arm fails her, and leads to a rough tumble across the ground as she rolls several meters before catching herself. &amp;quot;Crap...it got back up from that...!? What's it doing...!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This isn't good. If it's getting energy back for something like the freezing miasma it used before, it's going to be a lot worse this time. What's she going to have to do to...?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then Lloyd shouts, something she didn't expect to hear at all, and she's brought out of her thoughts as her attention snaps towards him. &amp;quot;Wh--a barrier...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FFFFFF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;'Tall walls you climb, but...show me this!'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FFFFFF&amp;quot;&amp;gt;'If there's a wall--I'll punch right through it!'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That's right. She does have her own barriers to get over. &amp;quot;Compared to all of those...one just like all the others we've already beaten isn't anything...!&amp;quot; With a grunt and her thought finished out loud, she gets full back to her feet, and clenches her unfrozen fist tightly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And her frozen one. With a golden shine forcing its way out past the frost covering to almost burn at it for a brief moment, the entire gauntlet suddenly bursts outwards in its much larger, thruster-bearing form and sends ice scattering. She rears it back--&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And throws herself back forward with blurring speed, diving into the building blizzard and beneath Seah Unsurtr's body to get underneath it. Her arm comes back, and the rocket boosters ignite to send it forward. To blow back through its icy armor and into its body.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Take THIS!&amp;quot; Where the internal energy built up will be unleashed to explode directly inside of it, a detonation of gold that'll burn it from within and continue going out to every corner of its body.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Seah Unsurtr has no concept of such things -- it was something wholly alien to this world, and many others. Rather than issuing an order, the effect of Rita's command was more like whtie noise in its skull. Like trying to explain why, scientifically, the sky looked blue to someone who'd never left a cave in their entire life. Even though she was speaking in a 'language' it could vaguely understand, it could not comprehend what she wanted.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But it achieved what she desired none the less, as the dazed creature wobbles on its hind-legs in confusion. This gives Pramanix and Silver Ash free reign to unleash their combined efforts, the lightning-like swordsman tearing into its exposed calves and cutting it to the bones so that moments later, when the massive spiked mass of ice created by Pramanix fell onto Seah Unsurtr's shoulders, it would collapse to its knees, unable to hold up its own weight.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This lined up Featherman's shot perfectly, as its iced-shell explodes and the bullet strikes its earlier wound dead on, drawing forth a deafening screech from the Cryptid as it pours all of its strength into forcing its body back up, striking out at Silver Ash with its tail and bolting forward with shocking amounts of speed. &amp;quot; ..!! Damn, it's coming..!&amp;quot; Randy exclaims, sluggishly trying to throw himself forward.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki Tachibana begins to &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_y bg_n ++ hy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;shine.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;S..she broke free of the petrification..!&amp;quot; Tio remarks, the usually deadpan girl expressing mild surprise -- which for her, may as well have been jawdropping.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Unsurtr's clawed punch sends sparks flying as it scraps across her Symphogear's headpiece, Hibiki weaving just under the mad blow to deliver her rocket-powered rebuttal straight into Unsurtr's chest.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The explosion of light fills up its whole body, and kills all of its momnetum dead -- no, it goes as far as to begin reversing it, gravity seeming to give up as it hangs in the air, light spilling from the wound Hibiki had given it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And within moments, that light began to spill out of its mouth, and then its eyes before Seah Unsurtr begins to break apart, ultimately exploding in a whirlpool of golden strength, evaporating in the shine.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd, tiredly, smiles. &amp;quot;Ha ha ... you really did it, you guys ...&amp;quot; before Rixia shakes her head with a smile, and interjects with, &amp;quot;No. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;We&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; did it, Lloyd. Us, and our friends.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy chuckles, &amp;quot;Well, I can't argue against that, boss.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio, in her Mishy outfit, strikes a 'heroic' pose. &amp;quot;Evil has been vanquished, and Mishelam is liberated from the freezing grasp of despair. Mishy couldn't have done it without everyone's help. Thank you.&amp;quot; she deadpans.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Yet, something seems ...missing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita lowers her hand, her eye's glow fading. Her expression's obviously conflicted: awe at her teammates' raw power, sadness that Seah Unsurtr couldn't be captured, and... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;What a waste. If it was going to be killed anyway, I wish I'd just eaten it. ... No, there's no point in thinking like that. Get ahold of yourself, Rita!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She hurries over to Hibiki with a Girly Run- you know the one, elbows bent and hands out- and immediately fusses over her. &amp;quot;That was amazing!! I can't believe how you used those boosters, Hibiki! I saw you take a fall, are you alright? And the part where you were frozen, I was so worried...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It takes her a moment to realize what's missing. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Hey, where's Mr. C? He wasn't here to play the flute. I broke his cuffs for him, didn't I?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo turns to the SSS as Seah Unsurtr goes down. He puts away his rifle and the locket, as he speaks to Lloyd.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Thank you, Lloyd. Your encouragement was important!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then...wait, where's C? They can't do the victory royale unless they're all together, can they?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Seah Unsurtr explodes overhead, underneath the weight of everyone's blows and her full force punch.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And after the fact, Hibiki lowers her punching arm and stumbles back a step before catching herself, letting out a heavy sigh of relief and exhaustion. It takes her a few moments to catch on to everything being said, but when she does, she looks between the rest of their group and then the SSS with a small smile.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...Yeah. I don't think any of us could've done it alone. You guys were great. Thanks...you especially, Lloyd. You reminded me of something important.&amp;quot; He gets a grateful nod, before she blinks. Huh, wait. Friends? It strikes her as how funny that is, considering how things were just a few meetings ago. Then again...it's not the first time something like this has happened. Far from it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rita brings her back to reality, where she immediately gets a few chuckles and a humble wave off with her hand to show she's fine. &amp;quot;I'm fine, I'm fine. You did great, y'know. Practically ran circles around it...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But...she also catches on to what's missing, as everyone gets together. She noticed it on the way here, but it quickly slipped her mind. Where's...?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki frowns. &amp;quot;Where /did/ he go? He wasn't there when we looped back around to get here...&amp;quot; Her head glances side to side, as if expecting to find him somewhere nearby.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the Unsurtr's final desperate throes, it still manages to tail-bash SilverAsh right on the side shortly after he slows down from his more-than-three slashing maneuver. He takes a rather nasty tumble, rolling over a few times before catching his hand on the ground just in time for him and Pramanix to see Featherman's shot and Hibiki's punch exploding into it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Soon, the creature is destroyed, and the siblings let out simultaneous weary sighs of relief.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;Heh... Hah. We did it, everyone! Good work!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;That we did... What a formidable foe. I wonder if there'll be more fights like that in the future.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;Ah, we can worry about that later when it happens. For now...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After reattaching that bell to her belt, Pramanix moves over next to ~~Tio~~ Mishy and mimics the pose. &amp;quot;Our work here is done, friends! Now, what say we get something to eat after everything defrosts?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh, meanwhile, moves to join Rita, Featherman, and Hibiki. &amp;quot;We do seem to be missing someone, yes... Perhaps it'd be wiser to contact him via the radio if he's not visible around here.&amp;quot; He suggests, being careful not to mention C by name while also semi-subtly gesturing at the local group with his tail.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio looks uncertainly to Rita, &amp;quot;You broke him free?&amp;quot; -- that, she thinks, would go a long way towards explaining the terrorist's abscence. But, it did not set well with her. What had he been doing in the meantime?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd shakes his head, &amp;quot; ... I'll pretend I didn't hear that. - Oh, don't mention it, I'm just happy that we all made it out okay, and that the people here at Mishelam will be fine. The real hero today was our &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Shining Bonds&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Everyone is smiling. Even Tio, under her Mishy costume as she strikes a pose next to Pramanix. Randy is grinning tiredly, but cheerfully. And Lloyd has a confident and bright lookon his face as he opens his mouth --&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#7d26cd&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tac-Watch&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; 3 Hibiki Tachibana says, &amp;quot;Yeah, I'm okay, I think. Where...C, are you still here?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BANG.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Urk..?!&amp;quot; Lloyd gasps, a hole appearing over where his shoulder and torso meet as he is jerked cleanly out of Rixia's grasp. &amp;quot;L..Ll...LLOOYD?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BANG.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman receives a similar bullet aimed to blow a hole cleanly through his chest.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BANG.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hn!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy swiped his Halberd not a moment too late as the projectile barrels into it and blows it in half, dislocating his elbow in the process.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Tch. I guess that's the 'War God' for you..or the closest thing left to him still walking Zemuria. He already found me after just two shots, should've blasted him first. That looker from Heiyue's about to come up here, too. Time to scram.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But Rixia Mao's vengeful steel wires, and heavy blade, find no purchase. &amp;quot;W..wha..? But...he was here! I know it! He was right here..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It had only taken here less than a minute to traverse the rooftops, now that Seah Unsurtr was no longer a threat that would eat her up for doing so, but there was no sign of the assailant anywhere. He'd evidently set up shop in one of the Ferris Wheel's comparments, at the tippy top of the rotation, and taken his shots from there once he had a good opportunity.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So then, why was there no sign of anyone having been here?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Stay with us..!&amp;quot; Tio panics, not having access to healing Arts herself and only being able to treat the wounds with the medical supplies on hand, she attempts to stabilize Lloyd while Randy kneels next to Featherman, having taken this time to reset his elbow painfully, and works the sore limb to pull out a Tearal Balm to use on him. &amp;quot;Call the chief, we need a medical evacuation &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;pronto&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's not long after that an airship carrying trained medical professionals arrive to treat the critically injured at hand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo is celebrating. Two shots. He's sent flying back by his, armor impacted heavily, by the blow. He feels the bullet enough that he's bleeding inside from the pressure.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy comes to him. &amp;quot;Take me to headquarters, fast...that was Ouroboros, I'm sure of it...*I have the intel on C! He's more dangerous than we think*&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The spy is revealed. Featherman Neo, working with SSS on the inside.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Lloyd...&amp;quot; Featherman is struggling to keep conscious. He can't desuit right now. The balm helps. But he'll have to be taken back so he can heal up.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The shots ring out, and SilverAsh and Pramanix are already on the defensive. SilverAsh keeps his sword drawn, undoubtedly prepared to do some sick bullet parries if needed, and Pramanix calls up a few ice walls arund the injured to give them some maybe/maybe not needed cover from further gunfire. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ourob... Ah, we'll figure that out later. Keep your heads down, everyone!&amp;quot; Pramanix all but orders, only moving from her psot to call up more cover for the medics once they arrive on the scene.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Was this really his handiwork? Why...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki had really expected C to just have left, as he does, so that he wouldn't have to have any uncomfortable confrontrations with the SSS like the last two times.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She wasn't expecting bullets, out of nowhere. For Lloyd and Featherman to go down, and Randy to nearly suffer the same.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It clicks in a whole second after the fact, where her expression takes a 180 and she rushes forward while glancing between the two injured. &amp;quot;Featherman--! Lloyd...!&amp;quot; In a panic, there's not much she can do. The best is helping keep Tio steady and assist in doing what little they can, since Randy has Featherman well cared for. Hibiki knows some very basic medical fix-me-up, enough to at least help with this much...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But what Featherman says draws her attention over. She knew he was investigating him, that's not a surprise. Hibiki was also trying to learn more about him, over the course of all of these Cryptid hunts, and that meeting back at John's house. But...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;What happened? Did he do something? &amp;quot;More dangerous than--?&amp;quot; She has a couple questions that die out in her throat, but Hibiki gulps them down for the moment to make sure the injured are going to be okay before anything else. Her voice, when it comes out, is low and quiet. To herself. &amp;quot;Why did this have to happen...!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita's eyes are wide with shock as the shots ring out, and glassy with &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;something else&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. Abruptly, the smell of human blood is all around her. She pushes her way past that monstrous desire, but it's not the only thing clouding her mind. She reaches for her medicine satchel, but hesitates. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ms. Grier said... cops, and people like them, would trick me into being nice to them. Did C really just shoot those people? If so, should I be helping them? Maybe they're bad in ways I don't understand.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;... No. They've protected people from monsters. They've been nice to me! Of course I have to help them.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita drops to her knees next to Featherman, immediately trying to stabilize him with her rustic cures. A homemade caustic pencil gently burns the flesh around the wound, closing blood vessels and preventing excessive bleeding; a sterilized rag is bunched up and pressed into the hole with a finger, further stemming it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You'll be okay, mister,&amp;quot; she says, and only a little uncertainty bleeds into her voice. You can barely even notice when she swallows back drool. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her attention then turns to Lloyd, who was hit less center-mass; he receives equally urgent care with the supplies she has left. She doesn't leave them until further help arrives. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7628/Cryptid_Hunting_File_02_-_PERPETUAL_TERROR_GROWTH_HYDRA_PLANT&amp;diff=16662</id>
		<title>7628/Cryptid Hunting File 02 - PERPETUAL TERROR GROWTH HYDRA PLANT</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7628/Cryptid_Hunting_File_02_-_PERPETUAL_TERROR_GROWTH_HYDRA_PLANT&amp;diff=16662"/>
				<updated>2021-08-12T04:07:33Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2021/08/12 |Location=The Great Ocean |Synopsis=In this scene, the Elites fight the Hydra Plant, and once again meet with the SSS. |Cast of Characte...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2021/08/12&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=The Great Ocean&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=In this scene, the Elites fight the Hydra Plant, and once again meet with the SSS.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=7145, 7405, 7420, 7417, 7359, 7351&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One week after the last outing to subjugate Elon Ark, the Elites gathered at Crow's behest find themselves once again in on the continent of Zemuria, wandering out into Eastern Crossbell. The highway itself connects directly to Crossbell State's capital city and namesake, though, everyone finds themselves well off the beaten path and away from the safety of the various devices set up along the paved road which seemed suspiciously like small and stubby street lamps, but if questioned, C will clarify that they are in fact Orbal Lamps that emit invisible waves that ward off the various common pests and monsters of the area.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Of course, without them, they have to fend off a handful of attacks from varioud woodland monsters, such as giant Raccoons and large insects with thick stingers dripping with poison, or beetles the size of a large hound.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;All in all, for a bevy of high caliber fighters such as themselves, it doesn't pose much of an issue.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hopefully, we'll be able to clean this one up faster than last time, so that we can duck the fuzz,&amp;quot; C hums, wistfully, &amp;quot;I doubt they'll be nice enough to let you all off with a little scuffle like before.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The area has many rocky crags, a good bit of moss, and loose, fertile soil that spongily dips as they keep walking. It wasn't necessarily swampy, but a good, nasty torrent could easily make the area similar to one.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And as they begin to turn around on a slope...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;R-Randy, Lloyd, don't you dare look..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hey, hey, if I don't look then how am I supposed to get you down..?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Just hang on, Ellie ... if .. if I can get myself free..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Zeit. Help.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Woof!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arriving on the scene to find the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;S.S.S.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; already engaged with the Cryptid in question, referred to as Hydra Plant, the scene doesn't inspire confidence. Ellie, the silver haired woman in pink, is dangling twenty feet off the ground and tantalizingly swung around over a ginormous cactus' stubby, blunt tip. The whole area seems as if it had been invaded by hostile life, as none of the fauna seemed indiginous -- even the bright blue pleroma grass was being overtaken. And the giant 'cactus' itself seemed to be rising from a pool of otherworldly muck.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It goes without saying that it's not a cactus at all, as revealed when it splits in half to reveal that it was in fact, two massive jaws full of big, sharp, and full teeth.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Roughly spiked and textured plantoid serpents seem to not only be growing out of it, but the surroundings as well, giving Randy trouble fending for himself and for Zeit, the one-eyed wolf. Noel is collapsed behind a nearby rock, covered in bites and oozing with some kind of nasty slime, the numerous bite wounds covering her giving a good idea of just how bad of a time she'd had it. She most likely had been moved there by her allies for her own safety.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio and Lloyd are both being restrained by slimmer, rope-like vines similar to the one dangling Ellie above Hydra Plant's largest maw, Lloyd constantly juggling between smacking away more of the larger attackers and trying to free himself, while Tio utilizes freezing ice Arts to keep them at bay, clearly taxed and running on fumes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Good grief. Looks like we showed up at just the right time, huh?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Once again, &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;White Dwarf&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; gets involved. The extent of the rest of the Redshift Operators' involvement is some help from a &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#994444&amp;quot;&amp;gt;quiet fellow in an astronaut suit&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, who kindly drove the &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;white-haired woman&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; as far as the roads would take them. She hikes the rest, engaging the local wildlife with eager vigor; efforts to tame them and make an animal companion are fruitless, but she does try to save some of the fresh meat, for the sake of what she claims is the cursed hunger of a beloved demon kept at home.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Hmhmhmhm!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; A true chuuni chuckle sounds out as she rounds the corner. She already knew what was coming before she saw it properly, of course. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Were you not warned? Told to stand out of the way of our efforts? Truly *unwise*, lesser warriors. Come see true power.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; She strikes her dramatic pose, pressing her cybernetic arm across her face, leaving the index finger gently covering the third eye of her tactical goggles. She is doing her best to look like someone who didn't get riot-hosed last time, and, honestly, doing a damn good job. Striding on, she draws her katana dramatically, leaving the sheath in her off-hand. Thank god she's finally got an antagonistic audience, doing this drama for allies and monsters was just frustrating. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her high-speed dash splits into a dozen paths. She's looking for a sequence of dramatic slices to carve through the battlefield against this massive plant, searching for what lower roots provoke the most visible damage and pain. Her high-speed bursts of dashing come with slick pass-by samurai-style slashes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She also does her best to specifically stop by Tio, intent on slicing her rope-like vines dramatically, and then delivering a firm kick to the midsection to send her away from the monster plant, either to give &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;the woman with the katana&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; a little extra room to attack the plant-beast, or to personally &amp;quot;rescue&amp;quot; her previous attacker. Or attack? It's great drama moment, done by someone who cultivates an identity based on the horrid dark ninjas and skull-faced demon-bearers of her chosen media. How much it antagonizes the security force is another matter entirely. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;IN THE FOREST:&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You know,&amp;quot; John admits as they walk through the dungeon, &amp;quot;The big problem with being a transforming hero is that if you transform all the time, it stops being cool, you know?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He ducks under one of the monsters and tosses it over his shoulder to Rita. He's not a great fighter, but he's servicable. Every so often he delivers a reasonable punch but it's nothing on the level of anybody else - at best it's a brief disruption so somebody else can take advantage of it. &amp;quot;Like, if I do it *right now*, to fight trash before the boss, doesn't redoing the sequence at the boss just get boring?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Another duck, but not quite fast enough. He gets a good, solid scratch across his face as he straightens. &amp;quot;I mean, I'd have to untransform, and then retransform, and redo the whole speech, and....&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He swings down to let another monster roll over him and pushes it at C from behind. &amp;quot;And that just kinda loses something! You know what I mean?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; They come around the corner. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; John waves at the scene and puts his hand on C's shoulder as he pulls out the Gale Whistler. &amp;quot;See what I mean? This is a way better place to transform, right?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; RIGHT NOW&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A distant tune, the music of a flute from far away. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The whirling of a tornado. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A gust of wind roaring through. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A flash of light. A flash of white. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Pavement, torn apart, a wave of shredded asphalt scattering across the dirt on either side. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The tendril hits the ground with an ugly *thump*. The asphalt dust clears. There's a great gouge in the road, cut straight through, as if it was nothing but water and a boat had cleaved straight through it. Some of the street lamps are bent at an angle that'll surely need repair. Several simple, low-level monsters have been killed incidentally in the process, corpses scattered about, waiting to be looted. Lights flicker, but do not die. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; At the end of the gouge is a fluttering silvery scarf, a silver powersuit glowing with red lines, a red beam saber clutched in one hand, and Ellie tucked against his chest. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ze&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:silver&amp;quot;&amp;gt;phyr&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;man&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The transforming hero sets the young woman down and nods at her. He gives her a thumbs-up. He's probably grinning behind the mask. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then he turns and starts walking through the giant cleft of road in front of him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The wind called my name, and so I arrive! That voice upon the breeze brings salvation!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman flicks the Gale Whistler to the side. &amp;quot;The Hero of the Wind is here!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On the walk over, Rita is cheerful and conversational- she greets everyone she recognizes with an earnest smile and an overenthusiastic wave, and introduces herself with an adorable bow to anyone she doesn't. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She takes a back-seat position in dealing with the trash random encounters, notably hiding behind Hibiki and Zephyrman. But when the party gets near that slope, she abruptly stops walking, straightens up ramrod-stiff, and opens her eyes wide. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That smell... it's unbearably delicious. I feel like there's a freezing hole where my stomach ought to be. No, but I recognize it from a week ago- isn't that...?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;sprints&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; ahead faster than a professional athlete, kicking up tufts of marshy grass. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Something's wrong!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; she shouts back over her shoulder. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That's human blood. And it reminded me of... one of those policemen.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Noel is lying, wounded, behind a rock. Rita emerges from the woods next to her, staring down the injured woman with a vacuous, almost soullessly empty look. It isn't an expression humans should be capable of. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita swallows her drool. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;This is worse than it was before. It's a stabbing, gnawing pain; achingly empty. I want to hook my fingers inside her ribs and shovel her guts down my throat. Is it because I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast? Or am I just unraveling this fast...?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; After an unsettlingly long pause, she pulls herself back to the present. &amp;quot;This looks bad,&amp;quot; she says, forcing herself to frown sympathetically. &amp;quot;Is it okay if I help you, miss?&amp;quot; She kneels down to assess the injuries, then reaches into her satchel and pulls out some sterile rags. Tie one tight to tourniquet a bleeding limb; stuff another into a pierce wound to stanch the flow there; wipe the strange goop off of her with a third. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;She's our enemy, but she's not a bad person. If I ate her, I couldn't live with myself. But there's so much blood- maybe she wouldn't miss a finger...? No, stop it, Rita! Don't think like that. Don't.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Once she's adequately stabilized, Rita stands back up. &amp;quot;Now, stay there, okay? Everything will be alright.&amp;quot; But once her back is turned on her patient, she can't help licking the residual blood off of her fingers. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A mistake. She doubles over after only a few steps towards the monster. Her insides are a kaleidoscope of starvation and pain, painting vivid new patterns of shifting agony from those two ingredients. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She barely maintains enough composure to actually contribute to the fight. Her own whickering, invisible tentacles unravel from around her arm to whip out to sever the thinner vines holding Lloyd and yank him to safety, throwing him roughly behind her. She tries to wrap them back around her arm afterwards, but doesn't quite have the concentration to do it right; the rewrapped disguise exposes pieces of the true flesh of her arm underneath, pale skin shot through with ominous blue veins. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Give them back,&amp;quot; she mutters quietly, grimacing as she tries to stare the monster down, but unable to straighten all the way up. &amp;quot;They're &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;not yours&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Man. In a way, these worlds with monsters everywhere if you just go off the road are rougher than her own. &amp;quot;You think so?&amp;quot; She raises an eyebrow at John while casually elbowing an oversized beetle out of the way. &amp;quot;But what if you just stayed transformed when you got there? ...But I guess then the speech has less impact.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki has had quite the week, but not enough to stop her from coming along to help again with C's Cryptid hunting. She's a little wary of the whole thing after certain events, but the way she sees it, the best way to get to the bottom of what everything is about is to keep coming along and lending a hand. It's the easiest way to learn more about C and what he's trying to do, and they'll also probably run into the SSS again.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Oh. That's the SSS right there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I'll say...!&amp;quot; She replies back towards C while taking quick stock of the situation. It's totally different than Elon Ark; instead of just one massive creature, this thing is more like a /lot/ of them with the way its overgrowth is spreading around the environment and serpents are springing up everywhere. This is an even more obvious example of the problems these things can cause to the ecosystem.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Fortunately, she's already took the chance to transform on the way here unlike Zephyrman, and the same people who tried to arrest them last time need help. Now. There's not any time wasted in dashing forward at full speed, her Symphogear's skirt thrusters adding on some extra acceleration before they throw her up into a high jump.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And she comes down in a descending axe kick aimed to come down on one of the spiked snakeheads harassing Randy and Zeit with full intention to crush it beneath her heel, where she can flip off and land nearby them. There will be no hand throwing with them this time of course, and she's going to be doing her best to help keep the aggressive plantlife off of them while the rest of the group assists the others. &amp;quot;Hey, are you guys alright!? Sorry we didn't get here sooner...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She says, when they weren't expecting the SSS to be here and they probably weren't expecting them either.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7351|Cloud Strife (7351)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As if on cue, the sounds of a motorized engine can be made out approaching the group, now loud enough to be unmistakable despite the sounds of the ensuing battle echoing from within the marsh. The origin of such a thing is both as obvious as it is confusing, given they are rather distanced from the road proper at this point. Then, a blinding light comes in to view between the various stalks of plant life along with a trail that seems to be entirely comprised of dark, organic, and moist terrain being kicked up by some force. The light was from none other than a headlight, the beam of which was providing a phenomenon that obscured the rider for the briefest of moments.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's not really a question of who that was. That much would be obvious from context clues alone. The what can now be identified as an orbal motorcycle lurches as the blond-haired merc slams a foot into the ground mid-transit and launches himself and the vehicle into the sky- aiming to shoot above the battlefield all at once as he reaches an arm back to grasp the hilt of his signature weapon and slices it through the air in a forceful draw. One would this such an action would unbalance him in the air, but as the vehicle begins to lurch to one side he raises his legs and kicks off of the automobile with just enough force to veer it to a relatively safe spot of vegetation to minimize how much impact it was going to take before raising his Buster Sword on high as he, as far as the Hydra Plant was concerned, momentarily eclipsed sun.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The EX-Soldier tightens his grip further and brandishes the unusually sized weapon with both hands, twisting them slightly almost to confirm to himself that he was ready to handle the shock of delivering the blow. As he descends, the shadow cast upon his face by having his back to the luminescent sunlight is dispelled as the stones socketed into his blade begin to shimmer and release a light, and his sword is wreathed in a firey plasma with the light flickering off of his azure eyes before he attempts to bring it down on and through any defenses this creature might muster in the interim without so much as a word to the others in the immediate area.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;C, for his part, kept his cool easily enough despite being pestered so severely by John on the way there. It was much harder than it looked, you can rest assured.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rita charging ahead of the rest makes her the actual first one on the field while John is busy transforming with his Gale Whistler; Randy glances to the side, &amp;quot;Hn!&amp;quot; and smashes the head of one of the thinner Hydra's heads, the plant wailing as an electric jolt rattles its jaws, preventing it from taking a sideswipe bite at the deceptively young looking woman as she darts behind him to get at where they'd tucked Noel away. &amp;quot;Hey, you're..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Noel blearily looks up at Rita and weakly recoils. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;T-that look. I'm just seeing stuff now, right? Isn't this that little girl from before? ... so why .. does it look like she wants to sink her teeth into me too? I feel like I'm gonna' hurl.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Ungh..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, rather than chewing on her like a piece of candy, Rita holds back her baser instincts and manages to wipe the worst of the slime off of Noel's body, and provide basic treatment to ensure she wouldn't bleed out. She's able to tell that the substance Noel had been slathered in seemed to be some kind of powerful neurotoxin, mixed with stomach acid.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As one of the Hydra Heads harassing Randy and Zeit come in for another bite, Hibiki makes her interjection and smashes down on one of them viciously, causing it to squeal painfully as green and orange fluids dribble from the busted lump in its head, wriggling and wiggling from side to side in pain. This gives Zeit the opportunity to leap and bite at the 'throat' of the second one, allowing Randy to swipe at the side of its head and cleave half of it off. The remaining body wriggles and wiggles, reeling back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Whew ... nice save, kiddo.&amp;quot; Randy says, the wolf beside him giving an less-than appealed growl in response, but he didn't seem like he was going to bite her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then the Hydra Head that Randy had just destroyed, its remaining body splits with a nasty slurp, and reforms into two. The same happens to the one that Hibiki had attacked, but not defeated.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;C'mon, man. Not this shit /again/!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ellie, rescued by Zephyrman, huffs as she filches herself down in an attempt to grab at her weapon, before realizing that it had likely fallen off somewhere when she had been dangled over the creature's biggest mouth, &amp;quot;Ack. You can't be serious, now we're getting saved by terrorists? Although they aren't all bad, it's still leaving a bad taste in my mouth -- Randy?! Don't tell me you let it split again! Oh...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio, after having been rescued, is given no chance to respond before she gets kicked in her small, armored plate and sent flying. &amp;quot;It hurts.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She lands in a soft bush, so it's all fine.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;White Dwarf's parallel-timeline-cognition as she hips and hops to search out the best spots to slash at are fruitful, yet meet the ultimate same fate as Randy's attempt to curb the Hydra's heads; the more she chops at any of the growths or their peripheries, the more fiercely they grow.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It is easy, at this point, to realize that it was not being incompetent that got the SSS into this kind of predicament. Walking into this kind of fight without knowing the enemy had this ability, it wouldn't take long at all for it to spiral out of control and become wholly unmanageable.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd looks appreciatively at Rita, &amp;quot;You--&amp;quot; but before he can finish, he also is chucked away. He finds his cushion comfortably in Ellie's chest, &amp;quot;LLOYD-&amp;quot; &amp;quot;H-hold on.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ugh,&amp;quot; she bites her tongue and her indignity as she pushes him off of her, and helps him collect his tonfa from the ground, roughly shoving them into his hands. &amp;quot;/Please/ help me come up with a plan, this is NOT working.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bush Tio pops her head out, &amp;quot;Hydra Plant is some kind of entity which grows explosively in response to trauma. It should not be possible for it to have the energy to reproduce at this level; however, because it is rooted over top of a Septium Vein, where pleroma grass grows..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ellie has a look of understanding, &amp;quot;It's feeding off of it to fuel itself. But it's impossible for something to be done about that...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, he thinks to himself, those tentacles from that girl were un-nerving. Still, there was no time to bring it up now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Cloud's entrance draws everyone's eyes and attention as he launches a blistering slash of light into the biggest body, carving out a sizzling, gaping and putrid wound. The screech of the Hydra Plant is loud and hideous.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ah, man, it's gonna' be a pain in the ass to get that back,&amp;quot; C moans, as Cloud's orbal bike sinks into the soft soil, as if trapped by quicksand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The multitudous heads shoot around in a frenzy, each pursuing independant action with independant instinct, and begin to rapidly attack the Elites with their mouths, some attempting to spew the same substance that had paralyzed noel, and some going straight for the kill with the intent to bite them in two.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Cloud's arrival is impressive. He soars through the sky in exactly the way you'd expect someone making a Dramatic Entrance would. John would absolutely be cheering were it not for one, specific, little, problem. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She tells them not to look. She *begs* them not to look. She's scared, and nervous, and worried, and there's something she desperately wants to hide. And John, after yesterday... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; ... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; OK. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman flickers in front of Rita with the sound of the wind. She can see his scarf fluttering in front of her. She can see the Gale Whistler in his right hand. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And she can see his back to her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She begged him not to look. She begged them not to look at her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; So he won't. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita can see the thumbs-up. She can imagine the grin on his face - the big, heroic, 'Don't worry. I won't.' grin. 'It'll all be okay,' that thumbs-up says. 'Just believe in me, and I'll believe in you, too.' &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; So when the mouths start smashing in, and he starts bringing up his beam saber to protect himself, he's not protecting her - he's just got his back to her, to make absolutely sure he can't see. When one of them comes in to bite him, he grabs it in one hand, and it bites down on his arm, and sparks fly out, like all good toku damage. But he's clinging to the thing with all his might, and he brings the Gale Whistler down on its head like he's clubbing it until it opens. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman can't use speed in front of Rita - he'd be exposing her to the ridiculous winds of the Zephyrman costume's thrusters - and he can't just swing the Gale Whistler around without risking cutting her. He can't see where she is, after all. Only that she's behind him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His fist whirls around into the monster's head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;TORNAAAAAAAAADO&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The red circuitry along his arm bursts to life. When it hits the plant head, there's more behind it than just that. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Because out of absolutely *fucking* nowhere, the giant arm of HurriKaiser comes smashing in alongside his attack, punching the everloving *shit* out of everything in its way. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then, as soon as it's come, it vanishes, and Zephyrman's already taken up a fighting stance. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I won't look,&amp;quot; he says to Rita. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I promise.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Yeah, he's just tied one hand behind his back, but this is way more important.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You're welcome...but this looks like a real mess.&amp;quot; Zeit gets a slightly apologetic grimace from Hibiki, for obvious reasons, before her attention snaps back up to the pair of hydra heads they were facing down with. Correction, the four.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...You have got to be /kidding/ me,&amp;quot; she complains in time with Randy.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The heads rip in towards them, and she's forced immediately onto the defensive at threat of being ripped open. The muddy ground makes for seriously bad footing, and moving would take too long with the way her heavy boots are sinking into it--so she holds her ground against the snapping jaws, beating it back each time it comes in with a resounding impact from her fists. Despite already being in enough danger herself, she's still trying to cover for Randy and Zeit too.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;...Rita is all the way over there. Hibiki can't see her from where she is now, but she wants to be over there too. Even if she doesn't want them to look at her, she wants to take hold of her hand and tell her, face to face, that they're here for her no matter what the problem is. Whatever is wrestling with her from inside...but Zephyrman is being the hero she needs to see right now. And that's more than good enough to know she's in good hands.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And right now, her mental lapse nearly gets her arm bitten off before she narrowly catches the serpent's jaw open, gritting her teeth as teeth scrape along skin before pushing back away. &amp;quot;How big are these Septium Veins!?&amp;quot; Hibiki calls back over her shoulder towards Tio In The Bush.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In her mind, it's either doing something about that...or maybe, after what Cloud did, hitting the biggest of their bodies might just work better.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But for now, she waits for another of the regenerating heads to come back in. And when it does, she throws her fist forward towards it, full force, to smash into its snout before it gets the chance to open its maw. &amp;quot;Haaaaah!&amp;quot; Her armor's pilebunker-esque piston pulls back halfway and slams in on impact, to send a violent shockwave down the entire length of the thing - to rip through its body as it goes and blow it apart from the inside, even the parts of it that are underground, and reduce it to a bunch of miniscule bits of plant.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If it can regenerate from something like that, they're really going to have a problem.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7351|Cloud Strife (7351)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The state of the bike was something that Cloud Strife did not have time to commit to memory as he was now on the defensive. He was in a bad predicament, as he wanted to land and glance over his shoulder to confirm the status of the others especially given the mixed signals he's hearing from their predicament in some masked worry. Unfortunately, he would not be allowed to strike such a silhouette as the horrid plant began to exhume a fatal substance that he can only presume to be some kind of poison. Last he recalls, he did not pack any kind of items to deal with that particular status effect. He raises his blade instinctively to block the bulk of the liquid but such a thing only needs to make contact, and as he rolls onto the ground the Merc tenses as he feels the neurotoxin get to work immediately. He inhales sharply, then exhales. This would likely be putting him on some kind of time limit he imagines, and the proliferation of the being from being split in two was another thing he'd likely have to worry about. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; He deadens his face again and flourishes his Buster Sword until it rests in front of him as he prepares to face off against the creature once again. At least, until he hears someone declaring their attack name with abandon. If nothing else declaring your attack before you perform it gives your allies a good chance to know what's coming, and he's forced to momentarily backstep away from the creature and analyze exactly what this 'Zephyrman' was performing. Well...Even if he thought it looked cool that wouldn't be an opinion that would be shared. Regardless, he uses that momentary opportunity and blatant display to embolden his own approach. He flips the edge of his blade down and causes it to slam into the ground as she sprints forward to close the gap he had created himself and carves a scar through the earth, pushing through the embers created from his prior assault with layers and layers of mud being scattered with each step. Then, moments before he'd have gotten so close he'd be shoulder checking the Hydra Plant there's a faint shockwave in the terrain immediately surrounding himself as he brings his own momentum to a complete halt and aims to rend his sword down from root to sky. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; ...Yeah. It can recover itself. It can also place a timer on those it fights. The answer should be some kind of tactical maneuver to exploit its weaknesses in order to bring the fight to a close. However. If he simply cleaves enough in twain to overpower the creature's proliferation that would be a solution in itself. The bigger plans can be left to his employer or anyone who seems fit for the task.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A dozen shades of possible futures are badly burned, corroded out of possibility as White Dwarf dodges the bulk of the vicious spew, picking one of the thirteen different predicted directions. It's the best she's got to come away from it with some sizzling on her legs, barely diving out of ther way and rolling. Rita's chatter on the radios sounds like it's building up to something. It sounds like she's cursed with a dark shadow-self or something like that! She'll hit her Demon Spark and do something *so cool*.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;fantastical swordswoman&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; resolves to trust in someone who truly is cursed with, well, whatever it is that Rita is cursed with. This, as something Rita has intensely hidden and which is subject to her own yet-unknown illusory abilities, so it's nothing that even the &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;precognitive woman&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; can predict. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Even still, she can roughly see the shape of whatever approach Rita will take. And she projects her own shotgun-blast of future selves, finding whatever approach that is, whatever method Rita will use to terminate its regeneration, and intersect the two. Blade out, her dance of slashes and flora beheadings will carve the most elegant path through the defenses this thing has that she can make.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Whatever your *dark curse* is, &amp;amp;lt;Lita&amp;amp;gt;, lay it bare as much as you need! I'll carve your path through the power of my own!&amp;quot; She calls out, eager, supportive, and whirling with bladed violence.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Rita Ma says, breathing shallowly: &amp;quot;This was a bad idea.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Hibiki Tachibana says, &amp;quot;Rita? Are you okay?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Rita Ma says quietly, &amp;quot;There's something wrong with me.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;I shouldn't... have tried to do this.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Redshift Operators &amp;amp;#124; White Dwarf says, &amp;quot;Hm? You have a sensitivity to this battle? A sinister pollen on the air, or some other risk?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Zephyrman says, &amp;quot;Rita, are you okay?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Zephyrman says, &amp;quot;No, you aren't OK. Rita, do you need help?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Rita Ma says, &amp;quot;No, it's...&amp;quot; An unidentifiable, organic sound. &amp;quot;... Don't look at me. Please don't look at me.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Zephyrman says, &amp;quot;Rita!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d75fff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;X-Watch-Chatter&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Zephyrman, quietly, but pleading, says, &amp;quot;Rita. If you need help...please ask us. You don't have to carry things alone. OK? Please.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C ambiguously, &amp;quot;Oh...? Huh. So I wasn't seeing things after all.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d75fff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;X-Watch-Chatter&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Rita Ma swallows hard. &amp;quot;O- okay.... Mr. John.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C irresponsibly, &amp;quot;Well, even if you retreat, this is also why I brought an extra hand. Alright SOLDIER, have at 'em.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d75fff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;X-Watch-Chatter&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [4] Zephyrman, sternly, &amp;quot;*John*.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d75fff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;X-Watch-Chatter&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; [3] Hibiki Tachibana says, &amp;quot;...We're all right here for you. Don't forget that.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita is physically, bodily coming undone. The appearance of an innocent, ordinary girl in ordinary clothes is peeling away in strips. Her hair, her clothes, her skin, they all come off her bit by bit like the wrappings of a mummy. It's all a mimic octopus's elaborate disguise. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The true form, revealed in glimpses and slices underneath, is a girl scoured by some progressive mutation. Her still-human skin is shot through with spiderwebbing cracks of blue, as if the pale skin-tone were scales parting to reveal the azure beneath. Around the torso, the cracks merge together until they become the dominant coloration, painting her body with &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;cerulean fins and jellyfish-like lappets&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; in an almost dress-like pattern. Even her hair is shot through with tendrils, no longer entirely a human's. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And the ribbons of her disguise, now revealed as tentacles sprouting from her upper back- from forearm-sized to thicker than her legs, probably massing more than Rita herself. They arch and sway with a foreign, active intelligence. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But Zephyrman can't see any of that. Rita steps up and wraps her arms around his waist from behind. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Thank you so much,&amp;quot; she says. Her voice is hoarse with emotion, but it's still Rita's voice unmistakably. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;This hunger, it's killing me. I'd give anything to be eating raw flesh right now. I shouldn't have tasted that woman's blood. I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have pretended to be a hero in the first place.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I know I'm a monster. I'm not heroic. What's in my heart shouldn't inspire anybody. But at least... I can be a monster that protects humans. That's something I can do.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Invisible whickering tendrils surround them both, a blender of constant audibly-sharp motion aiming to protect her and Zephyrman by slicing through or wrenching aside any incoming attacks from the plant. Her two largest smoky-dark tentacles, though, snake forward over John's shoulders and stab into the Hydra-plant's main body, gouging as deep as they can. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Glowing veins&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; spread out under the plant's surface from the points of impact. In swallowing 'pulses', she tries to drag out its life force bit by bit, visible as bubbles of &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;blue essence&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; flowing back towards her through the tentacles. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I'm starving all the time. It's like I'm being stabbed in the gut. But I don't want to hurt anybody,&amp;quot; she says- softly, solemnly. &amp;quot;And this thing won't stop regrowing. So I'll &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;flash fg_n bg_n ++ f&amp;quot;&amp;gt;devour it until there's not enough left to come back&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. And we'll solve two problems at once, okay?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After applying sufficient trauma to its head until it opens, snarling at him, Zephyrman is able to free himself from the Hydra Head that had attempted to use him as a chewtoy; though, his arm and upper body is now coated in viscuous slobber. It's rather nasty.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The combined punching power of Zephyrman and his signature giant robot, the HurriKaiser, several Hydra Heads are smashed apart and left to flail limply; except ..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Just like before with Hibiki and Randy, they all divide and multiply back to full strength! Rather than a handful to accost himself and Rita, there are now nearly a dozen of them savaging them like a pack of giant hounds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tio calls to Hibiki from her bush, &amp;quot; ... too big to do something about. And, even if you could disrupting the Septium Veins here like that could negatively impact all of Crossbell .. like the parts of the world where the veins have dried up.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;C appends, &amp;quot;Those places have turned into inhospitable deserts unsuit for anything to live in, so she's got a point. That should also be an incentive to get this guy to stop feeding on it, right?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hibiki charges in to obliterate the main body with her greatest attack so far, and blows apart nearly a fourth of the largest Head's form, eliciting a screech and a geyser of various, blood-like bodily fluids to rain down on her. They smelled utterly putrid.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;...But after several seconds, nearly a dozen other heads grew in place of the wound, shooting out to tunnel into the ground wetly slopping through the dark purple substance that had begun suffusing into the dirt of the area before raising back up to surround Hibiki and attempt to tear her apart.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy, for his part, throws his caution to the wind given she'd attempted to help them at cost to her own health, &amp;quot;Zeit! Protect Noel, I'm goin' in..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Zeit barks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Clenching his Orbal Halberd, Randy dashes in, a fierce aura beginning to emenate from him before it takes the form of a lizard, his swift stab transforming into a gushing stream of flame that annihilates several of the heads and gives Hibiki enough breathing room to fight back -- even at the cost of creating more Hydra Heads in the process. &amp;quot;Heh .. sorry, things're gonna' be even tougher now that I went and did that.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Cloud's gargantuan, comically oversized sword is wielded with grace and extreme prejudice as he, similarly to Hibiki, carves through a fair portion of the main body; approximately a fifth, though his area-of-trauma was far greater, having virtually split one of the jaws in two with his strike. Out of the wound pours yet even more Hydra Heads, which all pour down onto Cloud and force him to defend himself or become nothing more than sustenance for the massive monster he was fighting.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The &amp;quot;main body&amp;quot; that had been attacked was quivering, and practically vomitting a variety of its fluids hither and thither with abandon, wailing the whole time. But that just meant that Cloud and Hibiki, even if they had caused numerous more Hydra Heads to appear, had also caused it an immense amount of pain.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Okay ... they seem like they have a plan! I don't like the idea of working for terrorists, either, but if they can stop this thing, then the S.S.S. needs to pitch in. We can't let our differences stop us from helping the people of Crossbell.&amp;quot; Lloyd rouses his comrades, who all nod in agreement. &amp;quot;Although .. uhm, I still don't know where my Orbal Pistol is ... so I can't do anything ...&amp;quot; Ellie mutters.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So, this effectively meant that Lloyd would need to pick up the slack, as Tio herself was out of energy for her staff. &amp;quot; ... Alright, in that case, wish me luck..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd takes in a deep breath. White Dwarf uses her signature ability to hone in on Rita's best chance, and tries to make it a reality. She carves through countless Hydra Heads, and for each one she cuts down, two more take its place. There had to be hundreds of the things in the area, by now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd charges next to her and pitches in, &amp;quot;TIIIIGER -- &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:blue&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CHAAAAAARGE!!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His body becomes coated in a fierce blue energy as he blasts through them with the fierceness of a charging tiger, or perhaps more accurately, a bright blue bullet, giving White Dwarf a greater opening to fight with. This in turn, also gives Rita a superior opening.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well, I've got a bad feeling about this,&amp;quot; Randy admits to Hibiki before grinning with a sardonic, 'well what can you do about it?' look on his face and in his eyes. &amp;quot;But shoot, it's better than gettin' eaten .. these things have bitten me enough times already!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While Zephyrman may not be watching, C certainly is, though what precisely is running through his head is hidden behind his visor at this time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rita Ma transforms into a hideous, horrifying monster just as predatorial as the Hydra Plant that has been attempting to devour all of them this entire time, and indeed, she does just that. The Cryptid has a gargantuan amount of life energy; that is to say, it has a technically infinite amount of it. But as long as it manifests in this world, rather than the one it came from, it only has as much here as it can draw from the Septium Vein it was growing on. And it can't feed on that, faster than she could feed on it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Hydra Heads redirect themselves all from the other Elites as she digs into it, viscera flying as they attempt to rip her apart and devour her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She eats them. They eat her in return. This was a battle which would be decided by who could gobble the other up the fastest, and it was such a horrifying one that it had stopped the SSS dead in their tracks as they watched.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Of course, by the time it was over, there was only one beast left standing, having sated its -- her -- fill, as she had drained it of its life force entirely, the Hydra Plant had shriveled into dust as it stopped resisting and blew away in the wind.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;C shakes his helmeted head and places the Demon Flute back in its carrying case. &amp;quot;Welp. That's a Loss, with a capital L for me, I guess.&amp;quot; he sighs. The colorful bird perched on his shoulder smirks, before projecting his master's voice -- that of a certain opera singing witch, &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:green!blue&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Oh~ but it isn't likely they could have beaten the Perpetual Terror Growth into submission without killing it off, you know. Can you really be that mad about it?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Tch ... I guess not. Still, I better make like a tree myself and leaf, before I have to go beat the hell out of those SSS chumps because they want to arrest me while they're dead on their feet.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Turning, C seems to vanish almost instantly, and not in the same way that Vita had teleported him before. He was gone in a genuine blink.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita hugs him from behind. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; John doesn't look over his shoulder. He just knows it's her. He knows it's her tentacles slashing around them both, around her, around his shoulders and his waist. He knows it's her tentacles crashing into the thing, spreading the glowing veins, pulsing, dragging out the bubbles of essence into her body. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He doesn't look over his shoulder even as she tells him that she's being stabbed in the gut. That she doesn't want to hurt anybody. That she'll eat, and eat, and eat, until there's not enough left to come back. That she'll eat and solve two problems at once. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He doesn't look over his shoulder. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But he does reach behind, and, gently, feels for her face, then her hair. Then, awkwardly, he pats her on the head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; That's it. That's all he does. As she defends him, he pats her on the head in one of the more awkward shoulder-twisting motions he's ever done. But it's important to him. And it's important to her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As she eats it, the heads realign. They point directly at her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman digs his heels in. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; What heads he can stop, he stops. He'll buy Rita time. He'll buy her time and he won't look. His feet slam into the sand. HurriKaiser's massive arms come forth from the ground, hammering as many of them away as it can. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's just buying her time. He's not even intercepting most of them. Just buying time. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When it's over - when she stands - John falls to his knees. He's expended a lot of energy. But the SSS is still there. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; So, with Rita still holding his waist, he whips out the Gale Whistler, and plays a tune, and HurriKaiser comes sliding down from on high in its jet mode. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Let's go. Before they decide they want to push the point.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7351|Cloud Strife (7351)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Merc raises his blade like a shield in preparation for the incoming swarm- that never arrives. Indeed, there were more pressing matters to attend to here that had to be addressed. That is the situation regarding a certain metamorphosis that Cloud could not bear witness to initially. Ignoring it was no longer an option, and in any typical situation, he would take this time to make an opportunistic strike to assist in finishing the monster off, as is typical during many conjoined efforts... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; ...But this was something completely different than what he was used to. People roughly working for the same goal turning into something hard to differentiate from the monster opposing them is not something he is familiar with. He was not fully confident that if he lapsed into his combat reflexes again he'd be able to avoid swinging instinctively on one of the many tentacles writhing that originally belonged to Rita. So he doesn't. He stares in deadpan awe as she enacts the rules of nature on the Hydra Plant. One that showed who was stronger between the two. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; After the sudden event and the calm after the storm, he casts his gaze over just in time to see C make his exit stage right. Then, realizing that he was sinking the longer he stood shellshocked into being a statue he decides to spin his own blade around and brush off the remaining plant phlegm off his clothes and arms. He wanted to ask the same things as the others of course, whether or not they were all fine. But in the end that wasn't his job. More important than that though is that the others that appeared to be closer to her got the answers for him without the need of exposing himself to a social situation, so he'll simply end the spin with the blade hefted on his back and take a momentary scramble of the afterbattle as an opportunity to go and pull the bike out of the bog and get mud from some of the more mechanically fragile parts. ...Though it would still take more than a few revs of the engine to get this going and each one felt like it rung slightly louder.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita tries to relinquish her hold on Zephyrman, to maneuver more freely and try to dodge the Cryptid's death throes without endangering him- but freezes once she realizes what he's doing. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;John... no, don't. I didn't ask you to do this, so why are you doing it? I don't want anyone else to risk their lives for me.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But she doesn't let go, either. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her two feeding tentacles are lodged firmly in the Cryptid's body, but the remaining array of finer tendrils are free to defend her, and they do. They form illusory bodies to draw the Hydra's ire; they slice deep into whatever heads lunge for them, trying to push them back or wound them enough to slow their assault; they create deceptive bands of optical camo, shifting their colors to match the background and break up Rita and John's mingled silhouette. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she's inevitably bitten anyway, Rita proves tough to chew. But not impossible. As the dust settles, she trickles blood from shallow bite-marks all over her body. Her lungs heave like a bellows from exertion; her tentacles droop, finished with their messy feeding. The blue spiderwebbing cracks on her body, though, glow with a new vigor. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Ellie offers to heal her. Rita acquiesces, peeling herself away from John with a pat on his shoulder. &amp;quot;I'll be right after you, okay? I just... need to get patched up. Are you sure you're okay, too?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she rejoins everyone else on the HurriKaiser, she's back to her appearance as an &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ordinary girl&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, albeit a markedly tired and slightly shell-shocked one. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She's smiling a little, anyway. She was prepared for things to go worse. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; C &amp;amp;#124; Ellie says, &amp;quot;Of course. Here, I'm going to point this at you, but the bullet isn't going to hurt, I promise -- it'll activate healing magic.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;J-IC-Scene&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Rita Ma audibly flinches. &amp;quot;O-okay?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After wiping most of the purple slime and viscera off of her Orbal Pistol with a grimace, Ellie approaches Rita gently and does her best to push aside her trepidation -- but the caution in her step belies her uneasiness.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even still, she calmly and carefully aims at Rita and pulls the trigger, activating the Water Quartz inside, &amp;quot;Teara!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A medium sized blue pellet smashes into Rita and explodes into a drizzling rain of firefly-like particles that suffuse into her skin, her blood, her bones, and her organs, mending the most serious of her injuries. As a medium-rank Healing Art, it healed approximately half of someone's wounds, with priority given based on the severity of the trauma or danger to the victim's life. Further, it acted to soothe pain, even for injuries it couldn't heal wholly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After everyone else got their healing if they also had desired it, and got ready to leave, the SSS all bunch up to see them off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd, Randy, Tio, Ellie, and Zeit all smile and give waves -- except for Zeit, who simply scoffs for not having the ability to do so -- and wish them well.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Cloud is the singular exception, as he is attempting to rev his bike up. Given his direct connection to C, as announced by the man himself, they couldn't exactly let him go.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Especially now that it was all of them versus him. &amp;quot;We're going to need you to come with us.&amp;quot; Lloyd says, firmly. Randy, with Noel carried half-bridal with one arm, winks and taps his Orbal Halberd against his shoulder.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Cloud has Tio's staff pointed threateningly at his nose, &amp;quot;Do not resist.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;So doing anything about the Vein is definitely off the table. But continuing to just hammer away at this thing isn't getting them far--before she knows it, heads are swarming in from every single direction. Even covered in the thing's blood, she braces herself...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And gets pulled out of proverbial fire by Randy's literal fire. &amp;quot;...! Thank you!&amp;quot; It's a very genuine one, complete with her own dry, humorless chuckle as twice the heads rise back up to come down on them. Fortunately, they're not going to have to go down back-to-back. Because Hibiki's eyes go wide when she hears Rita's declaration. Wait, what is she--?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki couldn't see, fully, even if she wanted to. Zephyrman's form is standing there tall, buying time for the girl. Randy's sardonic comment is met with open-mouthed surprise, and then the Symphogear user nearly breaking away to chase after the heads as the area surrounding those two becomes a whirling mess of slashing tendrils and biting hydra heads stricken through with cyan veins. It's really too chaotic to make much sense of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But she can see enough, and when all is said and done...Zephyrman and Rita are still there, and the Hydra Plant is blowing away in the wind. Enough relief washes over her that she nearly loses strength in her legs on the spot. The only reason she's not already sprinting over there is because she's taking a moment to give Randy a nod of appreciation. &amp;quot;...We'll see you next time! Thanks for everything!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then she's off, to join the others on the HurriKaiser before it takes off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rita is very promptly, despite Ellie's healing arts already being used on her, immediately given a brief, wordless hug and then very insistently poured over for any remaining injuries. In this moment, Hibiki is one step past an overbearing, overprotective sibling to the point it might be a little uncomfortable.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And she doesn't exactly notice C's sudden disappearance or what's going on with Cloud either because of it. Whoops.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7351|Cloud Strife (7351)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's one more rev of the engine and a pathetic failure of the pistons to start the orbal engine only followed by a sigh as the EX-Soldier turns his gaze towards Tio as she approaches him. There's a moment where he glances back away from her to refer to the state of the vehicle then towards the current position of the HurriKaiser. If he hadn't walked away from the group it would be a more viable jump up and catch the hem of their way out to make it his own, but given the lack of terrain, he can't do anything to reach it now. So he moves to a stand and while he is not a necessarily tall man the squareness of his shoulders makes him come off as much larger than he really is to the girl, especially given their current states. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; With his azure eyes glowing as it refracts the sunlight he casts his eyes forward not just with the idea of sizing them up, but regarding them as an entity to be considered a threat. &amp;quot;...I'm merely a hired mercenary. I'm not on contract to fight you right now, but if you insist I will defend myself.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; There is no intention to intimidate them, nor is there any venom to his words. What he is stating is a fact and the way his hand has already grasped the hilt of his blade is a heavy indication that he has no intent to go silently, but simultaneously will not be the first one to lash out.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Narrowing her eyes, Ellie frowns. Tio frowns just as severely.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The battle that soon rings out in the forest is a legendary one, it goes without saying.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I .. I hit him! So why is he still upright?! He's supposed to be asleep!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Zeit. Bite him.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Woof.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Stop right there..!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Man. I guess, just cast it again?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_y bg_n ++ hy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;HUOOOH DAAAAAH!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;... it was well past night-time when it was all said and done.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16660</id>
		<title>Sengo Muramasa</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16660"/>
				<updated>2021-08-08T20:22:30Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Muramasa&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=6593&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Pseudo-Servant&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=Fate/Metastasis-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=OFC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Servant Saber&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Paladins&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=Chevaliers&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Adult Male Sword Owner&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=130&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=187cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=78kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Red&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Gold&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Noriaki Sugiyama&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRdUmJ7tMVk EMIYA Ver. Shimousa]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=Appearing as a fearless youth with deep red hair, Muramasa is a pseudo-servant formed from the body of Shirou Emiya and the abnormal heroic spirit, Sengo Muramasa. Together, they form Servant Saber -- although he still identifies himself as Muramasa the Swordsmith, his situation is such that he's not entirely either or. He's aware of which memories belong to which part of himself, but the ego of the two have merged completely and seamlessly, as the compatibility between the two of them is close to one hundred percent. Muramasa is an extraordinary swordsman, as befitting his class, as well as a blacksmith renowned for making one-of-a-kind swords that would later become legends themselves. He is a very kind man with a strong and uncompromising sense of morals, and a disdain for destiny and human evil. At the same time, his way of speaking is painfully blunt, absent of any sort of tact, he often comes across as a rude person. As well, Muramasa has a bad habit of butting in on the affairs of others due to being a somewhat impulsive person.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Trace On, Trigger Off:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya possesses a very special form of magic called 'Tracing' that allows him to copy the physical blueprints, history, and magical properties of objects. In other words, it's something that works a lot like psychometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Power Copy - Derivative·····, Power Copy - Mirror·····: Sengo is capable of obtaining the accumulated history of most weapons he is able to touch or spend long enough staring at, stealing the owner's techniques and gaining knowledge on how to re-create the weapon in question or use that knowledge to create something that shares similar attributes or abilities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blaze EX:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa is a famous swordsmith who is known for the legendary swords he has crafted, both demonic and divine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Anti-Healing···: A signature component of his sword's abilities allows it to prevent the recovery of things that they sever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Deconstruction···: He is capable of a special and powerful slashing attack that unmakes things as well as pocket dimensions and false realities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blade-Testing Art:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa's sword style that started as the most simple stances required to test the weapons he created, to ensure their adequate functionality. He takes something of an MMA approach to swordsmanship.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Sword··: Muramasa can use practically any weapon that could qualify as a 'sword' as if he'd spent his whole life mastering it. Intuitively, he understands the best way to use any sword in his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Defensive Paradigm··: So long as he has a sword in hand, he can use various techniques nullify damage to himself using his weapon; but a barrage of attacks would be difficult to defend against.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Arsenal - Ranged··: Some techniques that Muramasa can use allow him to use his sword to create wind-blades to attack from a distance, or he could use thrown weapons like knives or short-swords.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Baseless Blade Works:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya's reality marble, a magical spell that would form over the course of his life. However, as Muramasa, the nature of the spell has changed from an armory that stores weaponry into something closer to the heart of a blacksmithy.&lt;br /&gt;
Analysis··: The bladework allows Muramasa to sympathize with the weapon and store a perfect memory of it inside of itself. This allows Sengo to quickly ascertain the history, structure, and materials used in construction of weapons and objects around him.&lt;br /&gt;
Extraordinary Senses··: Being capable of sympathizing with objects greatly enough to discern information from them, it gives him a form of 'sixth sense' in battle, as he can mildly predict their attacks.&lt;br /&gt;
Buffs·: By reading the structure of a weapon, if he has it in his hands, he can fill it with magical energy to enhance it. E.g. a sword would become sharper and more durable.&lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping··: He can temporarily shift the battlefield into a tranquil lake that can be stood on like solid ground, with a star-spangled blue sky hanging above and a blazing inferno raging like the heart of a forge. This field is littered with countless weapons that Muramasa can pick up and wield, or use them as missiles to bombard enemies at long range.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Territory Creation EX:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa's workshop, as both a blacksmith and a mage, is wherever he is. As his entire workshop follows him around, anywhere he stops for the night will be somewhere he can access his tools to create swords, magical or not.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Share Power··: By creating equipment at his workshop, Saber can forge special weapons and armor for other people, provided the necessary materials exist.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Repair··: Using the tools of his workshop and a magic spell, Sengo can repair things from broken magic swords to modern day machinery in anywhere from several minutes to a day's worth of work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping·: Anywhere he stops by for a little bit of rest will begin transforming into his workshop, with tools, items, and subtle magical defenses seemingly appearing as if they were always there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pseudo-Servant:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa is the result of a human mage being possessed by a dead blacksmith, giving him many boons in exchange for fusing his mind with Muramasa's.&lt;br /&gt;
Superhumanity··: Muramasa boasts incredible physical ability, giving him superb speed, strength, and endurance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility··: Muramasa is very agile and acrobatic, capable of performing wall runs and mid-air flips. His jumping distance is great, and he is capable of controlling himself well mid-air.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=House Husband:&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps as a carryover from his life as Shirou Emiya, some of his most enjoyed hobbies are forms of menial household labor.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - Cooking: One of Muramasa's personal joys is to cook, being able to cook even difficult dishes like Osechi, and can identify how a dish was made after tasting it.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - House-Keeping: As an expert of household chores, Muramasa can turn a filthy flat into an orderly living space, or even make a run-down shack presentable overnight.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Compulsive Obsessions &amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya wanted to be a hero who could save everyone; of course, he knew that was impossible. But it didn't matter if it wasn't possible to do so, it's never about what's at the end of the road -- what mattered to him was the road he walked on to begin with. This warped perspective still exists within Muramasa as a compulsion to make himself helpful, above and beyond what would be reasonable. If he can save even one life by putting his own on the line, he will do so regardless of his situation. Both Shirou Emiya and Sengo Muramasa are individuals defined by their obsessive natures -- a single-minded pursuit of one goal. This kind of behavior has only been compounded by their fusion, as Muramasa slaves tirelessly despite his earnest and kind nature, to create his perfect sword. To hone his perfect technique. This very obsession is what causes him to create only bloodthirsty demon swords.  While aspects of Shirou's personality tempered Muramasa, it's not as if he didn't have his own quirks. Their lives and mindsets were 'incredibly similar' after all, so one of them being a twisted person would mean the other should be, too. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Evaporation of Piety &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In relation to his desire for severing himself from fate, Muramasa despises the greater powers. His desire to create his perfect Muramasa comes from the deeper wish to escape the influence of others and act purely on his own willpower. In this way, you could say that Shirou Emiya's optimism and determination to carry through an impossible, eternal dream has improved his condition, turning what would ordinarily be a crippling mental deficiency into something relatively manageable. As a result, he get along poorly with deities, religious people, or people who believe things like karma and destiny are inescapable. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Women &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya was simultaneously horrible and amazing when it came to the women in his life. After all, how could he ever believe someone would love him? As someone who didn't value his own self at all, it didn't make sense for others to care for something that had no intrinsic value. Sengo Muramasa had no such problem in life, but fusing with Shirou Emiya has made it a very complicated affair for both of them, leaving Saber torn between Sengo Muramasa's long dead family and Shirou Emiya's tragically complicated love life. Sadly, even being influenced by a family man isn't enough to make his interactions with the fairer sex any less disastrous as he almost always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Yamato-damashii &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: As a Japanese Heroic Spirit, Sengo Muramasa takes pride in representing his home -- a simple blacksmith manifesting as a Servant is a great honor, indeed. And while his nature is to an extent, humble, he comes from a time where the cultural values of Japanese men ran strong. Even someone as gentle and cultured as himself is no different. Almost always, he does his best to live up to the standards of the Muromachi period; to live honorably, and lawfully. His mental deficiencies in this regard make jabs at his roots incredibly effective in provoking him into fights he otherwise would try and talk his way out of. It's only natural to defend your honor and the honor of your countrymen, after all, at least that's how Sengo Muramasa would see things.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Man's Sanctuary &amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Shockingly, Muramasa's 'man-cave' as it were is in fact, the kitchen. Whether this is a trait he had in life or influence from Shirou Emiya is unclear, but it's a very rare circumstance for him to tolerate other cooks in his own little slice of heaven. There are three things that irritate Saber in every day life -- messy people, ill-prepared food, and cooks he isn't familiar with.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16659</id>
		<title>Sengo Muramasa</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16659"/>
				<updated>2021-08-08T20:20:50Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Cleanup&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Muramasa&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=6593&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Pseudo-Servant&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=Fate/Metastasis-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=OFC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Servant Saber&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Paladins&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=Chevaliers&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Adult Male Sword Owner&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=130&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=187cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=78kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Red&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Gold&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Noriaki Sugiyama&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRdUmJ7tMVk EMIYA Ver. Shimousa]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=Appearing as a fearless youth with deep red hair, Muramasa is a pseudo-servant formed from the body of Shirou Emiya and the abnormal heroic spirit, Sengo Muramasa. Together, they form Servant Saber -- although he still identifies himself as Muramasa the Swordsmith, his situation is such that he's not entirely either or. He's aware of which memories belong to which part of himself, but the ego of the two have merged completely and seamlessly, as the compatibility between the two of them is close to one hundred percent. Muramasa is an extraordinary swordsman, as befitting his class, as well as a blacksmith renowned for making one-of-a-kind swords that would later become legends themselves. He is a very kind man with a strong and uncompromising sense of morals, and a disdain for destiny and human evil. At the same time, his way of speaking is painfully blunt, absent of any sort of tact, he often comes across as a rude person. As well, Muramasa has a bad habit of butting in on the affairs of others due to being a somewhat impulsive person.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Trace On, Trigger Off:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya possesses a very special form of magic called 'Tracing' that allows him to copy the physical blueprints, history, and magical properties of objects. In other words, it's something that works a lot like psychometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Power Copy - Derivative·····, Power Copy - Mirror·····: Sengo is capable of obtaining the accumulated history of most weapons he is able to touch or spend long enough staring at, stealing the owner's techniques and gaining knowledge on how to re-create the weapon in question or use that knowledge to create something that shares similar attributes or abilities..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blaze EX:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa is a famous swordsmith who is known for the legendary swords he has crafted, both demonic and divine.&lt;br /&gt;
Anti-Healing···: A signature component of his sword's abilities allows it to prevent the recovery of things that they sever.&lt;br /&gt;
Deconstruction···: He is capable of a special and powerful slashing attack that unmakes things as well as pocket dimensions and false realities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blade-Testing Art:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa's sword style that started as the most simple stances required to test the weapons he created, to ensure their adequate functionality. He takes something of an MMA approach to swordsmanship.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Sword··: Muramasa can use practically any weapon that could qualify as a 'sword' as if he'd spent his whole life mastering it. Intuitively, he understands the best way to use any sword in his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
Defensive Paradigm··: So long as he has a sword in hand, he can use various techniques nullify damage to himself using his weapon; but a barrage of attacks would be difficult to defend against.&lt;br /&gt;
Arsenal - Ranged··: Some techniques that Muramasa can use allow him to use his sword to create wind-blades to attack from a distance, or he could use thrown weapons like knives or short-swords.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Baseless Blade Works:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya's reality marble, a magical spell that would form over the course of his life. However, as Muramasa, the nature of the spell has changed from an armory that stores weaponry into something closer to the heart of a blacksmithy.&lt;br /&gt;
Analysis··: The bladework allows Muramasa to sympathize with the weapon and store a perfect memory of it inside of itself. This allows Sengo to quickly ascertain the history, structure, and materials used in construction of weapons and objects around him.&lt;br /&gt;
Extraordinary Senses··: Being capable of sympathizing with objects greatly enough to discern information from them, it gives him a form of 'sixth sense' in battle, as he can mildly predict their attacks.&lt;br /&gt;
Buffs·: By reading the structure of a weapon, if he has it in his hands, he can fill it with magical energy to enhance it. E.g. a sword would become sharper and more durable.&lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping··: He can temporarily shift the battlefield into a tranquil lake that can be stood on like solid ground, with a star-spangled blue sky hanging above and a blazing inferno raging like the heart of a forge. This field is littered with countless weapons that Muramasa can pick up and wield, or use them as missiles to bombard enemies at long range.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Territory Creation EX:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa's workshop, as both a blacksmith and a mage, is wherever he is. As his entire workshop follows him around, anywhere he stops for the night will be somewhere he can access his tools to create swords, magical or not.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Power··: By creating equipment at his workshop, Saber can forge special weapons and armor for other people, provided the necessary materials exist.&lt;br /&gt;
Repair··: Using the tools of his workshop and a magic spell, Sengo can repair things from broken magic swords to modern day machinery in anywhere from several minutes to a day's worth of work.&lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping·: Anywhere he stops by for a little bit of rest will begin transforming into his workshop, with tools, items, and subtle magical defenses seemingly appearing as if they were always there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pseudo-Servant:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa is the result of a human mage being possessed by a dead blacksmith, giving him many boons in exchange for fusing his mind with Muramasa's.&lt;br /&gt;
Superhumanity··: Muramasa boasts incredible physical ability, giving him superb speed, strength, and endurance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility··: Muramasa is very agile and acrobatic, capable of performing wall runs and mid-air flips. His jumping distance is great, and he is capable of controlling himself well mid-air.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=House Husband:&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps as a carryover from his life as Shirou Emiya, some of his most enjoyed hobbies are forms of menial household labor.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - Cooking: One of Muramasa's personal joys is to cook, being able to cook even difficult dishes like Osechi, and can identify how a dish was made after tasting it.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - House-Keeping: As an expert of household chores, Muramasa can turn a filthy flat into an orderly living space, or even make a run-down shack presentable overnight.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Compulsive Obsessions &amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya wanted to be a hero who could save everyone; of course, he knew that was impossible. But it didn't matter if it wasn't possible to do so, it's never about what's at the end of the road -- what mattered to him was the road he walked on to begin with. This warped perspective still exists within Muramasa as a compulsion to make himself helpful, above and beyond what would be reasonable. If he can save even one life by putting his own on the line, he will do so regardless of his situation. Both Shirou Emiya and Sengo Muramasa are individuals defined by their obsessive natures -- a single-minded pursuit of one goal. This kind of behavior has only been compounded by their fusion, as Muramasa slaves tirelessly despite his earnest and kind nature, to create his perfect sword. To hone his perfect technique. This very obsession is what causes him to create only bloodthirsty demon swords.  While aspects of Shirou's personality tempered Muramasa, it's not as if he didn't have his own quirks. Their lives and mindsets were 'incredibly similar' after all, so one of them being a twisted person would mean the other should be, too. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Evaporation of Piety &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In relation to his desire for severing himself from fate, Muramasa despises the greater powers. His desire to create his perfect Muramasa comes from the deeper wish to escape the influence of others and act purely on his own willpower. In this way, you could say that Shirou Emiya's optimism and determination to carry through an impossible, eternal dream has improved his condition, turning what would ordinarily be a crippling mental deficiency into something relatively manageable. As a result, he get along poorly with deities, religious people, or people who believe things like karma and destiny are inescapable. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Women &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya was simultaneously horrible and amazing when it came to the women in his life. After all, how could he ever believe someone would love him? As someone who didn't value his own self at all, it didn't make sense for others to care for something that had no intrinsic value. Sengo Muramasa had no such problem in life, but fusing with Shirou Emiya has made it a very complicated affair for both of them, leaving Saber torn between Sengo Muramasa's long dead family and Shirou Emiya's tragically complicated love life. Sadly, even being influenced by a family man isn't enough to make his interactions with the fairer sex any less disastrous as he almost always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Yamato-damashii &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: As a Japanese Heroic Spirit, Sengo Muramasa takes pride in representing his home -- a simple blacksmith manifesting as a Servant is a great honor, indeed. And while his nature is to an extent, humble, he comes from a time where the cultural values of Japanese men ran strong. Even someone as gentle and cultured as himself is no different. Almost always, he does his best to live up to the standards of the Muromachi period; to live honorably, and lawfully. His mental deficiencies in this regard make jabs at his roots incredibly effective in provoking him into fights he otherwise would try and talk his way out of. It's only natural to defend your honor and the honor of your countrymen, after all, at least that's how Sengo Muramasa would see things.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Man's Sanctuary &amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Shockingly, Muramasa's 'man-cave' as it were is in fact, the kitchen. Whether this is a trait he had in life or influence from Shirou Emiya is unclear, but it's a very rare circumstance for him to tolerate other cooks in his own little slice of heaven. There are three things that irritate Saber in every day life -- messy people, ill-prepared food, and cooks he isn't familiar with.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7619/Cryptid_Hunting_File_01_-_VOID_CALAMITY_ELON_ARK&amp;diff=16657</id>
		<title>7619/Cryptid Hunting File 01 - VOID CALAMITY ELON ARK</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7619/Cryptid_Hunting_File_01_-_VOID_CALAMITY_ELON_ARK&amp;diff=16657"/>
				<updated>2021-08-05T04:05:29Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2021/08/05 |Location=The Great Ocean |Synopsis=C involves the Elites in his scheme to capture a Cryptid, a terrifying monster called Elon Ark. This...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2021/08/05&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=The Great Ocean&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=C involves the Elites in his scheme to capture a Cryptid, a terrifying monster called Elon Ark. This leads the Elites to clash with the local government and its Special Support Section.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=7145, 7420, 7412, 7405, 7248, 7167, 7359, 7377, 7417&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In this world, everything ends more or less at the continent of Zemuria. Of course, there were always islands that bordered the massive super continent, but for the most part, the known world did not exist past the border of the ocean. And then, intergration. The Multiverse.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As many things as this changed about the power structures and economies of the various nations of Zemuria, one thing that remained ultimately the same was the dichotomy between them all, and the movements of the actors behind all of the curtains.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crossbell State is situated perfectly in the middle of the continent, sandwiched between the superpowers of Erebonia and Calvard, a bastion of technological progress ... and at this juncture, in a difficult spot. Mayor Dieter Croix has announced independance at the height of the Garellia Fortress Incident some time back, and tensions had been steadily boiling ever since.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;None of that has anything at all to do with why the people here are gathered today. Not at all, certainly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The man who only goes by C, garbed in a dark battle attire, has put out the job offer to bring the Elites who are here to bear, to assist him in hunting a creature called Elon Ark, a &amp;quot;Cryptid&amp;quot;, he elaborates. It is a unique form of monster that only appears under certain conditions, although he fails to mention what these are.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The beast to hunt has been last spotted at a nearby shorehead located at Ursula Road and has endangered not only local wildlife and agitated the monsters, but has thrown the flow of tourism and goods through the road, as well as one of the paths to the area's most notable medical facilities, into total disarray.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Along with this, C makes sure to inform that they wouldn't have long to subdue the Cryptid so that he could use his Demon Flute on it before the local fuzz, quote, makes a mess and throws his jig awry.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;From the top of the steps leading down to the shore, the towering thing can be seen. Its body is blue and scaled, more like a dragononoid or some other hardy lizard than anything, yet its body shape and shell are distinctly turtoise-like. Its whole form is color coded in various shades of blue, with rough cracks of red spreading through its shell and body, almost like gills; yet instead of oxygen, they were pumping bright led blood with loud, unpleasant sounding gags and chokes, as if watching a pair of lungs actively drowning. Despite this, the ill-looking thing didn't seem close at all to keeling over, its many red eyes wide and alert. A series of pale, lumpy tendrils seem to have sprouted along its back, bluish and veiny, except for its base, dyed red by the dribbling blood.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And its underside, strangely, seems to have anemones extending from it en masse, not unlike a jellyfish.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;VOID CALAMITY&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ELON ARK&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Alright, looks like we can get the jump on it, as soon as you're all ready .. basically, all you have to do is beat it to the brink of death, and I can take care of the rest.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This is it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This is his moment. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; John's practically bouncing on his heels with his excitement. A broad grin hides only barely behind the long white scarf. He doesn't look much like an Elite, in his silly green-and-white jacket, his jeans, his glasses, his messy brown hair, and his thin frame. Nothing here suggests that he's anything more than a regular guy. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But he's here. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's really here! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's really about to do this. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The turtle is massive. It's titanic. It's so big he can hardly stand it. When he sees just how big the turtle is, John does start bouncing, with all of that little kid energy you know from every excitable little kid in the world - save that he's a nineteen-year-old. It's even dribbling blood. It's so classic, so perfect, such a beautiful moment. No moral arguments. No debates. No need to put his blade in front of someone else to protect an innocent transformed into a monster (probably?). Just a big, murderous kaiju without anything like a will. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When they're given the go-ahead, John goes ahead eagerly, bounding forward. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A vertical flute snaps up into his hand. It's black and gold, with a flare at the end that turns white. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His hand goes to his chest. He's practiced this. Oh, God, has he practiced this. He's practiced it on muggers and thugs and criminals and now it's time for it to matter for real, in front of all these superhumans, in the most appropriate venue of all. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He whips the flute sideways. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The wind is calling me...that voice I heard once before...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;It chants the name of my soul!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The flute goes into his mouth. He plays. The music is airy, whistling, piercing through the turtle's cry. As it plays the wind whips up around him. A whirling cyclone spins into being. The music stops. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The wind disappears. What's left in its place is armor. Beautiful, knightly white armor, lined with glowing red that pulses like a heartbeat. A helmet like a Roman warrior, crowned in gold laurels, flared with feathers. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The name of my soul...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Is &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ze&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;phyr&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;man&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman takes the flute in one hand and swings it downwards. In mid-swing, a beam of energy emerges from it. A beam saber. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Outwardly, Zephyrman strides forward, bold as brass, raising the blade in both hands. He swings it downwards, forcefully, and a blast of cutting air goes slicing forward for the monster. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Inside the suit, John is grinning from ear to ear, because this is just the opening act, and he's got so much more to show.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As the red caped eagle-motifed superhero arrives, he stops to stare at C's battle attire. For a long time. He mutters under his breath, &amp;quot;Dark Featherman...?&amp;quot; but says nothing directly. Instead...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once they see the horrific bleeding turtle, looking ill, he struggled. Why were they capturing this? It must be for a good cause, even so, and he was here, so he couldn't just leave. With that fancy belt on his waist...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A locket appeared in his hand. He started rushing towards Elon Ark, calling out. &amp;quot;Come out, my friend! Featherman Engarde!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The locket is slammed into the slot on his belt.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;SNAPSHOT&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It spins open. There's a picture of an eagle-like knight man, posing with a lance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FEATHERMAN ENGARDE - SUMMON&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then it closes shot, as power starts to reverberate through the air. Suddenly, in a spark of vermillion light, another Featherman stands besides Neo. Featherman Engarde wears heavy knight-like armor, an eagle-shaped knight helmet that completely conceals his face, a wrist-shield, and a large lance teeming with energy.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Engarde, let us take the first blow. We are...&amp;quot; He draws his pistol, but does not fire, instead readying a shot. Meanwhile, Engarde suddenly surrounds that lance with holy light...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And starts charging forward. It's at this point that Featherman knows what Zephyrman is up to, and does not want to be shown up, so he loads the pistol with explosive ammunition, and begins firing explosive shots.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;FEATHERMEN! FLY! HEROES OF JUSTICE, FRIENDSHIP, AND REDEMPTION!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The lance impacts the shell with the armor. The holy light pinpoints at the piercing end, and moves to try and break through the shell to do Major Damage. It's strong enough to pierce straight through, even if it's unlikely it could go too far.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#994444&amp;quot;&amp;gt;We got a job offer.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Oh, that's wonderful! What is it?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#994444&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Monster hunting. Monster-subduing objective.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I'm told that can still be done with a sword.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#880000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;We aren't monster hunters.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;What's the monster?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#994444&amp;quot;&amp;gt;It's called 'Elon--'&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#880000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;White Dwarf!! Get out there and *take it down!!*&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Really? Why all the sudden enthusiasm?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#880000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Go go go!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;They don't have much time. And, let's be honest: A monster can't appreciate theatricality. It's allies who can. That's why &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;a certain woman with a long ponytail and a hard-light katana&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; has asked her &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;large, strong friend&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to stand further in towards inner Ursula Road, and with several heaving swings, launch her into the air after a few urgent changes shouted to adjust her trajectory.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A shotgun blast of potential future selves spreads over the shoreline like exotic artillery. These mental projections exist only in the honed battle instincts of the few who can align with intense predictive thought. But the ones that don't cross Elon Ark wink out of existence. The few that do multiply, until one rests over the body of the beast. A cluster of cracks, a thicker tendril, or perhaps even somewhere near the neck... whatever seems likeliest, in &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;the precognitive woman's future-sight&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, to do the most damage.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;LAUNCH!!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; Shouts the &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, and the &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;giant&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; sends her in a massive, high arc... She trails the path of that prediction as best she can. She draws her hard-light blade, and descends katana-first.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Today's opponent is... A turtle! A giant monster turtle with freaky tentacles sprouting out its back that sounds like it's dying. Somehow, C wants this thing captured alive. Pramanix and SilverAsh exchange pensive looks with each other briefly before staring at the lumpy thing again while they keep their hands on their respective weapons (a bell and a sword).&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;It's a turtle, right? So I should be to slow it down considerably with ice so you can get in there and give it a beating.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;This is not a creature of our world, Pramanix. With something like this, I believe it would be more prudent to observe it first, and then...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;Then go around it! They're already starting.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With multiple color-coded fighters already entering the fray, the siblings inhale slowly before letting out exasperated sighs in unison, then joining the fray as well. Pramanix rings her bell rhythmically as she runs along one side of the Elon Ark, calling down an enchanted snowfall onto it to chip away at its defenses. SilverAsh, meanwhile, just keeps running around it while slicing at its tentacles and extended limbs, trying to draw its attention in the opposite direction for optimal confusion tactics.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7167|Tohru Adachi (7167)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Creature hunting, just like that one time with that girl and her Pokemon creatures or whatever the hell she called them. Honestly, it was pretty interesting last time, so he might as well help C with this. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Dressing for the occasion, Adachi comes equipped with a yellow raincoat lazily thrown over his suit... And that's it. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to bring for this, and he was too lazy to do any research, so this would have to do. If anyone wants to complain, they can. The buzzing noise will keep him awake, at least. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Everyone makes their introduction, or probably say something witty when confronted with the giant turtle. Adachi would too, if he could think of anything clever. Sadly, he can't. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;He's a big guy, huh? Probably should have looked a bit more into this then I did, thought it was gonna be a little fella. Well, whatever. Already bored, let's get it over with.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He just shrugs, cusping his face with a hand as he winces a bit. A red warrior materializes behind him, naginata in hand as it starts shaking in anger. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Leaning its upper body back, it lets out an unholy roar. It's not just a noise it makes though, as the rancid energy coming from it aims to lower the massive turtle's defenses. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It's Persona magic, ain't gotta explain shit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This is not the first time Tachibana Hibiki has worked with C. Though the last time - that she knows of - was a parking lot brawl in a bad part of town. With the yakuza involved. This is a whole lot different than that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But not out of her ballpark at all. She doesn't know a single thing about the political situation of Crossbell, nor have any idea of what the 'conditions' that their benefactor today didn't elaborate on. What she does know is that there's a monster disrupting everything nearby, from the economy to the people. It seems like things will get complicated if they don't handle it themselves.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Though she's not sure how a flute is going to subdue something this big, or if it can even really be controlled. But just because the monsters she knows of can't doesn't mean the same things go here. So--&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF8000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The string of transformations going on is added to when Hibiki leaps from the top of the stairwell at full speed. The crimson pendant around her neck explodes into a golden sphere of light that surrounds her body, breaking away moments later as the shining silhouette of her Symphogear armor springs into existence around her body.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Then let's see how tough this thing's scales are! Hyaah--!&amp;quot; Her skirt thrusters flare right when she starts losing altitude, suddenly propeling her up in a high arc before a second blast shoots her straight downwards in a high-speed kick.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Aimed right at the top of the thing's head, between the many eyes dotting it. She'll give it something to look at. Being right in its face just might draw more attention to her than the others.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy isn't here out of love for the tourism industry, but cute little animals getting scared off is sad--and people going without medical supplies is sadder still. If C's Demon Flute can bag this thing nicely, then sure--he can stop by and lend a hand. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His appearance on the shore is heralded by the great grandfather of motorcycle engines. The unusual rectangular kickstand is pulled out and under the rear wheel, riding goggles pulled down as he shades his eyes to get a good look at the size of things. If there's only so much time to bag... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then there's no time like the present to start swinging. A spread of five razor-sharp playing cards sail through the air--no dramatic opening here. That is, not until a split second later, when the cards explode with far more force than such small objects would seem capable of. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's standing midrange from it--or, rather, what he estimates to be its midrange. He's never fought something so large!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita Ma is a very ordinary girl. She's wearing ordinary clothes, has her ordinary hair tied back with an ordinary bow, and looks just as nervous about fighting a giant turtle as an ordinary person should. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She looks that way because she is &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;wrapped in a skin-tight layer of otherworldly tentacles that are camouflaged to look exactly like her old, unmutated body&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; So if she comes off as distinctly uncomfortable in her own skin, it's because she is, but even that could be accepted as something very ordinary. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Standing at the top of the steps with the wind dramatically stirring her hair, Rita gets to see everyone else making their dramatic entrances- she clutches her hands over her chest, genuinely awestruck by the Elites' collective stylish moves. &amp;quot;Hi!! You guys are doing amazing!&amp;quot; When her awe subsides, though, she's left looking down at the enormous beast with a thoughtful and pensive expression. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Beat it to the brink of death&amp;quot;, he said. I don't know if I'm any good at that. What am I feeling when I look at this thing? It's like everything between my ribs and my waist is a churning knot. My tentacles ache. I want to... I want to-&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;But I can't! Not with everyone watching. And not with Mr. C wanting it alive. Auuuh, this is too awful!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rather than taking the monster head-on, she carefully circles around it at a comfortable distance, until she's hidden from as many of the other combatants as possible. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Every monster has at least one good trick. What can those tentacles do?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; One of her own tentacles unfurls from around her arm, briefly baring a flash of her true form- skin shot through with azure 'cracks', fingertips tapered to sharp points- and slices through the air, carefully hidden from observers by camouflaging itself against the background. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Even an attentive observer could only hear a soft whistle in the air, followed by a narrow slash inflicted as if by an invisible sword against one of the Elon Ark's thick shell-tentacles. Rita's monstrous arm is only revealed for an instant as the tentacle curls back around it, the disguise falling back into place. She hasn't moved at all herself. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But she does lick her fingers, greedily slurping off any blood drawn by her tentacle's swipe. What secrets does this monster's essence hold? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;C tilts his helmet to the side, the red gleam staring intensely at Featherman, &amp;quot; . . . .&amp;quot; although, in the end, they trade no further words on that front. Instead, he waits, looming in the background of the battle as it progresses. After all, he couldn't afford to miss his chance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The battle comes to an excellent start as the ice cold twins launch a packed two-fold assault, Silverash manages to find cuts in the softer parts of Elon Ark's thickly armored body, and in his rush down, he finds that it is built as sturdy as a condensed fortress; if not for all the breaks in its body bleeding openly, it very may well have been nearly invulnerable to attack. It is during this time that Rita, cautious and sly, is able to sneak her own scheme into play.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix's enchanted ice seems effective, at least at first, in slowing its response time, which allows the others to get a hit in as its form is sealed in a layer of frost. Hibiki's Symphogear powered blow blows apart several of its eyes on impact, covering her knuckles in a bloody paste as its head is jostled downwards. At the same time this happens, Featherman goes on the attack and manages to slide his armament's tip into one of the bleeding red lines in its shell. It passes in about a quarter of the way, when --&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Elon Ark releases a sound, opening its mouth. Everything became &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;heavy&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; and distorted, as if everything; the sky, the ground beneath their feet, the air they were breathing, it was all getting twisted up in a spiral. Like water circling a drain.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rotating like a gyro at high speed, Elon Ark spins and slams into several of them at maximum force with the intent of hurling them away from itself. Visibly, not only was Elon Ark uninjured, but it was as if it had never been attacked in the first place. Even the signs of Pramanix's magic had vanished from its body, as it viciously casts its massive flippers against Rita like battering rams to drive her into the sand, the tendrils on its underside flaring to spray its stinging toxins out at Adachi and Candy in a venemous blast.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;So this is what she meant. The so-called 'Void Calamity' ... when it throws a tantrum, time and space begin to break down around it.&amp;quot; C mutters to himself, reaching into his cloak.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Thrashing its body against Candy to bear its weight down on him, it extends its long neck to snap and attempt a bisecting bite at Silver Ash and Pramanix in quick succession, two quick jabs and snaps of its jaws that leave a plunking sound in the air from the pressure generated by the motion.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Sliding back across the sand, Elon Ark finds itself precariously pinned a second time, by a timely blade strike from Zephyrman that absolutely stuns it as it tears a gash down its front and causes it to retract its limbs inside of its shell. It is in this defensive state that the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; takes advantage of to skewer it deeply in this moment of opportunity afforded to her by her future-sight, knowing when Zephyrman would tear open a weakpoint for her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then it moves, shifting its shell, its tentacles shimmering with fog and an ambiguous, unknowable power. The nauseating feeling of 'twisting' intensifies, before ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gravity. Light. Time. Matter.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was a white spray of a dense 'something' that attempts to obliterate the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; and Zephyrman equally, release with Elon Ark's vocal, gurgling scream of pain in multiple falceto. It bores into the cliff across the shore and drives a deep hole into it, twisting the rock formation into an un-natural, bent up shape in its path.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo and Featherman Engarde are bodyslammed backwards by the temporally regenerating massive murder turtle. There's another superhero trying to show them up, and the attack forces them back. Featherman grumbles under his mask, but...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Alright. He's too powerful like this. We need to go big. Engarde, it's finisher time!&amp;quot; The helmed knight nods once, as Featherman presses a button on his belt. A second locket slot opens up.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hibiki! I shall borrow the power of our bond. Let's ride this Chariot together!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The locket is placed in the belt.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#E34234&amp;quot;&amp;gt;SNAPSHOT&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The portrait slides open, showing a picture of Featherman Neo and Hibiki fighting to corral a crowd, together.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF8000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;HIBIKI TACHIBANA - PISTON ARMS&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman Neo stretches his arms out at the callout, allowing a pair of massive rocket-powered fists to armor over his. They're like pistons, pumping back and forth with everyone practice swing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Piston Arms...thank you for the power, Hibiki! Now...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He starts charging, leaping onto Engarde. Engarde grabs him and throws him upwards, before pulling back with his lance. Featherman Neo is tossed straight at the head...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While Featherman Engarde goes to do his lancing charge straight for the fist.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The rocket-powered punch impacts with a scream. &amp;quot;PISTON PUNCH!&amp;quot; It's explosive, providing sheer power.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Engarde's lance rockets forward, doing that holy pierce once more, but with more power. It's moving to let off a massive laserbeam inside the wound it creates!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With how the Elon Ark works, it shouldn't kill it. But it should absolutely do Big Damage, as Featherman Neo moves to land in a crouch should he not get eaten.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Oh. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Oh. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Oh my God. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This is so cool. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita is adorable, in a weird little sister way. Candy's playing card trick is awesome. Hibiki is fierce and cute. Adachi is...well, that's weird, but who cares, it's unique, and even if it's kinda villainous, it's the cool kinda villainous, right? Pramanix and SilverAsh are a perfect duo working in total unison. The ninja pulls off a cool teamwork attack with her giant friend. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Also, Featherman's here. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Kind of annoyed at that, but hey. Not like he has any right to complain about that sort of thing. All he has to do is better, right? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then the turtle counterattacks, and everything goes sideways, and the turtle straight up points a spray of 'something' at him and tries to wipe him off the map. As it's coming it's almost slow-motion - John's eyes widen behind his mask. Okay. This is the part where he shows off his cool tricks. This is the part where he moves like the wind. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On his shoulders, a pair of thrusters fire up. Wind pours out of them like jet engines. He prepares to dodge sideways - &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; -and then one of them shuts off, and he spins into the attack. It's only by the grace of God that he isn't splattered across the pavement; as it is he takes copious Toku Spark damage across his face and chest, an explosion of sparking lights as he hits the ground and the wind dies. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Good! Well, that's fine, right? John pulls himself to his feet and licks some blood off his lip. A heroic debut's no good if you don't get hit to show how cool the villain is, duh. If he just effortlessly crushed the thing then he wouldn't be a hero, he'd be a villain. Only villains are allowed to one-shot giant monsters. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But...now that he's taken damage, and a lot of it, it's totally okay! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The sword shuts off. His flute goes to his helmet. Again, there's music, but it's a totally different song - something grand and glorious, something designed to grab attention and hold it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; In the distance there's a crack of lightning. Stormclouds gather. They start moving towards the battlefield. The first hints of rain fall. The flute music keeps singing. The wind whips up, stronger than before. Zephyrman's scarf behind him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then, it emerges from the oncoming storm. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Something tears out of the storm, trailing dark clouds and lightning in its wake. It's a huge, blocky sort of jet, the old-school sort of jet from an old-school TV show that looks more like a flying block with wings than a jet. The flute shifts tune as Zephyrman runs sideways, avoiding another tentacle swing. His fingers fly. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The jet stops overhead. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It splits in half down the middle. Jet engines fold outward into legs. Wings click upwards onto the back. Arms emerge from the sides. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It lands with a thunderous crash behind the Elon Ark. A head - sleek, white, and helmed - pops out with a click. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman's suit bursts to life. The jet engines on his back send him flying over the turtle. He lands on the shoulder of the giant robot. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The lord of the skies who brings justice from on high...behold, and know his name!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;HURRI&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;KAISER&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The massive robot goes to grab the turtle by the mouth from behind. It moves to claw the mouth open and hold it there with its huge, bulky arms, long enough for others to get inside and start doing some *real* damage.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;When it looks like the Elon Ark is initially slowing down from the concerted efforts of the Elites, Pramanix lets out a confident laugh as see keeps circling around the giant. &amp;quot;See, SilverAsh? There was nothing to worry about!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then it howls or something, turning the air around them into a draining field of suck while shrugging off the effects of Pramanix's ice magic. &amp;quot;Void Calamity...? Ah, what a fitting name for such a fearsome technique. I wonder if it could be learned for our own uses.&amp;quot; SilverAsh chimes in, still sounding calm as ever even as the giant turtle beast bites at him and Pramanix. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We can try and learn it /after/ we're not in danger of getting eaten!&amp;quot; Pramanix snaps back at him, the pair both managing to escape from its bites with careful (or clumsy) leaps to avoid getting eaten outright. SilverAsh suffers only a mild scraping along his side, but Pramanix gets a relatively nastier gash along her arm that forces her to switch hands with that ritual bell.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;What a pain... Nn. Keep it up, everyone! We still need to bring it down quickly!&amp;quot; Pramanix shouts as that snowfall turns into a more focused and violent hail, some of it even springing from directly behind Pramanix as she circles around towards the Elon Ark's face. With White Dwarf calling out its DANGER ZONE, she starts aiming that ice at its mouth, aiming to clog the shit out of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh, noticing that as well, joins his sister in the front, darting around and aiming careful thrusts and slashes at its neck. His blade shimmers briefly with each blisteringly-quick slash, each swing reverberating loudly from the force and speed of each movement for extra oomph that lingers even after his sword is already back in its sheath.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The woman with the katana flips away dramatically, flicking her blade to clean it stylishly. But when she lands, things get a lot worse. The SCREAM that attempts to obliterate her interact *badly* with the predictive abilities. Whatever it is that she uses for that, it intersects enough with spacetime that the blast of obliterating Something cuts down swarms of evading possible futures and is hard to correctly predict, and the damage feeds back directly into the ninja herself. White Dwarf manages to choose a future where she avoids much of the damage, certainly, but the chronological blowback is significant.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Still, somehow she winds up free of the hole bored in the cliffs. Her high-speed dash is a full and proper ninja run, body near-vertical and arms pulled tight behind her. The chronological violence is dangerous. She has to move quickly. It was the *sound* that did that... she has to focus on the vocal cords! She's a healer, but... She surges in, moving as fast as she can for the opening of that punch! What's a future where she can get good access to that throat? What of her swarms of attacking possibilities -- leaping strikes, sliding sneaks, flanking dashes, mad charges -- brings her deep, close, with her blade? She has to move for any opportunity, perhaps the one Featherman Neo and Zephyrman are creating, to LEAP into all the noise-making power it has, blade-first, slicing to craft the best opening she can!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And once she's elbow deep in it... CA-CHUNK! Her *prosthetic arm* splits wide, unfurling into a dozen articulated surgical tools! Not just the blade, no, she's going to try to hurt this creature's vocal cords, tongue, and other sound-producing organs as much as possible with the power of *dedicated surgical skill*.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hey, that's a sound she recognizes. In the chaos of the fight starting, Hibiki recognizes Rita's voice behind the group. Unfortunately, she's not going to get much of a chance to call back to her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Because things get really, really messy. They all struck cleanly. Her blow even did a lot more damage than she thought it would. But it becomes obvious why C had claimed they'd have to beat it close to death, despite his intention to subdue it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her eyes go wide and she's caught up in the abyss of Elon Ark's space-rending scream. Her teeth grit and a pained wince comes over her, and she's only barely able to cross her arms in front of herself and tuck her legs in when the absurd mass of the towering creature slams into her and sends her spiraling back through the air. A couple flips has her landing roughly on the beach, panting and following its movements.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;What th--did it heal or something...? And this feeling...!&amp;quot; Hibiki resists the urge to double over from that horrid feeling in her stomach. But--Featherman Neo is unleashing the power of their bond, just like back with Gareth. And it strikes a chord with her, for a reason she can't fully explain. A bit different, from when someone like X copied her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But through it, she pushes back that sickening feeling. Her feet brace, and she launches off the sand at high enough speeds to leave a cloud behind her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hraaaaaah!--!&amp;quot; The piston within her right-hand gauntlet slides back, and she comes to a skidding stop below Elon Ark, within its shadow. Her momentum becomes a twist of her entire body, throwing her weight into a punch aimed for its unshelled underside, where she imagines its lungs might be.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And she pummels her fist as deep into its scales as she can before the mechanism hammers back in, releasing a roiling, resonating shockwave of raw force directly inside of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When Elon Ark slams into Candy, he simply Isn't There, after a split second. There's a ripple in that oppressive gravitational pressure at about the same time he moves. Moving isn't enough--because this thing is as fast as it is big, and already, there's a poisonous spray heading his and Adachi's way. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Time stops. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d1a3cf&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Candy looks up at the approaching spray, shaking his head like a plumber that's just found bad news under someone's sink. Hands stuffed into his pockets, he casts a glances towards Adachi, also in the path of the spray. His imitation of Persephone's healing factor undoes the bruising and the broken rib. As he looks between the frozen spray of flung toxins, and Adachi, Candy strokes his chin.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Time resumes. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-The sound (but not the sight?) of boots on sand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Adachi's coat feels heavier. There's something inside it. A dark brown bottle of a medicine called 'REGENERAL.' It looks like it was taken from a mobile hospital circa WWI.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Adachi's coat lapels are straightened and his tie un-askewed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Several metal sounds, in quick succession. Shink! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Several Candies appear--but only one can be real. Though several bolt action rifles crack, and two Great War era heavy machine guns set up a crossfire, only one of the firing squad will actually do anything to Elon Ark. It's his way of evening out the disparity in speed between them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;This blood... the power to bend space and time with gravity. It isn't as tasty as a human's, but it's only made me hungrier. I can feel my organs shifting inside of me- is that to adapt to its essence, or just because I'm starving?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita doubles over for just a moment, hands resting on her knees. Unfortunately, that's the moment the turtle lashes out at her with its enormous flippers- she'd badly underestimated its speed! She lunges backwards, but the sand doesn't offer enough traction. It clips her with the edge, and... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; An ordinary girl would be maimed or killed by an impact like that. Rita is not an ordinary girl. She rolls backwards across the sand, kips up with instantaneous predatory grace, and then remembers to stumble just a little to sell it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;That's one trick known. Are you going to surprise me again? Or are you solved already?&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita books it across the shoreline, her feet kicking up plumes of sand behind her- her pace is just barely plausibly human. She casts a longing sideways glance at the water, but no- &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I can't show my hand like that. Not in front of everybody.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Despite her speed, she does spare a moment (and a breath) to wave at &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Hibiki&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; on her approach! &amp;quot;Hey, I know your voice! You're Miss Tachibana, aren't you? You're doing amazing!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On reaching the Elon Ark again, she leaps up onto its back, scrabbling between the shell-tentacles. Her hands hook inside the edges of the shell where it's cracked, &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;prying it slightly apart&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. Again, part of her disguise unravels- this time, a keen observer might notice a moment where one of her eyes looks brilliant blue and her teeth look sharp and vicious- and one of her cloaked tentacles &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;stabs&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; down through the crack in the shell and into the the turtle's flesh. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This time, she isn't content just to draw blood. A gush of &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00ffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;glowing cerulean venom&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; pumps through Rita's hollow tentacle and into the turtle's body, using the appendage like a syringe. The corrosive venom threatens to burn flesh, and the cellular damage it inflicts is &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#eeeeee&amp;quot;&amp;gt;abnormally difficult to repair&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Because if fixing yourself is your only trick, you're dead in the water.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7167|Tohru Adachi (7167)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Haha, I'm in danger.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Adachi lets out a chuckle as the turtle lets out a venomous barbed blast at him. Seemingly in response to his life threatening, Magatsu Izanagi jumps in front of the ex-detective, shoving him aside defensively as it thrusts its spear forward. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; One thrust becomes several dozen, and the persona easily diffuses the blob of liquid into something more manageable. Sadly, not being quite on the level of an anime swordsman, a good amount of it lands on the crimson berserker, burning it and causing Adachi pain via psychic feedback. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Pain he is not willing to show, partly because Candy hooked him up unknowingly with the sauce, and also because showing pain causes people to feel bad for him, and miss him with that crap. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;HEY! HEY HEY HEY! You can't just be undoing all our hard work now, that's cheating! Only I'm allowed to do that!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Annoyed by the space time bullshit that is currently going on, Adachi has a plan. A very good plan. Just hit harder. In response to this very good plan, Magatsu Izanagi throws its weapon into the dirt below, an single arm outstretched as energy begins gathering around the non aquatic turtle. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Don't stand too close, ya here? Only gonna give you this warning once. Now behold, Megidolaon~&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The persona clenches its clawed fingers tightly, the energy building up around the Elon Ark exploding violently in a flash of white. A loud but low reverb sound can be both heard and felt from the truly mighty attack. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A truly mighty, and probably overhyped attack.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ugh ... no wonder, if I tried to fight this thing with just Vulcan and Scarlett, it would have slaughtered me.&amp;quot; C murmurs to himself, picking himself up from the ground where he'd been forced to. Elon Ark was a fearsome monster indeed, given how much trouble it was providing for everyone present. Speaking of which ..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman's attack is a dead center shot that should have brought it to its last breaths, but like before, the blood and the viscera left behind is just that, as Elon Ark rears up and attempts to douse him in the same devastating toxins from its anemone that it had fired at Adachi, only, the range at which Featherman and his doppleganger were to it were much closer, and allowed for direct application.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The giant mecha that comes upon it in an instant later, just as it seemed ready to try and really tear into Featherman with its body, seems as if it to should have done the job --&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It certainly did. The way its scales were rent, its body was broken, and its organs were ruptured by the onslaught of Zephyrman's ultimate final trump card was definitive. It had died, which would have been to C's chargrin.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yet -- moments later, it had re-appeared, no worse for wear. Some, whose perceptions or abilities were tied to time and space could intuit at this point what was happening. Its scream from before, it had distorted time into a feedback loop.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Sporadically, it was being continually returned to the state ti was in at the beginning of the fate. But something like that, it couldn't last forever.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The world was alive, just like anything else. And when it received an injury, such as it had when it had heard Elon Ark's voice, it would work to repair itself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In other words, the 'distortion' created by that scream was what was bringing it back, over and over again, and once the distortion disappeared, it would need to release its voice again to ensure its survival.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This is why the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, Pramanix, and Silver ash assault it so severely, doing their best to try and stop it from being able to, even as it thrashes, attempting to catch Silver Ash out with one of its flippers and slam into his ribs, attempting to crush the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; with its body after throwing her off with its thrashing, and firing beams of white light at Pramanix with its tentacles.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was hard fought, brutal, and difficult, but they were preventing it from using its voice to attack them again.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;By the time it realizes something is wrong, Rita has already pried one of the plates off of its shell, and in seeming tandem, Hibiki crashes into it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Elon Ark seems stunned, several of its organs turning to paste and spraying out of its crevices.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Adachi's magical attack hits it in this time of sorely needed reprieve and leaves it collapsing under its own weight, full of Rita's toxins and its body too damaged to properly fight back. Yet, it still seemed like it was more than willing to do so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A lonely melody fills the air.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's a flute, but not Zephyrman's. C is playing the Demon Flute, now that his chance had arrived --&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot; --?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The melody is interrupted, as he dashes like a flying black shadow to avoid the capture net fired at him, signalled by a gunshot. A group of colorful strangers sprint into the scene, their weapons drawn on the group. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Hold it!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; the one in front shouts, wielding two hi-tech tonfas and clad in some kind of white uniform, with a yellow turtleneck. Flanking him is a tall, redheaded man in an orange jacket and some kind of polearm, a brunette woman with short hair and a green beret who seems equipped with a variety of orbal armaments, including the rifle which had fired the capture net at C, a small girl with blue hair and a staff with a large jewel embelishing its top, a one-eyed wolf, and a woman in a pink uniform holding an ornamental orbal revolver at the ready.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yep, that's it alright -- 'Void Calamity Elon Ark' -- sheesh, what a mouthful,&amp;quot; the redheaded man playfully espouses with a wink, while his allies stare down the Watch plus Featherman. &amp;quot;At first, I wondered if you guys might've been bracers who were passing through here ... but, I can see that's not possible now. I don't know what you want with that thing, but you're coming with us! Crossbell State, Special Support Section -- my name is Lloyd Bannings, and you're under arrest!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Come quietly, and stop resisting!&amp;quot; The beret clad woman addends, immediately whipping out a smaller submachinegun to begin spraying with. &amp;quot;Ah, wait, Noel; we're supposed to let them respond first..?&amp;quot; the redheaded man says, before sighing. &amp;quot;Uhm. I'd have preferred that also, Randy, but there's no use helping it now ... and, at least, the proof is in the pudding. These guys have to be terrorists.&amp;quot; the white haired woman affirms.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A new kind of chaos sets in, as the newly identified Special Support Section charge unfettered into the Watch's ranks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the meantime, that melody resumes in the air.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once the monster's down, Featherman Neo poses, and Engarde poses with him. But then, the feds show up. As they do, approaching for an assault, Featherman Neo is quickly speaking into his communicator. As the tonfas rapidly slap him down, he's staying strong, as he moves in for a headbutt. It misses, his head passing by Lloyd's ear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then, his fist goes for Lloyd's gut, before Lloyd's inevitable followup. It's a rough strike, but for a moment, it looks like Featherman Neo's guard is open! What will happen next!?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;I wonder if we could fit in those costumes.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;Unlikely, I'm afraid. Between our ears, our tails, my height, and your... Mm.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;My...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SilverAsh: &amp;quot;... It wouldn't work as a disguise.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix: &amp;quot;My what?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Although the siblings bicker briefly during the fight, their focus is still firmly on this contest of wills with the Elon Ark. They shift and weave around their allies' attacks so as to not get in the way, bullets from the multiple-Candy firing squad whizzing by their heads (or the sounds, anyway) while bumping into each other on purpose to get some extra momentum to stay out of the way of the magnificent fisting action of Featherman, and Hibiki, White Dwarf.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Does that last one even count as a fist-maneuver? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Rita scrambling onto its back, though, Pramanix actually pauses briefly to watch in wide-eyed glee while the HurriKaiser increases the overall the scale of what she was expecting from this sort of fight. &amp;quot;Oh! Yes, keep at it! With... Whatever you're doing!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Clearly, she's never seen a giant robot before.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Adachi's warning, meanwhile, finally has the pair backing off to not get caught up in that big white blast. SilverAsh in particularly eyes the Persona curiously, almost as if he's getting... IDEAS.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Those ideas don't have much time to simmer, though, as the Elon Ark thrashes about to try and clip the pair before it can go down. SilverAsh blocks the bulk of that strike with his sword, and Pramanix conjures up ice walls that withstand the worst of those blasts. They remain on the defensive even as new arrivals join the fray, Pramanix being more vocally annoyed by their opening volleys when those bullets start flying.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We're no terrorists! Usually! I am Pram-mrphgh-&amp;quot; She's cut off by SilverAsh clasping a hand over her mouth, his other hand pointing the sword towards the people from Crossbell State.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;If you believe us to be terrorists, then do not be startled if we play the part even for now.&amp;quot; SilverAsh interrupts, darting through the gunfire and just facetanking it with pained grimaces as he moves in to try and slice apart Noel's submachine gun. His control of the weapon is fine enough, however, that he's able to pull it back just enough to avoid actually striking her directly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pramanix, meanwhile, looks completely bewildered while she cowers behind her ice wall as chunks of it get blasted out from in front of her and spray her with shrapnel. &amp;quot;Really...? Uh. O... Okay, then! You won't take us without a fight!&amp;quot; Her bell-ringing continues with yet more gusto, clouds forming overhead as the hail turns into an outright blizzard, bringing down heavy winds and blinding snowfall onto the Special Support Section's ranks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Yeah, that's me...! I should be the one saying that to you!&amp;quot; Hibiki finds time to shout back towards Rita amid the chaos. Honestly, she hasn't been able to keep a decent eye on her to see what she could do--which isn't strange, but wow, by the time she's getting underneath the thing, the other girl is already nearly all the way up its back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Not only her, but Zephyrman summoned up an actual jet-turned-giant robot. Not only that, but it's /magical/. The nature of what Hibiki herself is using doesn't seem to do a single thing to diminish what a cool sight that is. Not a single masked superhero she's seen before even has anything like that, as far as she's seen.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But really, is there any relationship between him and Featherman Neo...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Bounding backwards, it seems like Elon Ark has finally become too damaged to fight back effectively. Its more injured than she thought it'd have to be, but given that ability to...heal itself? Turn back time? (She has no goddamn idea.) It's probably not as in bad a shape as it looks. Now, if C can use that flute...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Oh, crap. Hibiki whirls towards the sudden arrivals as they come in, returning the staredown for a brief moment. She glances between all of them. &amp;quot;Wait, you guys are the--&amp;quot; Police? That isn't what she would've expected at all. But then again, given the kind of government /she/ works with, maybe she shouldn't be surprised.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Waitwaitwait, you can't say 'stop resisting' before you've even given us a chance to talk!&amp;quot; At least some of them have the same idea. There's a moment where she thinks it might be possible to talk despite the bullets flying.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That's a very vain hope. Things get even messier than before, and Hibiki has no choice but to get it together and brace herself as Randy comes her way. Her arms come up, and her Symphogear's gauntlets are used to ward off strike after strike from his Cross-Cutter, forcing her back a few steps with each impact. &amp;quot;Look, I don't want to fight you, but--&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;They're never going to get the chance to talk otherwise. With a sharp breath, the Gungnir girl wards off another strike--and but instead of losing ground, she steps in. A strike comes in towards the redhaired man's stomach in the form of a heavy jab.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It instantly stops, a very short distance away from touching. Just for a moment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then her muscles tense at the same time her wrist suddenly twists, to drive her fist into his stomach with far more force than it has any right to. Not enough to actually cause serious lasting damage, but plenty enough to completely blow the wind out of him and send him flying off his feet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Well--it looks like they might have this thing under control after all. That's good, hecause its speed, its ability to manipulate time and the sheer size of it weren't exactly encouraging. When C begins playing, the illusory Candies all disappear, leaving the real one to breathe a sigh of relief, resting his rifle on his shoulder... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then there's that net gun. Now what? They're terrorists? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Yes, yes, I have been called that before. One of those special words you save for people who make rich, fat piggies too nervous, ah?&amp;quot; Candy grins. &amp;quot;I don't go nowhere with uniforms, my friend.&amp;quot; With the hand not holding the rifle, he extends a serene middle finger to the Special Support Section. &amp;quot;Fuck your state, fuck your arrest, and fuck you, uni--&amp;quot; Elie's revolver finds its mark, because Candy is too busy shitting on the Special Support Section to draw a bead on them with that rifle. Time stops. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#d1a3cf&amp;quot;&amp;gt;*Just like a fucking uniform, ah? Shoot first and ask questions never. Well, ho ho! Two can play at that game, you sons of bitches, you.*&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Chaos is frozen all around him. But with a little bit of tweaking, it can be chaos that serves his interests. After sitting down and letting his regeneration factor handle the wound in his shoulder, Candy brushes sand over the spot where his blood spilled. Then, he gets up. Elie and Noel's aim is 'adjusted.' The first few shots are still heading for Pramanix, SilverAsh and his own, original position. Then there's Lloyd and Randy. Candy's rifle butt crashes into Lloyd's jaw and Randy's stomach. He ducks under orbal projectiles frozen in midair, winds his way around Adachi's persona, pauses a moment to look over his shoulder at the Feathermen locked in combat with Lloyd, and then rambles on, finding himself before Tio and Zeit. Candy winds up with his right foot and kicks the sand, then wanders back over to Elie. The rifle disappears, and is replaced with an obsidian-toothed macahuitl.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Time resumes &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-&amp;quot;-form.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Again, the sound of footsteps in the sand, but not the sight...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Elie and Noel feel a sudden shove against their aiming arms, pointing their aim towards one another.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Randy and Lloyd feel an iminent sense of danger--failure to react in time means an invisible force approximately the size of a rifle butt crashes into them!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Sprays of sand kick up, aimed at Tio and Zeit's faces.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;-Candy appears with a macahuitl, in swinging range of Elie! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The fuck is the matter with you, ah?&amp;quot; He makes a two-handed overhead swing. Even if the teeth of the weapon miss her, it conjures an arc of broiling flame in the wake of its swing!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Yesssss. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Everything goes super well. HurriKaiser's grand debut might be a little early, but it's still so enthralling to see work that John actually stops playing his flute for a second to watch the cavalcade of heroic actions tear through the turtle's throat. He just kind of has to. He wishes desperately he had a camera. Maybe he'll have to add one to the Zephyrman suit later, so he can record these and watch them over and over. Maybe he can even dub over them and give the rest of the Watch copies, or something. That would be awesome. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The Demon Flute starts playing. HurriKaiser just holds the turtle down, pinning the monster under its massive bulk. Zephyrman lowers his own flute and hops down. A blast of air from his back-jets helps him land off to the side, and he hangs the Gale Whistler on his hip, ready to untransform. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; And then... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The police. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; John weighs his options. On the one hand, he's a hero. He doesn't like being called a terrorist, you know? He's someone who wants children to look up to him, and kids don't look up to bad guys like that. But on the other hand... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On the other hand, he said he was gonna help Crow. He *said* he would. He *said* it. And that means...that means Zephyrman follows through. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Ahhh, so it's like that. It's one of those arcs! One of those arcs where the hero is misunderstood by the police, and he has to act outside the law to save people. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Yeah. Sure. That makes sense. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; So when the SSS's Lloyd Bannings comes at him, Zephyrman snaps the Gale Whistler into his hand, and the beam ignites just in time to block one of the blows. The second gets Zephyrman right in the chest. He goes sliding backwards, past Featherman, standing only because of the jets grinding against the air. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You've introduced yourself, so I must, too.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman turns the glowing blade at Lloyd. &amp;quot;The wind is howling. It's howling for justice from the lips of the innocent. It howls for a savior to bring peace to the world. It calls the name of my soul!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;The name of my soul is...&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ZE&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;PHYR&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:gold&amp;quot;&amp;gt;MAN&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Once he's introduced himself - and probably opened himsef up to another strike, if Lloyd's that kind of dick - Zephyrman goes charging in, again past Featherman Neo, to join Hibiki. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; When she swings for the fences, his rockets boost, sending him *past* Lloyd. He brings his blade around with a shout for a high-speed clothesline, using Hibiki's own force with his! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;ZEPHYR HOOOOOK!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He's probably making it up as he goes along, honestly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That body-slam manages to crush a dozen different evasion directions for possible futures, but the ninja herself manages to evade it elegantly in several backflips, before coming to a skidding halt. She overdramatically sheaths her blade as the music begins, and takes a deep breath through her respirator. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Now, be at peace, you screaming beast.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; She says, slinging the blade over her back... But no. This isn't done. The sheathed blade is right back in her hand, ready, when new arrivals come to start their assault. She remains silent, critical, as the confrontation goes from presuming to violent.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With a flicker in the third eye of her goggles, she feels the future. A riot-hose-style attack is about to take her off her feet! She draws her blade dramatically, and holds it in place to cut the jet-stream in half! So, of course, two split halves of a riot-hose-style jetstream instantly knock her off her feet, sending her tumbling, barely holding on to her blade.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She arrests her own momentum by planting the blade in the ground. She has no cover and no way to block it. So she has to kneel there and endure... At least for now. It bruises and batters her, and she clenches her teeth beneath the respirator. From her body sprouts a tree of predictions, a dozen ninjas dashing and leaping in a dozen directions. Before her bones crack and her robotic arm gives out, she'll find a way through. More and more diverge from her, as she slowly turns her back into the stream. Yes. YES. FINALLY!! A *waterfall to meditate under*, as befits a ninja of great power. Now finally recontextualizing her thorough beating, her predictions enhance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Come on. Come on. Where's a moment...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Candy's just about to spray sand in Tio's face. In that moment, the aim will be less precise. And she can turn, dash, and close the distance with a massive slice meant to carve through the whole body at once -- but, if one wanted enough time to dodge, perhaps just slice through crucial components of that orbal staff, so the ninja can stop being obliterated by ranged assault. She's practiced the movement in her mind a dozen times by the time that Candy finally uses that misdirection.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7167|Tohru Adachi (7167)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; With the Elon Tusk or whatever the hell it's called seemingly taken care of, Adachi begins walking away. Maybe if he's lucky, they have TVs here so he can just slip unnoticed. Fat chance though, especially now that they've apparently attracted the attention of the cops. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Oh, hey there. You're kinda cu-WOAH!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Adachi's pathetic attempts at hitting on law enforcement are cut short as he's suddenly shot at. Definitely deserved, to be sure, but still rude.  He falls straight on his ass and scrambles across the floor, bullets grazing his skin but never fully connecting, until he finally finds an opening to counter attack.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Well, not him, Magatsu Izanagi. The Persona lets out another monstrous roar, this one just for show, as it springs forward like a rabid animal, not even bothering to reclaim its weapon as it attempts to grab on to the girl's head and slam her aggressively and full force into the dirt. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This is a non lethal attack by the way. Just a very angry one.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita heaves a few deep breaths as the turtle's struggles weaken. &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I want to so badly, but I can't... we have to leave it alive, right? That's what C needs. But after that little taste of blood, I'm starving so bad it's like I'm being stabbed in the gut. I have to keep it together for just a little longer, for the sake of my new friends...&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She hops off its shell and walks towards the officers with bright imouto eyes, completely oblivious to the trigger-happy peril they pose. &amp;quot;We took care of the monster for you! Is everything okay?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Randy takes a swing at her. Her instincts kick in at the last second; she reels backwards, face full of panic, and avoids the attack only by stumbling backwards and falling onto her butt on the sand. She looks up at the 'superstar' officer with wide, emotion-charged eyes. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I want to crack open your bones and suck out the marrow. I want to drink your blood until it runs down my neck. There's a hole in me deeper than the ocean and just as cold, and your body could fill it. But I can't. I won't. I won't. I won't!!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Please, mister,&amp;quot; she says as she looks up at him, her voice a little hoarse. &amp;quot;Please don't hurt me. I'm trying to help. I'm trying to be good. Please.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her tentacles squirm restlessly. Rita's disguise wobbles briefly, revealing flickers of the mutated girl beneath- sharklike teeth, a glinting blue eye, tentacles and veins and translucent lappets of cerulean flesh. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Noel's submachineguns are cut apart in a flash -- and for an ordinary soldier, this would have been it. But, Noel, ever prepared and skillful, is anything but. Before Silver Ash can properly withdraw, she's already peppering the ground after him with a handgun. &amp;quot;Toryah!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This, thankfully for him, does not last long as Magatsu Izanagi comes up on her as Adachi's retort. &amp;quot;I know who you are. You're that creep ex-cop who escaped from jail -- !!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Noel's skills were, above anything else, her adaptability and her marksmanship. This is to say that she did not have what one could call many outstanding physical feats to display, and as a result, Magatsu Izanagi manhandles her with ease, smashing her hard into the sand. &amp;quot;G..gh...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The magazine of her weapon runs dry as she fires it into Izanagi's face, before ultimately falling unconscious.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Elite, having almost been shot by Noel due to Candy's earlier interference, finds herself taking quick evasive action, nearly having her face scalded by the flame passing over it, and catching her well-groomed silvery hair ablaze. &amp;quot;Agh! You -- you jerk, how did you .. ?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Caught between trying to shoot him and put it out, can you really blame her for half-heartedly laying down suppressive fire to dunk her tresses in the seawater?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Me? What's the matter with you all?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy takes the blow with stride. The impact is devastating and spittle flies from his mouth from the attack, yet, his stance does not falter despite the pain clearly showing on his face. &amp;quot;GH...ghrghl...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Randy gnashes his teeth, but manages to grin and bear it in the face of Hibiki's five-knuckled retort. &amp;quot;You've got one hell of a knuckle shuffle, shortstuff. And your bud here, too.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;An ominous red aura wraps around him, briefly, pushing against Hibiki and Zephyrman like a burning gale; it was easily the kind of feeling that should come from a dark general. Your mid-season villain. The dangerous flash is gone as quickly as it comes, as Randy, knowing no better of Rita's inner nature, is presented with what she wanted to be. What she wanted others to see her as, so she could see herself as.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A little girl who was only trying to do what she thought was the right thing, despite everything else.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He couldn't help but think -- maybe, if there'd been a moment like this back when he was still a young buck himself, maybe thing today would be different?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; ... in the end, as an older brother, and someone who genuinely loved children, he just couldn't even try and be hard to that kind of face. It goes without saying, but from the wind leaving his sails, Randy has been succinctly defeated. &amp;quot; ... sorry, guys. I don't know how else to say it .. but, this really ain't it, chief.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Zeit is barking up a storm, and Tio, herself also possessing a similar power of &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;prediction&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to her foe, found her ability to fight back impeded most heavily by .. sand in her eyes. &amp;quot;Wah?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The trusty and loyal wolf steps in for her though, and clasps the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ninja&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;'s blade between his jaws with a sharp tug, and a fierce glare.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd, having not been the kind of asshole to take potshots at someone like that, was too entrenched in trading blows with Featherman. With his tonfa impacting Featherman's helm at the same moment Featherman's fist hits his jaw, Lloyd aims to wrangle him to the ground with a pair of cuffs, the tonfas having released a massive electric shock. &amp;quot;Got you..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The melody ends.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot; ... and that's all she wrote.&amp;quot; C says, before looking back down at the SSS and his own allies in the watch with a small grin, hidden behind his mask. Lloyd frowns severely, especially as a strange woman seemed to have join their ranks while they'd been distracted. Her long, dark gray hair and jewel-like eyes shine in mischief as she places her hand on Crow's shoulder, her other busy tapping her staff on the ground. She gave off a very 'witch-y' look.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Huh? Isn't he supposed to be a no-good scoundrel? How'd he get a genuine babe like that to hang off his shoulder, this isn't fair..?!&amp;quot; Randy starts.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Elie, her doo thoroughly turned into a disaster turns to face him, &amp;quot;THAT'S your take-away, Orlando?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Yeesh...last name basis?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Where do you think you're going?! Whether you're real or not .. 'C' is a wanted man!&amp;quot; Lloyd bellows. Thinking about how to respond for a brief moment as he, the woman beside him, and Elon Ark begin to glow, C decides upon simply saying this.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'll leave the rest to my faithful right-hand men here. Adios.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;They fade, like morning mist in a fizzling, flicker of light, to Lloyd's indignance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;This might be a bad time to bring this up, but ... I think maybe we should let these guys go?&amp;quot; Randy suggests.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lloyd, clearly frustrated, climbs off of Featherman. &amp;quot; ... yeah. I guess so. But not this one.&amp;quot; he motions to the downed, costumed hero. &amp;quot;Eh? I mean. If you were gonna' insist, shouldn't it be that guy?&amp;quot; he thumbs at Adachi.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Lloyd makes a face like soured grapes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot; ... okay? You call the shots, ace detective.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7420|Zephyrman (7420)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Everything goes sideways. A dark general. A dark general, already...! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; *Heck* yes. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But as Featherman goes down and C announces things complete, John decides it's time to go. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The beam saber disappears. He plays another song on the flute, and the massive robot transforms, folding up into its jet mode. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Zephyrman leaps on top of the machine. &amp;quot;Come on,&amp;quot; he announces to the others, &amp;quot;Let's go.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; HurriKaiser starts lifting off the ground as the storm gathers in the distance once again.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7412|Featherman Neo (7412)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Featherman is suddenly blindsided, and goes down, both lockets giving him Hibiki's power and Featherman Engarde's power deactivating, leaving him without both. He's still conscious, and still able to communicate into his radio, but...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's not resisting. He needs to allow the others time to escape. And also...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He *had* asked Lloyd to capture him, after all. All part of a hero's plan.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7248|Karlan Nobles (7248)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I see you've already prepared for this possibility. Quite impressive.&amp;quot; SilverAsh, calm as always, leaps back as Noel keeps him from closing the gap again. &amp;quot;I may have to hire you and your companions sometime in the future, if they're all as quick on their feet.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The strange woman's appearance besides C as thsong ends, meanwhile, has Pramanix boggling over what she's seeing. &amp;quot;Who...? Another ally? Or is that...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Alas, she's lacking a whole lot of information to make any deductions there, and all she really has to go off of is the fact that the target has been secured by C and ????. &amp;quot;I suppose that'll do, then. Now, let's...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then Featherman tells them all to leave. &amp;quot;You can't expect us to...! Nn. If you are certain. We won't forget your sacrifice, friend. We will come back for you!&amp;quot; She shouts in a (not actually) tearful farewell towards the captive featherman, ringing her bell once more as another thick blanket of snow comes down around the area to cover the Watch's retreat atop the giant HurriKaiser.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A business card for the Karlan Trade Company with SilverAsh's contact information is left beside Noel.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7417|Rita Ma (7417)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Rita lowers her head, digging her fingertips into the sand as Randy relents. Her eyes squeeze shut, her lips pressed into a thin line. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00d7d7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Don't look at him. Swallow your drool. Don't look at him, and the feelings will go away. But it still hurts...&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Thank you,&amp;quot; she says quietly, her voice quavering with relief. The emotion is genuine, even if Randy misunderstands the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;why&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. &amp;quot;I'll- I need to go now. But thank you so much.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; She pulls herself up, turns away from him without opening her eyes, and runs across the beach towards Zephyrman's &amp;quot;HurriKaiser&amp;quot;, her feet kicking up plumes of sand. On the way there, she snatches up a live crab with her bare hands that couldn't quite get away, bites it in half, and swallows. It helps a tiny bit. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; But she still looks a little sick on the ride home. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7167|Tohru Adachi (7167)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Dang. News travels fast. Not even my job figured that out.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Free to leave, and no longer being shot at, Adachi makes his escape to the Hurricancan? Hurretter? Hurridum? Fuck it,  a Transformer. He's not wasting his valuable head space with remembering dumb anime names.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He scrabbles back to his feet and dashes at full speed in a comedic manner, Magatsu Izanagi trailing closely behind him. He hugs his robotic savior closely once he finally makes it, looking back at the dumb team of cops as he suddenly waves. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Well. It's been cool. But I gotta jet. Pretty popular, ya know?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; As if to rub salt into the wound, he slaps his ass in a provocative, childlike fashion, letting out a long laugh as he does so... And then he instantly recollects himself once he realizes it's not really that funny. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Ok. We can leave now. Ain't got all day.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7359|Hibiki Tachibana (7359)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I practiced,&amp;quot; Hibiki replies towards Randy, with a nod towards Zephyrman. Man, he's cool. &amp;quot;I didn't really wanna hit you that hard, but I just want to--&amp;quot; She's cut off by the brief &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#FF0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;aura of menace&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; that wraps around him, but right when she's starting to think this'll be tougher than she imagines...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's gone. Rita's power is too great. Hibiki, focused on the fight as she is, never picked up on those flashes of her real nature. She, too, only sees Randy losing his fight underneath that overwhelming power, and her arms steadily drop. Followed by her shoulders. And her head. &amp;quot;...Phew.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But it looks like they managed to handle things for long enough, from her brief glance over her shoulder at C and the woman with him. And then they, and Elon Ark, are gone.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Hibiki looks back to Randy and the rest of the SSS, with a small grimace on her face. Should she...? After a moment, Hibiki shakes her head to herself. &amp;quot;...Alright. We'll, uh--be back for you, Featherman!&amp;quot; She's kind of following Pramanix's lead on that one, still not entirely getting what's going on here between that and Featherman's declaration to leave him behind.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But she /would/ rather not have to keep fighting here. And some of the chatter is giving her a more serious frown beneath what her scarf hides. After a moment, she turns, but not before calling back to Randy. &amp;quot;Sorry for that!&amp;quot; Admittedly, she did want to try that sometime. &amp;quot;And thank you a lot for letting us go!&amp;quot; It's only a quick sprint and a leap to the HurriKaiser.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7377|Candy (7377)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Candy is on the offensive, immediately. &amp;quot;Nothing's the matter with me, miss! You and your friends didn't know a god damned thing about what we were doing and why we were doing it--you just rolled out here like you owned the fucking place, ah? And then you get underfoot, while we are trying to handle the Big Turtle?&amp;quot; Candy vehemently gestures behind him, towards C, with the macahuitl. His eyebrows raise in rhythm with 'Big Turtle.' &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He tosses the weapon into the air and it disappears in flame, giving Zephyrman a raised index finger--he's not done. &amp;quot;Get a grip, uniform!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;And you!&amp;quot; He wheels around, strutting up to Randy. &amp;quot;No shit, you should let us go. I swear, you give a person a badge, and in a week's time that person's brain has shrunk two times. At least yours was pretty big before you started, no?&amp;quot; The index finger swings angrily around and taps his temple three times. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; If Rita didn't recognize his voice before, she sure will now--because he's apparently got a lot to say. Now he's berating Noel. &amp;quot;What if you hit him, ah?&amp;quot; His thumb is jerked twice over his shoulder at the no-doubt departing C. &amp;quot;In the middle of his little song? Who knows what the fuck would happen, because I sure as shit ain't heard of no Demon Flute. Demon? Devil? I don't know, me--I hear those words and I think 'ho ho! that is something I should not fuck with.' But not you guys! That's 'what's the matter' with you uniforms.&amp;quot; The tirade is so sudden, so vehement, that it's quite reasonable to assume this isn't solely About Them. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Bye.&amp;quot; Candy blinks across the beach, over to his parked motorcycle. The newsboy cap is retrieved from the handlebar, slapped firmly atop his head, and the goggles around his neck are lifted. Candy undoes the rectangular kickstand, hopping astride the archaic bike and gunning the accelerator, kicking up a spray of sand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7405|Redshift Operators (7405)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;White Dwarf&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; narrows all three gleaming eyes, as things start to calm. She wrenches her sword away from the jaws of the beast warily, and takes a few steps back. She's surrounded by a swarm of defensive predictions, testing futures for what the optimal stance is to hold back an oncoming strike.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But nothing comes. She glances around, frowning under her respirator, but coming to a conclusion. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Hmmh. To think your *dog* could match this fraction of my power. Ridiculousness.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; She mutters, before taking more wary steps backwards. Alright, what's the most overdramatic, chuuni thing a person can say here? &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#ffffff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Don't interfere in the work of the Watch so frivolously again.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; And with a rush of sakura petals from nowhere clear (???) she leaps back and out of the shoreline battlefield, beating her escape with the rest. The Featherman isn't one of hers, and she heard before, her &amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#880000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;leader&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; probably wouldn't be keen on dedicating Redshift resources to his rescue.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7343/ToCS:_Meltdown!_The_Industrial_Metropolis&amp;diff=16495</id>
		<title>7343/ToCS: Meltdown! The Industrial Metropolis</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7343/ToCS:_Meltdown!_The_Industrial_Metropolis&amp;diff=16495"/>
				<updated>2020-11-14T06:22:07Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2020/11/14 |Location=Roer |Synopsis=The ILF return, delivering a threat to obliterate Roer's orbal reactors and leave a large swathe of the empire...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2020/11/14&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=Roer&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=The ILF return, delivering a threat to obliterate Roer's orbal reactors and leave a large swathe of the empire without power. However, it's all a ruse so that C can steal back the Demonic Flute lost when Gideon had been killed.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=7145, 7311, 562, 6994, 7303, 7228&lt;br /&gt;
|Tinyplot=Trails of Cold Steel&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Roer, unlike contemporaries such as Bareahard or the much larger Heimdallr, was closer in terms of structure to Crossbell State. Which is to say, it was a good deal more 'modern'; the heart of Erebonia's industrial progress, it is the home of Reinford Company and utilizes many technologies that aren't yet seen around the rest of Erebonia.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Its Orbal Reactor grid provides the majority of power not only to itself, but to Heimdallr as well, which is why ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I am C, and I speak to you in order to make this declaration; we of the Imperial Liberation Front have taken control of Plant B. If our demand is not met within twenty four hours, we intend to detonate the Orbal Reactor. We eagerly await your response, Chancellor.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This statement had been made over loudspeaker to most of Roer. The Railway Military Police wasted no time closing in on the situation to do what they could, but the force is stretched thin from its operations on the other side of the Empire; given the nature of the emergency, pride is swallowed to reach out for assistance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Anyone willing to lend a hand in this time of crisis is welcomed with open arms by Claire Rieveldt and the other RMP officers on site.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We can't risk a full frontal assault ... not if they're serious about blowing the reactor, even if we had that many bodies to throw at the situation. It'd cause a chain reaction that could damage other sectors and knock out power across the country. So considering our manpower, this is the strategy we'd like you to follow; we'll draw the ILF's attention by feigning an attack through the front, while Class VII and the rest of you infiltrate through the mechanical bay.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The reactors are tall, curved spires with massive orbments built into their centers. Catwalks connect them all, like a kind of shell -- struts that lead from one block to the next. At the bottom of the facility are various mechanical bays that load works and resources to carry up into the reactors to perform maintenance and expansion work. It was also the least guarded, as the ILF had consolidated their forces on the reactors themselves rather than access points. &amp;quot;The government has no intention of negotiating with them, much less handing over the Chancellor to them. Good luck, everybody.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain is not at the front, helping Claire Rievelt and the RMP. He has teleported in - any Watch meeting up have been invited for a ride - through a giant picture frame that deposits him 'wherever the terrorists are that is easy to find on the internet via blueprints or something'.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's tall, built, and dressed in old-timey construction worker uniform, complete with cap, and a welding mask. The minute he finds one of the revolutionaries, he approaches with haste (though his footsteps are silent), but is non-hostile. He's honestly really spooky.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Samhain of the Slaughter. I am a member of the Watch. Tell me how I can assist you in fighting injustice.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain's decided that, as revolutionaries, they are fighting injustice. It's the only reason they could be threatening the plant, right?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;The government of Erebonia may not be interested in negotiation, but I am,&amp;quot; Eryl says plainly to Claire before he sets off to join the infiltration efforts. 'Infiltration' is putting it lightly however. He marches up to the nearest door, puts his ear against it, and knocks three times. This might seem ridiculous given the circumstances, but he's using the sound of the knocking to ping the other side like sonar, listening for anything lying in wait.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Once he's confirmed that no one is lying in ambush, he wrenches the door open.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Move quickly. If they truly have shored up their defences in the reactor proper, we don't need to worry about stealth. Not to mention the longer we tarry, the more risk the RMP places themselves in with their staged assault.&amp;quot; He moves at a fast run, aiming to quickly reach the reactor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;^ Rean is here, with Class VII as planned. It's been some time since he was last here, since that day they all found out one of their own was part of the ILF.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whether or not this C was 'their' C or just another person taking up his mantle was yet to be seen, but either way...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;No matter who was behind the mask this time, they couldn't be allowed to harm their home. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean assists Eryl's check for ambushers by expanding his senses past the door. He nods to Eryl's analysis of the situation. &amp;quot;Understood.&amp;quot; He says, then turns to his classmates.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Alright, Class VII, Our mission is to secure the reactors. Let's go!&amp;quot; Rean shouts to the gaggle of red uniformed academy students behind him. They all respond with varying shouts of affirmation, and then the group breaks into a run after Eryl into the building.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain deposits himself in front of a pair of soldiers clad head to toe in a drab, green armor. One wielded a long orbal rifle, while the other held a broadsided, square blade. &amp;quot;How did you ... ?! ... But if you also want to make that man pay, then we'll welcome your help. Follow us, so you can be briefed by Comrade V!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Right ... I'm not so sure about this, but, Comrade C is allied with The Watch, so maybe it'll work out.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The two jaegers lead Samhain across the strut to a third member, fiddling with an orbal radio on the ground. &amp;quot;Huh? New comrades? Let me notify Comrade V .. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It only took a moment for Samhain to be addressed directly by a gruff but energized voice on the other end, &amp;quot;So you said you're from The Watch, eh? Samhain of the Slaughter. We could use all the spare hands we can get, and from what we figure, the RMP's about done waiting, so head on over to the strut between Plant B and Plant C.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In the meantime...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Claire nods her head, silently conveying her agreement with Eryl before she draws her orbal pistol, ensuring the orbment is loaded into place and ready to fire. &amp;quot;Commence the operation!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Yes sir!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The grey-clad officers split off, wielding a variety of orbal arms as they storm the front. The response is quick and vicious, the various jaegers above raining down suppressive gunfire at them -- not accurate enough to hit, but close enough to slow progress.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At least, until the sound of trained beasts resounded with a howl. But, everyone would just have to trust the RMP to handle their part of the plan.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And just like Eryl said, the best way to help was to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The bay is all but devoid of guards, only small machines -- turrets on wheels, practically, sweeping the area to stand in their way. &amp;quot;Archaisms...&amp;quot; Machias, the green-haired hothead of Class VII informs with a frown.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B Proper...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan hefts his gatling guns, strapped down with munitions and explosives. The heavyset man grunts with a large smirk at how well things were turning out, inclining his head to his red-haired compatriot. The woman tilts her head back at him, one hand on the hilt of her sword. &amp;quot;It looks like C's networking really paid off, huh? Speaking of which ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;They both turn to the black-robed figure present in the room with them, conspicuously, devoid of his signature weapon. &amp;quot;It won't be too long before we have to go out and strut our stuff, huh, 'C'?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Heh...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7303|Liza Grier (7303)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You're soft, 'C'.&amp;quot; says a woman clad up to the neck in black and bloodred armour, its matching, faceless helmet held under one arm. She uses her free hand to finger what looks like it could be a cigarette in proximity to her face, turning it over and over without ever deciding to light it. White hair just short enough to barely fit into the neck seal. Eyes redder than textbook albinism would quite explain. She's sat atop a locked, metallic crate on the higher levels, close to the reactor core, what remains of her kit rolled out on tactical webbing across the floor for her to look at. &amp;quot;Almost disappointingly soft.&amp;quot; She stops the cigarette in a hardcase on her suit's leg, and stands up.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You really think this is going to work? Not the operation I mean; negotiation. Haven't you heard the line? 'We don't negotiate with terrorists'. That's how it goes. The bigger the threat, the more you posture, the better an opportunity it is for the government, the police, to look big and strong. You're making it way too valuable for them; to refuse, that is. They come out like this looking like heroes, you know? Champions of the people. Impervious to any threat. If they cave in, they lose their face, and with their face, they lose power. And these people will do anything, kill anyone, to make sure they never lose an inch.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The helmet is lowered over her head. The neck seal clicks and then hisses. Four bright green optics light up on the faceplate, glowing menacingly in the dark. Her voice comes over the radio. &amp;quot;That is, unless you blow the plant. That cripples them. Humiliates them. Sews unrest and fear, and mistrust in their so-called leaders and defenders. You have the plant. You have the codes. Why not do it? Gouge the jugular. Let the citizens feel the arterial spray of a dying system on their faces.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;If you can't stomach it, I can do it for you. There's still time.&amp;quot; Rolling up her kit again and fastening it to her back, Liza picks up the heavy machine gun propped against the rail beside her and slings the strap over her shoulder, pulling the charging bolt. &amp;quot;Though, if the idea is to funnel their dogs into the killzone and get as many as we can before pulling the trigger, I'm partial to that idea as well.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As Samhain is told where to go, he grunts, and then as soon as they're not looking at him, is already gone, having walked off towards the strut. Once he gets there...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He doesn't have much time. They'll be here, soon. So, he starts dumping out traps. Bear traps. Chained hooks you walk into and get stuck to, hanging from the ceiling. Oil spills. Oil /barrels/. Spikes attached to the walls. A saw in a corner. Spikes attached to the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He just spits all this out, and then moves to smash any lights nearby, putting it in pitch black. He's making a hellscape for the 'heroes'.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Correct.&amp;quot; A voice echoes through the bay in response to Machias's observation. Followed shortly by the sound of heavy armored boots clanking against the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;From behind a large container of resources, the armored form of Arianrhod comes walking out. She turns to face the arrival of Eryl and Class VII. Her helmet slowly turns as she apparently looks over the group, before her voice echoes from within it, &amp;quot;This is it?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod moves her gauntlet covered hand to rest on the hilt of the large sword sheathed at her waist. She admits with only mild disappointment, &amp;quot;I was expecting more.&amp;quot; Arianrhod's helmet does turn to settle on Eryl for a moment, before saying, &amp;quot;Though perhaps there is still a chance.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod slowly draws her sword as she finishes, &amp;quot;I dare say that time is of the essence, if you don't want the efforts of the others to be in vein.&amp;quot; The sounds of battle between the RMP and jaegers echoes in the background.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl takes a second to scan the anarchisms. Figuring out any obvious weakpoints. But before he can even take a shot, he is confronted. A figure clad in armor, a sword at their side. An obstacle, already? A very self-assured one too. They've mentally written off the students at his side. There's no time for this kind of posturing, no time to clash steel.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl and his implants are drinking in everything about Arianrhod. Their stance, their words, the sword at their sides. They presented themselves with weapon sheathed. Either strong enough to win a direct confrontation or confident enough in their ability to win a fair fight. Reminding them of their objective. At the same time, he is also mapping out the plant. How big is it, how far they are from the objective? Too big, and too far. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl raises both his arms. &amp;quot;We surrender,&amp;quot; he says, immediately and plainly. &amp;quot;Having the Grandmaster of the Paladins and several noble scions and students of a royal military academy will strengthen your positions. You had best find a place to lock us up.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's a gamble. But he immediately gets a sense that this person would not cut down surrendering opponents. And if they're so confident, they might not even bother confiscating weapons.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;'C' doesn't say anything, though his exaggerated body language indicates he's trying very hard not to, for some reason. It doesn't seem congruent with the personality set forth by the leader of the infamous organization to that point.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Scarlet simply laughs it off, moving her long mane of red hair to a more comfortable position. &amp;quot;Well, you've got a point, but everything's going according to Comrade C's plan.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan looks over his shoulder, a wild glint in his eyes as he moves them up and down, baring his teeth as if he'd come across a particularly challenging piece of meat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yeah, just let loose! Kill some of the chancellor's dogs, have a little fun. We'll get what we came here for, one way or another.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Down below...Machis grits his teeth, holding his orbal shotgun close as the Steel Maiden reveals herself. &amp;quot;Wait...what?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jusis, the blonde-haired youth narrows his eyes in consternation, though he holds his tongue. He was hotheaded, but not nearly so much so as Machias, who was sputtering indignity. &amp;quot;There's no way we're surrendering to these guys, right?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The tall, brown-haired nord taking up their back frowns, closing his eyes in consideration before stepping forward. &amp;quot;I understand your reasoning, Mr. Fairfax. But, I think that person, as powerful as they are, underestimate us.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His gaze focuses on the armored warrior before them, &amp;quot;We'll show you our mettle. In return, all I ask is to allow those of us who don't wish to fight you pass.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod pauses in the drawing of her sword as Eryl quickly surrenders. She appears to be considering his offer for a moment. And then Gaius speaks up, offering an alternative. Eryl's assessment of Arianrhod is partially correct, in that she would have let the group in further. But that would not have lasted long, given the other obstacles in their path.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod finishes drawing her sword, spinning it around to plant its point into the ground in front of her. Placing both gauntlets on the pommel, she says, &amp;quot;Very well. I accept your challenge. You have my word that the rest can pass.&amp;quot; Arianrhod then waits, giving the group an opportunity to split up.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean wastes no time, once the archaisms appear. Class VII draws their weapons- And are interrupted by Arianrhod.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Wait, HUH?!&amp;quot; Millium says. &amp;quot;We're surrendering?!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her silver puppet, Airgetlam, lets out an oddly sad sounding mechanical squeak as it hovers behind her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean's gaze drift between the Steel Maiden and Eryl. Arianrhod struck him as being honorable, and as his boss, he trusted that Eryl knew what he was doing by surrendering. They might be able to gain more ground if they didn't fight her, but it was a gamble that might land them in more trouble. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;...Yeah. We can handle this.&amp;quot; Rean says. Laura nods, drawing her greatsword. &amp;quot;Indeed. I'd like to test myself against you for my own reasons. I have the feeling this is not the first time we've met.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Perhaps unsurpisingly, Arianrhod accepts. &amp;quot;Thank you.&amp;quot; Rean says. Once everyone is done deciding who is coming along, Rean runs past Arianrhod, heading deeper into the reactor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl gives a tired, heavy sigh as the students protest. One offers an honourable duel, and this just makes him pinch the bridge of his nose. &amp;quot;Tens of thousands of lives ride on the success of our mission, and you care even a single whit about 'meeting the foe on their terms?' About 'honor' and 'valor?' Had you gone along with me, we could have breached the enemy defences as a single, rested unit. Now we shall be divided, and even if those who stay do win, you will be less effective, exhausted.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He sounds like he might have more to say, but shakes his head. &amp;quot;Everyone who is coming, follow me.&amp;quot; He breaks into a sprint past the armoured figure and takes the lead. Eventually, they hit darkened hallways. &amp;quot;Stay behind me,&amp;quot; he orders Rean before pressing on. The sounds of their footsteps bounce off the surroundings, bouncing off... bear traps? Hanging hooks? Oil barrels? This is very unconventional, but effective.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl lashes out with a kick, striking a bear trap and setting it off as it goes flying. He grabs a hook and slams it against the wall, burying it deep. Across the oil he slides, maintaining his footing. &amp;quot;Watch your step,&amp;quot; he calls back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Eryl:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean lets out a quiet sigh as the group is scolded. Maybe that would've been a better idea after all. Still, choices have been made, and they push forward.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The hallway ahead is dark, and Eryl notes that they should watch their step, to the sound of something metal breaking.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Alisa raises one hand, a ball of golden light appearing in the air above the group. &amp;quot;/Holy-/&amp;quot; Alisa shouts, as the area is briefly illuminated. &amp;quot;What IS this?!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Obviously deterred by the room full of sharp death, the students get into a single line behind Eryl as they slowly go forward.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Eryl slips on the oil, having bypassed some of the mundane traps. This is when he finally hears something - the crackle of fire.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;From a far wall, a fiery orb blasts forward, straight for the oil spill. It ignites, moving to immolate anyone walking on it, and blast into the oil canister to detonate it. The chain-reaction is intended to knock back anyone into beartraps, wall-spikes, and the rapidly spreading fire, creating a cluster of pain and torture for everyone who doesn't have split-second reaction times and the ability to navigate perfectly through the hallway.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the flames, briefly, Eryl at minimum will catch the glimpse of Samhain's welding mask, before it suddenly disappears. Completely. He's still in the room, he's just blinking around to lose line of sight on himself with all the chaos.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Clever. But foolish. This is now my hunting ground. Turn back now, or else...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You'll die.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gaius accepts being berated serenely -- he understood Eryl's frustration, after all, but what was done was done. He had no regrets.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jusis and Machias joined Laura and Gaius in formation, frowns deeply etched on both of their faces. &amp;quot;Tch ... not gonna' go on ahead, your highness?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Don't patronize me, Machias Regnitz. It behooves me to stand my ground, that's all.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Outside...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One of the RMP officers slumped into the hard ground, covered in wild wounds from the trained beasts wielding wicked, curved blades in their mouthes. They almost looked like giant, armored jaguars.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Cheh .. we can't fall back yet..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A glimmering mirror was thrown high, before a beam of light reflected off of it, showering the creature with a pepper of blows. Just long enough for two RMP officers to charge ahead in front of their downed comrade, pushing their hands out as they activate their orbments, unleashing binding thorns from the ground that drag the beast down and restrain it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Up above, a Jaeger downed by a crack shot is dragged to the side, before the strut they were on is destroyed by one stray Art too many, sending them falling, yelling, to their deaths below. &amp;quot;Watch it, we can't risk damaging the structure too much!&amp;quot; Claire raises her voice to the soldiers in the back, who'd been focusing on slinging Fire and Thunder based Arts up at the jaegers. &amp;quot;R..right...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hm...sounds like they're almost here, judging by the sound of things.&amp;quot; Vulcan rumbles.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He turns to the odd men out, the jaegers in an odd set of red armor. It seems far more mechanized than what the rest of the ILF's soldiers wore, powered by some kind of orbment. &amp;quot;Look alive, twerps. As long as we're here in the reactor, they won't risk going all out even if they do get inside. My blood is boilin' already.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One of the red armored jaegers nods swiftly, &amp;quot;Yeah. Whatever you say.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A fireball. Aimed at bundled oil drums. Most people would immediately duck and cover if they were to process what is about to happen. But Eryl is not most people.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He runs, even as the flames lick his feet and melt his shoes. Adding to the momentum gained from the oil, he speeds up. The rush of air from the explosion pushes at his back, adding even more speed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And all of it is directed at Samhain like a freight train. Eryl executes the perfect tackle, straight out of the diagrams from self-defence/rugby manuals. Grabbing the back of the knee and lifting up, shoulder against the midsection. He slams Samhain into a wall, and then all the way through it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;They crash through to the reactor, Eryl landing on top of the wall of muscle and pointing a finger at the assembled terrorists. &amp;quot;Eryl Fairfax, Grandmaster of the Paladins!&amp;quot; he barks. &amp;quot;Everyone, drop your weapons!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod says nothing as Eryl berates part of Class VII for their choice of staying to fight. She simply watches and waits, holding her position as the force separates and the others move on. Only once Eryl has left does Arianrhod speak up once more, saying, &amp;quot;Your Grandmaster seems to not respect honor or martial skill. Regardless, he is wrong. Other obstacles await. He simply would have traded in individual battles for one on two fronts.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod's helmet turns to look between Machias, Jusis, Gaius and Laura, apparently studying them as she says, &amp;quot;But it seems that most of you understand.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod finally moves her hands to grip her sword in two hands, spinning it around and up, &amp;quot;Very well then.&amp;quot; She settles down into a stance that would look somewhat familiar to Laura. One seemingly related to the Arseid school of swordsmanship. Arianrhod prepares herself and waits, letting the four make the first move as she finishes, &amp;quot;Let us see if I truly am underestimating you.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7303|Liza Grier (7303)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl has broken off with Samhain after the Slasher has revealed his trap cards. Arianrhod has taken half of the infiltrating class at the door. That just leaves Rean and his close companions venturing towards the reactor core on their own. In the dark.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This means Liza belaying deploying any of her own preparations was the right call. She hadn't anticipated that trying to double up and overwhelm the Grandmaster of the Paladins would have much of a return. She *had* anticipated, by his profile, that he'd be the type to 'self-sacrifice' for the success of the mission.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Thumb on the detonator, Liza clicks twice, and the remaining stretch of accessor corridors is host to a series of explosive pops in cascading sequence. Chemical smoke floods into the halls and intersections, so thick as to barely be possible to see ahead, diffusing the conjured light into the swirling clouds, and certainly thick enough to begin choking on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's also thick enough to make the blurry beam of a laser sight visible, when it sweeps upward to chest height. The briefest forewarning before the halls echo with the reverberating thunder of a thirty pound machine gun roaring like a jet engine, spewing a waterfall of brass into the junction and a vicious hailstorm of lead into the choke of the hallway.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain crashes through the wall, Eryl Fairfax on top of him. Inside are the three key figures of the ILF; Vulcan, a massive bear of a man and a former Jaeger, wielding artillery and heavy weapons ordinarily found only on tanks or gunships. Scarlet, a nimble warrior formerly of the Septian Church, who possessed powerful flame based Arts. And finally, Crow Armbrust, a time-manipulating rogue, formerly a student of Thors Military Academy Class VII.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Only, the latter of the three seemed to have foregone any of his traditional weaponry. And actually, his armor seemed rather different, too.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The way it gleamed black in the orbal light, it was kind of like someone had just colored over their armor with ink. &amp;quot; . . . &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;'C' silently stares. Vulcan laughs in Eryl's face, and Scarlet, her only answer is to draw her sword with a subtle, yet bloodthirsty grin as the jaegers in red powered-armor storm forward into formation, one wielding a machinegun of sorts, another utilizing a pair of curved scimitars, and lastly, one wielding an orbal pistol in one hand, and a short-spear in the other.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan raises his gatling gun and fires, intent on obliterating Eryl in a flash of hot death in conjunction with Liza.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Below...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gaius grimaces only slightly, nodding his head. He'd felt a bad wind coming from above, an omen to be sure. Shifting his stance, the spearman assumed the traditional form of his people, known for their cross-guarded polearms. &amp;quot;I'll give it everything I have!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jusis, his eyes narrowed at Arianrhod's choice of stance, as well as her style of dress, rose his blade up. &amp;quot;Together!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Machias primes his weapon, all of them readying for battle. &amp;quot;Barrier of time.......!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A clay pidgeon made of time sepith is hurled into the air, before being gunned down in an instant. &amp;quot;BREAK!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was a deployable version of one of Crow's own favorite Arts, altering the flow of time for the four of them to increase their speed and reflexes. Jusis shoots off to the side, hopping forward quickly to attack Arianrhod's left with a slash of energy from his saber. Gaius takes to the sky, releasing a loud battlecry as he hurls his spear down with incredible force -- almost like an orbal mortar.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain's blinking around, but isn't expecting the trick. Eryl knocks him through a wall, into the plant, sliding and thudding with a grunt. Lying there for several moments, stunned, he waits until Vulcan starts opening fire to react and move.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain suddenly moves to grab Eryl's nearest grab-point and grip tight. He's /tremendously/ strong, and is seeking to damage him and also stop him from immediately reacting to the hail of fire, before pushing to start standing up to his side. Shots hit him, ripping through his outfit and flesh, but there's little blood, little damage, and little signs of reaction, even as one ends up flying through his chest.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You will not stop our progress.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Summoning a sledgehammer in one hand, Samhain moves to try and harry Eryl by smashing into one of his legs! He's not going for killing blows - he toys with his prey first, clearly. There are no wasted movements - this man is a master of the sledge, knowing exactly how much pressure to put on a human body to break it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yeah, he still thinks Eryl is human. That might be an issue.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Eryl:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Lammy, barrier!&amp;quot; Millium shouts, and Airgetlam appears in front of her classmates, creating a transparent forcefield. The explosion hammers against the barrier, and the small girl grunts with effort, but the barrier holds. Eryl's already charging by the time she does this, so he's out of range. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The fire wasn't the sort they could easily put out, but they had to press forward, regardless. &amp;quot;...Dunno how much this'll help,&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;but...&amp;quot; Elliot slams his orbal staff on the ground, creating a smaller barrier around each of the members of the group. Hopefully it'd help protect them against the fire....but it's not the only thing they have to worry about for long.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The room is suddenly filled with chemical smoke, and smaller explosions. Rean opens his senses on instinct, since obviously his eyes are no good in this situation...but this means he misses the sight flickering through the smoke.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Someone else, however, does manage to see it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;MOVE!&amp;quot; Alisa shouts, grabbing Rean's blazer collar and pulling him out of the way of the shots. The two tumble to the ground, landing in an oil slick. The others move with varying degrees of success, trying to find the souce of the shots as best they can. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Arianhrod:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I see.&amp;quot; Laura says, indeed recognizing the stance.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With a shout, Laura rushes forward.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Machias's time art helps with her speed, and she's there moments after Gaius, swinging her blade with enough force to dent armor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl is grabbed, and a massive gun is trained on him. And yet, he doesn't panic, or flounder. Instead, he grabs the arm that grabs him with both hands and plants his feet flat on the floor. A few bullets ram into him, but with an enormous exertion of strength, he lifts himself up and pulls Samhain with him. The two rise together, with Eryl fighting to keep the monster between he and Vulcan as a meat wall.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Your progress? Has Samhain the FearFrame turned to political terrorism in his pursuit of a 'happy ending?'&amp;quot; he spits. A file has been put together already, of course. The sledgehammer strikes his knee with a resounding 'clang!' and the cyborg smiles grimly. &amp;quot;I'm not someone you get to play with.&amp;quot; As immediate proof, his elbow erupts into confetti of false skin and clothing fabric, a metal slug flying out and bouncing off the wall to slam against the revolving barrel of Vulcan's gun. Weapons like that are great, until one little bit of damage like misaligning the barrels renders the whole thing scrap.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As a folow-up, Eryl lets go of Samhain and uses his now-free hand to produce a blade from his forearm and begin burying it in the titan's front, over and over, a rapid flurry of slashes from his groin to his stomach to his liver to solar plexus, hoping to strike anything like a core or a weakness.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod holds steady as the four members of Class VII begin their assault. Her helmet turns, apparently tracking Jusis as he rushes off to her side. She doesn't seem all that concerned by the boost in speed they're showing. Indeed, as Jusis swings his sword to unleash that light, Arianrhod swings her own. Her blade cuts into the slash of energy, splitting it in two to dissipate to either side of her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's while her attention is on defending against that shot that Gaius unleashes his own, throwing his spear with great power down towards her. But Arianrhod quickly releases one hand from gripping her sword, raising it up. There's a light shockwave of air as the spear seemingly strikes. But as it passes, Arianrhod is revealed to be holding the thrown spear by the blade, having stopped it moments from striking her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Laura's charge in moments later is not missed. Arianrhod turns, bringing her own blade up with one hand to meet Laura's. The two swords meet with a clash of sparks, before Arianrhod pushes back against Laura's weapon quickly to try and throw her off balance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod throws the spear aside, before shifting her grip on her sword back to both hands. She raises it straight up in front of her, the weapon beginning to glow with golden light.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod then takes a step, her long hair and cloak sweeping around her as she moves into a spin. Her sword lashes out, following her in a full circle and unleashing a wave of golden energy from it. The wave washes out towards all four members of Class VII in the bay. As well as into a number of the archaisms that had been holding on the perimeter for a command to attack that never came, splitting them in two.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod straightens again after her attack, saying, &amp;quot;Close. You'll need more than that though if you wish to break through my armor.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;These people seek a man who has wronged them. I understand them. Their cause is justice.&amp;quot; It literally sounds like Samhain is parroting something he heard five minutes ago. He has /no/ understanding of the politics at all. &amp;quot;I will create a world I can live in, and to do that, I need more allies.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even as more bullets rip through him, he barely reacts to push out of the way, not /wanting/ to be a meat wall even if he can handle it. His body is clearly regenerating - not the fastest, but fast enough to be combat healing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As the hammer bounces off Eryl's knee, Samhain speaks, cold and devoid of much emotion. &amp;quot;I will have to put more power into my next strike.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Before he can move again, the blade is sliced through the liver and solar plexus 'weakspots', with difficulty carving through the muscle due to sheer resistance. It hurts. It hurts like hell, and he grunts louder. But - it doesn't slow him down in any way it should, besides being 'more damage'. The monster of a man does not seem to possess weak spots like that, or a core, or anything like that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The hammer sweeps up, and then suddenly, has a flicker of pure dark energy around it for added damage, before moving to smash straight into Eryl's chest with all the power that is needed to damage steel. He's still not trying to kill, but he's much less afraid of doing so accidentally.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Oh really? What is the man's name then?&amp;quot; Eryl interrogates Samhain. When the creature eventually admits that he's doing this out of allyship, Eryl rolls his eyes. &amp;quot;Ever the excuse. You scratch their backs, they'll scratch yours? I'll note their leader has already backstabbed his allies once before. What's to say he won't do the same to you?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;All this as he attempts to stab Samhain into submission, but he won't go down. The hammer swings, and Eryl does his best to deflect it, but it crashes against his chest. Here, Samhain feels that familiar feedback. The creak of ribs straining under the impact. The satisfying crunch of one of them breaking, muffled under muscle. Eryl goes sliding back, crouching low and burying his fingers into the floor to come to a stop, least he land in the inferno behind him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He coughs as he stands back up, touching his chest and wincing. &amp;quot;All right. I can't find any weaknesses on you. So in lieu of a clean victory, I'm just going to have to get mean.&amp;quot; His eyes are cold now, empty. For a moment, he has the same eyes as Samhain.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He breaks into a run, closing the gap. But partway through, his pants explode at the knee, a massive round flying at Samhain's gut, impacting hard enough to make even the giant double over. And that is where Eryl's true intentions lie. With Samhain's neck low enough to target, Eryl leaps into the air and comes down on the back of it with his elbow, a strike that would paralyse most for life. And then he doubles that up with another elbow slug to double the impact.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Arianrhod:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Laura braces herself well enough, managing to not stagger for long from her sword being pushed back on. The second wave of attacks the Steel Maiden performs does push her back, and she staggers. &amp;quot;Ugh...Such strength.&amp;quot; She then slams her sword into the ground, sending a shockwave towards the Steel Maiden.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gaius lands, feet planted in the ground, but his face was in consterned shock as his attack is repelled. Jusis on the other hand retains his footing with a grunt, &amp;quot;Gh...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Neither had expected their efforts to bare so little fruit. &amp;quot;Seriously?! She pushed all three of you back like it was nothing..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Machias grips his weapon tighter, intent on stepping up to cover Gaius as the nord recovered his spear, but the Steel Maiden puts a stop to such notions as the golden light of her strength washes over all of them, flooring Machias instantly as if he'd been struck by a speeding horse.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jusis attempted to defend himself with his sword and fared better, remaining on his feet, if only barely -- his saber, a stock and ordinary weapon, shattered from attempting to clash with her directly. &amp;quot;...!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gaius reclaims his spear, spinning it once above his head before resuming his stance. &amp;quot;Jusis, fall back!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Tch..you don't have to tell me!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His pride clearly stung, he moves away from the flank he'd been fighting by, relegated to Arts duty. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ARCUS Activate!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Machias puts on his bravest front, and raises his orbal shotgun to fire a penetrating slug straight at her. &amp;quot;D-don't get too cocky!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gaius concentrates, gathering his energy.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_y bg_n ++ huy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;HUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan clicks his tongue, his weapon the mis-alignment causing a jam in his massive weapon of choice. &amp;quot;Damn. That's a shame..but it's the risk you run with those things, I guess. Well, whatever. Don't think that'll stop me!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Discarding the weapon, he reaches for his waist and retrieves an orbal launcher, as well as a butchers knife larger than some men were tall. &amp;quot;Now, let's dance.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Scarlet dives, surrounded by burning flame, at Rean and Alisa with the intent of lighting them up. &amp;quot;You'd better move fast, boy, if you don't want to go up like a matchstick!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;'C' quivers, the power-armored soldiers seeming to have trouble figuring out what precisely they should be doing. One points his weapon at Elliot, &amp;quot;Stop that! Or ... I'll shoot! ... Probably ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Finally, 'C' speaks. One thing that could definitively be said is this;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That voice does not belong to Crow Armbrust.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'M SICK OF THIS CHARADE! Uoooooooooh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Scarlet pulls back, an aggrivated look on her face. &amp;quot;Ugh. Now? Really?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yes! Really!&amp;quot; The high pitched man cries, tearing C's helmet off of his head and chucking it across the room. He was a very pretty young man with bright blue hair.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At an incomprehensible speed, he uses C's cloak to scrub his armor clean of the sharpie marker he'd used to color it black, revealing it to be an identical set to the other red jaegers in the room. Placing his fists bombastically on his hips, he grins big and wide.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Forget C! He's a loser! I'm ... the greatest jaeger who's ever lived!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;I'M GILBERT STEIN, AND I'M SICK OF PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE TO YOU LOSERS!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;U...uh ...&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We're..very sorry about him ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You tell' em, sir!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan sighs. &amp;quot;What a buzzkill. I was in a good mood for killin', too ... well, a job's a job. Let's get it done.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I don't care what his name is. They've been wronged.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Samhain pauses at the information about the leader. Eryl can see, in his body language very briefly, panic. Paranoia. He didn't know that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;If they betray me, I'll kill them.&amp;quot; His voice is still cold, but the plan has to change. He's going to be betrayed. He has to warn Liza - but wait, C is Watch. What if Liza tells C? That's bad. He can't warn Liza. She might rat him out. Decisions, decisions...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Eryl gets mean. The eyes of a predator. Samhain knows those eyes. As the run comes, the blow hits him in the gut, causing him to double back and briefly over. But before he can make the paralyzing blow for his neck - even if it might not work, Samhain doesn't want to chance it - the killer is rising back up with startling recovery time, and dematerializes his weapon, both hands going up to block the double punch at the expense of offense.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The bones in his palms strain from the sheer strength being output. Not enough to cease complete use of them, but they're going to be difficult to manipulate for a bit. &amp;quot;I can't trust anyone here.&amp;quot; He mutters quietly, but Eryl's hearing is keen enough to pick it up easily.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Chains suddenly lash out to try and bind Eryl, though his force can break them. Samhain's probably planning an escape - why? He doesn't seem completely worn down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then Gilbert appears, revealing that C was a lie. Their ally wasn't even here. He was tricking them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's a low, guttural growl from Samhain. Eryl can once again pick up on it. Samhain Does Not Like This.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7303|Liza Grier (7303)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rean and his classmates don't have to look far. After a full two hundred rout fusillade raking up and down the corridor, the last echoes of spent brass clinking to the ground reach, and then pass them, and then four acid green lights flare in the smoke. Painting trails of light in their wake, the lights rapidly surge towards them, along with the sound of fast, heavy, pounding bootsteps. It may be a trick of acoustics, but they sound far faster and harder than they should be. It's like being caught in the headlines of an oncoming train.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A sharp, metallic clack rebounds off the floor. A canister grenade bounces into view through the smoke. It erupts into a blinding flare of light, which then separates into fluttering globs of burning phosphorous, spattering the walls, the floor, and the group. It doesn't seem to affect the optics of the oncoming adversary. Rapid, deafening blasts of a high calibre handgun chase the sound of the grenade, blossoms of fire flickering closer and closer, aimed at the standing classmates still in the vanguard. An electric crackle and hum follows, and a broad, double-notched disc of blue light covers up most of the dark, approaching shape.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That shape ploughs right into the student vanguard, using the e-shield to bulldoze them down, smashing and battering paramilitary teenagers out of the way. Beelining to Rean and Alisa. Up close, he can see their hand slamming the butt of a handgun against a thigh mount, inserting a fresh magazine from a magnetic holster. The gun is aimed right at the prone couple, firing at nearly execution range.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod seems content to let Jusis pull back to a support role, instead turning her attention to the more immediate threat of Laura. She turns to her side and plants her feet as she braces herself. The launched shockwave hits, forcing her to skid back a few meters. Though it's hard to tell just how much of the force made it through her armor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But the attack does present a good opportunity for Machias to get his own in. The large shell streaks right for Arianrhod. It strikes her in the shoulder, forcing the armored warrior to twist from the impact. She quickly shifts a foot to keep herself upright, before turning back. There's now a dent in her armor where the round struck. But still no penetration yet, showing to the toughness of whatever it's made out of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gaius is left to his own devices as Arianrhod focuses on Machias and Laura. She leaps into the air, raising her blade up over her head as it begins to glow once more. She then quickly comes down between the gunner and the swordswoman, stabbing her sword down into the ground. The impact is strong, the concrete floor of the bay cracking as golden light shines upwards through it. The ground then explodes upwards around Arianrhod, catching both Machias and Laura if the two aren't able to get clear quickly enough.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Eryl stares at Gilbert. He's so distracted he doesn't even resist as Samhain enwraps him in chains. Who is this? Why is he here? Why so much noise with a... fake...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Distraction,&amp;quot; he hisses to himself.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He flexes, and breaks the chains on him. With one foot, he kicks the slug that struck Samhain in the stomach at Vulcan. It beeps once as it approaches, before exploding violently. He aims at Scarlet with his finger, the air hissing at it fills with smaller slugs aimed at her hands, feet, elbows, knees, and solar plexus. A combination of shots aimed to utterly incapacitate.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then he marches on Gilbert like a man possessed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;What is this operation attempting to hide? Tell me, right now.&amp;quot; His armblade erupts from his limb, an unspoken threat as to what will happen if he is not told.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Scarlet's one good eye focuses, burning red flame bursting around her with a shout as she moves back, swiping her blade to send a wave of heat to incinerate the projectiles as they come. But, even with her superhuman reflexes and blistering heat, her feet and knees still find themselves pelted, knocking her off course.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The former-nun skids, struggling to stay upright.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Gh ... geheh!&amp;quot; Grunting between his laughs, Vulcan is driven back momentarily. His ultra-hard hide, strengthened by earth and water quartz, left him much better off in the face of the assault than Scarlet, standing to his full height.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gilbert, fear flashing across his face, recoils before his bravado returns, shakily. &amp;quot;D-don't talk to me like I'm beneath you, you punk! So what if you're some big shot at the Paladins?! I'm a professional, so I won't tell you anything!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;NothatIcouldsinceCdidn'ttellmeanythinginthefirstplaceI'monlyherebecausehesaidhe'dgetmeVita'sautographand --- &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One of the soldiers places his hands across Gilbert's motormouth.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan shakes his head, &amp;quot;Hate to break it to ya', but the only ones here who weren't in the know are the /extras/ who popped up at the last minute.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He inclines his head to Samhain and Liza. &amp;quot;But don't relax. We're still more than capable of blowing this casket sky high if we have to.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;No you don't!&amp;quot; Rean, ever nimble, throws himself in front of Alisa as Liza enters his &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;mai&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;. A practitioner of the eight leaves, he held a certain sixth sense that allowed him a large degree of spatial awareness, enough so that he's able to release his ki from the edge of his blade in a deadly line, intent on slicing the barrel of Liza's weapon in half from afar while Alisa tries to get her bearing, swallowing thickly. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ARCUS Activate!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A golden circle begins to form underneath the red armored mercenary. It was Liza's only warning before she was enveloped on all sides by exploding golden light.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Emma and Elliot, unfortunately, had been bowled over to the ground, neither being particularly hardy and thus, both struggling to get back to their feet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Below...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Laura blurs to the side, &amp;quot;Hoh!&amp;quot; her footwork impeccable. Machias isn't quite so fleet-footed, and finds himself bowled over in pain once again, this time seemingly down for the count as he strikes his head against a shipping container. &amp;quot;Agh...huh....&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Cheh, you deadweight!&amp;quot; Jusis grinds out, worriedly, before pushing his hands out. Laura and Gaius are both enveloped in the blazing red aura of &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Forte&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, bolstering their physical strength.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Behold! The Sword of Arseid!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She engages Arianrhod in swordplay, light beginning to overflow from the edge of her family's sword as she pulls it back for a triple strike, releasing the light in great blue flashes. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_b bg_n ++ hub&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;RADIANT BLADE DANCE!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You're mine!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gaius cries, having been bought the time and opening he needed, his aura exploding around him like a great bird taking flight as he takes to the sky, dropping in a downthrust. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_y bg_n ++ huy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;CALAMITY HAWK!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His energy is dispersed through the tip of the spear, aimed to strike at the dent in Arianrhod's armor with the full force of a hurricane.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7311|Samhain (7311)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There was still a chance, a moment, that Samhain was going to tackle Eryl. To stop him. To help Liza, at minimum, if not Scarlet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vulcan's comment about 'extras' goes too far.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A picture frame suddenly appears, and Samhain moves to walk through it, but not before saying something to Eryl. &amp;quot;You were right about them. But I will go to any means to earn my happy ending. This is not moral.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I will not be demeaned.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If not intercepted, Samhain leaves, the portal closing after him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7228|Arianrhod (7228)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod straightens once more as she calmly waits and prepares for the students around her to resume their attack. Laura is the first to come, boosted by the orbal power.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod's glows with golden light once more as she swings it up to meet that of Laura's. The two blades clash with a flash of light, before separating and coming together for a second blow. And then a third. Each time, Arianrhod maneuvers her weapon into place quickly, as if anticipating where Laura's next strike was going to come from. But while she's able to meet Laura's blows, the enhanced strength provided to Laura allows her to keep Arianrhod locked down on the defensive. For long enough that Gaius can finish preparing his final attack.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod breaks away from her brief duel with Laura just as Gaius comes plummeting down towards her. Arianrhod raises her weapon up into place, bracing it with both hands just as the spear comes down on her. The two weapons meet, Gaius's spear crashing against the flat of Arianrhod's blade. The energy clashing between the two sparks and flies around them as they each struggle against the other.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then, Arianrhod's blade shatters.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gaius's spear drives downwards towards the point on Arianrhod's armor where Machias created a dent. It strikes, energy pouring forth from the weapon and building. Arianrhod is forced down to one knee as the energy quickly gathers and is soon unleashed in a blast of light.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As the light fades, Arianrhod can be seen kneeling in the small crater created in the concrete floor. The dent in her armor has been upgraded to a crack. And there does appear to be a little bit of blood seeping from it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod slowly rises. Her helmet hides any reaction to the strike that might be on her face. But her voice is calm as she says to them all, &amp;quot;You are showing progress.&amp;quot; Compared to what?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Arianrhod lets the hilt of her now shattered sword fall to the ground. Even without a weapon, she displays confidence. But at that moment Arianrhod's helmet turns away from them, as if she is looking elsewhere. Then it turns back as she says, &amp;quot;It seems there is no longer any purpose to my remaining here.&amp;quot; Arianrhod spins around, cloak billowing behind her as she starts walking away from the four. She calls back to them, &amp;quot;Rejoin your class. They may still need you yet.&amp;quot; A light forms beneath Arianrhod, before engulfing her and causing her to fade away until she's gone.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7303|Liza Grier (7303)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The handgun is sliced clean in half out of Liza's hands just as she pulls the trigger. The hammer clicks on nothing, as the slide goes tumbling across the floor. The two are spared a bullet through the brains. Her hand darts down to her side, something popping out a concealed compartment. She raises the e-shield with her other arm to punch Rean head on, striking with the edge of the shaped forcefield.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Magic light explodes all around her, and she is completely engulfed in the shining conflagration. Clearly that isn't something the operative was prepared for. It certainly gives the squad of students enough time to scatter before the dust settles.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The black-red-clad operator is hunched behind the sparking remains of her shield emitter in bomb defusal posture, throwing away the ruined disc once it begins issuing flames. A faint halo of cyan light dims and sputters out around her; the remains of an emergency forcefield. Rather than chasing down the students, she speaks into her radio. &amp;quot;V. Do you, or do you not, currently possess the means to cause this entire reactor complex to chain detonate. Is that part a bluff as well?&amp;quot; Upon receiving her response, she adds &amp;quot;Then blow it already. Take them all out while they're gathered in one place.&amp;quot; She's already brought up her wrist-mounted PDA and begun hammering her teleportation sequence out.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;One down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Samhain leaves, leaving two unaccounted for. Eryl is confident he can deal with the fake C and the other two, but the one on the radio, the one calling for immediate detonation is the most dangerous. And so Eryl chooses to play on that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There you have it. Under C's orders, they are not going to detonate. Now, are you going to do the wise thing and cut them loose as C did you, or are you going to come here and take the detonator yourself?&amp;quot; he asks her. She rebutts, asking if he has it. Time for a risky move. &amp;quot;I do, in fact, have it. As you said, this lot are small time.&amp;quot;Vulcan laughs, but does not rebutt. Good. This opens two options, but one closes itself. She chooses not to come to him. If the price for that is being called 'bland,' Eryl will take it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There. Now it just seems to be you three.&amp;quot; Eryl cracks his neck as he regards Scarlet, Vulcan, and Gilbert. &amp;quot;Are you going to stop wasting my time on this farce, or is C about to lose three of his pawns?&amp;quot; The armblade is still out, and Eryl looks mad.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7145|C (7145)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ugh ... huh ...&amp;quot; Gaius pants, on his knees. His body was so sore from pushing himself so far, it was hard to move. &amp;quot;Such a seasoned warrior ... a compliment from you means a lot.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Although they wound up on their knees and in various states of injury, at least Laura and Gaius felt like the experience was valuable. &amp;quot;Indeed. And if you are who I think you are, then ... I don't understand why you appeared before us today ... we'll meet again, if fate allows it.&amp;quot; Laura says, resolute eyes watching the Steel Maiden depart.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean falls back with a bloody nose, caught by Alisa. &amp;quot;R..Rean!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Emma, now back to her feet, prepares her Orbal Staff, but it seems that the fearsome women they'd fought was already on the retreat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Outside...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Claire..hey, I've got some bad news...&amp;quot; Lechter Arundel says, a tinge of remorse in his voice. &amp;quot;Is this about Armbrust? He's not -- &amp;quot; &amp;quot;There? Yeah. Turns out, we got played like a fiddles. He attacked Imperial Intelligence HQ and made a beeline for the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Demonic Flute&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The name sparked a memory in Claire's mind, recalling earlier ILF incidents. &amp;quot;Wasn't that the relic used by Michael Gideon before his death? The ILF were using it to raise deceased monsters and cryptids back to life.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yep, the one and the same. So now that its back in their hands, they must have something truly nasty planned. I hate to admit it, but this time, it was his win.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Claire was careful not to grip her ARCUS unit too hard, lest she break it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In Plant B...Dropping his blade, Vulcan reaches for the gemstone hanging discretely from his pocket. Scalret does similarly, with one of her ear-rings. &amp;quot;Alright. We've held this place for the designated time. 'Til next time, squirts!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;W...wait for me! I'm Gilbert Stein, you can't leave me behind! C--come on everyone!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gilbert and his men all grabbed identical stones secured to their wrists and applied pressure, cracking them. A foreign blue light tinged the room.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It's about time for us to make our exit. Tonight turned out to be a big success after all! Ta~ta~.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Scarlet's parting words, the group vanishes into motes of blue and green.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As for the jaegers still fighting, they continued to do so until their final breath. Without any hesitation for the reactor, now that the ILF had left, the RMP threw their full weight into assault.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was a losing proposition, and rather than be captured, just like the incident at Garrelia Fortress, the leftovers chose to die via tooth-implanted cyanide capsules, or otherwise throw themselves onto the proverbial swords of their foes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Unknown...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crow fancied the flute. Gideon had favored it, a gift from Crow's connections to the supernatural. Even now, he felt pinpricks of regret over how he'd died. And now that he couldn't kill that magical girl to avenge him, either, the only thing he could really do was succeed in their collective goal. Out of all of them, Gideon had been the only one motivated by a higher purpose, of a sense of genuine justice rather than something as base as revenge.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, now that the flute was back in his hands, he could put things back on track. Two thin feminine arms reached around his head from behind as Vita leaned down teasingly, moving to grasp onto the flute herself. &amp;quot;You certainly worked hard to get this back, my dear chevalier.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Yeah...man, Arundel's no slouch. How'd he get such a shitty nickname for being so strong? It all worked out in the end, though.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7156/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure_Gaiden_Ch.4&amp;diff=16449</id>
		<title>7156/JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Gaiden Ch.4</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7156/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure_Gaiden_Ch.4&amp;diff=16449"/>
				<updated>2020-04-07T19:21:52Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2020/04/06 |Location=Egypt |Synopsis=Jonathan Joestar and his compatriots arrive in the Fishing Village, only to find the peaceful abode has been t...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2020/04/06&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=Egypt&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=Jonathan Joestar and his compatriots arrive in the Fishing Village, only to find the peaceful abode has been turned into a feeding ground for various undead monsters.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=1107, 7213, 6994, 10, 863, 7234&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Last time, the ruins of Carcho were explored and complicated brain busters were solved; however, the forlorn Axl RO waylaid the group's efforts to reclaim the arrows before DIO, leading to the current situation wherein all capable had taken off towards the Fishing Village they'd originally arrived at. Most of them had, anyway.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While Speedwagon's propeller plane could have taken himself and another person or two there in advance, it was decidedly too dangerous to forge on alone considering the nature of their opponents to date. And besides that, Jonathan had every intention of cutting their foes off at the finish line by beating them to their destination on the Steam Boat he'd brought everyone to Egypt aboard.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan was truthfully happy to have something to occupy his mind. It kept him focused on something other than that tiny, niggling 'voice' at the back of his head that had appeared ever since he had accepted Zero's assistance in escaping &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Civil War&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;'s effect. It wasn't so tangible so much as it was a kind of instinct. Of course, he'd already surmised the unfortunate truth about what it was.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But dwelling on it now wouldn't help him or the others, so he focused his mind and his spirit towards the goal. By the time they arrive back at the Fishing Village, night had already fallen upon them; yet there was no comfort to be found here. Rather, it was eery ... not a single light to be had nor a sound to be heard. It was as if it had become as uninhabited as that ruin. &amp;quot;This isn't right ... &amp;quot; he murmurs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It's only been a week, more or less. Where are all the villagers? It couldn't have taken us so long to arrive that it's past midnight. The sun only disappeared an hour or two ago...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Forging ahead alone being a bad idea because of the foes they'd been dealing with was also the reason Arcadia had not just flown back to the villiage at hypersonic speed. Even she knew one of these foes would be bad news to tangle with on her own. She was a daredevil, not stupid.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead she lands at the edge of the town along with everyone else arriving. Much like Joestar her hackles are immeadiately on edge. &amp;quot;Wouldn't matter if it was,&amp;quot; she mutters under her breath. &amp;quot;There is always someone up doing something. No town, big or small, is ever -completely- still.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With great haste, the group heads to the fishing village once more, to chase after Axl RO's partner before he could deliver the Arrows to his master. Unfortunately, once they arrive, things are decidently off. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;...Think it's another enemy Stand?&amp;quot; Rean asks, resting one hand on his sword's hilt. At this point, anything could happen with that, including plunging an entire village into darkness. &amp;quot;Besides, wasn't there something about Axl RO's partner hiding within shadows?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The ruins had been quite a ride the last time, the idea of going alone was not a good idea to her either. She'd been in the multiverse a very long time. She had long learned splitting up the party or going solo was a good way to die or even lose an eye. SO they'd made back to the fishing village and something wasn't right Crys already got a photon sabre in hand and a pistol out as she's looking around. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Stand or something else I bet. The people either fled, are hiding or something ... disposed of all the remains somehow.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After the last few fights in this region, Haguro's looking about as anxious as usual. Rather, she's looking anxious and on alert, not seeming all that reassured even after calling in for a drop off of her gear. She's still dressed like a tourist on a safari, albeit one with armor plates and weird guns sticking off of her, but... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That might just make it worse, all htings considered. Instead of just looking around with her eyes, she also has to make sure her firing angles are all open! It certainly doesn't help that the village is devoid of people, and the cruiser is already advancing hastily to scope nearby buildings out. &amp;quot;Watch your step, everyone. If anyone's around, there'd be somebody peeking out to see why there's so many of us by now.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles has stuck with the group this long, and maintains his position as wizard for the assemble aboard Jojo's boat.  He could have teleported on ahead, but that would require leaving his new taco truck, and that was a sacrifice he wasn't willing to make. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Also ambush, alone against the enemy, blah blah.  Yeah but, the taco truck, man.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The darkness was unexpected, but not completely surprising, in retrospect.  &amp;quot;Couldn't tell you where the people are,&amp;quot; Damocles remarks idly to the speculation, &amp;quot;But we know our little thieving ninja can use shadows to pop around.  And every other time we've encountered these jerks it's been in teams of 2 or 3.  Wouldn't be surprised at all if he had one guy who created darkness paired with the other guy who used darkness to fight with.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tingles ran down Jonathan's neck -- the kind he only got when he was faced with the worst kind of scum on offer. With fists clenched, Jonathan pulled his hat off of his head and discarded it. &amp;quot;This feeling ... it's just like back then.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The clay buildings seem desolate, and dark. &amp;quot;I don't think this is an enemy Stand attack, but rather ...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro carefully watching the various clay buildings for any sign of movement pays off, as she's alert enough to not be caught entirely off-guard as a large silhouette shambles around one of the open windows. &amp;quot;Hn...nn....&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He seems familiar ... certainly, he has to be one of the burly villagers who work hard all day long to provide. &amp;quot;Warm..it's warm! I need it!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The words are slurred and incoherent as the 'man' screeches and leaps from his window at her, propelled like a rocket from nothing but the force of his legs. Rather than a living person, he looked like a walking corpse with a deformed face. It was as if someone had plunged their fingers into his jaw to get at his jugular. The whites of his eyes had turned a bloodshot yellow with wriggling crimson irises. Reeking of death and rot, this mad creature ... was surely a &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Zombie&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;An untenable atmosphere of evil fell over the ominous village; rather, this was no longer a 'Fishing Village' but ... a feeding ground for undead!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;More of the creatures leave their abodes to feed. Rean finds himself beset by a woman garbed only in a bloodied shaw, her hair caked with dried blood and dirt. She was missing an eye. &amp;quot;Gwaaaah!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Using her superhuman speed and monstrous strength, she made a grab at his sword-arm in an attempt to sink her teeth into him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys likewise is beset by a large zombie that stood over eight feet tall, had a large and torn up pot-belly, buldging biceps and a thick beard that trailed down to his chest. &amp;quot;Nnngh....&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Snarling, it attemps to batter her with its fists, as if it were a battering ram.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles is attacked with a tall and fit looking zombie wielding a scimitar. He had five holes in his chest, right over his heart. &amp;quot;Huoooh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It charges him with a flurry of stabs and slashes in an attempt to wildly overpower him before he can cast a spell. It wasn't intelligence, but rather, raw bloodlust that drove such an action.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan's gaze hardens as he breathes in. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Kooooh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Overdrive!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot; he calls, ducking under the creature's sudden lunge to plunge his fist into its midsection, delivering a powerful Hamon shock that causes its body to immediately begin melting into a glowing red slurry, its body being obliterated from the inside out the moment his ripple entered its bloodstream. It was she before hitting the ground. Above, a shadowed figure garbed in a scarf and black cloak claps. &amp;quot;So you haven't been slacking, JoJo. Good. Killing you now would be meaningless if you weren't in tip top shape.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That voice...you can't be! Why ... why are you attacking us...?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Answer me, Straizo!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;quot;There's a person here... Is he cold?&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Haguro relays to her allies at first, peering at the burly villager as he starts to appear in the window. &amp;quot;What do you need?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Flesh or blood, apparently, as he catches the Cruiser off guard flinging himself out the window right at her! His sudden launching and inhuman power actually gets Haguro off her feet and holding him back with only her boots and hands holding him up by his gut and mangled face, respectively. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;quot;... They've been turned into monsters. Don't be fooled by their appearances and wipe them out!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; That'll make things easier, right? They're already dead, and dehumanizing the zombies should make it easier for herself and the rest of the group. Sure, she's in a pretty bad spot right now, but keeping that mangled jaw at bay and keeping one forearm between herself and the villager puts Haguro in a prime position to take care of the problem quickly and efficiently. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The solution: Turrets. The mechanical guns on her shoulder and wrist make a brief noise as she switches from explosive ordinance to solid slugs, firing at the zombie point blank to try and blow him away! &amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;quot;Straizo? Is he someone you know, Mister Joestar?!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz gets a chill down her spine her ears twitch a bit as she doesn't like this before she can act for anything that's going on with Haguro? She's under assault and she'll fire her pistol for the center of mass following it with a raised hand and her calling out. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;FOIE&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Sending a burst of fire at the charging man as she tries to wheel out of the way, the Newman seems to be in her element here. She'll fade away firing more shots, there's no banter, no words other than the verbal components needed to use her powers for the moment. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's thinking though if the village has been turned it could be spreading the area will need to be searched and purged after. She keeps moving for the moment now focusing on the main effect.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;LONG AGO:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Shoot the zombie in the head!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;It doesn't have a head.  Look, it says here, 'Headless Zombie.'&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well that's dumb.  Everybody knows you shoot zombies in the head to kill them.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;No, -that's- dumb.  A zombie is just the machinery of the human body being animated by magic.  The brain isn't in control, the magic is.  If you want to stop it, you break it like a machine.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;NOW:&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A zombie lunges at Damocles, swinging a sword around.  Damocles brings his staff to block, the two weapons sparking slightly as they clash.  Zombies!  That one does manage to surprise him!  Zombies who can use weapons and employ tactics.  Damocles is superhumanly fast and strong, but so, it seems, is the undead trying to kill him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A few things race quickly through his mind.  These things seem to be using some tactics, but they're definitely undead, so it's like that someone else is controlling them.  Didn't Joestar say that Dio was 'a vampire'?  He meant to ask what that meant int his context, but never got around to it.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The second, more pressing issue, is not getting stabbed.  The zombie succeeds in pressuring Damocles too much to allow him to easily get a spell off.  Largely because he isn't sure what element would work best here, and doesn't want to experiment and end up with a flaming exploding zombie trying to tackle him instead.  However, Damocles does have one advantage the zombie didn't count on:  His staff is more than just for magic.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Eye of Tzeentch is a Force Staff, and that has a lot of uses. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles isn't particularly trained in melee combat, but he is an Astartes, and has brilliantly good speed and strength, which he uses to parry two sword swings, dodge a third, and then bring his staff around in a counter-blow.  He aims at the zombie's hip.  Hitting it in the torso probably wouldn't kill it, since someone already tried that, and he doesn't know if knocking out its brain would do any good, he has no idea if it needs its nervous system so a strike to the spine is dubious:  However you can always count on breaking the core of a machine.  In this case, shattering the pelvis to completely remove the zombie's legs.  Best case, it'll kill it entirely, but even if it doesn't, it'll force the zombie to crawl around, dragging its legs uselessly, making it much less of a threat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Force Staff glows a light purple as the energy field built into it charges instantly when he swings the blade.  Charged like this, the Force Staff is a formidable weapon, able to cut through even advanced military-grade armor like wet paper. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Or the villiage has been turned into zombies. That's the other reason that it would be completely dead. Figuratively and literally.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Finally!&amp;quot; Arcadia almost sounds excited despite the gloomy atmosphere. &amp;quot;A SANE fight.&amp;quot; Zombies? Sane? At least compared to what they have been dealing with. Go ahead. Argue that point if you really want. She's sticking to it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Most of the people here can handle themselves against a bunch of undead. Some of them even qualifying as being close to such themselves, right? So instead Arcadia defaults to her usual tactic of honing in on the biggest target possible, would be the towering butterball accousting Crys.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As the Newman is taking evasive measures and counter-firing, the sphinx leaps into action. By using her speed and agility to leap in and give Cry some cover. By leaping on the shambling hulk's back. Because cat. Cats pounce things.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And zoomcats pounce things at tremendous speed, so that is a lot of momentum abruptly (hopefully) slamming claws first into the hulk's rotting form.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As it turned out, there were people still here...for a certain definition of 'people.' As it turned out, the entire village had become undead, like creatures from a book he'd read once. Ghouls or something like that. Unfortunately, this meant there was no saving them. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A woman in bloodied shawl reaches out to his sword arm, and he swings a kick at her chest to get some distance between them, and then swings his sword again, trying to behead her quickly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Damn it...&amp;quot; Rean mutters. How low were these guys going to sink...?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Standing with his back to the moon, Straizo smirks. &amp;quot;I already told you. I'm here to kill you, JoJo. If you'd like, just consider this my revenge.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Revenge? I don't understand!&amp;quot; Jonathan yells back, his whole body tensing like an overly wound coil.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles' staff smashes into the Zombie with a powerful whack, but shockingly, it doesn't shatter its pelvis. The sound of a loud crack indicates that the bone was damaged, but not broken, as the creature stumbles. Its transformation into an undead lifeform seems to have strengthened it in every conceivable way, as far as its physicality is concerned. Baring inhuman, razor sharp teeth, it seemingly takes but a moment for its limp to disappear as it charges forward with a roar, striking out with its sword again... while two thin, sharp tentacles burst from its back!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;No, rather, they're the Zombie's own veins, altered and weaponized to try and slice open Damocles throat while the other shoots to impale him through the eye.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro blows her attacker away, sending him stumbling back. &amp;quot;Uuuuuhhhh....&amp;quot; he moans. Just as hardy as his compatriot, he seems to have only suffered flesh wounds that expose his rotting insides, showing Haguro that the human he'd been, had died approximately the day after they left the Village.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The handgun seems ineffective against the large beast as it charges. Even the scorching flame hardly hinders it as it covers its face with its arms. The stink of rot and burnt flesh fills the air as Arcadia waylays it, forcing it to stumble backwards, nearly toppling over. &amp;quot;Ungh..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Claws sink partially into thick, leathery skin. Aside from becoming highly shock absorbant, the zombification process also looks to have improved the tensile strength of their skin to an insane degree, especially for larger specimens like this one. Opening its maw wide, a long and whip like tongue cracks in an attempt to slice Arcadia's head in half before it throws another wild haymaker at Crys.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean's sword stops an inch or two into her neck as she snarls and growls, pushing herself forward with abandon. Blood smears down the blade as she attempts to claw at Rean's chest, her nails extending into razor sharp talons.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That's right! JoJo! For you, it can't have been long ... but from my perspective, it's been about fifty years. You died before I could ever prove myself in my prime. And now, lo and behold, as I reclaim my youth, an opportunity to face you has arrived. After I kill you, I'll have nothing left to prove to myself!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan struggled to keep up, but what he'd said established several things for him. First of all, this was not the Straizo of his world, or Josuke's. He came from..somewhere in-between, Jonathan surmised. &amp;quot;Straizo..even from down here, I can tell, you're not even breathing. I can see the horrible glint in your red eyes .. Straizo, you'd even reject your humanity!? The man I knew would never stoop to such things!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Coiling his legs, Straizo leapt from the building. &amp;quot;Enough. Understand this, JoJo! Even though we had been comrades previously ... I, Straizo, will show no mercy!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With the man's insides exposed and his lack of reaction to the pain he should be in, Haguro's suspicions are all but confirmed. &amp;quot;These aren't people any more... They're no more than puppets, tools that this Straizo created! Even a direct hit from one of my cannons barely slowed it down!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Getting back up to her feet, haguro cracks her knuckles lightly before settling into a more defensive stance now that she's back on her feet. &amp;quot;... Good.&amp;quot; She mutters to herself as she switches her shoulder turrets to explosives, but she doesn't fire them right away as she instead advances on the zombie. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Mister Joestar. If you want to survive a fight against a menace like this, you... You don't have to throw away your memories of him, but you can't let them stop you. Do you understand?&amp;quot; She calls out to Jonathan without so much as looking at him, her gaze focused entirely on the zombie before her. The back of her boots glow blue as she speeds forward suddenly without so much as lifting a foot, simply ducking once in mid-dash before springing forward at the last moment, arms thrust forward to catch the zombie's arm. She's aiming to tear it right off the zombie with a combination of brute force and speed!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz sees the Ruby Bullet is not up to the task at the moment and Crys is going to dance back some more swapping weapons. Given pistols is about as far as she goes? She's going to try something else. The large claw she's prone to using phases on about her arm. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; It comes online with a hiss. This however, comes for Crys. She's forced to try and parry with her photon barrier the intercept is partially successful but it can't dissipate all that kinetic energy in one go like that. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's forced back the force o the impact has tattle here and then there's a look on her face, she sizes it up. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Arcadia aid is noted and she's going to start counting on it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She will now turn about the claw will open wide as she leaps into the air flipping once and attempts to come down with her claw getting a grip on the body of the thing if she od she will have the claw close as fast as it can with all three blades trying to crush and tear into the undead horror.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Frekkin Chaosspawn motherfucker!  Damocles is a little disappointed at the lack of damage his staff did, but it did give him some breathing room, at least he thought.  He fends off a few more sword blows, but is caught off guard by the sudden tentacles.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With his staff tied up defending the sword, he doesn't have a lot of defensive options.  The strike that goes at his neck lands, smashing against Armorum Impetor and Warp Barrier magic, creating a small shower of magical sparks.  The other tentacle, the one armed for his eye, gets intercepted by a quick grab of his hand, making use of his enhanced reflexes to grab the lethal jab a few inches before his skull is punctured. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His eyes narrow slightly.  The meter in his brain switches from 'real' to 'VERY real'.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Alright limpy.  You want to get intimate?  Let's dance.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles takes a half step to the side, shuffling to the zombie's left.  As he does, he twists his staff around, shoving with his strength to try and push the zombie's sword aside as his staff spins around.  His goal is to hook his staff around the zombie, and unexpectedly pull the zombie against him, squeezing the zombie against his armor with one arm, while his other arm plants underneath its chin to keep its gnashing teeth away from him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once he manages to get close to the zombie, he invokes Chaos magic.  Luckily for him, Chaos magic doesn't require arcane gestures, just a body that can take the raw energy of the Warp, and a mind that can shape it.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Which Damocles does, channeling Warp energy into himself, and expelling it as a massive pillar of violet Weirdyre; Raw, entropic Warp energy that explodes outward from Damocles like a fireball. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Okay, that wasn't as effective as she had hoped. Arcadia has very sharp claws, but they're not very big. So they can't cut deep enough to get through the rubbery reinforced carcass to do more severe damage. About all she does it get it to briefly stop chasing Crys.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A cat-like shriek emits from the sphinx at the whipping tongue and she leaps off the monsters back to avoid being incapacitated via decapitation by it. Her claws are much better used as brakes, skidding to a stop when she lands on the ground again. &amp;quot;Not only is that disgusting, it's also rude! I'm part cat, I don't need help licking myself!&amp;quot; Not that she does! It's just the only witty banter she can come up with on short notice.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I wasn't going to be cliche. But you haven't left me much of a choice.&amp;quot; The crystal foci in her forearms shimmer to a different color in glow. It almost looks like her hands are retracting though in actuality it's the magitek extending outward over them to form a cluster of glowing muzzles. Like some kind of magic powered minigun. &amp;quot;PYRO GATLING!&amp;quot; And fires just as much the same, hundreds of high speed shots in a few seconds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The one difference is that Arcadia is channeling her Fire element through the magitek, so those hundreds of shots are like dozens of small fireballs, launched fast enough that they'll hopefully have better luck penetrating and/or burning through that thick hide.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The zombie woman's still coming at him despite having about an inch of her neck gone. These undead were very durable, it seemed. Rean jumps back, trying to avoid those talons, which catch a bit of his shirt, but otherwise don't cut into his skin. He hears Jonathan warning them to not let their guard down, but he might just be trying to remind himself of that as well, given how the person responsible was a former ally of his.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Jonathan....&amp;quot; Rean murmurs, then nods. &amp;quot;Got it.&amp;quot; Rean ignites his sword, and slashes at the undead woman's arms, trying to declaw her - literally. Hopefully the fire would cauterize them too, so that she wouldn't just grow those arms back or something.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With some wrenching, Haguro manages to take the creature's arm off! As it'd already been weakened by her counter-attack, she was able to remove it before the monster had a chance to recover. The zombie howls as it staggers away from her, but her triumph is short lived, as several of its veins shoot out of the stomp to try and stab into her lower body and begin draining her blood with a powerful suction.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The mangled, tortured face of the Zombie twists into a giddy and sadistic grin. &amp;quot;Eh he he he he he .... &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Meanwhile, Crys' claw closes own around the giant zombie's meaty arm as it tries to swat her out of the air, fracturing the bone with its iron-clad clamp. This puts her in the perfect position for it to try and stab her through her chest with its powerful and abnormally long tongue.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The giant howls moments later as Arcadia's barrage begins burning through its skin at a high pace, leaving it as nothing more than a skeleton with rotting, burned flesh hanging off of it. How it could still keep everything inside and move around is a mystery, but it seemed like it'd be more susceptible to damage, now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles outwits the zombie's sword maneuvers and pins it to himself. Flailing and scrambling to get at him, its veins are shot through its back to try and stab into him anyway they could, hoping to drain him dry. Regardless of the success in its death throes, the sword wielding zombie's upper body is obliterate by the directed energy attack, leaving it only a pair of legs that stumble forward, struggling to cling to its unlife before falling over.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean's flaming slash manages to burn through flesh and cut through durable muscle and bone. Screeching, the woman reels back and raises her stumps, her veins shooting through them to bend around Rean's guard and impale him as she charges forward, intent on taking a bite out of his jugular.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan grimaces, but he understands where Haguro is coming from. Truthfully, he needed the pep talk. &amp;quot;Straizo...! &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Kooooh!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Filling his body up with his ripple, Jonathan moves to intercept the vampire as he falls with a telescopic attack! &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Zoom Punch!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Foolishness!&amp;quot; Straizo roars, extending a gloved hand to deflect the blow. &amp;quot;All of my clothing has been woven with the hide of a particular insect .. it's highly conductant for Hamon, and as such, it's insulated me from it! Die!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Stuck at mid-range as Straizo's eyes begin to shine ominously, it's only instinct that saves him. To block or attack .. at this range, ordinarily he would have defended, but with Axl RO's service pistol in his possession, Jonathan quickly whips it out and fires, nailing the vampire in the forehead. The gunshot forces his head backwards as two streams of spinning cerebral fluid shoot from his eyes, superheated by friction and glowing hot. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;SPACE RIPPER STINGY EYES&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; --&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; hm?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan cries out in pain, two deep cuts tearing open his shoulders as the 'laser eye' attack carves off a chunk of the roof of the only wooden building in the village, and cuts apart the clouds of the night sky. Blood gushing, Jonathan stumbles back, dropping the gun to the ground. &amp;quot;W..what?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo's head returns to the correct position as he pulls the bullet stuck against his hardened skull out, flicking it back towards Jonathan with his fingers. &amp;quot;Hmph. I have no intention of explaining anything to you, JoJo.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It shouldn't still be moving, but it is, because zombies don't give a shit about biological limits to locomotion. So it's a walking hulk of bone and guts now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This is still not the weirdest shit Arcadia has had to deal with lately, but it is getting up there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The flesh burning away does have her 'SHOOT THE CORE' senses screaming at her now so lets capitalize on that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The magitek multibarrels recompile back into her armor, but the fiery glow hasn't dimmed from the foci crystals. It does however start to mingle with a more electrified glow as sparks of both fire and electricity crackle around her arms. Now that the rubber-like hide isn't there to insulate the monster... That and she doesn't want to use her bigger flame spewing attacks because of Crys being in the thing's personal space as well. So instead the sphinx surges towards the monster, aiming to thrust her hands into its now exposed body to make sure she makes a direct contact.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#00f5ff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ELECTRICAL&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#cd3700&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BURNOUT&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The building charge is released to surge through the monster's body. Everyone knows lightning produces tremendous amounts of electricity. What a lot of people forget is that electrical current also produces a tremendous amount of heat. Shearing hot heat that, not being constrained to physical flames, is able to burn through things a lot more quickly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's one part removed. Haguro doesn't have time to really enjoy that moment of success, though, as there's still three more limbs to remove and multiple veins shooting right into her before she can react. &amp;quot;Wha...?!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Does a ship girl even have blood, or is it some kind of weird oil-based stand in? Whatever the case is, draining it still has the same effect on Haguro as it would on a regular person: A generally visible discomfort, a limp in her step, and a halt in her previous rapid movements. &amp;quot;So that's what zombies are like in this world.. Or is this the effect of his Stand?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Questions to be sorted out later. For now, Haguro has two bigger concerns: Dealing with the veins in her leg, and dealing with the zombie so she can regroup with her allies. Suspecting that something might happen if she was to just pull the veins out, she goes for something a little different! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One of Haguro's wrist turrets clicks briefly as a knife on a chain shoots out of it. Gripping the chain, she spins it around rapidly and lowers it to the veins, aiming to slice them apart before advancing once more on the zombie. As that happens, she fires an explosive shell at the ground beneath the zombie to try blowing it to bits!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz is glad she's not alone fighting this thing as it's proving to be quite tough even with her claw doing some serious damage to the thing? It keeps going. The way this thing can take punishment seemed to fit with stories of undead being far more powerful in undeath than they were in life. She has got some good damage inflicted upon it thankfully. She has to tear it apart like damaging a machine to the point it can't work. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's caught and even with her barrier the tongue does cut into her slicing through her clothing and leaving a nasty wound in its wake. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Crys cries out in pain and the claw opens, only again to shift as she's fighting to try and grab the thing by the face and crush if she's lucky she might do some serious damage but she has no doubt it may keep going after such an attack. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Do not let up...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles is committed to an all-or-nothing attack here, and doesn't have any method to dodge the tentacles that stab at him, instead trusting on his size, armor and health to get him though the attack.  Spears jab into him, some of the attacks being deflected by his advanced armor and magical protection, but some do manage to pierce his defense and stab into him, allowing the bloodsucking attack to accomplish its task of draining him, before his own attack goes off, and obliterates his target.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the wake of the blast, there's only the smell of ozone, half a zombie, and Damocles, kneeling in a smoldering crater. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He takes a moment to gather his breath.  That took a bit out of him, but his enhanced biology is already recovering.  He's an Astartes, and they're made of tough stuff.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He looks up when he overhears Jojo's foe bragging about being 'completely resist to Hamon'.  A certain insect?  Well Bugly, there's lot of energy around, and if he happens to be immune to one, maybe another one will be doubly effective.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles pulls himself to his feet again, and with a grunt, swings his staff forward, towards Jojo.  He glows softly with a violet energy as he yells, &amp;quot;Jonathan!  If your 'Hamon' energy isn't the right tool, then give Warp energy a try.  Hold out your weapon!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The soft, glowing violet energy around him is projected forward, spinning and twisting through the air, until it settles on Jojo a second later.  Whatever Jojo offers:  Guns, blades or even fists, will be soaked in the energy, and for some time after will glow a dark, threatening violet, and crackle a little with violet, chaotic power. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With a powerful explosion, the zombie fighting Haguro is blown to fleshy chunks, unable to continue fighting, but unable to truly die. At least the morning sun will wash him away when it comes. She's left with fleshy veins hanging from her body that she'll need to pull out, her fluids leaking out the ends.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia and Crys' giant zombie implodes fantastically, the fluids in its body suddenly converting into gas due to the rapid change in temperature. It smells awful, but the crater of dust and gore is worth it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Two pincers burst from the sound and clasp around Haguro's legs, crunching armor and slicing into flesh with their incredible strength. A malformed zombie bursts from the ground! Another leaps from the hole in the wooden building created by Straizo's eye attack, flapping its leathery wings. A giant snake's head pops out of the sand to try and clamp its jaws around Arcadia's midsection as the creature it was attached to tore itself from the earth and dashed to meet its comrades on all fours. Finally, from the shoreline, a fat, bipedal crocodile lumbers forth with a sick grin on its face and a rancid, rotten smell coming from its mouth.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'm Bowie!&amp;quot; The winged one said, looking for all intents and purposes like a classical devil. Crouching in the position of the Thinker was a neanderthal looking zombie with a gigantic snake the size of a man protruding from his tailbone, hissing. &amp;quot; ... Jimi.&amp;quot; he says. The tall and brawny zombie with scorpion claws and clicking mandibles sneers, &amp;quot;Bush!&amp;quot; with his introduction. With a chuckle, the bulbous crocodile zombie tops it off by licking his teeth. &amp;quot;And I'm Gibbons.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Straizo smirks in raw disgust as he addresses everyone present. &amp;quot;These are my Chimera Zombies. I thought I'd give sculpting them a try, like Dio did. I wonder if you lot will find them as easy as the rest of the fodder?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Speaking of which, nearly a dozen other villager zombies, all relatively normal looking and generally weaker appearing than the ones they just fought, seemed to have showed up from the buildings like a rowdy gang looking to pick a fight.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan bends his body, pointing at Straizo from the side with an open palm. &amp;quot;That's disgusting! Those men...!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Their bodies just reflect their ugly lives now, JoJo. They're all scum swept from Cairo's streets..well, like this, they still serve some meaning, right? ...You let your guard down!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Charging forward suddenly, Straizo jabs for Jonathan's throat. The rippler warrior blocks, &amp;quot;Huoh!&amp;quot; and the two engage in a flurry of bone crushing blows, budging not an inch. &amp;quot;Warp Energy?!&amp;quot; they say, almost at the same time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With fists crackling with chaotic energies, Jonathan dives right back in for a powerful uppercut. &amp;quot;Straizooo!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Hng!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Thinking quickly, the vampire throws his cloak in front of his body, leaving him only in his robes and scarf as Jonathan's warp-overdrive plows right through it. But, it gave Straizo just enough time to reach around and ... freeze his arm up to the elbow?!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That Warp Energy .. has the same conductive property as Hamon. But by turning it into an Overdrive, it was even strong enough to destroy my protective cloak ... however, it has the same weakness as Hamon, too. By freezing your arm like this, even that strange energy dissipates!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo brings his leg up into a powerful kick that sends Jonathan flying, crashing through wall of the large, wooden building. Straizo follows in after him, confident that his zombies would curtail Damocles from interferring further.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And the arms come off, but somehow that makes things /worse./ Veins come shooting out of the woman's stumps, and Rean maneuvers left and right to slash through them as best he can. Unfortunately, two make purchase in his shoulder and leg, and start to drain his blood. But as the woman aims for his jugular, he thrusts his sword forward, trying to pierce through and immolate her head, and maybe the rest of her too.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia shakes vaporized zombie remains off her handpaws. &amp;quot;Disgusting, but worth it.&amp;quot; She does a rapid spin in place to shake some of the ichor off the rest of her body.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Just in time for a snake to burst out of the ground and grab onto her. &amp;quot;Hnnh!&amp;quot; The rest of the monster it's connected to heave itself up and bounding away, thumping the sphinx into the ground and dragging her roughly before she mananges to pull herself free of the serpentine jaws and rolling away to get onto her feet. Sees there's actually several of the monsters. &amp;quot;Fuck,&amp;quot; the rare full on cuss leaves her lips. &amp;quot;He's some kind of bastard biomancer!&amp;quot; And of course he's still got a horde of normal zombies, too. Well, we'll just deal with removing one advantage at a time. &amp;quot;Deal with the big freaks and give me some cover.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia deploys her magitek funnelbits, then digs in with her feet and sweeps her wings to forward angles as they spread and deploy the emitters on the ends of the pylon struts. Several similar astral points in space appear around her hands. All which she's aiming towards the thickest portion of the lesser zombie horde.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:yellow&amp;quot;&amp;gt;VORPAL LATTICE&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;!&amp;quot; Magic lasers erupt from her wings and focal points, firing in a wide spread at multiple heights in front of her towards the zombie horde.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At the same time her funnels angle and fire similar but smaller lasers from opposite intersecting angles. They actually bound off Arcadia's larger direct beams, zigzagging between them to increase the area covered and threatening to slice through anything trying to navigate between the heavier beams of the laser gauntlet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Breathing a small sigh of relief when that zombie breaks apart, Haguro has just enough time to pull those veins out of her leg before getting grabbed by those giant pincers. She yelps painfully at the scorpion claws crushing that armor into her legs, reaching down instinctively and retracting her chain knife. No sense letting it crush that knife into her legs at the same time. &amp;quot;A Chimera Zombie...? So turning them into zombies wasn't enough, but you merged them with animals as well?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gripping one of the pincers in both hands, she chuckles once as her turrets all point downwards at Bush while cycling through their ammunition. &amp;quot;You certainly have a mind in there, Mister Straizo. It's a twisted, vile mind, but I can understand why Dio would want someone like you on his side.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once again utilizing her raw strength, Haguro starts pushing in both directions on that pincer, ignoring the pain coursing through her other leg and the metal punching inwards that's surely making it worse. &amp;quot;But you still underestimate us... Don't think for a moment that your experiments will protect you!&amp;quot; With another burst of strength, Haguro tries to just split that pincer down the middle with both hands while her turrets aim at the other side of Bush's body. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It'll probably hurt like a son of a bitch, but Haguro's taking that gamble as she unloads anti-air flak at close range, shotgunning countless metal slivers at Bush and her own leg!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles's eyes go a little wide when the buff he places on Jojo is dispelled.  THAT is a new one.  He can't recall ever seeing anything like that before.  Also, the enemy said something about Hamon energy and Warp energy being 'the same'.  That was close to his own findings, but having someone say that is quite fascinating.  He has to keep that in mind.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Wait.  If that's the case...This guy is good.  And very powerful, but he lacks a piece of vital knowledge that Damocles has. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Well, Damocles hopes.  Unless Damocles himself is missing something.  Let's see which side the God of Knowledge is on today.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles sweeps his staff to the side and then plants the bottom in the ground, striding forward confidently.  &amp;quot;You're pretty good,&amp;quot; he admits evenly, heading towards the man.  &amp;quot;This should be interesting.  Here, let's see how you deal with this.&amp;quot;  He holds a hand out towards Straizo as an arc of violet lightning courses though him, starting at his feet and arcing up his body in a fraction of a second, until it settle into his fingertips.  At that point, it leaps forward, shooting a blast of lightning from the fingertips of Damocles towards Straizo. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz gets a shower of gore, the good news it the thing is down and not going to be getting back up any time soon. She clanks the claw once and will turn her attention on what's going on now at this point. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;So that's how it's going to be human.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; That's all Crys has to say she now will find that with the zombies down it's time to help Jojo with the mastermind behind this charnel house of a village. Though there is a strong chance the guy has more zombies to throw at her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Arcadia we can't sit idle. We need to help, the others.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; With that she will see there's a lot more to deal with maybe the mastermind will have to wait she muses. She swaps weapons, it is the sort of weapon Damocles would know very well. It's a massive chainsword a bit sleeker than those from the Imperium, but still a chiandsword and it's bigger than Crys is. She will end up choosing to go charging as the engine of the weapon roars to life as she intends to charge into the hordes using the long chainblade reach to hopefully be able to engage many of the horrors at once.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Despite the fatigue being brought on by rapid blood loss, Rean manages to slay the creature by using its own momentum against it, his flaming sword piercing its brain and incinerating it through the roof of her mouth. It thrashes and wails pitifully before finally sliding off of his blade, dead for good.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the meantime, Arcadia manages to get back to her feet and begin her counter-attack. Thick, viscuous poison drips from the bite marks left in her body from the attack dealt to her by Jimi. Lasers barrage the crowd of zombies, burning holes and cuts in them. Some lose their limbs, and some unlucky few have their brains cooked out.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The confusing patterns make it hard for the mentally inept zombies to dodge, even if they had the physical ability to do so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hoh? An interesting attack. But it won't help you against my tough hide, you shitty cat! Groooaaaah!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gibbons attacks her immediately, lunging much faster than such a fat creature ought to be able in an attempt to snap his jaws shut and crush her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Not so fast, trash!&amp;quot; Bowie roars, swooping down to intercept Damocles. The lightning strikes the creature dead on, but ... its skin just crumbles and peels away, revealing flesh beneath that begins hardening rapidly. &amp;quot;This new flesh of mine excretes an ultra light substance similar to bedrock! I hate that shithead Straizo, but even I know how to be thankful. I'm the happiest I've ever been, even if I look ugly as sin! Kekekekekekeke!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Flapping his wings, Bowie seems to phase right in front of Damocles with his sheer speed, intent on uppercutting him straight into the sky.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo's red eyes trail left and right in the dark. Despite the only source of light being what poured into the hole in the ceiling, he could see just fine. &amp;quot;Hiding are we, JoJo? I didn't take you for the cowardly type.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan, covered in sweat and his own blood, grimaces. 'Straizo's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes are terrifyingly powerful .. I'll be pierced in an instant! More over, I have to find some way to bypass his Vapor Freeze!'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Turning quietly, Jonathan crawls up the steps...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hearing the creak, Straizo immediately jumps to the second floor. &amp;quot;Found you! ...Hm?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There was blood spatter, but no body. At the last second, the Vampire swings his arm above himself, batting away a lit lantern. Due to his excellent eyesight, he was able to detect the change in light levels just in time to avoid being lit ablaze. &amp;quot;A fruitless endeavor, even a fresh faced vampire could regenerate from such weak flames!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The fire was spreading quickly, given the wooden nature of the structure. Jonathan stood crouched on one of the rafters, balanced precariously. &amp;quot;Perhaps..but, even the eyes of a vampire can't pierce through the smoke of this lacquered wood going up in flames!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Tch!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With an effective smokescreen, Jonathan bounds off out of the hole in the roof, quickly scurrying to hide elsewhere as Straizo was quick to give chase. frustrated that he couldn't find his foe. &amp;quot;JoJo! How dare you bring shame to our battle like this ... fine, if you're so pathetic, I'll hunt you like the dog you are!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Injuring herself in the process, she manages to free herself from Bush's pincers, crippling one of them in the process. &amp;quot;Guwooooh! Y...you hurt meeeee! You'll pay for that, you bitch!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Cursing with vulgarity, tears ran freely down his chiseled face as he wildly tries to tackle her to the ground, intent on chewing her face up with his mandibles in his mad charge.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blood and some kind of cartlidge like fluid leaks from his pincers as he does so, freely gushing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys finds herself chewing through the flesh of a hungry horde as they try to pile onto her, pushing and tearing her way through. These were still superhuman freaks of nature, but it seemed they weren't quite as powerful as that giant she fought previously&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jimi, in the meantime, turns to face Rean. The giant snake protruding from his body moves from side to side, hissing with some kind of acidic venom dribbling from its mouth. &amp;quot; ... we're the odd men out. ... I'm not very smart, but, even I can see that's not good for you...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The snake gags and suddenly fires a stream of the stuff at the student as a kind of projectile vomit?!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The uppercut slams into Damocles's face, sending the massive superhuman flipping through the air, a dozen yards, and smashing through the wall of a nearby building. He rolls heavily into the building, and is lost in the cloud of dust and smoke caused by his impact. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;After a few seconds, though, he emerges from the hole in the wall, his eyes narrow and angry looking. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I don't have time for you.  Your 'savior' over there can manipulate Warp energy.  I need to find out how.  I need to know.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He holds his staff forward, his body beginning to glow violet, growing brighter and brighter as he charges some new spell...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's not that Arcadia doesn't hear Gibbons coming. Especially when he's yelling insults when doing so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's that with her wings functioning as weapons she can't just take off. Sure she doesn't rely specifically on them to fly. But they help her balance and steer, and she's not about to crashing off and incapacitate herself. She does still have her speed though, allowing her to wait until the last few possible seconds before disengaging her laser blasting and spinning to face him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And thrust her arm into his closing mouth. Gator jaws clamp down hard to tear into the limb. It's only by the virtue of her warded armor and technorganic biology that the arm isn't completely crushed to pieces.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Eat this.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia, for all intent and purposes, detonates the arm (technically the magitek intergrated into it) to unleash a massive explosive fireball into his innards instead of having to take the time to burn through the exterior like the last monster.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It'll take her a moment before she can deal with the monster snake venom.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro stumbles onto a knee as she braces herself on her less-injured leg, grimacing at the self-inflicted injury. It was needed to get out of the immediate danger of having her leg sliced off anyway, and it did help her cripple one of Bush's pincers, but it seems to have only made him angrier and compensate through the use of his horrid inhuman face as he brings her to the ground not unlike the larger zombie from earlier!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Such tenacity... Such loyalty! Or... No.&amp;quot; Although she looks awed at first, Haguro expression quickly darkens as a vague sort of sadness crosses her face. Pain, too, since she slams her forearm against those mandibles directly to keep them off her head and likely getting several of those fangs into or through that part of her arm. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Gh...! You're a weapon, too. Would your master even care if you came out of this alive? Your creators?&amp;quot; She struggles with Bush further on the ground as she braces her forearm up against whatever amounts to a chin on him, a turret twisting with an odd screeching noise as the constant firing from earlier seems to be putting quite a strain on the innards of Haguro's guns. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;There must be someone... But I can't die here, either, so...!&amp;quot; The metal strains as her turrets fire a solid shell sideways at Bush's mandible-covered face. There's a good chance it'll bust up her arm in the process, but it's another risk she's taking by tightening her arm to hold onto those fangs for just a moment longer!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's time to go rip and tearing she keeps going, she cut through the horde as she keeps going. They get hits in and some get past her energy armour, still, she keeps going sometime she'll let loose bursts of fight ice and lighting as she goes. She just trying to do as much damage as quickly as she can. If these hordes piled onto the others facing the Chimera zombies? That would be very bad news for everyone else. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She will also keep fighting away and she's pretty much covered in zombie bits at this point. She's also finding new ways to hate this Dio too. Given the sort of minions, he keeps in his employ. She also has got the idea of how wasteful he is given how many of his own minions he disposed of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And the zombie is down! Unfortunately, Rean's losing blood fast. &amp;quot;ARCUS, activate.&amp;quot; Rean says, becoming surrounded in a ring of light. He can't do anything about the blood he's already lost, but at the very least he can get his wounds closed. This, also unfortunately, gives Jimi an opening to just straight on&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;hit him with acid. Rean lets out a cry, the acid burning though his clothes and onto his skin. Still he tries to hold his focus, just long enough to finish healing himself. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The spell still resolves, closing up the wounds from the zombie lady, but doesn't do anything about the acid. That would require a different spell, one he doesn't exactly have the time to cast at the moment. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Rean rushes forwards and slashes at Jimi, one slash blooming into many as he passes by, almost all focused entirely on his snake head tail.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Eh? Are you stupid? Do you have shit for brains?! Something like that's all you can think about when you're about to die, how pathetic!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Clenching his fists, Bowie began to molt again as he charged forwards, spinning his whole body to generate gale force winds. With his 'skin' starting to break off, the hardened crust swirls in the twister and is shot at Damocles at high speeds. &amp;quot;My &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;RESKIN WHIRLWIND ATTACK&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; grinds down anyone and anything! Disappear!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, it was just a fake. As Bowie is ready to gloat for obliterating him in an instant, he finds himself skewered before his new skin regrows. &amp;quot;Agh! You..you pest, how did you .. ?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His new skin was slimy and slippery and was molted instantly as he forced himself out of the sludgy shell, a gaping wound in his chest from the stab. &amp;quot;If I were you, I wouldn't try any of that energy crap! You'll regret it if you do, kekekekekekekeke!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Wiping his clawed fingers along his wound, he shot his hand out in one smooth motion, turning his blood into a spinning and incredibly sharp crescent; needless to say, it'd dig into someone just as well as a blade.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gibbons clamps down giddily on her arm, but before he can really get to chewing, she sacrifices it to seperate herself from him and try to take him out. His body expands as his eyes contort painfully, before .. he croaks, literally, almost like a frog. No, it surely had to have been a burp as he opened his steaming mouth to release all the excess heat. &amp;quot;Agh...even with my tough insides that can devour almost anything, that was hard to swallow ... it was like trying to eat a whole stack of TNT.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Still wobbly from it, though, Gibbons couldn't go on the attack.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bush continues to cry incoherently in pain. A weapon? Caring about him after he's gone? He couldn't comprehend any of that. He was even more of a simpleton than Jimi, after all. Having suffered several strokes in his life before being turned into a monster left him totally unable to function like a normal person in the first place. Of course, one shouln't feel too bad about it, it was assuredly 'karma' that a street thug would find no sympathy for his ailments after all the terrible things he'd done.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro eventually manages to blast his head clean off of his shoulders, his massive body slumping over and threatening to crush her, even after she all but destroyed her own body to take him down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jimi's snake rears up as he attempts to make it lunge around Rean's sword strike, pouncing on him on all fours as if he were an animal, but the chimera finds himself landing on the ground, off balance. &amp;quot;N..no! My other head!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Indeed, the snake had been severe from his body, leaving him so off balance that he could move with no grace or percision at all, glaring at Rean as he kicks off for his detached snake tail, attempting to dive straight into the wound and wriggle his way through the body. His head pops out with a sick, fleshy noise as the detached snake was being puppeted from inside, curling up to attack Rean more directly, even after its life had been ended by the sword strokes of the Autumn Leaf Cutter. &amp;quot;This is my last ditch technique ... as long as I can drain you of your blood, I can re-attach my tail and heal the wound, reviving it! Become my food!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia yowls as the recoil lands her on her rump, missing her left arm from just above where the elbow would be. It's okay, it can be fixed. Later, back in the technocracy labs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sphinx gets to her feet only to stagger a little from the stinging in her side. But her disarming sacrifice did deter Gibbons for a moment, which is exactly what she needs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With her good hand she pulls a vial from her inventory, pulls the stopper out with her teeth, the gulps down the contents to nullify the venom. She's really, -really- glad she made that contract with Arkae for the Cure-All potions now. The vial is discarded back into her inventory so she can return it for refills later.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Now back to more immeadiate matters.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia may be down an arm and hurt, but in the rush of battle that's an inconvenience she can worry about later.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;For one thing, she still has her magitek funnels. She directs the attack bits buzzing around Gibbons firing off various electrical bolts to try and keep him at bay while she puzzles out how to deal with him more thoroughly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;When the whirlwind strikes Damocles, he pops instantly, his entire body bursting in a small cloud of smoke and dust, mixing with the dust lingering from the destroyed wall.  An instant later, the wall next to the hole where the illusory Damocles was standing bursts apart as the real Chaos Sorcerer smashes out, charging with his Force Staff like a lance, looking to impale Bowie.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bowie warns him not to use energy attacks, and he takes that warning at face value. Thus far, this group has proved pretty willing to tell the truth about the nature of their abilities, so he figures that trend is probably going to hold true.  Seems like this guy can create a defense for just about anything, but only for one thing at a time, so the key is to keep changing up your attacks. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He has little time to think about that as he's suddenly put on the backfoot, using his staff to swipe away chakrams of razor sharp blood ejected from his enemy.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Man, this really DOES feel like fighting Chaos monsters. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He would normally use a shockwave to knock these away, but isn't sure what the goop Bowie covered him with will do, so he doesn't want to risk that.  And if Bowie creatively defends himself, then using his staff again would likely not work too well.  So what can he attack with, if he can't use energy blasts or his staff? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He slams one disc out of the air, then another with his staff, before suddenly is taken by an idea and reacts before he really even thinks about it.  A third disc is deflected, not by his staff, but by his hand.  He swats his hand through the air, letting the disk strike him right in the palm.  The disc punches right through his armor and buries itself deep within his hand, one third of the disc getting stuck through the palm of his hand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Of course, that leaves 2/3rds sticking out of his palm.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A palm that continues swinging, aimed right for Bowie's head.  Let's see if Bowie can protect himself -against- himself. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Luckily for Haguro, she doesn't know what Bush's past was like. She doesn't have to know that he isn't worth the sympathy at all since projecting like this will likely help her sleep better tonight. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If she gets that far, anyway. On the plus side, blowing the thug's head off means she doesn't have to worry about him trying to bite hers off, but it does take her a fair bit of effort just to push the corpse off of her. Wincing as she holds her injured arm against her side tightly, she pushes herself up with her one good hand before putting a few more shots into Bush's chest and head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She has to make sure before she steps away, after all. After that, she turns her attention back to the battles going on around the ruined village. Instead of charging right back out into the fray, she keeps on one knee as she scopes out potential targets, letting her slightly-less overworked turret adjust its aim towards the sky. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Her first priority target: Straizo. As the apparent mastermind behind this zombie attack, it only makes sense that she'd aim for him first! If she can't get a bead on the vampire, though, then her next priority is keeping outside threats from turning her allies' fights into losing ones. Mortar fire is the best she can manage on short notice, especially with the already mounting injuries on the shipgirl's form!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Some use the expression heads will roll, as a metaphor, right now? It's factual as Crys is just cutting her way through the lesser creations of the enemy while the rest of the crew are handling the brains. She does what she does best. Fight hordes of biological horrors, it's like she's back on Ragol really. Other zombies end up incarnated, a few get bisected and she keeps going. It's a bloody mess, that's what it is but there doesn't seem to be an end to the legions of the undead bio horrors coming for her. The chainsword just keeps going and she keeps on cleaving shockingly it's not ended up gummed up somehow yet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean staggers a bit at the end of his strike, The combined bloodloss and poison getting to him. It's still not over yet though, not while he's still able to stand. Meanwhile, lamenting the loss of his tail, Jimi proceeds to stick his head up its corpse, and tries to eat Rean.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ew.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean raises his sword to block the snake head by the jaws, trying to keep it from biting into him. &amp;quot;ARCUS, activate.&amp;quot; Rean says again, and that same ring of light appears. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This time, the spell resolves into a burst of fire rising up from the earth beneath Jimi.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The lasers strike against Gibbons durable flesh, aggrivating him with electrical shocks. But, she'll notice, his skin is starting to dry out and flake..exposing gelatinous flesh underneath. Opening wide and expelling a gout of flammable gas that quickly turns into flame to buy himself space, Gibbons is already charging for the shore, doing his best not to get battered by Haguro's cannonade! &amp;quot;D-damn, I didn't think the dry air out here would work so quick on me ... I need to expoliate!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fool! My strategy is unb..unbea...?!?!?!?! Gurgle...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bowie gloats again, preening as he spread his wings wide. If he'd been on the ball, he could have avoided the counter-attack, but not even he knew the precise limits or intricacies of his strange biology.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With a shocked looking on his butt-ugly face, his head toppled from his shoulders, the blood chakram having bypassed his defenses. All of his cells were bio-recombinant, and as an odd quirk, trying to alter his makeup to defend himself applied to all active parts of himself. Unlike the dead molts, his blood changed with him and as a result, nullified the effects of his rock hard defense. The unliving head gagged on the ground, choking on blood. &amp;quot;B..bastard...how dare you do this to me! I was destined for great things...and now look at me....graaaaaoh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He broke out into furious, unintelligent and bird-like sqwuaking.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys' rampage has taken care of most of the zombies at this point, leaving them twitching and immobile on the ground if not destroyed outright. Their moans and incoherent raving go unheeded as she shows her worth on the battlefield, keeping them from providing much needed support to the four Chimeras.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I've got you -- ?! N...noo..it's hot! I can't escape like this! It's like I've been wrapped in a package and stuck in an incinerator!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The pillar of magical flame consumes the snake, and Jimi inside of it, cooking them both to a crisp. In the end, he was heated so completely that he turned into incomprehensible sludge, retaining the ability to mumble pitifully in pain.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan carefully hid himself as Straizo stalked the Village's streets. He was in some kind of tanning shack, he figured, where the fish skin would be processed for the scales and oils. He'd managed to cover his 'scent' by exposing Straizo to the smog-like smoke of the burning building, but that was only a temporary reprieve. He had to make his move, and soon. Hitching his breath, he realized that the Vampire moved to the roof of the building he was on! 'Think ... the Vapor Freeze Technique works by absorbing heat and stopping the energy inside the arm via cryosis...even if I lit my arm on fire, it might not be enough. Unless ... an insulator ... just like Straizo brought to defend himself from my ripple, if I can insulate my arm's body heat..!'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His arm was practically thawed out now, having exposed it to his &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Scarlet Overdrive&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; to do so while on the run. 'Of course ... I've got it!'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo sneered, staring down at the stone shingles underfoot. &amp;quot;Fool. I know you're there, but if you're waiting for me to attack, I'll just slaughter you with my &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Space Ripper Stingy Eyes&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; --- ?!?! Rgh...insolent ...!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He isn't given the chance, as he's blasted across the roof by Haguro's attack! She'd evidently spied him after he took upwards..and through the hole the blast left, Jonathan leapt up himself, landing on the opposite end, balancing precariously on the central support. &amp;quot;I don't think so..Straizo!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The distance was too close for the vampire to blast him with that eye attack again. Jonathan knew that with his blood loss, this would be his final chance to produce enough ripple to put Straizo down for the count. &amp;quot;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Sendo Hamon!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Golden lightning crackled on Jonathan's fist as he thrust it out in a powerful, fast jab. &amp;quot;You idiot! I'll freeze you solid!&amp;quot; Straizo roared, reaching out to catch Jonathan's fist, only ... his hand explodes in a flurry of glowing viscera that evaporates into dust!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That's impossible, how did you ... wait, that smell! It's greasy, like cooking oil ... !! You must've coated your arm in oil and charged it with ripple! It slowed down my Vapor Freeze..just enough for it to matter..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo coughed, Jonathan's fist planted firmly into his sternum. The force of the blow had caused a contortion that may have been fatal if he were still human. &amp;quot;That's right, using oil to insulate my body heat bought me just enough time to send the ripple through your hand and destroy it. It's not as if I don't understand your feelings, but ... to have even joined up with Dio .... Dire and Ton Petti would be ashamed.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan recalled Haguro's earlier words and steeled himself as Straizo scowled at him. &amp;quot;I was positive that using these techniques that defeated you before would yield the same result, but ... that was my mistake. I regret nothing!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was unspoken but understood that while they would be disgusted by his choices, Dire and Ton Petti would naturally have understood Straizo's reasoning, given they knew him best. It's just the kind of person he was, even Jonathan understood that. Raising his good hand, the vampire strikes for Jonathan's jugular!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'll send your evil soul screaming straight to hell, Straizooo!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_y bg_n ++ huy&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Twisting his fist and pushing it forwards with the sudden surge of ripple energy, Straizo gagged as it easily pushed past even his insulated clothing and entered his bloodstream. In that instance, for him, it was like being exposed to the surface of the sun itself. &amp;quot;Fare...well....!!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Vaporized so thoroughly that there was not even ash left, Straizo refused defeat, even in death.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gibbons exposes his secret to the sphinx, and that's all she needs to pounce.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia lunges right through the flammable gas, her entire form glowing a bit from the heat. It stings but with her speed the exposure is not long enough to do more severe damage. In fact, it gives her an idea.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead of directly chasing after Gibbons the sphinx launches herself in an arc over him, so he gets a few moments of thinking he's actually escaping... until Arcadia swoops down in front of him, turns, and speeds back towards him... and passed him?... T she passes again on the opposite side, and does so into such a tight turn that she goes into a circle around the gatorman. Around and around, faster and faster, whipping up a powerful vortex of wind with her cyclonic motion. Tornados are powerful things, Gibbons bulk isn't going to keep him from getting dragged away from the water for very long. Maybe even eventually lift him off the ground as the whirling winds cut at his drying out flesh. But that's not the real final threat. That comes when Arcadia's voice can be heard, a simple yet ominous whisper under the wailing winds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#cd3700&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Pyre&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#90ee90&amp;quot;&amp;gt;nado&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And ignites one of her big fire spells into the cyclonic winds, turning it into a blazing spiraling pillar engulfing Gibbons on all sides.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Straizo's vampire threat dealt with, Haguro finally has time to breathe. She doesn't allow herself to relax just yet, though, forcing herself up through sheer willpower and limping along to see where her allies are in their own battles. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;From the looks of it, things are just about finished. Instead of celebrating, though, she hurries towards Jonathan's position while using a nearby signpost as a makeshift crutch to keep herself moving. It would take a while for her to reach Jonathan, and she doesn't look like she's in any shape to actually help with much beyond fire support. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And yet, she's holding her hand out to him. &amp;quot;Let's... Let's go. I think our fight here is done for n-&amp;quot; A pause, and then she looks around slowly at the ruined village. &amp;quot;... Did he have the arrows on him? Or was he not the one with the shadows?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles looks down at the surprisingly ornery severed head, and tilts his head curiously to the side.  &amp;quot;Huh, that's a thing.  Usually people stop talking once I do that.  Where are you even getting the air to yell from?&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He looks down at his hand, and notices that he's bleeding quite a lot, actually.  Letting himself get stabbed won the battle, but it also got him /stabbed/.  Oh well.  He holds his left hand over his right, and channels energy again, chaotic warp energy drifting from the fingertips of his uninjured hand, to the wound he carries.  The energy seeps in, and bit by bit, begins accelerating his healing to patch up that nasty wound.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's about to walk away, when ANGRY BIRD NOISES catch his attention.  &amp;quot;Hmm, actually...&amp;quot; He says, before reaching down, and picking up the squawking head.  &amp;quot;Neat.  I'm getting all sorts of souvenirs from this trip.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan shakes his head. &amp;quot;Straizo has nothing to do with that. No, rather ... I think he's been waiting here since we arrived to catch us on the way back.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan needed a moment to rest and recuperate, to heal his wounds and catch his breath. &amp;quot;Once the run rises, it'll wash away all the remains and turn the zombies into dust .. we just need to make sure they're in the exposure.&amp;quot; he concludes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Straizo's scarf was all that remained, now, clenched in Jonathan's hand with a frown upon his face.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;W..what? I'm being dragged back! F..fine, but if you think that I'm gonna' croak just like that, you've got another thing coming!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But he's caught in the scorching hot flame, peeling away his hard outer layer and leaving only his gelatinous true form to cook away. It smells disgusting, but gets the job done, leaving him in a hardly better state than Jimi.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bowie snarls. &amp;quot;You think you're hot shit, but I'll have my revenge!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;But, what could a disembodied head do, really?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Tomorrow, if wet set out on our boat, we should be able to beat the thief across the desert and intercept him ... I think.&amp;quot; Jonathan says, finally.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz has finally found the end of the horde she's beaten up, still got that slash across her chest, she's also covered in gore. She turns about in time to see just what befalls Starizo. She knows there's stuff she does not know but also sees there's still at least some clean up to do, she'll keep her weapon ready as she starts to look around she sees Haguro take out the trash. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;I'll start sweeping the area.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Crys banishes her bloody weapon and mutters. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;I'm going to need a bath and a septic shot...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's start that sweep as well.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And with that, the fight's over. Rean falls to one knee, using his sword to prop himself up. A loading ring of light and a green aura later, and the acid is cleaned up, and any burrns from it on their way to healing. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;...&amp;quot; Rean pauses for a moment, staring at the flesh puddle formerly known as Jimi. Jonathan said that the sun would deal with the zombies later but...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With a quiet sigh, Rean casts the fire ring spell a second time, this time to completely burn Jimi's puddle away. Being a vaguely sentient puddle for several hours waiting to die when the sun comes up can't be fun.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At the end Arcadia launchs herself upward out of the center of the fire cyclone, and a moment later does the 'superhero landing' with her remaining arm to brace herself as behind her the flaming pillar disperses and the charred remains of Gibbons dusts the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As she stands up Arcadia puts her remaining hand over her face. &amp;quot;That guy stunk even worse dying a second time,&amp;quot; she complains to no one in particular.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Joestart mentions chasing the thief with the arrows and she nods a bit. &amp;quot;I'll need to do something about this,&amp;quot; waggles what remains of her left arm, it's not much, &amp;quot;but I can easily catch up.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7142/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure_Gaiden_Ch.1&amp;diff=16445</id>
		<title>7142/JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Gaiden Ch.1</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=7142/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure_Gaiden_Ch.1&amp;diff=16445"/>
				<updated>2020-03-29T06:24:48Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2020/03/28 |Location=Fertile Crescent |Synopsis=The dig begins in the Fertile Crescent, but, two unexpected visitors put an end to the progress. Wh...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2020/03/28&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=Fertile Crescent&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=The dig begins in the Fertile Crescent, but, two unexpected visitors put an end to the progress. What's the purpose of the Golden Rhinoceros Beetle? And just who is it that sent the deadly forecast duo out to collect it?&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=1107, 863, 7002, 7222, 7213, 1143, 10, 518, 6994, 1099, 7234&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The year is 1890.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At least, it is here. The massive steamboat everyone had been on the day prior was paid for by Jonathan Joestar, the very man who was organizing the dig they'd all be going on. His explanation was, by and large, straight-forward even if lacking certain details.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whether a volunteer or a paid worker, Elite or common man, everyone was brought to the shore of the Fishing Village for a single goal..&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;To excavate the &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Golden Arrows&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; from their resting place. Such an event would eventually happen in the 1980's, but Jonathan intended to beat that series of events by quite a while in order to keep their mysterious powers out of the wrong hands.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It went without saying that those hands happened to belong to his estranged, vampiric brother.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The group departs from the Village on foot after staying one night. It is now high noon the next day, and most of the regular folk who'd been hired look ready to keel over.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I understand you all must be exhausted for now ... but, this is where we'll set up our central camp. Accounting for drift, we'll begin our dig here and move outwards.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan begins directing the various workers to begin setting up tents so that they could rest in the shade and rehydrate as necessary before they got into the real meat of their work. As for the Elites...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Thank you all very much for coming along. With any luck, we won't have to extend the dig's radius too much before we catch onto a hint..all I know is this; we'll know we're in the right spot when we start uncovering ruins from underneath the desert.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Today, Haguro looks more like a commoner or tourist than an Elite out on a job. Instead, she's dressed in simple outdoorsy-gear: A work vest, thick sunglasses, matching work shorts and work boots, a wide-brimmed hat, a backpack full of assorted containers and water bottles, and a gun! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mostly a tourist. She doesn't quite fit the appearance of the regular folks by the time that hours-long hike, though, actually looking as rejuvenated and lively as she did the night before. It's a good thing she brought those extra water bottles, too, as she's more than willing to pass them out as needed (and free up space in her backpack in the process). &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I hope it goes well. These arrows sound like trouble, whatever it is they do. What sorts of ruins are we looking for here?&amp;quot; She asks while fanning herself with a spare hat lightly, doing a quick once over of the desert and realizing there's not much to look at out here beyond sand and cacti.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Wow, talk about retro,&amp;quot; Mikoto says as she looks up at the steamboat.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A backpack with her and some clothes to change in, some desert supplies, and the basics.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Sure the expedition would have the stuff to survive, sure, but stuff happens and it pays to be prepared.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Walking up the plank to board the ship, she whistles a tune.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It was an adventure~!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;On the boat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto is mostly found on the deck taking every chance to get that sea breeze on her face.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Of course, she hated getting wet from rain, but on a boat was different somehow.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There was something freeing about the ocean as if the land's problems were a million miles away.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Though the occasional look at her ring finger brought her back to earth.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Port.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto takes advantage of the time to rest, though she rather enjoyed the trip.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Double-checking on her supplies and things to carry them.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Deserts aren't known for their fun, but still, she hadn't been to Egypt before, even if it wasn't HER Egypt.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Dig Site.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The desert was a trip for her, nearly relying on the soul gem several times to get through it, she resisted the urge to leech off her limited time and push herself through the awful conditions.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Water was scarce in the desert she heard, but this was beyond belief.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Terribly hot days, freezing cold nights.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But they were here, sitting down on a box left by some worker, she took a moment to take off her headdress and wipe the sweat out of her face and eyes.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Deserts suck,&amp;quot; she quips before looking at Jojo. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;So what are we looking for, and what's so special about it?&amp;quot; She asks, finally getting some time to loaf around and talk with the man who is funding this whole thing.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Like what do these 'arrowheads' even do?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali signed up because arrows.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's about the extent of it. Why lie? Keeping them out of the hands of someone who shouldn't have them is a worthy endeavour, but honestly what attracted his attention to begin with is that the artifact in question is arrows.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Digging... playing in the sand,&amp;quot; says Revali. &amp;quot;Tell me there's some signs that can be spotted from the air?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia was arguably one of the more fitting present, just due to being a sphinx. Though the mythos she was based on combined the Egyptian and Grecian concepts. Not that any of that is relevant beyond the location.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;More interesting is the fact that she has actually been walking with the rest of the group. Not hovering above like usually does, but actually walking on the sand. Which seems to be the point -- the sand -- as she sprints up on side of a sand dune and slides down the opposite slope with glee that would give a child a run for their money. &amp;quot;Nyaa~. It's sand. Real sand! Most of what was once silicate particulate in The Line has been pressed and baked into fields of glass.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Well that explains why she's so excited about the most common thing in miles.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Touta shows up cause he wants to make sure that the Multiverse doesn't think all vampires are assholes...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In actuality though, Touta's here for one reason only. He needed to get out of the Fairyland Hall. While he had told a certain someone that Mikoto would be fine, and that he was fine, he couldn't convince Yukihime to not let him go...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;While the spikey-haired vampire was on this adventure, for those who had known him a bit better would have noticed something...He has been incredibly quiet. Like, disturbingly so this entire trip. While usually he'd be making remarks possibly about the time period, or the geographical location, to any other random things, Touta hadn't really been saying anything to anyone unless he was mentioned. Upon the boat ride Touta said nothing, upon reaching the village he said nothing. Besides helping the regular folk with cargo and loooking at some sort of card he had brought with him he really seemed like he had been in deep thought the entire trip. In fact, he's been staring at the card for most of the trip with a melancholy look on his face...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Yet as Jonathan makes his explanations and elaborates on the details, he's focused intently on listening as he puts the card away. Except...he isn't. The card still was in his hand, gripped probably as carefully and as leashed to his hand as that black katana that he never seemed to have a sheathe for.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz had experience with these sorts of digs, her life early on had featured heavily with such things. It hadn't taken much for Jonathan to get the Newman's interest. She'd accepted terms of the job and got the basic details about it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Some megalomaniac ages ago formed a handful of arrows form a strange meteorite. Those arrows could awaken supernatural powers in living beings though there a price, it might just kill the subject. She got the idea that could be serious she'd made sure her photon gauntlet had a full load of gear and supplies as well. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She would also be wearing a cloak along with using her hair to hide her ears. No need to cause a panic right? She would be on the boat and enjoy the trip. She'd likely even pestered Mikoto to play a few hands of cards at some point during the trip. With the pot being for various candies. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Dig site. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Sounds like you have a solid plan. Mr. Joestar.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She knows she's muscle, she'll make note of the site and looks over to Arcadia and tilts her head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Well there's no shortage here, this desert covers the northern half of this contient if I recall stuff on Earth right.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's flipped her hood down at this point too and her ears wiggle slightly like she's trying to listen in on something.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mysterious powers?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The wrong hands??&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;SAND???&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Why, it's EGYPT, and that means it's HOT and DRY and SUNNY and a certain helpful brown-haired girl who is comedically overdressed in an entirely too heavy fuzzy coat with hood that hangs around her back under her long locks, and an entirely appropriate pair of eye-occluding sunglasses.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Kuran Yuuki raises a hand, index finger questioning. &amp;quot;Johnathan, perhaps I'm not an archaeologist and thus not 'hip' to the 'lingo', but if this is a dig...&amp;quot; She gestures out towards the desert landscape and the camp. &amp;quot;Will we be needing shovels?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In broad beating daylight Yuuki lets out a heaving yawn. &amp;quot;Or is it a metaphorical 'dig'?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean rides in on the steamboat, spending most of the ride talking to and checking in on the people here he recognizes and watching the ocean. It's nice, though, and it's been a while since he's gotten to be on the ocean. He's geared out for this, &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's been in his share of ruins at this point, both on his own world and otherwise. He grabs one of Haguro's water bottles on their trek across the&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;desert, and if she lets him, pokes her about other people who look like they might need water too and offers to hand them out to people for her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He also offers to help out with setting up the base camp despite very much not being a 'normie' as well. He might be here to be muscle, but he's a helpful bean. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Huhuhahahahaha!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The problem with the King of Heroes is that he is simultaneously never, ever subtle, and also frequently extremely surprising. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Take, for instance, this specific case. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; That laugh announces his presence long before the party can see him at the dig site. He didn't follow them, and he didn't come with them, and he certainly wasn't hired. Gilgamesh is standing over the dig site imperiously (as though he ever stands any other way), arms crossed over his chest, hair slicked back in the spikey war-guise he almost never wears. His shining golden armor glints in the sunlight with his dangling golden earrings. His red sash flutters around his waist in the desert sun. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;What's this? A group of mongrels in my own back yard?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The King plants his foot on the back of one of the workers, whether the man likes it or not, and drapes one arm over his knee, locking eyes with the rest of the party. &amp;quot;You know that stealing from the King is a crime punishable by death, don't you, dogs?&amp;quot; The sneer on his face says everything. He taps his foot against the worker's back. &amp;quot;I should kill you all to send a message to the rest of your kind. Digging in the sand as if property is abandoned simply because the owner isn't there.&amp;quot; The air ripples with gleaming golden light at the King's commentary - as if the air itself is ready to attack on his command. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh removes his foot from the worker and tilts his head to the side. &amp;quot;I'm feeling merciful today, mongrels. Let's call it a remnant of the Gilsmas spirit.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He snaps his fingers and a chair appears behind him, which he immediately sits in. &amp;quot;You might bring me some entertainment. You might find something that belongs to me and spare me the effort of digging through the dirt like the filthy dogs you are. So instead of &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;killing you all&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, I think I'll be gracious and help you out with my encouraging words and magnanimous direction! You should be grateful! That's right! Go on and thank me for my mercy and my aid! Praise me more!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Yeah he's *clearly* in a good mood. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He does, however, produce a gold-goblet drink for, and nod respectfully to, one person, a physical statement of 'you're not included in the aforementioned mongrels, we cool.' &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It's Yuuki Kuran. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Even the King of Heroes knows better than to disrespect his girlfriend(?)'s best friend. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Everybody else though, y'all gettin' the Full Gilgamesh.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan remains standing. He's clad in relatively simple, beige clothing along with a white ascot. A wide brimmed, brown hat sat slanted on his head to go along with the brown boots on his feet and the leather braces on his arms. A very, very tiny backpack was strapped to his back, but really, it was more likely just a trick of the eye; the object was just small in comparison to the giant man carrying it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan himself took the moment to dab the sweat off his face before responding. Despite his incredible endurance and tenacious nature, the trip had taken its tolls on him, as well. &amp;quot;It's possible there might be a little bit of the ruin poking up underneath, but ... as far as I'm aware Mr. ... I'm sorry, Revali, was it? My apologies. I wouldn't count on it, but it would be incredibly helpful if you wouldn't mind looking, just in case. More than likely, however ... the entire thing will be deeply buried under the desert itself, just as Atlantis rests at the bottom of the sea ... so did this Kingdom sink below the sands.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan pushes his hat up with one finger, dramatically. &amp;quot;A long time ago..longer than even the ancient pharaohs, there was a man who aspired for much. A tyrant by any means ... or so I've been informed. The gist is this...that he was able to obtain a rare metal and forged it into a series of arrowheads. These weapons hold the power to awaken &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;certain supernatural powers&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; in living creatures. A Stand, or something similar to a Persona, are avid examples.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I know it may sound odd and perhaps irresponsible, but ... you'll know it when you see it. The ruins, that is ... they're made from dark gray stone. An anomaly for the time period they were supposedly from, isn't it?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The gravity of his posture and tone deflate as Yuuki speaks up. The large man chuckles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. &amp;quot;W-well...yes, we've come equipped with shovels.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As if to reinforce what he'd said, some of the heartier workers he'd hired were already unpacking. Pretty much all of them had picks, shovels, and small hand-spades. &amp;quot;Of course, if you have &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;some other way&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; than a shovel to perform the task, then by all means! It's a benefit of so many talented people coming together.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The man Gilgamesh steps on in his sudden appearance buckles with a groan. His hair is straw-colored, his jaw strong and his eyes a soft green. He struggles under-boot, briefly, but ... his instincts informed him that if he acted out too much, or raised his head from the ground, he might incite the man's wrath. Being stomped on like a bug was infuriating, but his self-preservation won out. Besides that, if the golden clad man became enraged, he intuitively knew that it'd be a bloodbath.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan frowns briefly before taking the appearance in stride. &amp;quot;I ... I see ... in that case, we're all very honored to have the King of Sumeria to lend his gaze to us.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's not as if he was licking boot. Jonathan did respect him, himself an archaeologist and historian before certain events dictated a relative change in vocation. But at the same time...well, Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh. Let's leave it at that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali *stares* at Gilgamesh.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The crest of feathers on top of his head rise a bit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;... Yeah. Alright. I'll go take a look from the air. Being anywhere but here is real appealing all of a sudden - for some reason.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He takes off, a bit of dust being kicked up, and takes to the air, ascending in lazy circles around the perimeter of the camp as he does a quick glance about...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;... and once he's at a good altitude, he starts properly searching, mentally dividing the area into a grid pattern and proceeding methodically through it, looking for any signs of the supposedly 'totally submerged' ruins.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;... Or anyone in need of help. The point is to get to these arrows before other people can get their hands on them... it'd stand to reason that those 'other people' might show up and cause trouble.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Johnathan Joestar, ENGLISH ELEGANCE, is interrupted by Yuuki's rather simple question - and deflates as he gestures towards shovels and The Help.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki is gifted both a FINE GOBLET and a DISPROPORTIONATELY MAGICAL PROTO-UMBRELLA. It has a little thumb-button and everything, truly the most treasured among the treasury. Extending and unfurling the sun-breaking cloth of the umbrella, and taking a sip from the chalice, she smiles and nods at Gilgamesh in turn, palpable relief evident in her cheeks and from the upturning of the corners of her mouth.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I seem to lack hands for shovelry, Johnathan, but perhaps you could answer a question that I have? Another one, I know.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;If we are searching for ruins containing a magic set of arrows, should we be searching - and digging - towards any local sources of magic?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki gestures towards Gilgamesh. &amp;quot;Perhaps the King of Heroes has some sort of magic dowsing rod in his grand collection? That way, we can find a clue quickly, and get to the real expedition-exploration part of things! And not the...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki's smiling expression dims. Not to the level of a grimace, but it is certainly SOME form of distaste. &amp;quot;... digging. If anyone else has some ability to sense magic, or even open spaces under the sands, that could be a big help!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Either the bombastic display goes over her head or Arcadia is just too enthused to be on an actual archeological trip find a lost and ancient kingdom to care. (It's probably mostly the latter) This is one of the things outside her role of guardian she was intended for, and that quickly overrides any annoyance she would bother with.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Already on it!,&amp;quot; she off-handedly answers Yuuki. &amp;quot;If there is any clues to be found, we'll find them.&amp;quot; With that the sphinx spreads her wings and takes to the air over the site. Things will got a lot faster if they don't have to randomly dig up half the desert looking for hints. Getting this to move along smoothly is all the motivation she really needs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once overhead Arcadia activates her magitek visor and switches it to scanning mode, from a vantage point she can sweep over a larger portion of the area. Her main consideration is that the ruins being made of stone are likely cooler than the sands constantly exposed to the harsh sunlight, but there could also be ley lines near by. Or just the very off chance something does manage to stick out of the sand. We're not going to discount any possible options here.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto stands up from her box for a moment, rummaging in her bag and pulls out a canteen full of water.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She pours some over the head wrap and puts it back on.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There, that's much better.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Cooler, and taking a sip of water, she listens to Jojo's plot dialogue.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Huh...supernatural powers?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That was something that caught her ear.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Maybe she could use that for herself?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Another power that wasn't a time bomb.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean catches her eye, and he gets a wave, and her gaze moves to Touta acting like a zombie, which gets her concern.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her eyes spotting the card, and sighing a bit.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She recognizes it almost immediately and leans back.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That was going to be a conversation, a conversation and a half.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;However, GILGAMESH arrives and drags her attention to him.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This passes to Yuuki as she makes some suggestions.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Sorry, I can only sense witches.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;I...guess I could summon some burrowing creatures,&amp;quot; Mikoto muses, but she wasn't going to pick up a shovel, that's the /helps/ job.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Towards the King of Hero's again, &amp;quot;So sassiness aside, I am pretty sure that Egypt's at least as old (if not older) than Summer.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;You're not a liar, so does this mean someone in Egypt was ruling it?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If so then does that not give them just as much right in rule than you?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Or is it some specific thing?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Towards Jojo, &amp;quot;So I assume the place this thing is hidden in is dangerous and trapped?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Sounds...like fun!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean gets to help Haguro help at getting people sufficiently hydrated. Good teamwork! That doesn't last long, though, as their goal becomes more apparent with Jonathan's explanation. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The target: Magic arrows. The method: Digging. The sign: Ruins. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro's ready to get to work. She's even looking ready to grab a shovel, but the ideas being tossed around give her some ideas on how to proceed. That specific type of laughter being tossed around by Gilgamesh has her twitching just a bit, but she keeps her cool well enough to raise a hand in a slow slaute in his direction. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Wait. She was trying not to bring work or professionalism into this dig today. Habits are hard to suppress, thoug, and she sighs to herself before turning to the sand itself. &amp;quot;If someone is strong enough to maneuver an entire ship around, I could change and...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She seems somewhat hesitant about the suggestion. &amp;quot;...Act like an oversized spade.&amp;quot; It's the next suggestion that takes a while forher to really start speaking up, though. &amp;quot;Or if we can get a deep enough hole going, I can jump in and transform.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Somehow, she sounds more uncomfortable about that second idea. &amp;quot;Although that might be risky if I bump into any fragile ruins as I... Embiggen? Biggify? I know I've heard that first one before...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Did someone say MAGIC?   As if summoned by the mention of magic, there's a brief flicker of violet flame, almost too fast for the human eye to notice, and then Damocles appears nearby the gathered peoples.   It took him a little long to get here, mostly because you'd be amazed at how BIG a planet can be.  Like, you live in space and you start to think of a planet as just 'a place', but no, turns out every planet is a huge mass of places in itself.  Who knew?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's quiet for a bit after his appearance, taking a moment to get the feel of the room.  He knows they're here looking for an ancient magical artifact, some arrows or something.  He'll figure the rest out as they go.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Magic is something he has a sense for.  Even when it isn't magic from the Warp, his ability to sense energy from his own dimension seem to translate well enough, if he's close enough.  However, as a scholar, he also doesn't like the idea of just tearing though the location willy-nilly.  Plus, walking around the desert sniffing around doesn't sound fun.  But oh well. The reality of doing science was often way less fun than he thought it would be. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I suppose I could take a look around,&amp;quot; Damocles offers, finally breaking his silence.  &amp;quot;If it isn't buried too deep, I might be able to sense it.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This job was going wonderful the crew seemed pretty good. Without warning, a social event along the lines of nails on a chalkboard happens. A certain Sumerian demi-god shows up. The good newsie he seems to be in good spirits and has not started killing. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She also knows Lady Priscilla is very fond of him. She swallows her pride and looks to the King of Heroes for a moment. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;King Gilgamesh.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She will turn her attention back to Jonathan for the moment and listens to them nodding, Yuuki's comment about shovels gets a smile out of the Newman as she thinks where best to put her skills to use she's is however uneasy for obvious reasons. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's going to aid in the ground search for any signs of the ruins. This is going to not be an easy task, still the hint Jojo gave the team. About dark gray stone? That will be useful as such a colour would stick out in the burning sands. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;It's what I was born to do myself Mikoto.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She pauses for a moment, taps on her gauntlet a candy bar appears in hand and she'll pass it over to Mikoto. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Anything else we should keep in mind Mr. Joestar?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The wise digger does not resist the King. This is wise, because he is correct - the King probably would've crushed him like an ant if he had. Gilgamesh is not known for mercy when it comes to things that are his treasures. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Still, Jonathan's acknowledgment of his fame and how it runs before him obviously gets the King preening a little. It makes him far more receptive to Yuuki's request than he might otherwise be, too. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Huhuhahahaha. Something that simple isn't beyond me at all!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The Gate of Babylon yawns wide. Glittering portals, ripples in the air, open around him, darkening the land simply by their respective brightness - and making it somewhat hard to look at the King himself, since his armor is shiny and gold on top of the shiny and gold portals. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; This is *probably* by design. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He throws out his arms. &amp;quot;Behold!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; What falls out are, indeed, rods. But they aren't...*dowsing* rods, per se. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; They're rocks. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; They're rocks graven with all sorts of lines and designs that are damn near impossible to make out. But they're also rocks with *overwhelming* magical energy - it's such that even someone who isn't magical can probably feel it. Each and every one of them is a Noble Phantasm of some sort, a prototype of some other magic rock or stone or device in the future. One of them falls into the King's hand, and he sort of tosses it up and down in his gauntlet. Midway between the stone going up and coming down, his armor disappears, leaving him in a very definitely Babylonian robe, with a bright gold necklace around his neck, bright gold bracelets around his wrists, and bright gold ankle-lets around his legs. It looks great on him. Everything looks great on him. It's some kind of superpower for sure. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;This should suit fine,&amp;quot; Gilgamesh says idly. &amp;quot;Tap the stone twice and think of what you are looking for. It will light up in a vague direction, which should give those with more accurate sensory abilities a better place to start looking.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Haguro gets an eyebrow-raise. Mikoto gets straight up ignored. Crys simply gets a noncommittal &amp;quot;mmm&amp;quot;, and Damocles gets a similar eye-raise as Haguro. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then, the King leans back in his throne. Several palm fronds emerge from the Gate around him, being waved by clay dolls in the vague shape of people. Even the palm fronds are Noble Phantasms. That's absolutely horseshit. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; On the upside it is certainly cool and refreshing in his near area. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I remember,&amp;quot; Gilgamesh says idly, &amp;quot;When this was Carcho.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There's a quiet, distant look in his eye as the fronds are blown across his face, rippling his hair. &amp;quot;It wasn't so long ago, for me. For you it is the dust of history. For me it is but three or four years ago.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His eyes light up, an ominous red that for a brief moment confounds all the stones into flashing a dangerous pattern like bombs. &amp;quot;I will thank you not to tell me my own history to my face. That is your last warning.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And thus the King of Heroes makes his entrance once again. Rean sighs, rubbing his temples for a second before returning to helping set up camp. He does return Mikoto's wave and...Touta seems down about something. He's not sure what the deal is with the card, though, so that might be a question for later. Probably not the best time to ask about it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While the others are scouting, Rean picks up a shovel and hoists it over his shoulder. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to just randomly start digging, at least not until there's a direction to go in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Touta's eyes seem lost in the vastness of the desert. Even the unexpected radiance of the King of Heroes, or the presence of the other vampire Yuuki who he hasn't seen in forever is enough to immediately awaken Touta from his stupor. His mind had been blank, and seemed to have been more deep in thought than most. If anything would have seemed like a 'lost child' right now, it probably would have looked like Touta the way he just seemed to stare into the desert as if noticing something in the sands. But there's nothing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's only coincidence and time that he snaps from his stupor, realizing he's not been paying enough attention he speaks up awkwardly and with a much lower tone of voice than he usually does to try and see if he somewhat recalled the goal. 'Dig up sand'? Sounds like it apparently.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Yet even when he's participating it seems like there's something off with the young man. The way he looks for his tools. The way he puts away other items. The way he could have spoken up to Haguro about being strong enough to probably help push her around, or listen to the others as they offer their suggestions. But instead...It falls on deaf ears as he pulls out his hoop.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He walks over to the dig sight and starts spinning that hoop around his hips, hell even the way he's spinning that hoop makes it seem like it's taking longer than usual but eventually it spins at a rapid speed, and the air around Touta begins to circulate. The gales so strong that the sand around Touta's vaccinity begins to spiral around his body almost like a small sand tornado. It's clearly whipping up the sound from the area and removing the upper layer but...Touta's being careless. Even if it's unintentional the sand that gets scooped up is just being shirked around as it leaves the cone of his tornado and likely getting on some people, on equipment...If the sand is bold enough, it might even be flying off near Gilgamesh dirtying his fancy robed attire...Oh boy...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Shaking his head to Crys, Jonathan smiles apologetically. &amp;quot;I'm afraid not. That's about all I can think of ... &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Shifting uncomfortably, he turns to Mikoto. &amp;quot;Actually, technically speaking, this place ... it's called the Fertile Crescent. Part of it lays primarily within Egypt and part of it within where the Babylonian Empire stood. I suppose a good analogy would be to say we're in the proverbial 'back yard', having hopped his neighbor's fence.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Keeping it brief, Jonathan figured she wasn't actually too interested in a history lesson. Even so, he couldn't help but share his knowledge. &amp;quot;It's said that this is where agriculture was born. A funny thought, looking at it now, hm?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whatever else he might have had to say is cut short as Gilgamesh changes almost spontaneously and provides his aide. And along with it, a warning. 'Carcho...so that's what this place was called, at least, at some point.'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan would be sure to remember it for research's sake.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;IN THE SKY:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali, having gone up first, is the first one to notice the oddity. Storm clouds. Of all the places in the world, storm clouds are gathering in the sky and beginning to form. It shouldn't take long for Arcadia to catch up to him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And much to possible chargrin, there was no sign of Carcho from the sky.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;CAMP:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;That was a rather good idea of you, Miss.&amp;quot; Jonathan says to Yuuki. Meanwhile, a frail looking young man no older than seventeen approaches Damocles. &amp;quot;U..uhm...excuse me. Mister Joestar waved me over here to tell you he doesn't mind your assistance, if you're volunteering. His only stipulation is that you not take off with anything you find.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The digging seems to be going well. Jonathan uses the stones to help direct workers and specialists like Haguro and Touta. &amp;quot;The idea has merit, but, it'd perhaps be a better idea to save it for desparate times.&amp;quot; he says, with a gentle laugh. She had a good point about breaking the ruins, unfortunately.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Shockingly, kings in gold aren't something that are unfamiliar to Damocles, who isn't very impressed with the guy simply by virtue of Glilgamesh's similarity to another emperor he could name.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Well, not NAME, but offer several titles for.  He has no idea what that guy's name is.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gilgamesh then unleashes a host of portals that drop out magical artifacts.  Two glowing eyes narrows a little under Damocles's hood, and he raises a hand in Gilgamesh's direction.  &amp;quot;That was...Awesome!  How'd you do that?&amp;quot;  Without waiting for an answer, he reaches down and picks up one of the rocks.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;They'll show you a vague direction of whatever you're looking for, huh?  Well, now he's just GOT to test that. The scientist and engineer in him demands he do some testing on this. So, he starts assigning the rock some things to look for.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find Damocles.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find King Gilgamesh.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find air.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find the rock that shows the direction of things you're looking for.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find ten minutes ago.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Tap tap.  &amp;quot;Find justice.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto takes a moment to stand, turn towards Gilgamesh, and bow deeply.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It was custom, as part of an apology.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I apologize, I went too far in it and was being too arrogant.&amp;quot; She says and then returns to her spot.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I am genuinely interested in the times of early humanity.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A lot we don't know, and it sounds like a lot of adventure happened.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jojo steps in and corrects her, she thinks about it for a moment.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I guess that's true.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Anyway, it's on me.&amp;quot; She says not dismissively, but with an air of 'it's over, I accept responsibility, let's move on.'&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This is just as a kick of sand flies towards her, causing her to cough and try and spit the sand off.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She gives her brother a glare and pours some water over her face to clean it off.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She turns her head towards Damocles.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;How do you find Ten minutes ago?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That's silly,&amp;quot; She says, &amp;quot;And clearly it's meant to find physical things in the physical world, not concepts.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She looks at hers for a moment.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;The strongest magical source here.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's a no go on theship-transformation idea, but Haguro was expecting that. &amp;quot;Right... Maybe after we figure out where it is and if we need to clear out a large area around the site, then.&amp;quot; She offers, glancing over at Damocles as he appears rather suddenly. That magic he wields draws a curious look from her, but she doesn't linger on it for too long as she catches one of those strange stones tossed around by Gilgamesh. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;... This could work. If we're all doing a more directed search, then we should find it in no time!&amp;quot; She offers, sounding almost optimistic despite a slight dullness in her tone. It's not an overwhelmingly strong dullness, but those closer to Haguro might notice that slightly forced tone in her voice. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She certainly notices some of that strangeness from Touta, but she's not quite sure how to approach him about that. Luckily, Mikoto's on the case, so she leaves that to her! That leaves Haguro to focus on the physical work. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She's actually pretty okay with that today. Much easier than getting stuck in her own thougts. She alternates between searching for arrowheads and digging, moving around every few feet of digging to try and get a wide perimeter drawn around where each use of the stone points her towards.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Funny.&amp;quot; Gilgamesh's anger subsides as he looks at the sand. &amp;quot;Funny.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He doesn't say anything more about the topic of agriculture. Normally he might brag about Sumerian Bread or Babylonian Beer but at the moment he's simply just sort of...nostalgic. The look on his face, the distant eyes, the thoughtful frown. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;It was Carcho. It wasn't very large. A little fort. It was a village first, but there were always troubles. My reign may have been perfect but humans never are.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He runs his fingers through his hair, and it falls back down around his face as he sits, staring at the horizon. &amp;quot;I came this way once a year, to let them see my face. More...possibly when I was a child. That part of my memory remains hazy. But I remember playing here. I remember nooks and crannies.&amp;quot; He waves his hand at a distant spot. &amp;quot;A storehouse over there. It was stocked with grain in the winter, but in the summer, when I came around, it was empty, so the children would use it for casting stones to play with.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Another wave. &amp;quot;A guard tower, here. I would greet him with a wave as a child. I do not think I ever learned his name. He died in an attack by a neighboring kingdom. I ground them out under my heel.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He leans forward, staring into the distance. &amp;quot;There was a pond there. An underground spring that bubbled up. I hear it froze in the winter, but in the summer I came by to sit under the shade with local beauties.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;It was not a large town, Carcho. Time and tide wore down the cheer into a fort, and then, I suppose, the sands of history claimed it, as they must all things.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Meanwhile, Damocles, playing with the stone, gets some entertaining results. The stone blinks at Damocles when he pokes it for himself. It blinks all around when it asks him to find air. It blinks once in each direction any other rock is in. It does not blink for ten minutes ago. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; For both 'King Gilgamesh' and 'Justice' it points at the gleaming golden jackass on the massage throne. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It probably does the same for 'the strongest magical source here', being as the man on the throne is a literal demigod draped out in literal mythological precursor artifacts, though it might also blink at Yuuki, who is a bullshit vampire. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You may want to be more specific.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz pays attention as the King of Heros speaks again and offers help she'll scoop up one of the rocks and follows his directions on its use she'll focus on golden arrows and will set to work. This should let her support the more skilled people in this area. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Thank you.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She notes to the King of Heroes it's time to get to work. She'll nod to Jojo. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Right time to get hunting.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; The hulking form of Damocles gets The Newman's attention or a moment, but she's got work to do. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She gets the alert about the weather and will set out upon the dunes in search area to hunt. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She also makes a note to return Gil's stone when this is over. She also calls out to the space marine. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Come on! Get to work big man.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hmm...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali, flying through the sky, regards the stormclouds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Maybe...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He flaps his wings harder, ascending further into the sky, trying to get up above the forming clouds. He does some quick calculations in his head, picking out an unoccupied stretch of desert and positioning himself at a tangent to the line between the mass of stormclouds and that point...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Smoothly, he spins around in the air, grabbing his bow from its back holster as well as a specific arrow from his quiver. He aims and fires and re-holsters his bow, all within the space of less than a half-second.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The exact meteorogical science behind it is lost on the Hyrule native, but he understands that stormclouds are full of lightning, and that lightning wants to get out and get to the ground. The phrase 'path of ionization' doesn't occur to him, but he knows that sometimes the lightning just needs to be 'shown the way' to the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The lightning arrow he's fired through the cloud should show it a clear path to get all of that pesky dangerous lightning out of the clouds and into the unoccupied bit of ground... or so he hopes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia joined Revali in the air, but as her attention was on scanning over the desert below them she doesn't notice the storm starting to loom in the skies until the Rito points it out. She cuts off her scanning to turn and regard the meteorlogical formation as well, frowning when it's pointed out that shouldn't occur naturally in this region.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We may have unwanted company,&amp;quot; she mutters, though Revalia is the only one near enough to hear the utterance. It might just be a freak phenomenon... But Arcadia has been ruin hunting and dungeoning enough to know things rarely work out so simply when anomolous activity strikes up.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She flies after Revalia, pausing to watch as he uses his bow to shoot an arrow into the clouds. &amp;quot;Um. I don't think shooting them is going to--&amp;quot; Then realizes the lightning charge. &amp;quot;--Oooo. Are you attempting to fluxate the eletrified nature of the clouds to redirect the ionized energies towards the surface and essentially ground them?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Being from a more advanced society its less of a surprise she has a better grasp on the scientific details. &amp;quot;But that you do that with a -bow- is really cool!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali turns towards Arcadia.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;The clouds are full of lightning, and the lightning wants to go into the ground,&amp;quot; he explains to her, as though tutoring a failing student. &amp;quot;It's that simple.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sphinx's tail gives a vagely annoyed swatch at the reply. &amp;quot;That's what I just said,&amp;quot; she points out. Oh boy, culture is clashing as much as the lightning.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki gives another of her 'way too tired to be awake right now, but, despite that, I am awake right now' to Johnathan. &amp;quot;I admit, I'm not too good at solving puzzles, Johnathan. But I have some small experience in leading people around. Generally, the trick is...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki leans in perilously close to JoJo's ear. &amp;quot;You just tell people to do what they already are going to do, or, remind them of their specialties. Works wonderfully!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even a useless puzzle-solver has to have *some* talents!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Finger-waving at Touta as he returns to the sunny waking world and notices her, she addresses him - by name! &amp;quot;Touta! Ah, it has been too long. How are you? How have you been since...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even the pale girl can get a bit paler as she realizes what she's done, her memory jogged by Touta's presence. &amp;quot;... Zero and I ghosted you on that meeting at your inn. Oh, I'm so sorry! We should make formal arrangements sometime soon, yes!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She doesn't really give him time or room to argue.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gilgamesh relates a rather riveting story of the past history, which gives Yuuki an idea. &amp;quot;Gilgamesh, if you're familiar with this area, would you remember any ancient sites that could hold a magic treasure? If these arrows are what Johnathan seeks, perhaps you found them in a different world! That's quite a hint!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Back to Johnathan. &amp;quot;Well, that sounds rather unpleasant. A storm in the desert?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Why does it 'standing' have anything to do with anything?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean's standing just a BIT too close to Touta when he starts hula hooping, which means that he's right in the path of the little sand storm he's kicking up. &amp;quot;Hey, Touta--!&amp;quot; Rean shouts, taking a bunch of sand to the mouth. He backs away, spitting out sand and rubbing his mouth on his forearm, deciding to just let him do his thing. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Gilgamesh starts getting testy towards Mikoto's questions, and it looks like he might have to step in to defuse things...But Mikoto handles it well enough, and the situation is thankfully cleared up. Rean lets out a sigh or relief, and listens to Gilgamesh describe how the area was in his time. He was still extremely /Gilgamesh/ about it, but his world didn't have an Egypt or Carcho-equivalent as far as he knew, so it was interesting to listen to. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean takes one of the crested dowsing stones, turning it over in his hands. &amp;quot;Golden Arrows...&amp;quot; Rean murmurs, trying to form an image in his mind of what they're looking for. He tries to take everything he's heard so far into account as he thinks- The meteor it was hewn from, the Persona-like power it apparently bestowed...Maybe these things would help the stone be more accurate? And finding where the arrows were might lead them to whoever was making this unnatural storm.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Yuuki asks him about treasures in the area. Gilgamesh crosses his arms and is obviously deep in thought. &amp;quot;Asking me to pinpoint where treasures were is much like asking a farmer to tell where a specific grain of wheat is amidst his crops. I don't remember. I rarely remember where most of my treasures come from. It's possible that I possess these arrows, but it's equally possible that they went unfound and are simply mine by right as King rather than because they were stolen from me.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Although really the concept is one and the same,&amp;quot; he adds, waving his hand. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But no. Treasure is an instinct to me. I came here because I expected treasure to be here. I simply followed that instinct. It was the same then. I would simply go wherever my instincts for adventure and treasure led me. Then I would kill the monsters and take the treasure and throw it into my vault and carry on.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He shrugs his shoulders. &amp;quot;No. I don't remember anything near Carcho like that. It was a thoroughly unremarkable place. Pleasant. But unremarkable.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;IN THE SKY:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali's arrow pulls the lightning from the clouds, drawing it all down to the ground. It releases it all in a massive lightning strike. Yet the clouds themselves continue moving forward. Creeping like a living thing, it wriggles angrily at them. But it seems otherwise harmless. After all, it's only drizzling rain with increasing velocity as it moves along. It'll be several hours before it reaches camp, but by then, it'll be a downpour.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even if it were an attack of some kind, it seems rather limp.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;AT CAMP:&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the far, far distance, lightning strikes. Many of the normal workers are already getting the creeps, despite looking forward to the cool and refreshing rainwater. Work continues, as does idle chatter.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It takes several hours before the clouds begin to pour in, angry and seething. &amp;quot;H..hey! I found something! It's not much, but ... g-get that kid with the hoola hoop over here!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Signs that they were looking in the right places had been unearthed. Crumbled tops of walls or towers. Bits of shattered stair, seemingly long displaced from its proper spot. But the workers had largely already started filing off with the appearance of rain clouds. &amp;quot;We can take care of it later, ya know? Mister Joestar said it was fine to huddle up until the storm passed!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;What'd you find anyway?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I'm not sure...it's some kind of key, I think.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Are you yanking my chain?! That's -- &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It was raining hard, now. &amp;quot;Aw, jeez ... come on, let's get ... inside .... &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The first man, who had discovered a 'key' fell over dead. His body looked like it'd been pierced by a thousand knives in an instant, thoroughly flecheted. Standing above him, floating on seemingly nothing at all, was a man in a dark black coat and an equally dour rubber suit that covered him completely, except for the mask adorning his face, colored white and streaked with a depiction of a colorful rainbow. &amp;quot;Uh...oouh...UWAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The worker screams in fright before being silenced, his head removed from his shoulders rather mysteriously. Bending down, the sole survivor of this brief incident takes up the key. &amp;quot;Thank you very much. I promise, it's not in vain.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His voice is polite, almost servile.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan's arrival is quick, having heard the screaming from his tent. His water bottle was left on the ground suddenly as he glared ferociously at the murderer, crackling with Hamon. &amp;quot;What are you doing?! You -- &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Don't you dare move .. Jonathan Joestar!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The man in black roars at him, pointing a finger dramatically while twisting his body, briefly showing off his musculature. He was thinner than the englishman by far, but still as fit as an olympian. &amp;quot;The water still seeping down your throat..the water you're drinking. You can already feel it. It's been frozen solid ... and if you move even an inch, that ice won't move with it. You'll tear your own neck out. So stay put, if you know what's good for you!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Touta's sand removal maneuver sems effective enough at first. He's clearing out a reasonable amount but hears Rean's shouting as he realies he's causing friendly fire! &amp;quot;Ah?! Sorry Rean!&amp;quot; He ends up stopping the sand from flying, not the hoop, as he heads over to the young man. &amp;quot;My bad, I wasn't really thinking straight on that one...On the bright side, being that aware now does make him attentive to the fact Gil's handing out magical stones to everone, and Touta makes an effort to catch it with his shirt or something or just give it to Rean cause he's not trying to get blamed by Gil for breaking his toys. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Though just as he's about to try and get back to work Yuki notices him. Truth be told...He actually hadn't talked to her this entire trip, which was probably odd since he was usually such a big mouth. Though when she comes his way to greet him, he can't help but try to force a smile, forcing a chuckle as she cuts herself off. Though something in what she says ends up making him seem uncomfortable. &amp;quot;Hey, it's fine it's fine. You're a big wig of the Concord, I'm not expecting special treatment just to have you both hang out. Besides, I get how it is. Even Mikoto doesn't show up a few days at a time cause of Concord work. Can only imagine what they have you doing. Though...&amp;quot; She really isn't giving him time to argue but well, &amp;quot;Yeah...We'll see...Things have been busy...Though Maybe you can have Mikoto help you set up a time just in case?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Though once that conversation ends the notice of the storm is definitely picked up on. Though it definitely seems way too...'Out of the blue'? &amp;quot;Hey, Jonathan what are the odds something like that even happens in the desert anyway? Like don't storms only happen every few months or something?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh has mostly been sitting about, being an asshole at people for the entire time. He hasn't really helped besides the magic compass rocks, he hasn't really offered anyone who isn't Yuuki a drink or anything to relax them or break the cool, he hasn't really even gotten up from his lounging in his own shade. When the rain starts he just snaps his fingers and a pavillion springs up around him and his statues. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Then something Interesting happens. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A man dies to a screaming lunatic, who then picks up a key and declares that it's for a good cause. Gilgamesh leans to this side, his chin on his hand. &amp;quot;Hohhhh, what's that? Something more interesting than watching peasants dig in the dirt?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; 'The water you're drinking right now, the rainwater is frozen in your throat' &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh puts his hand on his head. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;HUHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The laughter echoes out around the digsite, bounding off tent and pole amidst the pouring rain. &amp;quot;Mongrel! You dare imply that the King would ever allow mere rainwater to touch his tongue, let alone work its way into his throat?! What do you take me for? A pauper?!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He leans back in his chair. &amp;quot;Ahhh. But that was funny, dog. That was very funny. It was foolishly daring but amusingly so. And I am in a mood for amusement of a less bloody kind. So instead...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; A coin appears out of nowhere. Gilgamesh flips it idly in his finger. &amp;quot;You want the arrows, don't you? I can't allow you to steal from me. But I might allow you to have one or two of them, so long as you don't stop me from reclaiming what is otherwise mine. The same deal I gave to them, effectively.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You can accept it or you can die.&amp;quot; His eyes glow under the tent. &amp;quot;It's your choice. Choose wisely.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The inner workings of magic in Gilgamesh's universe have been consuming a lot of Damocles's time the last few hours.  He's made a show of helping to look, using the rock and his own magical senses, however ever since a conversation with the King, Damocles's mind has been racing.  Collective knowledge.  Common sense of the world which can be manifested in objects. There's potential here.  He hasn't heard a whisper in his head since he arrived here, but he knows his patron would be well pleased with it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The rain doesn't bother Damocles anyway, mostly because his barrier magics have been keeping him dry.  He's honestly more worried about flooding.  Places like this tend to be prone to it.  There hasn't been a flash flood yet, but if something happened it could slow them down a lot.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;What could also slow them down is murder.  Screams of the dying carry over the driving rain, and Damocles sighs.  I mean, they were looking in the desert for lost magical artifacts, so a curse of some kind is just natural, if any of the movies he's watched are to be believed.   &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I hope it's a mummy.  Mummies never have to deal with massive rainstorms.  I bet the water isn't good for the bandages.  Plus it'll be funny watching it slosh around.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Oh right, the dying.  The rain made it too hard to tell exactly where the yelling was coming from, but thankfully, Damocles has a helpful tool for that.  He taps the stone twice, and thinks about the source of the screaming.  Then lets the glowy stone be his guide towards the confrontation. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;When the storm comes, Haguro puts off heading in as long as possible to help get the less rain-resistant supplies in and make sure that everyone's safely inside. She doesn't suspect anything at first when the key is mentioned, and she's hurrying over to check out when she notices that the discoverer of said key is a little.. Very dead. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She doesn't scream, even when another person loses his head. Something tells her that she should, that she should be horrified by what she's seeing, but she just looks annoyed. Turning slowly towards the likely culprit yelling about the water, she watches Jonathan's reaction to the strangely posing man while keeping her movements limited. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You know Mister Joestar's name, but can we get yours as well, sir? It's only polite while you're making threats.&amp;quot; As if to demonstrate, she draws her revolver from her inner vest pocket and aims it at the rubber suited man in one smooth motion, watching the weapon to see if it too gets torn apart from residual rainwater that might have snuck into her vest during the dig. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;My name is Haguro, Vice Admiral of the Luthan Fleet. You've threatened a Partner of the Concord, so please explain yourself if you do not want to die today.&amp;quot; If the gun isn't sliced apart, she takes a pot shot at the mystery man's leg to see how he'll react!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blood. It's a rather notable scent to the noses of some. Frozen blood has an altogether different characteristic - speared through with veins of ice. If 'cold' has a scent, surely this is it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But as a black-coated rubber suit man appears, with his rainbows, and his shouting...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki doesn't really have much more of a response than pointing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Are you some sort of... sexual deviant? A black coat over a rubber suit? I don't want to judge, but...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Her voice falls. &amp;quot;I mean, wow... That's a lot.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whichever way you want to explain it, it seems that Revali's idea has worked. Something still seems off about those clouds though. It's enough to keep her a bit on edge, and although she drifts back to the work site once there's no threat of lightning, she's keeping an eye on that storm. Guardian nature is kicking her impulsiveness to the backseat, and about the only thing that keeps her from speeding off to take a closer look.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead its several hours later and back at the camp. The rain has come, and the sphinx was using her wings to shelter some of the people and equipment while they find someplace to stow their gear until the storm passes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Then there's screaming from another part of the camp. The rain adds an extra bit of ominous annoyance to her expression. &amp;quot;Hope for the best and expect the worse indeed,&amp;quot; she mutters. Magitek visor shimmers as she tries to pinpoint where the screaming confrontation came from in the rain and gloom.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali's taken a break. The storm doesn't seem to have developed into a thunderstorm, so he's inside eating. When the screaming starts, he just as quickly makes an appearance, running outside of the food tent, heedless of the rain.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's not sure what's going on - he heard a scream, and there's Jonathan, and-&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;- And time slows down. Not literally, not for everyone else. Just for Revali.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The seconds stretch into minutes, compressing by a factor of at least ten as Revali hyperfocuses. He's still moving at the same speed - though that's still an unreasonably fast speed - but he has more time to look, and to think.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bodies. A man in black. Jonathan, helpless. Got it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He reaches for his bow - and then pauses, using the luxury of the extra time to think. There's one intruder - just one?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead of drawing or firing, Revali crouches, and then launches on an updraft up into the air, already looking over the campsite on the way up. There can't be just one intruder against a camp full of elites...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz does what work she can until the call is given to come in from the rain, she's found the stone form Gil to be useful in at least keeping her what she roughly thinks is in the right direction. she's not had any major finds yet, the rains come and she's moving back to get some shielding not wanting to be out in the sand as the rains come down. Then comes the death screams of one of the workers. She will draw a photon blade and pistol from her storage gauntlet and will start to move in, however. It's time to do what Jojo hired her for. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Raindrops turn back to gas when they hit the blade making a sizzling sound as she moves forward her one good eye trying to focus in on just who is behind this. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She will come across rubber-man and levels her pistol at him, the Ruby Bullet Hums. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;So this is how you want to do it?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; If she's not had her own weapons taken out she'll fire a few shots trying to aid Haguro in hopefully at least focusing the man's attention on them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Oh well...I am not sure what I thought would happen,&amp;quot; As the rock points at Gilgamesh, and then Yuuki.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With a sigh, she reconsiders, but as time goes on the rain gets near and she goes towards her tent.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;That was until MURDER TIME.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Running out, already in her magical girl garb and a jade longsword in hand, she moves towards where Jojo is already being held hostage by the man in a raincoat.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She looks at Yuuki who points out the deviancy and she nods once.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I think you might have the right of it, boss,&amp;quot; she says, probably to be petulant to the man, but she holds up the sword over one shoulder and starts marching towards the man.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's a slow walk as if giving Haguro's demands a time limit.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Because when she gets there, it's time to do what she does best.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Use Sword.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The man regards Gilgamesh cooly. Despite his boisterous shout, almost as if flipping a switch, he became as serene as a cloud on a sunny day. &amp;quot; .... &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's impossible to tell what he's thinking behind that white mask. But, turning away From Jonathan, who is stuck unable to do anything but glare and try to thaw the ice with what little ripple he'd gathered beforehand, the man in black bows at the waist briefly in the same way one would imagine of a manservant. &amp;quot;I see. Those are acceptable terms.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As he raises back up, it seemed others were arriving already. A bird man, of all things, a supposed Vice Admiral, a woman who hilariously wound up being perfectly dressed for the heavy weather they were experiencing...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Excuse me. &amp;quot; he says to Haguro. &amp;quot;Blackmore, that's my name. I'm just a butler, that's all.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That last part is said to Yuuki, as well, although it begged the question as to what sort of master would prefer their servant dress up in a gimp suit. Perhaps it was a question better left unanswered.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The gunshots bark and roar, but every attack thrown his way ... it passes through him. The man himself, his silhouette is wavering like fog!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Disappearing into rippling wisps, the water in the air seems to shudder before ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali finds himself in danger of being skewered by by a mail breaker with a tapered tip. After all, the man, Blackmore noticed...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;...That Revali was just as perceptive as he was. That was dangerous. He would not allow even a single person who could discover what his ability was to live, he resolved.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The air seems colder, for just a moment, as everyone else finds themselves being assailed by bullet-like ice drops.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Huhuhahahaha. Good. Then you know your place.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh relaxes, producing another drink, as if to prove a point. It's fine peach wine and it smells fucking heavenly. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But if you cross me, remember, I will kill you without a second thought.&amp;quot; Again, the glow of his eyes. &amp;quot;And you should know already that I am not one to be trifled with.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Well, dogs, carry on! Fight over my scraps!&amp;quot; The king kicks his legs up on the reclining throne and laughs. &amp;quot;OK Google, Your King Commands You - play me some music of the Fertile Crescent to amuse me!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The phone vibrates and then starts playing Walk Like An Egyptian.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;*SQUAWK!*&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's the very undignified sound of a rito getting stabbed by a knife.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Time slows down again. (Again, not literally.)&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's getting attacked. Singled out? The falling rain is turning into deadly ice, so everyone is getting attacked, but it looks like only he is getting stabbed. Because he's taking to the sky? Because some other reason?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He doesn't have a definite answer. So: falling raindrops turning into deadly ice. And getting some protection for himself and others. That, he can handle.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The stab is throwing him off course, sending him out of the controlled upward spiral that his Gale usually takes him on. His current trajectory... is towards one of the tents. That's fine. He shifts his wings, course-correcting himself a bit, and then quickly draws his bow.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Two sets of tripleshots, cutting the ropes tying the tent to its stakes, and then his hyperfocus runs out. That's fine. He can do the rest of this in realtime.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The rito crashes in through the entrance of the tent, compounding the bad stab wound in his chest. He'll have to deal with that later. Right now, as soon as he can get a hand on the ground-&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;REVALI'S GALE!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;- *inside* of the tent, the one that's no longer anchored to the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The roof of it flies upwards, hopefully blocking some of the falling ice drops - and providing some cover for Revali as well!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A Vice Admiral dressed like a tourist, no less. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Mister Blackmore, then. Don't hold this against us, then.&amp;quot; Amicable as ever, Haguro somehow manages to keep her cool as the fight begins in earnest. Noticing her bullets just passing right through him, she doesn't bother shooting further as she instead crouches down with one arm held up to protect the rest of her less-expendable body parts from the incoming hail of ice bullets. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That goes about as well as expected, of course. Bloody cuts and scratches cover Haguro's arm more than the rest of her body as she opts to withstand the shots directly instead of trying to weave through the uncountable projectiles. &amp;quot;Hn... That's quite the potent skill, Mister Blackmore.&amp;quot; The shipgirl reloads her revolver as she does a quick scan of the sky to see where the rain-shooter is before taking another shot in his direction. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Her focus, however, is not on shooting Blackmore. It's on trying to figure out why he's singling out Revali of all people. Perhaps it's the birdman's penchant for flight? Haguro can't quite fly herself, but what she can do is look like she did! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; The back of Haguro's boots and stockings glow blue briefly as she just disappears one moment, turning her thrusters on and her existence off, then appears several meters in the sky the next moment after boosting herself straight upwards. While she's in the sky and starting to descend again, she looks around rapidly between Blackmore and Revali, trying to see if Blackmore is leaving any tells behind or if Revali's doing something in particular that she can mimic to get the rubber suited man's attention!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia's visor picks up on the intruder, just in time to watch him disappear via wispy fog... that's squirming not unlike the stormclouds did when the lightning was drawn out of them&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She knew there was still something off about the storm!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Heightened reflexes all too familiar with sudden mass projectile spam react, though it's not into immeadiate attack. Her tail whips to grab the workers she had been shielding from the rain and pulls them to the stand. &amp;quot;Get down!&amp;quot; Though at the same time she's throwing her hands up and out as her magitek weaponry engages.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#cd3700&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;BLAZING CASCADE!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; She fires off several balls of flame into the ice bullet hell, which spin rapidly to shoot off their flames in several spiraling arcs to reach farther and intercept as much of the frozen shower as possible. A few of the ice shots shatter against her armor and wings, but better her than the workers and equipment she's trying to protect.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damn escort missions. Why are they always so shitty and annoying?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The old man disappears, this causes Mikoto to jump back.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Because the moment he is gone he's going to attack!&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Of course, from above!&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She moves to spin her blade quickly, aiming to cut down as many of the shards as she can, but she focuses on the ones that would be fatal.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A few get by, causing streaks to form on her outfit and skin, drawing some blood.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So he wants...no he's focusing on the bird?&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This causes her to tilt her head slightly, before grinning.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her body seems to be forming something out of magic, a jacket of sorts, with the symbol of Tanya's home on it.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A gem around her neck appears as she shoots upwards.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Taking flight, she soars towards the old man, sword drawn as she attempts to slice through him and continue upwards.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;This flight power packs a punch, and she's willing to use it to it's fullest.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Being given some done time for those few hours, Touta found himself simply staying in one of the tents, keeping to his own thoughts for the most part. He had found himself staring at the card again. A faded image in comparison to what it was before. Though just as before his thoughts get interrupted as the sounds of screams can be heard. The panic is actually enough to force Touta to get up quickly. An expression for once that shows on his face other than mopeyness...Desperation. He wanders out along with Jonathan to see the blood bath that had already started and well, he wasn't pleased. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Then the guy had the audacity to even rain ice down on the group. While the others are likely going one way or another to avoid / impede the attack, the young man in black doesn't. In fact, He gets bludgeoned by ever bullet of ice that assails him. Though the wounds that were caused heal up just as fast when a build up of black miasma silently yet ominously accrues around the boy, whatever this aura was it clearly wasn't a stand, but it wasn't any less lethal than one as it began to fill in the wounds. Though just as quickly as that aura appears, it fades with a discontent look on the boy's face. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I don't know what your deal is, but off'ing people who couldn't even protect themselves, threatening Mr.Joestar...And then throwing things at my friends...Ya know, butlers shouldn't be throwing things. They should be picking them up...&amp;quot; At that point Touta pulls up his sword and starts messing with the dial, cranking it up higher and higher. He's seen the guy phase through those physical attacks like water, and frankly Touta doesn't care. Even as he messes with the dial it looks like Touta was sinking lower and lower into the sand before him. He's seen this guy phase through the previous attacks and he doesn't care. Unlike the others, he's not doing this to garner attention...He's making a statement. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;One-hundred Thousand Fold.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Touta would fling his blade, but not at the butler, but at the sand at his feet. In an instant a sand cloud would kick up, ground would shatter and the footing the butler was using would crumble before him likely not causing any true harm to him but showing that Dio wasn't the only sort of monster in this world to be afraid of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The young man puts his hands in his pockets as he starts non-chalantly walking towards the collapsed earth. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Sorry butler, I seemed to have dropped that sword...You wanna pick it up for me?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;OST Change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MtOpB5LlUA&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki Kuran, completely baffled, stares at 'Blackmore' and his extremely deviant-looking Stand. &amp;quot;Yes, but... that doesn't explain... Ok.&amp;quot; She raises her hand at the wrist, fingers apprehensive. &amp;quot;I guess it does explain the choice in black coat, but not the...&amp;quot; She gestures vaguely at her face, miming a 'mask', and then down to circle her palm in the air before her chest.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Which is a general pantomime for 'and the rest of this situation'. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She doesn't really have much time to ask any more Really Uncomfortable Questions, because she is immediately shot with ice spikes! Well, shot *at* with them. Like a hailstorm against a metal roof, she's marked and cut but to more annoyance and cosmetic damage than apparent effect.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Gilgamesh.&amp;quot; She grumbles, annoyed, as she turns her head to his Golden Throne and his Golden Situation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I am not a dog.&amp;quot; She huffs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;THAT'S WHAT SHE TOOK ANNOYANCE WITH?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Small shards of ice smash like bullets into Damocles's barrier, casing ripples of energy across his form as he approaches the group.  Things here seem a little out of hand.  A guy just turned to fog?   The sky is attacking them?  Jonathan is stuck dynamic posing?  He feels like he needs to review someone's notes on what the heck happened.  He was away for like, 2 minutes! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Okay, what the hell?&amp;quot; Damocles states incredulously as he walks confidently into the melee.  The bombardment of ice is a problem, but since he doesn't have an immediate solution for that, so he decides to focus on the other thing.  He doesn't know if that guy is an illusion or can just turn to fog.  Time to test a theory.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He raises his staff in Blackwell's direction, and focuses a surge of Warp energy, directing it at the old man as a clawing, saturating fog that bleeds into its target and soaks into their body, pooling in their muscles like a rot to drain away strength and speed.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hey, slow down a minute, Butler.  What are you even here for?  Did you even try talking before you went all stabhappy on everybody?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz shots hit the mark, or they would have. The problem is the target is just /gone/ she has some ideas about them and what they can do. She wonders is this entire storm the very guy they are dealing with? Blackmore? That's quite the name and now she's getting assailed by bullet-like ice drops. She has several hit, a few are deflected by her photon armour other get past digging in her injuring her and she looks up the sky calling out &amp;quot;RAFOIE!&amp;quot; Causing a burst of fire about her to consume the ice bullet raining down on her. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She now focuses on the stone she has trying to use it to pinpoint where that /man/ is. Here is hoping the stone might be able to pinpoint him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Drawing blood, Blackmore is forced off of Revali shortly as he divebombs into a tent. Stopping, the man seemingly stands on thin air .. no. It's the rain. He's standing on the rain itself, and takes several hops downwards, to safely reach the ground. But, before he can follow Revali into his temporary shelter, Touta intervenes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The explosion of the ground throws the man dozens of feet into the air. &amp;quot; ... ?! .... such strength. More over, that recover ... excuse me.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali blasts into the sky, Haguro and Mikoto following suite. Try as he might to race after Revali, he's cut off at every turn. &amp;quot;Tch..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A long gash is torn into his side by Mikoto as he twists his body and thrusts at her with his weapon. The droplets of water spray outwards from the force and freeze instantly, becoming a lethal shotgun blasts at point blank range!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The blood flow on the wound she gave him ceased almost immediately...as that part of his body all but disappeared, like someone took an ice cream scoop out of his side.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blackmore attempts to disappear again before the energy wave can strike, rippling, but ... his arm gets caught. &amp;quot; -- !?!?!?!?!?!?!?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And just like the cut given to him by Mikoto, his arm disappears wholesale. Blackmore realized what was happening to the limb almost immediately and did something to make the whole thing disappear. Yet, despite his body being physical again, he was spilling not a single drop of blood. &amp;quot;It seems I'm at a disadvantage.&amp;quot; the butler murmurs, before fading out. The stone, which had been pointing where he'd visibly been reacts strangely.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It can't seem to locate him. If it were a compass, it'd surely be spinning out of control.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then, very abruptly, it pointed in two different directions at once.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blackmore appeared underneath Revali as the rainfall in the immediate vicinity of the bird man changed directions. Rather than falling down, as normal, it moved upwards like a hail of machinegunfire coming from below.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, the eagle eyed Elite might realize that he was missing his other arm.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And that was because his rapier wielding arm was now attempting to stab Damocles through the back of his head.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean hears the screams from the dig site, rushing out his tent with sword drawn. &amp;quot;What happened-&amp;quot; Rean asks before noticing the very stabbed corpse on the ground, An internally frozen Jojo, and the guy in the rubber suit. Oh no.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean raises his cloak to shield himself from the frozen rain. It gets torn to shreds in the process but that's fine. It does its job, mostly keeping him from getting flecetteed. A few still still made it through to his arms and back, bat at least he can still move. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;All this ice gives him an idea, but he hesitates for a moment, unsure if it's worth also potentially burning everyone.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He's given the ok by though still on the ground with him, though and Rean nods, shifting his focus.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;ARCUS, Activate.&amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A ring or light surrounds Rean as the spell 'loads', and then shifts into a glowing&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;circle of heat on the ground, turning the ground and air around the group into a sauna and hopefully also melting any ice that passes through the area.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Time slows.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;First thought: Revali is going to have a headache from doing this so much in such a short span.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Second thought: Oh hey Damocles is getting stabbed in the back of the head while the rest of the guy is beneath him. Neat. Revali relays that information.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Third thought: oh shit evade, evade, evade&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Back in real-time, Revali barrel-rolls to the side, desperately trying to get out of the way of the ice bullets that are flying upwards at him. The archer needs more of an opening to launch his attack, and right now he's not getting it!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles's tracking stone was still set to watching Blackmore, and the flicker of light does catch his attention, as does the feeling of Warp magic moving around him.  This gives him a split-second warning in which he turns his head, hearing the gentle whistle of air and ice being parted by steel.  He twists his head as the rapier smashes through his barrier spell, catches him just under his right cheekbone, and tears a gash though his face stretching from underneath the corner of his eye, all the way to just below the back of his ear. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The attack also knocks his hood back, revealing his face, which looks more than a little angry about the situation.  &amp;quot;Son of an OW.  Okay, I see how this is.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles jumps back, leaping a good 10 yards to the side and slams his staff into the ground, creating a small shockwave around himself.  &amp;quot;Okay Blackwell...Did you not like magic?  Well maybe you just don't know it well enough yet.  Here, let me give you a nice personal introduction!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles dramatically steps forward, swinging his staff behind him and thrusting a hand out towards Blackmore.  As he does, Warp energy surges through him and is shaped as tendrils of raw emotion that reach out for Blackmore.  In this case, that emotion is pure, unrestrained fear.  Not of anything in particular, but raw, primal terror in its purest form. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Success! Sort of. If nothing else, the fact that Blackmore's having some trouble reaching Revali gives Haguro just a bit more information about whatever it is his power is, and it starts piecing together once the Rito spells it out for everyone. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;lt;Revali says, &amp;quot;He can seperate his body parts and send them places!&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But what does that mean? To Haguro, it doesn't mean quite as much as seeing Blackmore stepping on the rain drops to get to the ground safely. Even if she can't track his movements right away, she does have something more explicit to target the next time he reappears! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But where is he going? That's a question for the magic rock Gilgamesh gave her and the rest of the group earlier as she taps it twice and thinks about Blackmore's right leg. Once she gets a hit, Haguro turns the thrusters back on and teleports once more, disappearing and reappearing... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;... Underneath Blackmore?! She's not shooting again this time, though, as she keeps her hands free to try grabbing his right leg directly. &amp;quot;I've got you now, Blackmore... You won't be able to move so easily like this!&amp;quot; Should she get a good hold on it, she starts twisting and wrenching at it, aiming to break and sprain it rather quickly in a gambit to limit his rain-stepping technique!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;You damn right you are at a disadvantage old man, I suggest giving up and comi-&amp;quot; The sword dives for her, and her blade moves to aim to come up from under the blade and send it off course.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;However, the second attack which was likely meant to be the real attack flies at her like a shotgun.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It blasts her back, sending her flying to give the butler time to move.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Her chest looking pretty rough starts to heal, she snaps back midair and looks around.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He's gone!&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;However, she assumes that he'll go after Revali again.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Blood starts dripping down her chest, causing her to wince in pain.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's going to need time to heal, but she doesn't have time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She charges towards Revali, going full force as she thrusts her blade forward.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A magical symbol appears as various birds appear around her.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;They as a group come flying in, the birds aim to try and peck and bite at this piece of the man, while the larger birds of prey aim to make claw strikes as they dive him.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto, on the other hand, taps into the power of Tanya's unit, as her sword starts to glow with a yellow light.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She charges, aiming to try and split the man again, turning around she attempts to engage him in melee, trying to lock him down.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Unlike before she knows about the rain, and she has a plan for THAT, thanks to Tanya.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That dispersed most of the icy projectiles around her, but with more people taking into the air Arcadia can't keep pelting out saturation attacks hither and yon. Tch, sometimes working with a group was a little annoying. Arcadia will just have to adjust.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But someone points out the enemy can teleport, and in seperate parts. That is something she can help with.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sphinx spreads out her fingers again. &amp;quot;Vorpal Missiles!&amp;quot; Multiple sparks of magic erupt from her fingertips and, being one of her equivilents to the classic 'Magic Missile', warp their pathes through the air to try and home in on Blackmore. Whichever part of him is closest for them to home in on. Their name comes from being so fast they're extremely hard to see in-flight, adding to their difficulty in being evaded.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Well Revali might see them coming in with his time dilating focus. But they're not targetted at him anyways.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Rean had a plan, and as he explained his approach and his doubts hearing what he had to offer Touta could at least reassure him that he wouldn't have to worry about the others. So as the young man cast his spell, letting out a wave of heat inorder to deal with the ice over a wide range, Touta's bringing out his hoop like he had done hours earlier as he whips up a frenzy of air. His idea was simple, using Revolution he'd try to manipulate the air currents to try and deal with the heat. focusing it more in a more condensed area rather than have it all expand at once. This'd actually more than likely slow down how much ice Rean was melting over a wide area but increase the how fast the ice was melting that ended up being caught up in those redirected air currents where his heat was being focused. As for the ground...Can't do much about that except hope the air currents mitigate it a bit and hope everyone's got shoes on. Besides....Sands already hot obviously!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Well obviously I wasn't talking to you!&amp;quot; Gilgamesh says at Yuuki. &amp;quot;Why would I say something like that to you?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But I can't exactly go, 'mongrels, but not Yuuki, she's not a mongrel.' The mongrels know who I'm talking to!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh waves his hand idly, then offers her space under the pavillion. &amp;quot;Dogs instinctively know their owners' voices, after all. They know when they're being called and referred to. If I call these dogs *mongrels*, they instinctively twitch, irritably, at hearing their master call them such. They growl, because they aren't housebroken, and they haven't been properly &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr&amp;quot;&amp;gt;beaten&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He leans back. &amp;quot;I wouldn't lump you in with such a thing as a matter of course.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You....you're smarter than you look...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His voice is low and calm as he speaks to Haguro, but there's frustration boiling underneath. Not at her, though. Not at all. Rather ... he gave off the distinct impression that he was furious with himself, for some reason. &amp;quot;But.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Y o u s h o u l d n ' t h a v e d o n e t h a t.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The pain in his leg alleviates as Haguro may begin to realize the core tenant behind his power. After all, rather than a man's leg, she's simply holding a long puddle of water reflecting the image of what had been there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The birds Mikoto sends are all exterminated in an instant as he freezes the water in the air and holds them there, just like he'd done to Jonathan. Only, unlike the giant englishman, the familiars didn't stop moving. And so, they were all ripped to bits.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Suicide By Raindrop&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; is what he'd taken to calling that particular application of his Stand. Attacks that seek him out come his way. But, at the last second, Blackmore disappears...no. Haguro can feel it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He just changes places with her. It's too late for any of those attacks to be redirected, though, Mikoto might be able to pull herself back at the last second as he fades out entirely, changing his whole self into living liquid that can exist in any state.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;From that perspective, the reactions of the stones made perfect sense. Finding him, a mass of water that could take any form in the rain, in a storm like this? It was a fool's errand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Worse yet, the storm ... changes, somehow, as if in response to the tactics employed by Rean and Touta. Blackmore, internally, felt his panic stifle. He felt bad that he couldn't accomplish this alone, but ultimately, that was fine. It's why he had help, after all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The rain, which besides his manipulation had been largely normal rainfall, no longer was such. It didn't change into vapor and steam..in other words, it wouldn't evaporate under heat any longer.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Warp Energy used by Damocles was dangerous. While he hesitated to leave Revali alone, he couldn't make even a single mistake with the magician. Transporting his leg as Damocles raised his staff, the disembodied limb appears underneath him and gives him a swift kick in the chin. Blackmore himself appeared directly infront of him after that, seemingly growing in a flash out of the leg so that he could grab onto the staff and attempt to wrench it from him. &amp;quot;I won't allow it!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz gets one heck of a response to her plan to try and find Blackmore is everywhere almost. The stone is doing a version of a compass spinning wildly. She pauses for a moment as it hits her he's kind of everywhere or is able to be everywhere. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;What the Falz?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; This is going to have to make him think outside the box if she's going to find something if he can be everywhere some sort of saturation attack? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Well it's the best shot she has to use some techs she's more for melee combat and knows this very well. She will launch several fireballs trying to pin Blackmore in a bit, for those better suited to such a takedown. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Sorry sir, I have a job to do here. Nothing personal!&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She lets several more Foie blasts rip at him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Lured into his reckless offensive stance, Damocles had left himself wide open for the strike to the face, and with the barrier around his head still weakened from the earlier stab, the kick is able to break through his shields again, catching him under the chin and sending the big man staggering back a bit.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Not only does this disrupt his terror spell, the weaving tendrils of magic evaporating into fog in the storm, but it also diverts his attention just enough that the Eye of Tzeentch, his personal staff, is wrenched from his hand before he can regain his balance.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles drops into a combative stance as he's suddenly in close range with the man, who is armed with his force staff.  &amp;quot;You've got some nice tricks,&amp;quot; Damocles admits evenly, before adding wryly, &amp;quot;So where are you?  The 'real you', I mean.&amp;quot;  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Without waiting for an answer, Damocles steps forward and throws a simple, low punch with all his strength at Blackmore.  Damocles doesn't have any real training in hand-to-hand fighting, but he does have considerable strength and speed, all of which he's putting into the punch.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Meanwhile, a strange thing would happen when Blackmore takes possession of the staff.  Very lightly, just past the edge of his hearing, he would start to hear a gentle whispering, as if someone very close to him were trying to tell him a very important secret, but he just couldn't *quite* make it out. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So the party is having an extraordinary (nay, `Bizarre`) time fighting this enemy Stand-user and his fetish-y Stand - which actually has fantastically unique powers - but Yuuki and Gilgamesh are having a Discussion.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well, now, that's not entirely correct. A dog knows its own name, but we are not dogs, are we? And when someone has the audacity - the temerity, if I'm thinking of the right word - to hurl insults in your direction, sometimes it's worthwhile to answer to that! Sometimes dispelling the fog, and finding clarity, is good. Also...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A rather jet-black 'wolf' without discernable eyes or most other features - blackness in the shape or silhouette of a fuzzy wolf - pads around Gilgamesh's throne.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;... Audacious tongues can say some foolish things in haste, can't they?&amp;quot; Yuuki grins, before raising her chalice of the King's liquor. &amp;quot;I'll accept your grace in advance, Gilgamesh, for sharing your liquor.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In a motion, she lightly tips Johnathan Joestar's chin up and pours some of the sun-warmed ambrosia Gilgamesh had shared with her down his throat. &amp;quot;Drink up, Johnathan. I have need of your excellence - this should clear that blockage in your throat.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto proceeds to get styled on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The birds fall, completely frozen, but that's something she can deal with.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As she swings, however, he fades and puts Haguro in the path.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She pulls her swing upwards, trying to send it off course and at the last second, just hairs from Haguro the blade stops.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Breathing heavily, and still bleeding she stares at the ship girl.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There was a little bit of fear there.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Fear that she couldn't quash because of what just happened.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her hands shaking, she turns away and looks for that old man again.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Now she's angry!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Well no, she's freaked out that she almost cut Haguro in half.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She's using anger to cover it up.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Between the storm and her own being put off by what just happens, she can't see where the old man even went.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali needs a moment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali gets his moment. He finds shelter from the rain, a moment to catch his breath, a moment to assess his various wounds and make sure he's not going to bleed out and die right then and there...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While others are fighting, he recovers, as best as he's able.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then he observes. He draws his bow - at normal speed, saving his hyperfocus for when it'll be more useful - and then knocks an arrow, and waits, and watches.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He takes note of the pattern of swapping, of who Blackmore targets and when...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His grip tightens on his drawn bowstring.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Time slows, at least inside Revali's head.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He makes his guess, and he takes his shot, not at where Blackmore appears, but where Revali guesses he's going to be next.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The oddly shaped arrow has a bulb at the end, not a point... but it's no less aerodynamic. However, when it lands, it doesn't cut - it explodes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It doesn't matter if it's raining. Bomb arrows will go off reliably even underwater.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That ominous warning goes unheeded by Haguro since... Well. Would anyone really be expected to actually heed an opponent's warning not to do something if they thought they were getting the upper hand? &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Of course not. That's why she's caught completely off guard when he leg becomes water becomes a reflection becomes her getting slashed and blasted in short sequence. She's not expecting either of those attacks to come where they're from, either, although she has enough sense to brace for impact without much mobility in the air to actually evade any of it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;At least it's not loud at the same time. Getting shot in the back by vorpal missiles draws a pained yell from the shipgirl, and she twists arund to land in a slump to give herself a chance to recover as her back sizzles with the searing magic pain coursing through her back. Arcadia doesn't get any dirty looks, at least, and Mikoto gets a slow thumbs up from Haguro in acknowledgment of not cutting her up, but she's biding her time as she looks for his next spot right away instead of dwelling on what happened. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Back to the rock. Another two taps, another long thought about Blackmore's left leg, and Haguro's chasing off after that marker this time! Instead of trying to grab it directly, though, she opts for a different approach if she finds it: This time around, she opens up her backpack to try and wrap it around his leg to trap it before thrashing around with that leg. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She started getting to a good diea, at least. Maybe it'll work out fine and not get her shot up again!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With Touta's help, Rean's plan works...for a moment. The rain starts acting up, not even getting stopped by the heat, and just continuing to pour down. Rean breaks off his casting, and then places his sword back in its sheath. He focuses again, opening his senses to see if he can track all the different pieces of Blackmore...though if there is someone else out there with the butler, they might just get caught in Rean's radar. His focus is on the butler, though, and once he tracks a piece that's close enough, he'll quickly unsheath his sword, sending an arc shaped wave in his direction.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There's a flicker of suppressed annoyance across Gilgamesh's face for a brief moment. It's just there for a moment as he tilts his head. &amp;quot;Hmph. Fine. I accept that that's true. It doesn't make me think any higher of them, but I accept that it's true that I sometimes must crush a dog's barking for fun, and so that conclusion isn't an entirely acceptable one.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; The black wolf gets an automatic sort of hold-out-and-scritch unless it directly rejects the King. Gilgamesh likes wild animals. He likes them a lot more than he likes most people. There's nothing 'petlike' about his manner - simply the recognition that animals, like humans, like demigods, like to be praised and rewarded. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Priscilla has been trying to get me to recognize these as people, too,&amp;quot; he says, somewhat irritably. &amp;quot;It's...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Unpleasant.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;All the rows and rows and rows of interchangeable dogs barking the same thing day in and day out. Most of them never learn. The few that do are worth some scattered applause. The ones that boldly challenge are worth remembering.&amp;quot; He waves his free hand. &amp;quot;But most of them are just contemptible.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He stares up at the pavillion. &amp;quot;Even so, she tries, she hopes, she believes.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His fingers go to the side of his head, like he has a headache. &amp;quot;I would like very much to believe. It tasks me still, to look at the world. Perhaps one day.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Still. The whole of the Multiverse knows that I don't insult those whose names I can remember, Yuuki Kuran. I would appreciate not being read as if I do.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Likewise. You have a truly terrifying power ... if I were any less aware, I'd have already ... hm?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Almost like a buzzing in the back of his head, Blackmore frowns. But he has no time to ruminate on the whispering that was ruining his focus, he had to react, now. Swishing his stolen staff to send a spray of water droplets towards the fireballs, he converted them into ice. But, the same phenomenon like with Rean and Touta, it didn't dissipate as the laws of physics dictated. It punched through the flame and put it out!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys herslef is now faced with a shotgun volley of ice bullets.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the meantime, a kind of nectar is poured down Jonathan's throat. Sweat and rainwater trickled down his face in equal measure, but .. sure enough, the blockage in his throat quickly begins to disappear! The ice, and the damage it had been causing disappeared in an instant and allowed him to breath. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Koooooooh....&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He filled himself up with ripple. His vital energy coursed through his blood stream and created waves of Hamon aura to begin wisping from his body. &amp;quot;Amazing! That liquid...somehow, it was able to completely get rid of that ice in my gullet. That Stand power...yes, it has to be what it is. It's overwhelming, but ... there's a trick to it. I'm positive, having been able to observe everything thus far. It's not just one enemy stand, but two!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;What's your plan, Miss Kuran? I'll do what I can!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blackmore, in the meantime, makes to disappear, the staff changing into water with him as he moves ...and is promptly shot by Revali.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Uwoooh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crying out in pain as he's sent to the ground, bouncing, and with several new burns and a broken bones, he gasps. &amp;quot;That bird-man ... he's figured it out! He doesn't understand how my ability works, but he must have realized how I've been prioritizing my targets!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With horror under his mask at his own failure, Blackmore grinds his teeth, thinking to himself. 'He realized that I'm targeting those closest to figuring out my ability, and forming countermeasures against it! Now that he's proven to himself he can predict my movement, I can't follow that pattern anymore .. if I do, he'll blow me to smithereens! Awooo....you bastard! How could this Blackmore be so foolish...I'll never forgive myself, and neither will my Master!'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The whispering was annoying him. And so frazzled he was, he didn't notice that Jonathan was no longer trapped as he had counted on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean, in the meantime, does detect someone. Someone close by, in fact, someone very nearby!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There were many workers here. But there was an aura of 'offness' around one particular group ... one of the six terrified looking men huddled in a makeshift shelter of pots, pans, and tin sheets didn't belong. That was what Rean's carefully trained intuition told him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Sorry Haguro. Placement swapping was not a teleportation she anticiapted!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's becoming clear that this unnatural rain was a bigger part of the issue. It's being controlled... Or is part of something in a more literal sense? Not just being used to attack, but to directly aid what Blackmore is doing.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The patterns were broader than the attack sequences she'd dealt with over the years, but on the wider scale they are still there.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Arcadia thinks hard for a moment... and remembers how the stormclouds reacted when Revali shot the lightning out of them. Like they were something more intimate than just a weather formation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Been focusing on the wrong target.&amp;quot; She scolds herself, and deploys several of her magitek bits and scatters them across the worksite. Though rather than make any direct attacks they orient themselves vertically and start to spin, not unlike tops, as they channel her wind magic. It doesn't take long for them to form small but powerful vortices. But they're still not being directed on Blackmore.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Instead Arcadia directs them at the actual storm overhead, attempting to use her minature cyclones to weaken the unnatural storm and how it's dispersed itself over the area. Maybe if she can break up even part of it she can reduce how effectively it is used to keep an upper hand over them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali nods to himself, satisfied.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot; he calls in response to Blackmore's monologue. &amp;quot;Whatever carefully laid plans you made here - you clearly did not count on the Champion of the Rito being here! Remember that for next time - Legendary Archer, Revali, has foiled your plot!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then with that boast delivered, he turns and runs, making his way through the tents again. That shot undoubtedly gave away his position, and he's increasingly not in the best of shape. The mental muscles he uses to hyperfocus need more time to recover than he's been giving them between uses, and he has the mother of all headaches coming on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Besides, if Blackmore's looking for him, that's less time he's spending focusing on the others...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles looks in shock as Blackmore dissolves to water along with the Eye of Tzeentch.  He had assumed that kind of thing would be impossible, and how that worked makes his mind race.  He doesn't have time to work out how that worked, though. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Because that son of a bitch just took his staff.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Alright.  Let's work this out.  He knows that guy teleports around.  Damocles also teleports around.  And having his staff does give Damocles one major advantage:  The Eye of Tzeentch positively *sings* with magical power.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once again, Damocles charges himself with Warp energy.  He doesn't immediately use it however, instead charging himself with energy.  His body crackles with power, arcs of violet energy shooting from his armor and his eyes, even without his hood up, can be seen glowing more and more ominously with violet power.  Damocles doesn't do anything with it right away, though.  He channels it.  And he waits.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Inside his head, he feels for the staff. He can sense magical energy, the energy of his own universe most of all.  He reckons that when Blackmore teleports, he needs at least a moment to reorientation himself before he can teleport again.   &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So he waits.  He waits for that moment, waiting for Blackmore teleport, and using his sense of magic to follow where his staff appears.  And if that happens, he launches that energy.  Blackmore seemed distressed by the raw energy of Damocles's universe before, so he channels it as thus:  A pillar of violet flame, pure Warpfire, to engulf Blackmore.  Typically Blackmore has been appearing next to a target, so he tries to keep the pillar tight, so as not to harm the person he teleports near, and to launch it off fast, before that person can counter-attack. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto comes down like a rocket towards Blackmore.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A shadow over her face, revealing only but the glowing green eyes of the Magical Girl as she focuses on nothing but this man.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Nearly hurt her friend, even if Haguro let it slide off, it was akin to stealing from her.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Haguro was /her/ friend, and he endangered that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If she manages to land on him, she repeatedly slashes at him, with enough force that the sand splits for a few feet passed each swing.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Even if he disappears she watches.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Aiming to doggedly pursue him so that he has no choice but to keep moving.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Maybe she won't hit him, but she can at least try and delay him so that others who can, can lay the blows needed on him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His senses don't help that much with targeting Blackmore it seems, but...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;One of these people doesn't belong.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean turns to look at the group of huddled archaeologists, and runs over, sword still drawn.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Alright. Which one of you is responsible for the rain?&amp;quot; Rean says, glaring down the entire group.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;W..what? What are you talking about?!&amp;quot; one of them shrieks, their voice high pitched. It's difficult to tell their gender. Shivering, the person holds their tin sheet to their chest, recoiling from Rean in panic. The rest of the group murmurs amongst themselves, shaken as well.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean's accusation is dead on the money, however. One of them is certainly the enemy. But with them shuffling back and bunched up like that it was hard to tell. It's not as if they were intentionally hiding someone, rather ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's just that whoever it was happened to be good at blending in, maybe. That didn't seem right either, though.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Johnathan-!&amp;quot; Yuuki gasps as the Gentleman Adventurer revives. &amp;quot;You've some powerful technique there! I had heard about it, but to be present is something entirely different!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;For a moment, she's like a very interested teenager, big !-filled eyes and starry expressions as she cna practically 'taste' the life energy the Ripple fills Johnathan with. As he asks for her plan, though, she nods firmly and with a deep determination. &amp;quot;Yes. I'd like you to show us the power of a deductive mind like yourself. Since Revali --&amp;quot; The flying archer issuing his taunts and whoops loudly in the campgrounds. &amp;quot;-- is certain to draw their attention, your mission is to make sure the one that appears to attack him is thwarted! He has some special skill with the bow that is sure to be able to defeat that Stand User. Then, the others can converge on destroying the other.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki winks, as she daps Johnathan on the bicep with her parasol-holding fist. &amp;quot;Plus, it'll give you a moment to show off your power for the King of Heroes. Wouldn't it be a good relationship to curry? A skilled explorer, and a man who knows about all the treasures? I'll go make your introduction.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She leaves, then, just going back to Gilgamesh's throne and pacing about it to lean against the side, watching things occur.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The black wolf-shape is highly receptive to scritches, easily taking to more vigorous pats like an archtypical canine, though Gilgamesh's restraint means the full rigamarole isn't engaged in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ah, Gilgamesh, that's very like Priscilla. And more credit for you, to try. I think that's the most attractive thing about some people. The chemistry between hearts, and souls.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki gains a half-lidded look, as she gazes from her leaning spot against the King's chair. &amp;quot;Gilgamesh.&amp;quot; Yuuki begins, her hair waving damply in the stormy conditons. &amp;quot;I don't hold a grain of sand in contempt for being a grain of sand. Even if it's annoying, ground against my skin, it's just a grain of sand. It isn't annoying by its nature: it's just annoying because it is temporarily in my presence. It's easy to forget, when it's gone. But even that can be pleasant - getting your toes and wiggling them in the stuff's fun though, isn't it? It's a good feeling, and one I had thought to try here, before this...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A gesture towards The Situation. &amp;quot;... all happened. And the rain. Now it'll be like putty.&amp;quot; Harrumphs the girl with her sunglasses on at night, a petulant 'pfffbt' at the whole madhouse.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Admire the seashells, because they could become beautiful bits of color, gorgeous natural things, or just be ground into more sand. That's what I think.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A light blush roses her cheeks as she laughs, bringing her fist to her lips. &amp;quot;Sorry. Zero took me to the beach a few weeks ago. It was very memorable.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Crys Gattz has earned herself an ice shotgun to the chest while her photon armour is able to take a lot out of it? It can't stop the entire force of the impact and Crys is knocked off her feet for one She's also torn up and bleeding from various points on her torso where the ice shards got through her armour and made short work of breaching her clothing and thus her body under it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's battered and bloody already, she's stubbornly hanging on she takes a cue from Damocles. While he says nothing he's clearly prepping a spell and likely holding it till Blackmore pops back in. Or that's what she's thinking. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She tracks where Blackmore is going to pop out next and she will add to Damocles's own assault but rather than fire she's going to hit him with lighting as she holds her own spell until he pops in once more.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro grits her teeth as her backpack ploy didn't get her anywhere, but she doesn't let it get her down as Blackmore retreats again. It's still progress! It takes her a while to catch on that one of the archaeologists is a mole for Blackmore, but that becomes more obvious when Rean outright confronts them. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Two and two get put together, and she shifts gears from pursuing Blackmore to sorting out which one of the six archeologists is the culprit. Joining him besides the archeologists, the burnt and bloodied tourist with a revolver approaches the group with a thoroughly done expression on her face. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;We don't have time for a full investigation, so we'll skip to the important part.&amp;quot; She holds that blase expression with only moderate difficulty as she levels that gun at the group, firing two shots dangerously close to their heads to see if that gets any of the archaeologists to reveal themselves or behave particularly bravely. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The brave ones get left alone. If the culprit reveals themself, her work is done and all that's left is unloading the rest of her revolver into their limbs! If not, the rest of the archaeologists get aimed shots at the ankles. She's banking on /something/ happening if she has to go that far!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Several of them scream, the androgynous looking one faints, even. But one doesn't react like he's supposed to. Rather, he reacts too late, mimicing the scream of the man beside him. &amp;quot;...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Naturally, he's singled out as soon as this is recognized. His entire demeanor shifts...no, its more accurate to say that his whole body shifts along with it as he pulls his shirt off. He'd been the same worker who'd approached Damocles before, but now ... his dull, bluish gray hair hung down unrestrained and his broad, defined chest and abdominals exposed with tattoos of various sea creatures. Like starfish, crabs, and dolphins. &amp;quot; ... so I've been had. Ugh. I want to blame Blackmore, but ... the reality is that Joestar just came too prepared. Fate must have conspired against us today, how awful.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His voice is dead and devoid of anything. Any feeling at all. And Rean ... Rean doesn't feel anything from him. That was the aberration he'd noticed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A 'void' in his perimeter. &amp;quot;My name is Mariner, and now that I've been discovered .... how will you approach me? Are you within my effective range yet? Just what abilities do I have, anyway?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Even if you riddle me full of holes, it might be the last mistake you ever make.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Nodding, Jonathan gives a small smile. &amp;quot;You flatter me. Very well, I'll leave sorting out the tresspasor to the others and make my way to Revali. After all, the reason he made sure to disable me first is because ... &amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;The rain benefits me, too.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan quickly jogs off after Revali. The rainstorm was practically a monsoon, now, so it was getting dangerous for anyone to take to the air.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Bringing the staff up, Blackmore uses it to block Makoto's furious onslaught. Blood gushes out of his side...the wound she gave him earlier re-appeared! &amp;quot;Gh..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He winds up dropping the staff as he tries to maneouver around her to take it back, only for his instinct to roar at him. &amp;quot;... !&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Pulling back at the last second, Blackmore raises his decrepit, rotting left arm which had returned to him. It took a terrible fate for him once more and was caught in the blast of Warpfire!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Thinking quickly, Blackmore withdraw his rapier and with a swift motion, he slashed off his own arm at the bicep. &amp;quot;N......ngaaaah! It huuuuurts!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He couldn't help but cry miserably in a panic, before discarding even his rapier. With his quick wit, he managed to save himself from being fried to a crisp by the lightning blast by tossing his weapon in its path, left stuck in the ground, the rapier acted as a lightning rod to suck the electrical attack in while Blackmore fled.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His target was obvious. Revali, in his haste, steps into a muddy puddle of sand as he retreats for a new position.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's from this puddle that he appears, the ice in front of Revali freezing and holding in the air, effectively trapping him. If he kept going, he was going to put himself through a blender, after all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;But, Blackmore couldn't help but feel as though he forgot something critical. &amp;quot;Hmph. Champion of the Rito was it ... I see. Yes, I'll grant you this. You bested me. But I will erase that stain on my reputation by killing you right here!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Kooooh...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;'Wait! Jonathan Joestar...where is he?! Wasn't he stuck by that golden man?! ---- !!!!!'&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_b bg_n ++ hub&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;quot;TURQOUISE BLUE OVERDRIVE!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The water evaporates in a 10 meter radius entirely, turning into motes of bright blue Hamon particles as Jonathan launches a sparkling blast at Blackmore, sending him flying in a tailspin from the revolutionary properties of his Hamon. Jonathan had gone easy with the amount of Hamon he pumped into the man, having not wanted to stop his heart ... but.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Even if it was just momentarily, he'd sucked up the rain. It would take several more seconds for the monsoon to resume in that small circle of now clear air he made.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And as a result, Blackmore could not activate his stand, exposed. &amp;quot;Not good..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And now it's done to one! Haguro reloads her weapon calmly as Mariner reveals himself, It's at that point she's not quite sure how to approach the mystery man safely. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Perhaps it's time to try something she's seen more confident and smarter people do: Bluff her ass off. When Mariner throws out those questions and issues those warnings, Haguro doesn't flinch or show concern. Instead, she sighs, then starts approaching him casually with her revolver tucked back into her vest, an empty water bottle in her hand, and the other hand twirling that sunhat idly. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Mister Mariner, you're trying too hard to be cryptic about nothing. If you wanted to leave something to imagination, you could have stopped three sentences ago without giving yourself away.&amp;quot; As she walks, her hat falls through her hand to the ground, and she doesn't bother picking it back up as she keeps approaching Mariner. Unless he physically stops her from doing so, she just walks right past him and tosses the water bottle into her hat. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hopefully, that'll distract Mariner enough for Rean to figure something out before Haguro gets stabbed in the back or something!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto does not stop, even when she has the upper hand.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Though when she swings, he moves once more.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She pauses, looking around trying to find that man again.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She wasn't done with him, not by a long shot.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Even the failed attempt to swap with her doesn't seem to phase her.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Right now she wants to hurt this man.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Finally, she turns to notice Blackmore completely exposed.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Jojo creating an area of clear weather.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Which gives her an opportunity.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She leaps, the flight pack borrowed from Tanya giving her some height before she comes down like a rock.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Her leg aiming to land on his chest, while her sword aiming to embed itself into his remaining shoulder.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She doesn't kill him, not yet, because he might have information.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Her head turns towards Yuuki as if to ask if they even need him alive.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mariner's face is totally dead and emotionless. His tone belies nothing. But even so, he doesn't move. Not an inch. It's strange. As long as Haguro doesn't do anything to him, he's content to just stand there, staring at them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Of course, it becomes immediately apparent why. 'Blackmore, you idiot.' he thinks, dully.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Because without the rain from Mariner's &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ocean Man&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; ... Blackmore's &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Catch The Rainbow&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; could not activate.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The tattooed assassin who had merely been born 'wrong' could only hope that these two didn't catch on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7222|Revali (7222)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A puddle! No!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Revali stops dead in his tracks. He saw what happened to those other birds.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He doesn't pay attention to what the man's saying, trying desperately to think of a way out of this. Is there a way without moving? He can't- wait, Jonathan-&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And suddenly Revali is free, and the target is right in front of him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Hyperfocus.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Nock arrow.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Draw back.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Aim. Release.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Repeat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Repeat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Repeat.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Rito Champion collapses, both his stamina and his quiver spent. But a dozen arrows, three each for each of Blackmore's limbs, should be enough, right?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles takes a heavy breath and wipes some sweat from his forehead.  It takes a lot to tire him, but trying to contain Warp energy like that for any amount of time is a massive strain on the body, and something he would never normally recommend.  He'd been annoyed though. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He sees his staff get dropped, and reaches a hand out towards it immediately.  Called by an unspoken spell, his staff leaps from the ground into the air, and flies with startling speed towards him.  He catches it easily in the air, swings it around a couple times, and nods, satisfied.  Fortunately for most people, Blackmore didn't understand the true powers the staff contains, or that could have been a lot worse.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Still, Damocles takes the moment to recover.  He channels energy slowly through the staff to repair his broken barrier spell, renewing his shields to full strength, and drags a finger slowly over the gash on his face, which begins to visibly mend itself under his touch.  Both of those done, he starts slowly strolling towards where Blackmore and Joestar are faced off.  Given that guy's situation, he only has two options available to him.  Surrender or trump card.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles gets close, but not too close, so he can help counter if the guy goes for the second option. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki picks up her gaze. &amp;quot;What? No, they attacked us without even issuing challenge, do whatever you want.&amp;quot; She answers Mikoto. &amp;quot;Johnathan can decide - it's his dig. I'm just helping!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Blackmore keeps going, though it's clear they have him having to focus on dealing with their attacks than attacking back, finally, Jojo is back in the game, and he gives them an opening. An opening that will give them a brief moment to attack. She stops with the magic and does what she does best charge Blackmore timing it to follow on the trial of Revail's arrow barrage, she fires a few energy shots from her Ruby Bullet as she goes close to melee range and get in a slash or two with her photon sabre before she'll break off backflipping away to get out of the line of fire, of everyone else.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:6994|Rean Schwarzer (6994)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean flinches a bit at Haguro's warning shots, but she was right, they didn't have time for this. Besides, it worked, revealing the man's ruse right away...and Rean quickly realized WHY this corner felt weird.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There was /nothing/ in this man. Nothing to sense, just emptiness in his essence. He doesn't even move when Haguro starts to approach him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rean crouches low, and then rushes forwards, trying to knock this 'Mariner' off his feet and pin him to the ground.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whatever technique Jonathan did leaves Blackmore high and dry, almost literally. There is no time to question it, just take advantange of situation. Oppritunity knocks, and Arcadia kicks the door down.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Fortunately since she's using her attack bits she can work around other people moving in on the man. She directs the bits towards Blackmore while compressing the air streams flowing from them as tightly as possible and releasing. The result is something akind to a half dozen compressed air cannons firing at once, producing enough concussive force to hopefully knock the man down while he's vulnerable.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Honestly she'd agree with some of the other people, but it's JoJo's show, if he wants the man to question, she'll accomidate as long as it doesn't bring a greater risk.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So for now she's just using the spells that make people fall down. Because high powered wind.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Gilgamesh actually blushes a little. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It's a very rare sight. Normally, he is a very imperious person, worthy of the title of the King of Heroes, a distant and beautiful and perfect alien *thing* more god than man. But he comes down on the side of humanity because at the end of the day he is still partially one of them, and it is right here, as he's praised for trying, as he realizes what he said aloud about Priscilla, that that shows clearly. He is still, for all the world, a young man, and a young man in love, and it is nice to hear from your girlfriend(?)'s best friend that you make a good match. That you *trying* is in fact worthwhile, and not just an endless parade of frustrations as you watch the people you try for stumble and fall. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; It takes him a few moments to finally say, &amp;quot;...I can fix the sand when the rain is done,&amp;quot; because he can do that, he can sweep away the mud and bring back the sand. And then, as his blush dies down and that imperious face returns, and he lowers his hand back against his cheek and closes his eyes, he says, &amp;quot;Maybe.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;But I am a symbol. I have said as much before. I am the mountain that humans cannot climb but make themselves greater for the attempt. If I lowered myself, allowed myself that...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He shakes his head, and his eyes open, and he resumes scritching the wolf. &amp;quot;No. It's not important. Not right now.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Some other time.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He drums his free hand on the arm of the throne. &amp;quot;...I always liked swimming. I did a lot of it in the rivers. A lot of it in the ocean, though rarely for pleasure. The ocean was never a place I swam for pleasure. Only to kill things worse than other things.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;In truth I like river and lakesides more than oceansides. Something about the running water reminds me of Babylon. The beating water of the ocean is not nearly so calming.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mariner stares at Rean blankly. He doesn't panic, but, he accepts there's nothing he can do. That's just the kind of Stand he has. &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ocean Man&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; is a natural disaster ...but its effect is only truly dangerous when he's subjected to the area of effect as well. As a long range autonomous stand, it acted mostly outside of his control.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A mindless thing going through the motions. There couldn't be a more fitting Stand for someone like this.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His bluff was called, and Rean successfully defeats Mariner in a flash. As soon as he goes down, the raging wind dies down. The rain stops, and the rainclouds vanish as if they were never there to begin with, as if it were all a mirage.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;STAND USER: MARINER&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;STAND NAME: OCEAN MAN&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;RETIRED&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Skewered by arrows, Blackmore began to stumble back, only for Mikoto to pin him to the ground, planting her sword firmly into his shoulder. With the disappearance of &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ocean Man&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;, his own Stand disappeared from his face, leaving his young face exposed for all to see. Despite his stature, he was a young man no older than twenty at most, tears streaking from his eyes and a look of horrid despair on his face. Not for the pain he suffered, but, because he had failed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;What a terrible boy he was, after Master had taken him in so kindly ... and he failed him in his most important hour. Despicable. He wished they would just cut off his head and save him the disgrace.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan approaches. &amp;quot;Thank you, everyone..this would have gone terribly without all of you. Now ... Blackmore.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan grimaces. &amp;quot;I'll heal your wounds with my Hamon. If I don't, with certainty...you'll die. Either from the trauma of those air cannons and all the battering your insides have taken otherwise, or the blood loss from your other injuries.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;BAM!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I refuse.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Jonathan Joestar. You cannot understand the debt I owe to my Master, or the love I have for him. I've dishonored him enough today.&amp;quot; he rasps, the gap in his teeth whistling as he sucked in air.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Suddenly, and abruptly, before anything else can be said, his eyes begin to buldge. &amp;quot;M-Master...so you're punishing me...afterall...uwooooh!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In a bloody slurry, Blackmore's head explodes, leaving a terrible squid monster in its place, screeching. The same thing was happening with Mariner, too!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;G..good god! Take this, OVERDRIVE!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;With a karate chop, Jonathan vaporizes the first creature with a surge of crackling life energy. The one that popped Mariner's head and killed him instantly was left squirming in the desert sunlight, however, as Rean's shadow didn't stretch far enough to protect it like Jonathan's had for the first one. It burned away like ash.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles wishes he could say this was the first time he'd seen a guy's head explode when a tiny eldritch monster burst out of it. He really does.  But it really isn't.  Still wasn't how he was expecting this day to end, though.  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Still, that wraps up this fight cleanly.  He brushes himself off, checks over his staff to make sure there's no lingering weirdness on it, and heads over to rejoin the others. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well, I'm sure you're dying to answer every little bit of lingering questions about THAT.  But, before the Q&amp;amp;amp;A, might I suggest we go grab what we came here for before some sneaky jerk slips in and makes off with it?&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7213|Arcadia (7213)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Squids popping out of heads to kill them. Okay, that is visceral and pretty freaking weird, even by the standards Arcadia normally deals with. Jojo's explaination... doesn't do much to dampen that impression.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Did that just happen?&amp;quot; The sphinx makes a disgusted expression. &amp;quot;That's just sick and wrong.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The magitek options are no longer required so she deactivates and recalls them.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:518|Yuuki Kuran (518)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I lived in snowy mountains and forests most of my life. I could take the train to other places, but that was where I lived. I remeber looking up the mountains, and wondering if there was more snow up those peaks, or if past the clouds was some sort of heaven. A sparkling, glimmering place.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I think it's in my nature to see mystery and imagine the best in things. But what I think you should take away: is that even a mountain is allowed a secret life, above the clouds. Priscilla is someone who you can't say is below the clouds for you, so, this is your opportunity even for the mountain to have a glittering mystery under the stars.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Yuuki lifts her chalice and tilts it to her lips, gulping down the last of Gilgamesh's ambrosic liquor, placing the cup on the arm of his throne. &amp;quot;Your wine is very good, Gilgamesh. Thank you for sharing!&amp;quot; She beams.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;No matter how fine, beautiful, or well-worked the cup is - it's not Yuuki's. It wasn't gifted to her. So she returns it without question.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I think rivers and lakes are nice, but I much prefer to skate on them. But ice and snow are homey to me, so I suppose that's a given.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Finally, she looks to the wrap-up of the fight - and Jonathan's use of the Hamon. &amp;quot;I think 'dreamlike' is right, though. About Jonathan? His power is *mesmerising*, but perhaps it is becuase it is a power of the 'sun'. Like a warm blanket. I'm the terrible sort of monster who sleeps with the sunrise, though.&amp;quot; Yuuki laughs.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:7002|Mikoto Shimizu (7002)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Mikoto twists the blade before she pulls it out and walks away.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She needed that last one because she wasn't going to get to make him pay.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Oh well, but she at least doesn't mind.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's Jojo's call, in the end, and can appreciate those who have a less pragmatic way of dealing with things.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;He even goes to heal him, to which he refuses.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He goes on about his master, and then...well horror.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She stares at it, hands trembling for a moment as she tries some breaths to calm her down.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Ok, it's fine.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Fuck whoever sent that guy.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Holy shit, nobody should ever work for that FEMA abusing asshole.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1099|Gilgamesh (1099)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;My wine is the best,&amp;quot; Gilgamesh says idly as he picks up the goblet and stares at it. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;That's...not incorrect. She is...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;...the very first person I have ever truly been able to love. That in and of itself is a mystery.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; There's another bit of color on his face as the goblet vanishes. The various stones Gilgamesh lent out to people also vanish, turning to gold sparkles and trailing off into nothingness. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He stands up. The throne, the pavillion, the statues, the whole thing just vanishes into sparkles that trail along behind him as they fade out, a golden halo for a golden king's golden frame. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He stops next to Jonathan. He does not look at the man. He snaps his fingers, and his black coat and pants surge into being around him. His hand is already in his pocket. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;I'll be expecting my arrows when they're found,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;I don't care if you keep one or two as payment, but hold out on me, and there will be trouble, Jonathan Joestar.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; He puts a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His grip is indeed that of an ancient god-king. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; His hand trails off Jonathan's shoulder as he walks off, whistling the tune to Walk Like An Egyptian. Apparently it got stuck in his head.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Ah, right ... he took something from one of the workers.&amp;quot; Jonathan murmurs, reaching down to search Blackmore's corpse. In the end, the 'key' wasn't what one would expect.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;All the rain had cleaned it up nicely, washing away the crusted dirt and debris and revealing the golden Rhinoceros Beetle in all of its glory. &amp;quot; ... ?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And so they're left with a single treasure under blinding heat that was already drying them off from the monsoon, knee deep in mud and short roughly five workers. It didn't bode well for the rest of their Adventure.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sensation on his shoulder was tight, uncomfortably so, but his musculature held strong. In a way, it was about as close to a very firm handshake as you'd probably get out of Gilgamesh; especially with the solemn warning he's delivered. &amp;quot;Yes, that's fine with me. As long as he doesn't have them, it's all I can ask for.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_w bg_n ++ huw&amp;quot;&amp;gt;TO BE CONTINUED...&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's a grim fate, but soon the attackers are no more. She's been in the sector for a very long time, and it's rare for her to see something his gruesome. She doesn't look away but she does shake her head as she banishes her weapons. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;If any of the work crew need healing I can help...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; She's going to need a healer herself from the looks of things, but she's still on the clock after all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:7234|Damocles (7234)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Damocles leans over to look at the recovered artifact.  It's not what was expected, but Damocles definitely knows enough to not write it off.  He inspects it carefully without trying to take it away from Joestar, in particular looking for any magical resonance .  &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Well, 'cephalopops', whoever he is, thought this shiny bug here was worth spending two minions on.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16176</id>
		<title>Sengo Muramasa</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=16176"/>
				<updated>2020-01-01T06:25:41Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Sengo Muramasa&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=6593&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Pseudo-Servant&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=Fate/Metastasis-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=OFC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Servant Saber&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Paladins&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=Chevaliers&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=The heart of the sword is right here! Take this -- my Tsumugari Muramasa!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=63&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=187cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=78kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Red&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Gold&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Noriaki Sugiyama&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRdUmJ7tMVk EMIYA Ver. Shimousa]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=Appearing as a fearless youth with deep red hair, Muramasa is a pseudo-servant formed from the body of Shirou Emiya and the abnormal heroic spirit, Sengo Muramasa. Together, they form Servant Saber -- although he still identifies himself as Muramasa the Swordsmith, his situation is such that he's not entirely either or. He's aware of which memories belong to which part of himself, but the ego of the two have merged completely and seamlessly, as the compatibility between the two of them is close to one hundred percent. Muramasa is an extraordinary swordsman, as befitting his class, as well as a blacksmith renowned for making one-of-a-kind swords that would later become legends themselves. He is a very kind man with a strong and uncompromising sense of morals, and a disdain for destiny and human evil. At the same time, his way of speaking is painfully blunt, absent of any sort of tact, he often comes across as a rude person. As well, Muramasa has a bad habit of butting in on the affairs of others due to being a somewhat impulsive person.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Trace On, Trigger Off:&lt;br /&gt;
Shirou Emiya possesses a very special form of magic called 'Tracing' that allows him to copy the physical blueprints, history, and magical properties of objects. In other words, it's something that works a lot like psychometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Power Copy - 1: Sengo is capable of obtaining the accumulated history of most weapons he is able to touch or spend long enough staring at, stealing the owner's techniques and gaining knowledge on how to re-create the weapon in question.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Muramasa:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo's sword that he created to perform a single technique, it is both a demonic sword and a divine sword.&lt;br /&gt;
*Anti-Healing: Part of Tsumugari Muramasa's ability allows it to prevent the recovery of things that it severs.&lt;br /&gt;
Bane - Eastern Tradition Creatures: Tsumugari Muramasa is a sword that is particularly effective against the supernatural entities found in Eastern folklore. &lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping: The special attack of his sword, a powerful slashing attack that leaves behind a gouge in the earth, and can even destroy things like pocket dimensions or false realities.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Blade-Testing Art:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo Muramasa's sword style that started as the most simple stances required to test the weapons he created, to ensure their adequate functionality. He takes something of an MMA approach to swordsmanship.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Sword: Sengo can use practically any weapon that could qualify as a 'sword' as if he'd spent his whole life mastering it. Intuitively, he understands the best way to use any sword in his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
Improbable Defense: So long as he has a sword in hand, he can use various techniques nullify damage to himself using his weapon; but a barrage of attacks would be difficult to defend against.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged: Some techniques that Sengo can use allow him to use his sword to create wind-blades to attack from a distance, or he could use thrown weapons like knives or short-swords.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Unlimited Blade Works:&lt;br /&gt;
Shirou Emiya's reality marble, a magical spell that would form over the course of his life. However, as Muramasa, the nature of the spell has changed into an ability to gather information.&lt;br /&gt;
*Analysis: The bladework allows Sengo to sympathize with the weapon and store a perfect memory of it inside of itself. This allows Sengo to quickly ascertain the history, structure, and materials used in construction of weapons and objects around him.&lt;br /&gt;
Extraordinary Senses: Being capable of sympathizing with objects greatly enough to discern information from them, it gives him a form of 'sixth sense' in battle, as he can mildly predict their attacks.&lt;br /&gt;
Buffs: By reading the structure of a weapon, if he has it in his hands, he can fill it with magical energy to enhance it. E.g. a sword would become sharper and more durable.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Territory Creation EX:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo's workshop, as both a blacksmith and a mage, is wherever he is. As his entire workshop follows him around, anywhere he stops for the night will be somewhere he can access his tools to create swords, magical or not.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Power: By creating equipment at his workshop, Saber can forge special weapons and armor for other people, provided the necessary materials exist.&lt;br /&gt;
Repair: Using the tools of his workshop and a magic spell, Sengo can repair things from broken magic swords to modern day machinery in anywhere from several minutes to a day's worth of work.&lt;br /&gt;
(Field Shaping: Anywhere he stops by for a little bit of rest will begin transforming into his workshop, with tools, items, and subtle magical defenses seemingly appearing as if they were always there.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pseudo-Servant:&lt;br /&gt;
Muramasa is the result of a human mage being possessed by a dead blacksmith, giving him many boons in exchange for fusing his mind with Muramasa's.&lt;br /&gt;
Superhumanity: Muramasa boasts incredible physical ability, giving him superb speed, strength, and endurance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Muramasa is very agile and acrobatic, capable of performing wall runs and mid-air flips. His jumping distance is great, and he is capable of controlling himself well mid-air.&lt;br /&gt;
Resistance - Magic: Muramasa has a modest degree of magic resistance, allowing him to resist some spells or magical ailments.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=House Husband:&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps as a carryover from his life as Shirou Emiya, some of his most enjoyed hobbies are forms of menial household labor.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - Cooking: One of Muramasa's personal joys is to cook, being able to cook even difficult dishes like Osechi, and can identify how a dish was made after tasting it.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - House-Keeping: As an expert of household chores, Muramasa can turn a filthy flat into an orderly living space, or even make a run-down shack presentable overnight.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Compulsive Obsessions &amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya wanted to be a hero who could save everyone; of course, he knew that was impossible. But it didn't matter if it wasn't possible to do so, it's never about what's at the end of the road -- what mattered to him was the road he walked on to begin with. This warped perspective still exists within Muramasa as a compulsion to make himself helpful, above and beyond what would be reasonable. If he can save even one life by putting his own on the line, he will do so regardless of his situation. Both Shirou Emiya and Sengo Muramasa are individuals defined by their obsessive natures -- a single-minded pursuit of one goal. This kind of behavior has only been compounded by their fusion, as Muramasa slaves tirelessly despite his earnest and kind nature, to create his perfect sword. To hone his perfect technique. This very obsession is what causes him to create only bloodthirsty demon swords.  While aspects of Shirou's personality tempered Muramasa, it's not as if he didn't have his own quirks. Their lives and mindsets were 'incredibly similar' after all, so one of them being a twisted person would mean the other should be, too. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Evaporation of Piety &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In relation to his desire for severing himself from fate, Muramasa despises the greater powers. His desire to create his perfect Muramasa comes from the deeper wish to escape the influence of others and act purely on his own willpower. In this way, you could say that Shirou Emiya's optimism and determination to carry through an impossible, eternal dream has improved his condition, turning what would ordinarily be a crippling mental deficiency into something relatively manageable. As a result, he get along poorly with deities, religious people, or people who believe things like karma and destiny are inescapable. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Women &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya was simultaneously horrible and amazing when it came to the women in his life. After all, how could he ever believe someone would love him? As someone who didn't value his own self at all, it didn't make sense for others to care for something that had no intrinsic value. Sengo Muramasa had no such problem in life, but fusing with Shirou Emiya has made it a very complicated affair for both of them, leaving Saber torn between Sengo Muramasa's long dead family and Shirou Emiya's tragically complicated love life. Sadly, even being influenced by a family man isn't enough to make his interactions with the fairer sex any less disastrous as he almost always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Yamato-damashii &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: As a Japanese Heroic Spirit, Sengo Muramasa takes pride in representing his home -- a simple blacksmith manifesting as a Servant is a great honor, indeed. And while his nature is to an extent, humble, he comes from a time where the cultural values of Japanese men ran strong. Even someone as gentle and cultured as himself is no different. Almost always, he does his best to live up to the standards of the Muromachi period; to live honorably, and lawfully. His mental deficiencies in this regard make jabs at his roots incredibly effective in provoking him into fights he otherwise would try and talk his way out of. It's only natural to defend your honor and the honor of your countrymen, after all, at least that's how Sengo Muramasa would see things.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Man's Sanctuary &amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Shockingly, Muramasa's 'man-cave' as it were is in fact, the kitchen. Whether this is a trait he had in life or influence from Shirou Emiya is unclear, but it's a very rare circumstance for him to tolerate other cooks in his own little slice of heaven. There are three things that irritate Saber in every day life -- messy people, ill-prepared food, and cooks he isn't familiar with.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16133</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16133"/>
				<updated>2019-12-22T00:34:42Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/kiseki/images/2/29/Crow_Armbrust_-_S-Craft_%28Sen%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170723202102&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16112</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16112"/>
				<updated>2019-12-14T19:43:46Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16111</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16111"/>
				<updated>2019-12-14T19:43:25Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16110</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16110"/>
				<updated>2019-12-14T19:41:47Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16109</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16109"/>
				<updated>2019-12-14T19:41:04Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16108</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16108"/>
				<updated>2019-12-14T19:40:30Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16107</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16107"/>
				<updated>2019-12-11T04:54:48Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Watch&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M - Blue Destination&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
*Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16106</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16106"/>
				<updated>2019-12-11T04:53:06Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Unaffiliated&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Sen no Kiseki II: Blue Destination&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
*Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16105</id>
		<title>Crow Armbrust</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Crow_Armbrust&amp;diff=16105"/>
				<updated>2019-12-11T04:51:57Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{CharacterRedux |NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust |Color=#0099FF |Char_id=7145 |Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png |FullName=Crow Armbrust |Gend...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=7145&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_sen1.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Crow Armbrust&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Shady Upperclassman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Unaffiliated&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=Looks like it's old Crow to the rescue, huh?&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=Teenager&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=5'11&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=85kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=White&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Red-Brown&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Charger Tomlee / Takahiro Sakurai&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=&amp;lt;a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M&amp;gt;Sen no Kiseki II: Blue Destination&amp;lt;/href&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A commoner that attends Thors Military Academy, Crow is a flippant young man in tumultuous times. He treats his underclassmen with care and makes sure no one works themselves too hard, to the point of being a bad influence. But when it's all down to the wire, he gives it a hundred and ten percent, and for his friends he'd do almost anything. Crow is far from blind to the harsh realities of the world and takes it in relative stride, opting to enjoy what time he has as a student while it lasts. Having come from the Jurai Special Economic Zone, he's seen the ugliest side of life in the Empire and that leaves him bitter in a way that can't be described, that hangs over his whole life. Even so, he does his best to show his support for Class VII and those who show themselves to have a good future ahead of them, as despite his shortcomings he has a good heart in his chest and a strong sense of personal values.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Jack Of Some Trades&lt;br /&gt;
Crow specializes in several methods of combat, not sacrificing the efficiency of his skill in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Lances: Crow can wield polearms with great dexterity and grace, able to use them like they were an extension of his own self.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Dual Small Arms: He is also capable of wielding small arms in a kind of martial art to fight at close or long range and make calculated trick shots to catch foes off-guard.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Melee: With a combination of martial arts and bladework, Crow is capable of attacking with rapid flurries of stabs and cuts and magically charged strikes.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=ARCUS Combat Orbment&lt;br /&gt;
A device that allows Crow to use a form of magic called Arts; the kinds of Arts available are dependent on the quartz crystals used.&lt;br /&gt;
*Attack List - Ranged, Temporal Acceleration: Crow specializes in Time Arts, able to attack with a variety of phantom projectiles as well as accelerate time for himself or others.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Powers: Combat Orbments have the function to cast buffs onto either the user or other targets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Schoolyard Roguery:&lt;br /&gt;
Even besides his training at a Military Academy, Crow has a penchant for fighting underhandedly, relying on a combination of wits, tools and agility.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Crow is a highly agile fighter with excellent footwork and techniques that allow him to quickly make or cover ground.&lt;br /&gt;
Debilitation, (Attack List - Ranged): Crow also uses special bullets or bombs to gain an edge in combat, e.g. magic bullets that can freeze or shock, or a grenade that expels poisonous smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Mysterious Mask&lt;br /&gt;
Crow has another side to himself, hiding many of his true feelings from his friends.&lt;br /&gt;
Disguise: In order to separate his life as a student from his other duties, Crow masks himself with an alter ego.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From Nothing To Something&lt;br /&gt;
Crow is an orphan who had a tough life before enrolling at Thors, but he was able to grit and overcome it all.&lt;br /&gt;
Survival Skills: Due to his upbringing and later training at the academy, Crow is capable of making it out in the wilderness even in relatively extreme conditions. He could make himself at home even in a warzone.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Troublemaker&lt;br /&gt;
Crow presents himself as a slacker and a bad influence to deflect from his internal struggles. Having led the life of an orphan after his home was annexed by the Erebonian Empire, Crow has an anger inside and a bone to pick. Political issues of the sort can rattle his cage and, with a shaken composure, he's quick to resolve himself to violence. His friends are his tethers and what make the persona of 'Crow, the unreliable upperclassman' real, so to speak, but his mask is fragile and it doesn't really take much to crack it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As his mental posture disappears, Crow is more prone to letting on more than he should and acting out of line without regard for the existing stakes, e.g. disregarding orders in the heat of the moment or otherwise picking unwise fights of either the physical or verbal nature, a trait that has bitten him in the rear more times than he can count. Without his facade, Crow reveals more than he'd like to show anyone, an angry young man lashing out regardless of consequence.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=15848</id>
		<title>Sengo Muramasa</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=15848"/>
				<updated>2019-03-31T00:03:37Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Sengo Muramasa&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=6593&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Pseudo-Servant&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=Fate/Metastasis-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=OFC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Servant Saber&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Paladins&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=Chevaliers&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=The heart of the sword is right here! Take this -- my Tsumugari Muramasa!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=63&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=187cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=78kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Red&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Gold&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Noriaki Sugiyama&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=EMIYA (Ver. Shimosa)&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=Appearing as a fearless youth with deep red hair, Muramasa is a pseudo-servant formed from the body of Shirou Emiya and the abnormal heroic spirit, Sengo Muramasa. Together, they form Servant Saber -- although he still identifies himself as Muramasa the Swordsmith, his situation is such that he's not entirely either or. He's aware of which memories belong to which part of himself, but the ego of the two have merged completely and seamlessly, as the compatibility between the two of them is close to one hundred percent. Muramasa is an extraordinary swordsman, as befitting his class, as well as a blacksmith renowned for making one-of-a-kind swords that would later become legends themselves. He is a very kind man with a strong and uncompromising sense of morals, and a disdain for destiny and human evil. At the same time, his way of speaking is painfully blunt, absent of any sort of tact, he often comes across as a rude person. As well, Muramasa has a bad habit of butting in on the affairs of others due to being a somewhat impulsive person.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Trace On, Trigger Off:&lt;br /&gt;
Shirou Emiya possesses a very special form of magic called 'Tracing' that allows him to copy the physical blueprints, history, and magical properties of objects. In other words, it's something that works a lot like psychometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Power Copy - 1: Sengo is capable of obtaining the accumulated history of most weapons he is able to touch or spend long enough staring at, stealing the owner's techniques and gaining knowledge on how to re-create the weapon in question.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Muramasa:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo's sword that he created to perform a single technique, it is both a demonic sword and a divine sword.&lt;br /&gt;
*Anti-Healing: Part of Tsumugari Muramasa's ability allows it to prevent the recovery of things that it severs.&lt;br /&gt;
Bane - Eastern Tradition Creatures: Tsumugari Muramasa is a sword that is particularly effective against the supernatural entities found in Eastern folklore. &lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping: The special attack of his sword, a powerful slashing attack that leaves behind a gouge in the earth, and can even destroy things like pocket dimensions or false realities.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Blade-Testing Art:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo Muramasa's sword style that started as the most simple stances required to test the weapons he created, to ensure their adequate functionality. He takes something of an MMA approach to swordsmanship.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Sword: Sengo can use practically any weapon that could qualify as a 'sword' as if he'd spent his whole life mastering it. Intuitively, he understands the best way to use any sword in his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
Improbable Defense: So long as he has a sword in hand, he can use various techniques nullify damage to himself using his weapon; but a barrage of attacks would be difficult to defend against.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged: Some techniques that Sengo can use allow him to use his sword to create wind-blades to attack from a distance, or he could use thrown weapons like knives or short-swords.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Unlimited Blade Works:&lt;br /&gt;
Shirou Emiya's reality marble, a magical spell that would form over the course of his life. However, as Muramasa, the nature of the spell has changed into an ability to gather information.&lt;br /&gt;
*Analysis: The bladework allows Sengo to sympathize with the weapon and store a perfect memory of it inside of itself. This allows Sengo to quickly ascertain the history, structure, and materials used in construction of weapons and objects around him.&lt;br /&gt;
Extraordinary Senses: Being capable of sympathizing with objects greatly enough to discern information from them, it gives him a form of 'sixth sense' in battle, as he can mildly predict their attacks.&lt;br /&gt;
Buffs: By reading the structure of a weapon, if he has it in his hands, he can fill it with magical energy to enhance it. E.g. a sword would become sharper and more durable.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Territory Creation EX:&lt;br /&gt;
Sengo's workshop, as both a blacksmith and a mage, is wherever he is. As his entire workshop follows him around, anywhere he stops for the night will be somewhere he can access his tools to create swords, magical or not.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Power: By creating equipment at his workshop, Saber can forge special weapons and armor for other people, provided the necessary materials exist.&lt;br /&gt;
Repair: Using the tools of his workshop and a magic spell, Sengo can repair things from broken magic swords to modern day machinery in anywhere from several minutes to a day's worth of work.&lt;br /&gt;
(Field Shaping: Anywhere he stops by for a little bit of rest will begin transforming into his workshop, with tools, items, and subtle magical defenses seemingly appearing as if they were always there.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pseudo-Servant:&lt;br /&gt;
Muramasa is the result of a human mage being possessed by a dead blacksmith, giving him many boons in exchange for fusing his mind with Muramasa's.&lt;br /&gt;
Superhumanity: Muramasa boasts incredible physical ability, giving him superb speed, strength, and endurance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Muramasa is very agile and acrobatic, capable of performing wall runs and mid-air flips. His jumping distance is great, and he is capable of controlling himself well mid-air.&lt;br /&gt;
Resistance - Magic: Muramasa has a modest degree of magic resistance, allowing him to resist some spells or magical ailments.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=House Husband:&lt;br /&gt;
Perhaps as a carryover from his life as Shirou Emiya, some of his most enjoyed hobbies are forms of menial household labor.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - Cooking: One of Muramasa's personal joys is to cook, being able to cook even difficult dishes like Osechi, and can identify how a dish was made after tasting it.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - House-Keeping: As an expert of household chores, Muramasa can turn a filthy flat into an orderly living space, or even make a run-down shack presentable overnight.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Compulsive Obsessions &amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya wanted to be a hero who could save everyone; of course, he knew that was impossible. But it didn't matter if it wasn't possible to do so, it's never about what's at the end of the road -- what mattered to him was the road he walked on to begin with. This warped perspective still exists within Muramasa as a compulsion to make himself helpful, above and beyond what would be reasonable. If he can save even one life by putting his own on the line, he will do so regardless of his situation. Both Shirou Emiya and Sengo Muramasa are individuals defined by their obsessive natures -- a single-minded pursuit of one goal. This kind of behavior has only been compounded by their fusion, as Muramasa slaves tirelessly despite his earnest and kind nature, to create his perfect sword. To hone his perfect technique. This very obsession is what causes him to create only bloodthirsty demon swords.  While aspects of Shirou's personality tempered Muramasa, it's not as if he didn't have his own quirks. Their lives and mindsets were 'incredibly similar' after all, so one of them being a twisted person would mean the other should be, too. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Evaporation of Piety &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In relation to his desire for severing himself from fate, Muramasa despises the greater powers. His desire to create his perfect Muramasa comes from the deeper wish to escape the influence of others and act purely on his own willpower. In this way, you could say that Shirou Emiya's optimism and determination to carry through an impossible, eternal dream has improved his condition, turning what would ordinarily be a crippling mental deficiency into something relatively manageable. As a result, he get along poorly with deities, religious people, or people who believe things like karma and destiny are inescapable. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Women &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya was simultaneously horrible and amazing when it came to the women in his life. After all, how could he ever believe someone would love him? As someone who didn't value his own self at all, it didn't make sense for others to care for something that had no intrinsic value. Sengo Muramasa had no such problem in life, but fusing with Shirou Emiya has made it a very complicated affair for both of them, leaving Saber torn between Sengo Muramasa's long dead family and Shirou Emiya's tragically complicated love life. Sadly, even being influenced by a family man isn't enough to make his interactions with the fairer sex any less disastrous as he almost always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Yamato-damashii &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: As a Japanese Heroic Spirit, Sengo Muramasa takes pride in representing his home -- a simple blacksmith manifesting as a Servant is a great honor, indeed. And while his nature is to an extent, humble, he comes from a time where the cultural values of Japanese men ran strong. Even someone as gentle and cultured as himself is no different. Almost always, he does his best to live up to the standards of the Muromachi period; to live honorably, and lawfully. His mental deficiencies in this regard make jabs at his roots incredibly effective in provoking him into fights he otherwise would try and talk his way out of. It's only natural to defend your honor and the honor of your countrymen, after all, at least that's how Sengo Muramasa would see things.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Man's Sanctuary &amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Shockingly, Muramasa's 'man-cave' as it were is in fact, the kitchen. Whether this is a trait he had in life or influence from Shirou Emiya is unclear, but it's a very rare circumstance for him to tolerate other cooks in his own little slice of heaven. There are three things that irritate Saber in every day life -- messy people, ill-prepared food, and cooks he isn't familiar with.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=15847</id>
		<title>Sengo Muramasa</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Sengo_Muramasa&amp;diff=15847"/>
				<updated>2019-03-31T00:02:09Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{CharacterRedux |NameOnMUSH=Sengo Muramasa |Color=#0099FF |Char_id=6593 |Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg |FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya |Gender=Male |Species=Pseu...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Sengo Muramasa&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=#0099FF&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=6593&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=https://i.imgur.com/y6dxtAd.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Sengo Muramasa, Shirou Emiya&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Pseudo-Servant&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=Fate/Metastasis-1&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=OFC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=Servant Saber&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=Paladins&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=Chevaliers&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=The heart of the sword is right here! Take this -- my Tsumugari Muramasa!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=18&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=63&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=Yes&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=187cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=78kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Red&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Gold&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Noriaki Sugiyama&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=EMIYA (Ver. Shimosa)&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=Appearing as a fearless youth with deep red hair, Muramasa is a pseudo-servant formed from the body of Shirou Emiya and the abnormal heroic spirit, Sengo Muramasa. Together, they form Servant Saber -- although he still identifies himself as Muramasa the Swordsmith, his situation is such that he's not entirely either or. He's aware of which memories belong to which part of himself, but the ego of the two have merged completely and seamlessly, as the compatibility between the two of them is close to one hundred percent. Muramasa is an extraordinary swordsman, as befitting his class, as well as a blacksmith renowned for making one-of-a-kind swords that would later become legends themselves. He is a very kind man with a strong and uncompromising sense of morals, and a disdain for destiny and human evil. At the same time, his way of speaking is painfully blunt, absent of any sort of tact, he often comes across as a rude person. As well, Muramasa has a bad habit of butting in on the affairs of others due to being a somewhat impulsive person.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Trace On, Trigger Off:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya possesses a very special form of magic called 'Tracing' that allows him to copy the physical blueprints, history, and magical properties of objects. In other words, it's something that works a lot like psychometry.&lt;br /&gt;
Power Copy - 1: Sengo is capable of obtaining the accumulated history of most weapons he is able to touch or spend long enough staring at, stealing the owner's techniques and gaining knowledge on how to re-create the weapon in question.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Muramasa:&lt;br /&gt;
 Sengo's sword that he created to perform a single technique, it is both a demonic sword and a divine sword.&lt;br /&gt;
*Anti-Healing: Part of Tsumugari Muramasa's ability allows it to prevent the recovery of things that it severs.&lt;br /&gt;
Bane - Eastern Tradition Creatures: Tsumugari Muramasa is a sword that is particularly effective against the supernatural entities found in Eastern folklore. &lt;br /&gt;
Field Shaping: The special attack of his sword, a powerful slashing attack that leaves behind a gouge in the earth, and can even destroy things like pocket dimensions or false realities.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Blade-Testing Art:&lt;br /&gt;
 Sengo Muramasa's sword style that started as the most simple stances required to test the weapons he created, to ensure their adequate functionality. He takes something of an MMA approach to swordsmanship.&lt;br /&gt;
Weapon Mastery - Sword: Sengo can use practically any weapon that could qualify as a 'sword' as if he'd spent his whole life mastering it. Intuitively, he understands the best way to use any sword in his hand.&lt;br /&gt;
Improbable Defense: So long as he has a sword in hand, he can use various techniques nullify damage to himself using his weapon; but a barrage of attacks would be difficult to defend against.&lt;br /&gt;
Attack List - Ranged: Some techniques that Sengo can use allow him to use his sword to create wind-blades to attack from a distance, or he could use thrown weapons like knives or short-swords.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Unlimited Blade Works:&lt;br /&gt;
 Shirou Emiya's reality marble, a magical spell that would form over the course of his life. However, as Muramasa, the nature of the spell has changed into an ability to gather information.&lt;br /&gt;
*Analysis: The bladework allows Sengo to sympathize with the weapon and store a perfect memory of it inside of itself. This allows Sengo to quickly ascertain the history, structure, and materials used in construction of weapons and objects around him.&lt;br /&gt;
Extraordinary Senses: Being capable of sympathizing with objects greatly enough to discern information from them, it gives him a form of 'sixth sense' in battle, as he can mildly predict their attacks.&lt;br /&gt;
Buffs: By reading the structure of a weapon, if he has it in his hands, he can fill it with magical energy to enhance it. E.g. a sword would become sharper and more durable.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Territory Creation EX:&lt;br /&gt;
 Sengo's workshop, as both a blacksmith and a mage, is wherever he is. As his entire workshop follows him around, anywhere he stops for the night will be somewhere he can access his tools to create swords, magical or not.&lt;br /&gt;
Share Power: By creating equipment at his workshop, Saber can forge special weapons and armor for other people, provided the necessary materials exist.&lt;br /&gt;
Repair: Using the tools of his workshop and a magic spell, Sengo can repair things from broken magic swords to modern day machinery in anywhere from several minutes to a day's worth of work.&lt;br /&gt;
(Field Shaping: Anywhere he stops by for a little bit of rest will begin transforming into his workshop, with tools, items, and subtle magical defenses seemingly appearing as if they were always there.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pseudo-Servant:&lt;br /&gt;
 Muramasa is the result of a human mage being possessed by a dead blacksmith, giving him many boons in exchange for fusing his mind with Muramasa's.&lt;br /&gt;
Superhumanity: Muramasa boasts incredible physical ability, giving him superb speed, strength, and endurance.&lt;br /&gt;
Mobility: Muramasa is very agile and acrobatic, capable of performing wall runs and mid-air flips. His jumping distance is great, and he is capable of controlling himself well mid-air.&lt;br /&gt;
Resistance - Magic: Muramasa has a modest degree of magic resistance, allowing him to resist some spells or magical ailments.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=House Husband:&lt;br /&gt;
 Perhaps as a carryover from his life as Shirou Emiya, some of his most enjoyed hobbies are forms of menial household labor.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - Cooking: One of Muramasa's personal joys is to cook, being able to cook even difficult dishes like Osechi, and can identify how a dish was made after tasting it.&lt;br /&gt;
Skill - House-Keeping: As an expert of household chores, Muramasa can turn a filthy flat into an orderly living space, or even make a run-down shack presentable overnight.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=Compulsive Obsessions &amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya wanted to be a hero who could save everyone; of course, he knew that was impossible. But it didn't matter if it wasn't possible to do so, it's never about what's at the end of the road -- what mattered to him was the road he walked on to begin with. This warped perspective still exists within Muramasa as a compulsion to make himself helpful, above and beyond what would be reasonable. If he can save even one life by putting his own on the line, he will do so regardless of his situation. Both Shirou Emiya and Sengo Muramasa are individuals defined by their obsessive natures -- a single-minded pursuit of one goal. This kind of behavior has only been compounded by their fusion, as Muramasa slaves tirelessly despite his earnest and kind nature, to create his perfect sword. To hone his perfect technique. This very obsession is what causes him to create only bloodthirsty demon swords.  While aspects of Shirou's personality tempered Muramasa, it's not as if he didn't have his own quirks. Their lives and mindsets were 'incredibly similar' after all, so one of them being a twisted person would mean the other should be, too. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Evaporation of Piety &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In relation to his desire for severing himself from fate, Muramasa despises the greater powers. His desire to create his perfect Muramasa comes from the deeper wish to escape the influence of others and act purely on his own willpower. In this way, you could say that Shirou Emiya's optimism and determination to carry through an impossible, eternal dream has improved his condition, turning what would ordinarily be a crippling mental deficiency into something relatively manageable. As a result, he get along poorly with deities, religious people, or people who believe things like karma and destiny are inescapable. &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Women &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Shirou Emiya was simultaneously horrible and amazing when it came to the women in his life. After all, how could he ever believe someone would love him? As someone who didn't value his own self at all, it didn't make sense for others to care for something that had no intrinsic value. Sengo Muramasa had no such problem in life, but fusing with Shirou Emiya has made it a very complicated affair for both of them, leaving Saber torn between Sengo Muramasa's long dead family and Shirou Emiya's tragically complicated love life. Sadly, even being influenced by a family man isn't enough to make his interactions with the fairer sex any less disastrous as he almost always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time.&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
Yamato-damashii &amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: As a Japanese Heroic Spirit, Sengo Muramasa takes pride in representing his home -- a simple blacksmith manifesting as a Servant is a great honor, indeed. And while his nature is to an extent, humble, he comes from a time where the cultural values of Japanese men ran strong. Even someone as gentle and cultured as himself is no different. Almost always, he does his best to live up to the standards of the Muromachi period; to live honorably, and lawfully. His mental deficiencies in this regard make jabs at his roots incredibly effective in provoking him into fights he otherwise would try and talk his way out of. It's only natural to defend your honor and the honor of your countrymen, after all, at least that's how Sengo Muramasa would see things.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Man's Sanctuary &amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Shockingly, Muramasa's 'man-cave' as it were is in fact, the kitchen. Whether this is a trait he had in life or influence from Shirou Emiya is unclear, but it's a very rare circumstance for him to tolerate other cooks in his own little slice of heaven. There are three things that irritate Saber in every day life -- messy people, ill-prepared food, and cooks he isn't familiar with.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=5353/The_Land_of_77_Rings&amp;diff=14460</id>
		<title>5353/The Land of 77 Rings</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=5353/The_Land_of_77_Rings&amp;diff=14460"/>
				<updated>2017-07-06T02:58:19Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/07/04 |Location=Windknight's Lot &amp;lt;WKL&amp;gt; |Synopsis=A small group descends upon the isolated town of Windknight's Lot in search of the missing Jo...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Log Header&lt;br /&gt;
|Date of Scene=2017/07/04&lt;br /&gt;
|Location=Windknight's Lot &amp;lt;WKL&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
|Synopsis=A small group descends upon the isolated town of Windknight's Lot in search of the missing Jonathan Joestar.&lt;br /&gt;
|Cast of Characters=1107, 571, 1119, 863, 954, 70, 707, 533&lt;br /&gt;
|pretty=yes&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Poses&lt;br /&gt;
|Poses=:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sun hangs half-way into its descent, indicating that it was most likely just coming out of its mid-day rise. Located in one of the unrulier parts of the multiverse, this particular part of Jonathan's world had been more or less seperated from all the chaos and attempts of intergration many others had been going through, in part due to its geography. With the only real way in being the tunnel that connected it to London through the gorge and many mountains and cliffs in-between, a tunnel which had been collapsed by Jack the Ripper, Windknight's Lot hadn't received visitors in a very long time.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;At least, until now.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;To arrive required either hiking it through gorges and steep mountain passes that seemed to have been intended as a kind of rigorous test of fortitude for ancient Knights, the means of flight, or perhaps some form of teleportation. Ultimately, it mattered little how you've arrived, but you're here. Rolling hills and lush farmland are your initial greetings, with a misty Castle overlooking the humble township in the distance. A river traveled from the gorge and looped around to some part of the Lot, supposedly providing their source of water. However, after approaching, the town seems to be in a state of disarray.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Many of the houses are desolate, seemingly unkempt for some time. Those that are presentable are barely so, with only a small dozen or two people seen around a village that should have had somewhere in the realm of a hundred or more residents. Furthermore, despite an apparent effort at tidying up, no one is very keen on even approaching the area that housed the entryway to what was surely their graveyard, visibly desecrated in its entirety, even from this far away.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A six foot woman with bloody red hair and a trench coat tends to draw a lot of attention, which is why Maaka at least masks herself with a hat and some fake stubble. That, and a seriously good sports bra beneath her plate carrier.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Of course, disguise or no, she still draws plenty of it anyways with her motorcycle. The Knight roars across the roads, making her way toward the gorge and along the riverbed as she passes through the village. &amp;quot;Weird,&amp;quot; she muses to herself. &amp;quot;Nobody's home.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She'll keep going, heading towards the graveyard before she stops at the entrance.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It could not be this easy to walk through, could it?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's always easier to travel established routes. So Josuke would have likely ended up in London first, because even in this apparent era, it's a major travel hub. Getting out of the city is a simple matter of renting a carriage. Doubtless the driver would have warned him about the collapsed tunnel. Which Josuke would have assured him was no problem.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The reason why would become clear when dropped off at the tunnel. Because, after waiting for the driver to head out of sight, Josuke summons Crazy Diamond. He fixes the entrance to the tunnel, and then as he walks the rest of the way through, fixes the collapsed tunnel. Still, though, even as he comes out the other side the now-fixed tunnel, that's a long way. It's OK though. This is what Stands are for. Crazy Diamond can run pretty fast!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;So Josuke will cut the time down by having his Stand pick him up around the waist and then run really fast. Which is... well, really fast! So hopefully that'll cut the time down. Side effect? Kid probably looks like he's flying.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; If anyone's going to be blending in today and bucking the trend of people showing up in wildly period-inaccurate clothes... &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Haguro's not going to be that person. She's in unfamiliar territory, after all, and although she has enough sense to have a cheap-looking cloak and hood wrapped around herself, it doesn't do much when she's skating along the river to get to the village. The tunnel was blocked when she got there, after all, and she hadn't stuck around long enough to see Josuke clearing it out! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Plus, she just wanted an excuse to do some recon around Windknight's Lot before meeting up with her new-ish co-workers.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord discovered that Jonathan Joestar has been out of touch for a hot minute when he was checking on the roster for the Concord, since he felt obligated to do so now that he had some level of rank just above 'a member of the faction.' That is why an intimidating six-foot stranger with wild red hair just kinda lands from the sky, aloft on unusual wings, at the edge of town on a rocky outcropping, atop a scraggly tree. He perches there with such a silence and grace that it might be easy to miss him. It's a good thing it's daylight because the way he moved might've given the locals a collective heart attack.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He scans the area from his vantage with a silent indifference. He recalls only a little of what he read of Jonathan, but what he knows made him understand that perhaps he should avoid approaching the village too closely.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;... asking these people where he is will be a painful experience...&amp;quot; he muses aloud as he considers the state of the town itself. His head turns to acknowledge the presence of other visitors approaching the area. He calmly adjusts his gauntlets up there, his head dipping in thought, because more people means more potential chaos.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Isolated townships with spooky castles and unnervingly empty graveyards, populated by a fraction of its former population, possibly most of them traumatized, and severely degraded by age and recent hardship. Priscilla would question her life choices, as to why this feels like a relatively comfortable arrangement, if it weren't for the fact that she knows perfectly well already. It could even start to feel homey if the sky was an eerie green.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Really, there was no way she wasn't going to stand out in the first place --being six and a half feet tall even when she mortal-s it up as hard as she can, and having ivory horns, gold slitted eyes and a fluffy tail-- so she doesn't even bother. She's dressed as First of the Concord (technically really just Anor Londo high fashion), which means that white silk and gold embroidered number, pseudo-Norse/pseudo-Babylonian. Might as well have the blind to go with the authority. At least it communicates 'noble' more than just 'weird foreigner'.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;And yet, I wonder precisely what it is that hast clearly so recently been theirs.&amp;quot; she remarks offhand to Kord, kinda nebulously 'around'. There's no point in hovering outside of town, and so she descends the hills as a matter of course, aiming straight towards the castle, half-wondering if anyone will stop her.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It's pretty atypical for Xiaomu to show up (without making an extra effort to disguise herself) and NOT be the one who draws the most attention; the blonde foxgirl is dressed much as she normally is, and yet the amount of attention she draws while following the tunnel and the canyon in her qipao and vest, Buddhist monk's staff in hand, vulpine ears and hairtails pretty much for all the world to see?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She could get used to it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Granted, that's no more of a 'disguise' than she usually has when she's doing stuff in the field for Shinra back home, and 'fox ears' or 'hair looks like a bunch of tails' doesn't draw that much attention *there* either. Still, the rumors she heard were interesting enough to draw her out to investigate, and she didn't hear anything which sounded like 'nonhumans not welcome,' so she's taking her chances in following Josuke and the others. Quite a few interesting others, too - Priscilla herself, among others. Wasn't she in charge of something besides Anor Londo now ... ?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Hey everyone,&amp;quot; Xiaomu says sort-of-casually as she catches up with the group. Only 'sort of,' though, since she's catching her breath a bit. Only a bit.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;A very strange duo had come in to approach the hills and start hiking towards the village. Specifically, a very large boar and a knight riding on top of it, with shining armor with a floral print. The boar barely has any riding equipment on it, yet is controlled perfectly by the knight. If anyone spots the duo, the knight simply smiles cheerfully and waves.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As they arrive at the village, though, Sir Gawain stops at the entrance, spotting people. He doesn't recognize Maaka, despite them ostensibly having met once. &amp;quot;Hello, there! Sir Gawain, Paladins Warden. There's quite a few people here. How many of you are villagers?&amp;quot; He recognizes Count Kord from a database of known Concord officials, and nods to him respectfully. The others might be residents, who knows?. Though, then Gawain spots Priscilla heading through the village, and the boar begins moving, up to walk alongside her. &amp;quot;Lady Priscilla, First of the Concord! I believe this is only the second time we've met. Sir Gawain, Paladin Warden. I'm on patrol, so if you've seen or heard of anything interesting, please inform me immediately!&amp;quot; He hasn't spotted the sea monster boat. Yet.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Strangers. Tall strangers. Tall stranger with hoods, and cloaks, and some displaying strange powers -- those who were perceptive could see the immediate terror flooding into nearly all of the remaining village folk as they immediately tried to become out of sight, out of mind, holing up in their homes. The only ones otherwise appeared to be children; a young girl who couldn't be older than fifteen, and a little boy somewhere between five and seven years her younger. They had thick though relatively kempt black hair and plain clothing, yet striking blue eyes. Whoever they were, they didn't display quite the same fear in assumption that the others had but rather, had a fearless look of opposition.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Whatever they'd intended to do seems to have been stalled by Gawain's appearance. &amp;quot;Concord? Isn't that the place Mister Joestar said he'd been working with?&amp;quot; the youngest questioned. Yes, the floral-patterned knight was definitley someone they could see the giant of an Englishman. But the rest....&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;They didn't look very wholesome.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Especially not that fox lady, though, perhaps it was only the sister who thought so.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ultimately, the path to the Castle is waylaid by these two plainly-dressed children. &amp;quot;W..what are you, a monster?!&amp;quot; was the youngest's attempt at bravery. His elder sister, comparatively, had the expression of a hard steel wall as she lightly tugged on her brother's collar to keep him behind her. &amp;quot;There's not much here any longer, can't you see that our people are burdened enough? Why are you here?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Maaka, in the meantime, can enter the graveyard if she wishes. Nothing is stopping her, even from the entrance, it looked ravaged. Almost as if everything inside had been dug up, an unpleasant odor wafted from the ground. It even felt cursed.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Maaka glances at the giant boar with bafflement, before suddenly recognizing Gawain. &amp;quot;Do I look like I'm local?&amp;quot; She says flatly, Australian accent on full blast that DEFINITELY doesn't sound English. &amp;quot;You have a /weird/ patrol route, by the way.&amp;quot; She adds, before continuing on, nodding to Kord and Priscilla along her way.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She wipes her face clean of 'stubble' makeup, before she sees people approaching. &amp;quot;We're here to find Jonathan Joestar.&amp;quot; She explains calmly, hopping off her bike. She'll let others handle the talking, before she goes for the graveyard.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If shit hits the fan, she's definitely armed, and she enters without a hint of fear. She does however check her corners, as she braves the foggy environment.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Does England usually have weather this shitty?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;'Not getting the most attention' does not equate 'not spooking anybody,' and Xiaomu is unpleasantly reminded of that fact by the reception everyone's getting. Herself included.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I'm not here to hurt anybody,&amp;quot; Xiaomu says as gently as she can, inclining her head to the two children. &amp;quot;And I should hope that holds true for the rest of us. Not that I can speak for everybody,&amp;quot; she admits, glancing around at the other Elites who've turned up here. She's pretty sure about Gawain, Haguro, Josuke, and Maaka, at any rate. Priscilla and Kord ... well, she's not sure either way.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Have there been weird things going on around here lately,&amp;quot; she asks the siblings, &amp;quot;or are your neighbors usually this skittish about strangers showing up out of nowhere? And what's with the graveyard, it smells worse than they normally do ...&amp;quot; She wrinkles her nose, turning away to either fan the smell away from her face, or maybe do a brief ritual of warding something away from her (and incidentally, away from the two kids, assuming this does *anything*).&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;(Actually, if she can sense anything unnatural from the graveyard, it's DEFINITELY the warding bit, complete with a murmured incantation and several hand-seals.)&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord is startled when Priscilla speaks to him. The way he flew in and landed was not too far from the road and he wasn't aware she was on her way too. His wings spread out and wiggle and visibly ruffle with black and red feathers as he tries not to fall off of his perch, because he is not a bird and does not have the same balance as one, and even birds have ungraceful moments.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He doesn't fall down or anything, but he does hop off his perch and land to catch up with Priscilla and Gawain. The strange man gives Gawain a look of apparent confusion for only a few seconds, trying to recognize him. Gears metaphorically turn.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Ah.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The response he gives is a pronounced bow. In fact, the amount of respect he shows Gawain is very exaggerated, and a rare sight from him. All he knows of Gawain is that he is a member of the Paladins - a group that Kord holds a surprising amount of positive feelings toward for a Concord member - and one of comparable rank, and even a stunning example of what a Knight should be.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He halts when the group is stopped by a couple of children. He steps forward only close enough that he can be heard clearly and so that his confidence is clear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;... I am seeking Jonathan Joestar,&amp;quot; he speaks in his deep faux-Romanian, &amp;quot;My only business with you or your village is information about where he could be.&amp;quot; And he elaborates, &amp;quot;He went quiet not too long ago, and it is my duty as a superior to check on him. If he is in need of assistance...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He trails off, feeling suddenly really awkward because he isn't sure these children would even believe that coming from him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And this girl's face is making him uncomfortable. She has seen some stuff, and a mixture of compassion, impatience and uncertainty create this awkward silence where he has the hardest time elaborating.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke will eventually make it to this path, since he's trying to go the normal route. Oh, he's noticed the normal people running away. Maybe he should have gone and asked the Speedwagon Foundation about this place before coming here? But that might have meant having to deal with his dad, and... ugh. Way too much drama.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;If it's any help, Josuke is probably one of the more normal looking of the bunch. Just an admittedly well-built kid with an odd hairstyle. Does he bear enough of a resemblance to a Joestar to be noticed? Maybe not; he IS half Japanese. Either way he just keeps going.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It's likely he'll eventually meet the rest of the group that has come here from the Multiverse. Now, Josuke more or less knows the look of Multiversal Elites when he sees them by now. Particularly the dude on the giant boar. Because uh. Yeah. Giant boar. &amp;quot;Hi!&amp;quot; he greets the group at large. He sounds a lot more upbeat than he really feels, though.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Now, he IS going to go to the castle at some point. And he might just come across those kids too. He smiles though. &amp;quot;I'm not here to cause trouble,&amp;quot; he assures them. &amp;quot;My name's Josuke. And, well...&amp;quot; He hesitates here, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly. &amp;quot;...You see... my father's last name is Joestar, too. So... I wanted to come and see what was going on here...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; As Haguro regroups with the rest of the group headed towards the castle, she notices that the reception to her very presence is less than friendly. She had tried so hard to not look like a military person, too, but...! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;We're not... I'm sorry!&amp;quot; She blurts out towards the children addressing them, sounding rather flustered about the whole situation and bowing rapidly to try and appease the children and the hiding villagers. It's rather embarassing to make such a blunder, especially in this... British place. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; That helps sober the Cruiser up considerably. She eventually clears her throat and straightens up enough to look more presentable with the hood off, even managing to speak more calmly afterwards. &amp;quot;We're here to look for a... Mister Joestar?&amp;quot; Haguro takes a deep breath, then gestures at herself, Kord, Alexis, and Priscilla. &amp;quot;We're coworkers of his. Um...&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Her gaze soon turns to Xiaomu, Josuke, and Gawain. &amp;quot;And... I believe they're friends of his. Or patrolling the area. Or...&amp;quot; Josuke in particular gets a curious look, particularly when he mentions his name and his relation to a Joestar. &amp;quot;... Distant relatives?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Well, they're all running inside and hiding, instead of coming at her with rusted swords and savage eyes. That's new to Priscilla. Actually kind of /weird/. It feels awkward to be left essentially walking down an empty street, watching people scatter before her. It also makes the two children who stay outside all the more surprising. She stops to look at them (albeit way down), her tail twitching in what could be generously assumed to be curiosity.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;That is correct&amp;quot; she begins, her naturally soft voice doing her a couple of favours, no doubt. She can only really sigh at the monster comment. &amp;quot;Sir Joestar is an associate of mine. What is it that thou knowest of him? Is it that he maketh residence here? I had meant to speak with him, however . . .&amp;quot; All she has to do is look around once. &amp;quot;I see very well there is something amiss here.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gawain trots by on a giant boar. Though she'd only met him in once in person, he had been pleasant enough, and clearly a man of chivalry, and so she greets him with no disrespect. &amp;quot;Little more than thou can see plainly at the moment, Sir Gawain. I knoweth not why thou chose this particular place to patrol, though it wouldst seemeth thine urge was well founded, unless it is simply thine good sense that eludes thee.&amp;quot; The ghost of a wry smile goes with that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke has something interesting to say. It's the first time she's ever met this one. &amp;quot;Ah, is it that thou art a relative of his? Or art thou simply intrigued by the peculiar choice of name? I admit, this wouldst be greatly eased by some relation between thee.&amp;quot; Then a totally blank look at Xiaomu. &amp;quot;One wouldst first assumeth the corpses were exhumed. Second, that they rose of their own.&amp;quot; Well duh.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The graveyard was completely silent. Empty. That descriptor is very accurate, in fact, because there was nothing there. No buried bodies, no belongings -- nothing. It's as if everything had risen up from the very ground it had been put to rest in from the most revered knight-saint to the lowliest peasant, the graves were utterly devoid. How...unsettling.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;This holy ground had been soiled. The source of the cursed feeling was surely this, the sensation of a wrong having been done here. Something utterly opposed to the natural order. Life and death, were the undeniable facets of life. A duet, if you would. To sully this would be the source of the highest damnation of whatever upper echelon of existence one could point to. Yes, whatever happened in this graveyard was surely pure evil.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The boy, Poco, shrinks under the intimidating presence of beautiful women, a chivalrous man like the sun, and that tall hooded figure. Josuke, perhaps, was the most normal, but his haircut in and of itself was frightening. His sister's expression softens, but only somewhat. &amp;quot;Is that so? ...You're all suspicious. But, I suppose that man with the nested hair does bear a resemblance to Lord Joestar. To answer your most immediate concern, you won't find him here, he left for the Castle behind us some time ago to search its grounds. It's a very big estate, but even so, we've been a little worried for him..&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;She pauses, a verbal tic of some sort to speak in an evenly paced manner. Poco, in that space of time, finally finds his tongue once again. Under his breath, he mutters as he stares at Josuke; though those with superior hearing or the ability to lipread would be able to tell what was said. &amp;quot;You know, didn't Mister Speedwagon say that Mister Joestar was the last of his line..?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;His siter continued, focusing her gaze away from Kord, who'd been subject to the brunt of her clear-eyed glare, and onto Priscilla. She seemed to have the air of the 'leader' of those present. &amp;quot;Six moons or so ago, a vampire took residence in that Castle. He arrived cloaked in the day, much like some of you did just now. And over the course of the intervening time, terrible things happened here, and we could do nothing. Then, Lord Joestar and his allies came. What you are seeing is recuperation of our tragedy, the numbed grief of what we lost. This Windknight's Lot, once renowned as the home of England's Queen many centuries ago, has always been soaked to the soil in spilled blood, but ...even so. If you are as you say, then perhaps you'll find Jojo beyond here, within the old Royal Abode.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Poco is pulled out of the way as she steps to the side.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;There's a glance at Maaka, a brief glance. And then, recognization! &amp;quot;Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you for a moment. Hmm? Is there something about you that would make you not look like a local?&amp;quot; Sir Gawain ponders to the bike-riding Australian, not being one to judge. He smiles when Kord greets him so vigorously, as he continues to walk alongside Priscilla. &amp;quot;Ah, I patrol everywhere! I look at a map, look at regions that don't get much Paladin patrol, and head there specifically.&amp;quot; This is probably a breach of information in some way, but Gawain sees no harm in it. &amp;quot;I've met Mr. Joestar. Quite a gentleman. Is he missing? If so, I'd be happy to assist in finding him.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;When the children appear, Gawain dismounts from the boar, petting it. It reacts happily, as he bows to greet the children. &amp;quot;Hello there! I'm Sir Gawain, I'm a knight. If your village is burdened, please allow us to know how we can assist.&amp;quot; Yes, he's pulling the Concord into that, and as they explain what's happened, the knight stands up straight. &amp;quot;I see! I am very sorry that this happened to you. If your village needs assistance, please ask, and we can see about providing resources. For now, it seems we're all interested in talking to Mr. Joestar, yes?&amp;quot; Gawain begins to head forward, but continues pace alongside Priscilla (unless she doesn't proceed). While left behind, the boar isn't going to cause any problems if not disturbed. He's just gonna sit there and be a good boy.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The girl's glare is met with /solid/ eye contact, with Kord looking at her and silently thanking his lucky stars that she can't see the uncomfortable frown that her glare causes in him. He lets out a sigh through his nose as she explains that he is adorned similarly to the cause of this catastrophe, and without even asking if they need him to, he reaches up to grasp his helmet by the eyeholes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He slides the helmet off and reveals his face. He props his helmet under his arm and he explains, &amp;quot;I look very strange,&amp;quot; and it's here they might see his sharp teeth, &amp;quot;The helmet is to hide that, but I do not intend to harm anyone here.&amp;quot; He looks around at the houses and his brow creases, because it reminds him of a city from his home that he is actually responsible for turning into a desolate place like this.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With the children stepping aside, though, he reaffixes his helmet and steps forward while he adjusts it, heading up to find and speak to Jonathan like he intended to do when he left the fort today.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;Is that why...? I-I had no idea. I'm sorry, miss.&amp;quot; Haguro offers Poco's sister another light bow of her head, and she quickly removes the cloak to reveal he rusual purple vaguely nun-like outfit with all the armored bits and turrets attached. If nothing else, at least she won't look like the vampire that's been mentioned! &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;A vampire...? Then Mister Joestar must have defeated the vampire, right? Perhaps...&amp;quot; Haguro murmurs to herself, then glances over towards Josuke when he clarifies some details about his lineage. She lets out a quiet 'aah' noise, then steps towards Josuke without about as much subtlety as someone decked out in relatively-futuristic combat priest gear can to try and whisper to him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;... Mister Josuke? I don't know if these people here are aware about how time... Things work in relation to that.&amp;quot; She whispers, the turns back to Poco and his sister with an awkward smile to try and not look so damn suspicious whispering liek that. &amp;quot;Ah, s-so don't worry! We'll find Mister Joestar and make sure he comes back safely, okay?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;So, nothing to smell from the graveyard except death and decay, at least as far as Xiaomu can tell. It says something about her regular line of work that this is *good* news.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;'Lord' Joestar, huh?&amp;quot; Xiaomu asks, turning her attetntion back to the two kids. There's quite a bit more to hear than just that, though ... like a vampire who can make it around in the daylight, albeit with the aid of what sounds like a heavy cloak. But if there was a vampire here and that has something to do with why the graveyard is all self-excavated ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Shouldn't she be able to smell SOMEthing from that?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Weird.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Just because 'Lord Joestar' is the end of his line as currently known doesn't mean he *stays* the end of it,&amp;quot; Xiaomu comments, &amp;quot;but it sounds like the castle is our best place to look. In the meantime, if any undead show up, yell for help and we'll come running - and if you need us after we leave ...&amp;quot; She pauses, glancing around. &amp;quot;Anyone got a spare radio we can give them?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;It seems that Priscilla's guess that the castle was the place to be was a well founded one. Just hearing the little girl speak of it, she can't help but look past her for a minute, examining the structure in detail, partly to take stock of entries and egresses, and something about its time period, but also partly just to get a feel of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She hadn't known Jonathan that well yet, but she was already well aware of his confidence in walking into places like that. No doubt his odd sunlight powers were what called him to match up against a vampire. &amp;quot;I had feared it was something as such.&amp;quot; she says --truthfully as well. A vampire is a kind of undead, after all. &amp;quot;Such news is concerning. How long is thou estimate Sir Joestar presented himself after the creature arrived?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then in that backhanded way she just does: &amp;quot;If it is the vampire that is occupying his time, and distracting him from his duties, then I supposeth there is nothing for it than to deal with the thing. Perhaps it is best thou returneth inside.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;With that, she resumes her route, approaching straight through the main gates of the castle, unless something exceptional should persuade her to do otherwise. At the very least, she can scope some of the interior out. She doesn't try to discourage Gawain. The boar doesn't draw much notice from her aside from the fact it's not covered in armour. &amp;quot;I wouldst ask what compels thee, Sir Knight, but I believeth thee a straightforward sort. I imagine thine title as Knight of the Sun wouldst be well placed here, asides.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She does stop, however, to turn to Josuke, and beckon him. &amp;quot;Come, then. Thou clearly knoweth something of this vampire, or at least this castle. I wouldst hear thine thoughts on the matter.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Maybe the fact motorcycles weren't invented at this time.&amp;quot; She shrugs a shoulder, before Maaka continues in the graveyard. She'll notice dug up graves, and a spooky aura. Looks like the zombies have already risen, and by the time she returns to the others, she decides maybe it's been taken care of. &amp;quot;That'd explain why the graves are all disturbed. It's like Thriller just happened in Victorian London.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She listens to Poco and his sister explain what happened, and tilts her head. &amp;quot;So he came back to check this place. Could've given us a memo or something.&amp;quot; She admits, frowning. &amp;quot;Where is he now?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She notices Xiaomu and Josuke, hard not to see a fox lady and a kid with Josuke's hair, and nods to them both.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Hey, Josuke right? Didn't expect you here.&amp;quot; She greets the youth, clapping his arm with a firm impact. It may stumble him a bit, knowing Maaka's strength.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Still looking massively sheepish, Josuke replies to Haguro's question, &amp;quot;Ehe...y-you could say that...&amp;quot; It's a delicate situation, and Josuke really isn't sure of anything except 'Joestar' is his father's last name and that his father is British by birth. Since, they're all in England currently, it's... probably not just a coincidence.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla gets a look -- in fact she gets a double-take, because she's taller than even he is, and he's always been really tall for his age. Also for being Japanese. &amp;quot;I think we're related,&amp;quot; he confirms. &amp;quot;It's... a long story.&amp;quot; And not one he wants to tell in front of the kids, because infidelity is not something he wants connected to the Joestar of THIS world. He does explain a bit more fully, though he keeps his voice down quietly, &amp;quot;My father's British too, and it's exactly the same name; I don't think it's coincidental.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He's also listening to other conversations and... the mention of corpses rising from the grave themselves? That gets a scowl. He knows a LITTLE about some of the things that happened in his family's past. He knows Dio was a vampire, and that he was old. But wait... could he have been THIS old? Could Dio be responsible for this too...?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then the girl is explaining what happened here and... yeah, pretty much confirming it. &amp;quot;...Dio.&amp;quot; Yes, he says the name. He bloody well SAYS THE NAME. Though the dark scowl on his face... the way his hands clench into fists -- given all this, his visibly upset look, Josuke at least partially understands the gravity of the name he speaks. However, the next moment, he takes a breath. Calm it down, Josuke.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Once he's taken a breath, he calms. &amp;quot;Thank you,&amp;quot; he says, bowing politely. Also see? Just hair, nothing weird going on there! But yes. &amp;quot;I'm sure of it now... I AM related to Mister Joestar.&amp;quot; He speaks with confidence, as if there's no doubt. The mention of a 'Speedwagon' confirms it -- it must be the founder of the Speedwagon Foundation. There's just too many similarities.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Gawain's mention of Jonathan being a great gentleman actually gets a sigh of relief. A gentleman couldn't be a womanizer, right? So probably not like Josuke's dad at all. Massive relief. And then yes, he stumbles at the pat on his arm! Partly because of her great strength, and partly because he wasn't expecting it. Actually he winces a bit -- he's still bruised from that insane truck chase! Though he still offers her a smile. &amp;quot;Oh, hi there,&amp;quot; he greets. As for not expecting him here? &amp;quot;Well... it looks like Jonathan Joestar is a relative of mine, so... I'm curious to know what happened...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The stern young lady looks slightly guilty as Kord shows his face. It was understandable that he would want to hide his face, she supposed, and making him show himself out of her own suspicion felt rather cruel. Poco almost pokes Josuke's hair. &amp;quot;R-right..uhm..we're sorry for bein' uh..ac--acusory of you people.&amp;quot; he said. His sister looked frustrated for a moment, perhaps at his vocabulary. &amp;quot;Yes. We'll explain everything to the others while you're all looking in the Castle grounds.&amp;quot; It didn't need to be said, most likely, that their suspicion was well justified; but they apologized for their rudeness none the less. As they began to pass, she gave Xiaomu a small nod of confirmation, but was short in her reply so as to not hold her up, unless she decided to stay for more exposition. &amp;quot;The Joestar family were nobles from London, their repute and authority stretched even out here in the country side. Before the reform of parliment, Pa said that they ruled the greatest amount of land of all the ruling families in the country.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;They both looked confused as to what a 'radio' was supposed to be.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Priscilla can tell that the Castle was easily several hundred years old, perhaps closer to a thousand. Built in the middle ages, its stone held up surprisingly well. The craftsmanship was superb. The Castle, even from the road approach up into the cliff it was built into, was massive. From where she was, she could see most notably, one of attached towers had a large hole in it, as if something gargantuan had crashed through the side. Below that, was a gorge and, across from that gorge, was a lake. What should have been a lake, rather, was almost dried out. And the land infront of it was blooming with greenery, a single, well-maintained breastplate was left there exuding warmth like rays of the sun. It was a sanctified grave. If Xiaomu had come along to sense it, she too could tell that it was a holied resting place, a grave for a saint, as the saying went.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Haguro's words about the Multiversal shenanigans get a nod. Leaning over closer to her, he also whispers back, &amp;quot;That's why I'm keeping the details to a minimum.&amp;quot; He offers a small, secret smile and a conspiratorial wink in her direction. Not to worry, he's not going to sequence break TOO much! Xiaomu gets a blink. Reflexively he pats a pocket, as if he's about to search for one. But then he realizes he doesn't have one on his person. &amp;quot;Uh... no, I'm afraid not,&amp;quot; Josuke replies.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla's look to him gets a blink, and he falls into step near her. &amp;quot;Well... I know a little about the vampire. But...&amp;quot; He pauses, not wanting to reveal too much until he's out of earshot of the girl and her brother. Speaking of the twin kids... it seems Josuke is learning a little more about his ancestors today! He doesn't seem bothered by the boy's tripping over the word, and doesn't mention it. Instead turns to the girl and her brother. &amp;quot;I'm sorry to upset you, and the others in the town, too,&amp;quot; he offers, in as formal a tone of voice as he can manage. &amp;quot;I understand why you'd be so upset. Thank you for your help, both of you.&amp;quot; Then he bows respectfully to the pair -- a British bow, mind, not a Japanese one -- and starts away.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Only once they're out of earshot, does he offer a further explanation to Priscilla, &amp;quot;Well... the vampire they're talking about... I think it's Dio. I don't know a whole lot about him. Just that when I was four, he caused this really bad fever I had. I almost died.&amp;quot; So, yeah. Understandably he's probably a little sore about that.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Maaka helps Josuke stand back up, muttering 'Sorry' quietly before she raises a brow. &amp;quot;Dio?&amp;quot; She says aloud. YEP, that won't help at all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She has no idea what Dio Brando did to this village, the atrocities he committed. If it's enough that these people are scared shitless of visitors, he was clearly no joke.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;So what happened to the Joestars, then? WHy's Jonathan not mentioned his family before?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;At very least, this place was not the sad sight it is today, long ago.&amp;quot; Priscilla remarks to herself, a little too softly to be conversational. She knows her way around old castles and various medieval architecture, after all. &amp;quot;I wonder if this place is something that once belonged to said Joestar Family --or if it still dost.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Other than that, even if Priscilla isn't an exorcist, she can't possibly ignore such obvious sacred magic --or whatever passed for it here. Leaning over to examine the article, she can immediately place it as being much older than the people outside as well. Who wears a breastplate in this era? The fact that it's still here, though, is slightly concerning. Clearly, its blessing had prevented this one, specific corpse from being risen, but it hadn't deterred the vampire from making his residence here for months.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;She looks up to the hole. Too high for her unless she wants to engage in a long and aggravating climb. It's also very big. She'd imagine someone with sufficiently superhuman strength could perhaps break through these walls, but they're very well made, and as far as she knows, vampires aren't traditionally gigantic.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;What is it that makest thou say that this vampire and thine Dio art one and the same?&amp;quot; she asks Josuke. &amp;quot;What connects this, which stands before us, with such a fever?&amp;quot; Her tone is a little intense, but not accusatory, clearly fixating on the closest thing to a lead anyone here actually has. She has no reason to suspect the lad, what with obviously not being part of the Paladins. While they talk, she checks out the main entrance, testing it for any signs of being locked, jammed, broken, or if she could just waltz in if she wanted.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Stay and listen, or go and look? It's a tough question, and Xiaomu's curiosity pulls her in both directions for a moment before she decides to stick around and listen in further. Besides, if Jonathan Joestar is with the Concord, then technically it's not really her job to look for him.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And what the kids - Poco's sister especially - has to say about Jonathan Joestar makes her glad she *did*. &amp;quot;So, a noble family,&amp;quot; the sage fox muses. &amp;quot;Interesting.&amp;quot; She gives Josuke a more considering look ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Then a more curious one. &amp;quot;Wait a sec. If Dio died in *this* era and you're Jonathan's descendant by a couple of generations ... how did he cause a fever in a child he'd never actually seen while you were that young? Do the Joestars just have really short generations, or was it some kind of familial curse on the Joestar bloodline? Or something else?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; With enough information gathered about Jonathan and his venture into the castle, Haguro's next target is the castle itself! She's still listening to the conversation following the Joestar bloodline, though, following the group heading for the castle. Haguro furrows her brow while trying to mentally process all of that lineage stuff, too, and it's not clear whether Xiaomu's questions mimicking her own concerns are making any more or less sense now. &amp;quot;Is that something vampires can even do...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The apology was an odd one, but Kord didn't stick around long for it. He understood their trepidation quite well and he had little desire to linger there when he was, in fact, a monster by some people's standards. The way he acted back in his world had garnered a certain reputation among the fearful commonfolk and it was hard to escape how awful it felt to be reminded of that when faced with comparable devastation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Nice castle,&amp;quot; he comments to no one in particular as they approach. On the subject of Dio causing a fever, he has to look at those asking the question with a mild confusion, because he is a seasoned veteran of magical ailments and folk mythology and their inquiries strike him as odd until he realizes the logic behind their questions.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord lifts his head to note the hole in the wall up there. &amp;quot;Let the boy explain,&amp;quot; he remarks, since multiple people had made the same question to the currently present JoJo. He didn't even look more than a few years older than Josuke, so his tone might be a little off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Maaka begins to head for the castle, when she notices Priscilla's already gone ahead. She'll carry on, wandering through the halls. &amp;quot;Find anything, boss?&amp;quot; She asks, as she inspects the hole. No way is she gonna make that jump without climbing gear.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Poco scratches his cheek. &amp;quot;Well, we don't really know 'bout that...jus' the hearsay that passed through before, t..that.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Dio's name had an obvious unsettling effect. &amp;quot;And uhm, what Mister Speedwagon said.&amp;quot; Poco finished, looking to his sister for clarification. She was better at reciting things than him. She looked rather uncomfortable gossiping about it, if Jonathan hadn't said anything, perhaps it'd been for good reason? Diplomatically, &amp;quot;...the Joestar estate burned down sometime before that monster got here. Speedwagon said ..&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;he&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; was behind it, and that a lot of people were killed by him that night.&amp;quot; she provided. Spilling all of the beans hardly seemed appropriate, but she could tell them that much, she supposed. Obviously, the 'he' in question was Dio.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;As for the others, Priscilla finds the entrance unlocked. It looked recently travelled through, relatively -- most likely, it had been Jonathan entering prior to them. The massive gate that typically would have covered the front doors was retracted, allowing entry into the un-lit main hall.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I am compelled because Mr.- Lord Joestar is a person of good character from what I've seen of him, and it sounds as if he may need assistance in some way or another.&amp;quot; Yep, Gawain is /entirely/ straightforward. As they travel forth, the Joestar family is explained. They certainly sound like alright people, though Gawain doesn't know anything about this Dio. A vampire who burned down Jonathan's estate? He sounds like a bad character. &amp;quot;What does this Dio look like?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;And then, once they're inside the main hall, Gawain steps forward a bit, into the sunlight. It glances off his armor as if it the armor was made to take in the sun. With a loud, cheery voice, he cries out. &amp;quot;Lord Joestar! Are you in here?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I'm... honestly not sure,&amp;quot; Josuke replies as Maaka asks the question. &amp;quot;I'm... well...&amp;quot; Pause. How did he explain it? &amp;quot;My father was probably Jonathan Joestar's descendant, that much I can figure out myself. But... my mother isn't the woman he was married to...&amp;quot; Which might explain his trepidation about telling how he was related in front of the boy and the girl. &amp;quot;I haven't really gotten involved with my father's side of the family, because... well, don't want to cause any trouble in the family. My, uh... nephew, Jotaro, said that Mr. Joestar's wife was furious when she found out about me.&amp;quot; Pause. &amp;quot;Er, not THIS Mr. Joestar, the one from where I'm from...&amp;quot; He trails off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla's question gets a sigh. &amp;quot;Jotaro said Dio was a vampire, a very old one. That when he... gained power, everyone related to my father got the same kind of power. So, if it's the same vampire... if he's THIS old...&amp;quot; He trails off, then sighs. &amp;quot;Everything lines up with what Jotaro told me. But with the Multiverse being what it is, this might not even be attached to my world. Alternate universe? Is that the term?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then he remembers exactly what Jotaro said. WHY everyone of the Joestar line gained a Stand when Dio did. That he's just had a horrible epiphany is clear, with the way his eyes widen, and he looks almost frightened. But... exactly what did he just realize? Whatever it is... he doesn't say. He composes himself. No. He's not going to let that happen. Not if he can stop it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Xiaomu's question gets a pained look. &amp;quot;He... someone must have brought him back.&amp;quot; He's choosing his words carefully. &amp;quot;Then he got a Stand, and it made all of us develop them. But I was four. I guess I was too young to control it. So I got sick.&amp;quot; This is sounding more and more convoluted, isn't it? &amp;quot;...I know a way to tell for sure if it's the same Jonathan Joestar...&amp;quot; He rubs at the back of his neck briefly, though not with a sheepish look.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He offers a grateful smile to Kord. &amp;quot;Thanks,&amp;quot; he says quietly, though he's plainly still disturbed about something. &amp;quot;It's... kind of confusing to me too, I admit. I'll have to see if I can get some more information about it.&amp;quot; He'll just have to pull up his big boy pants and deal with the notion that his existence is making someone upset. And he's still not pleased with his father for being unfaithful. &amp;quot;But... yeah. It's looking like Jonathan Joestar put Dio down, then he came back. That's what Jotaro said, too.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Poco and his sister confirms that it was Dio, it seems... but Josuke has moved to enter the castle. He doesn't see much around inside. And what does he do? The wrong thing to do in the situation of 'empty creepy castle'.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;...Hello?&amp;quot; he calls out, after Gawain calls out. As for what Dio looks like? &amp;quot;...I don't know. I've never seen him before...&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; Once inside the castle, Haguro starts to peer and poke about! She steps over when Gawain starts calling out for Jonathan, even giggling briefly before peering at the sunlight coming through. &amp;quot;He shouldn't be too far, right? If he's been here recently, then... He couldn't have gone too far without someone noticing. Especially if he was using technology beyond what would be normal for this time period.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; After a moment, Haguro starts heading forward, picking a random direction and just going for it! Stairs are prioritized, though, since going up means having a better vantage point! Maybe. &amp;quot;Is anyone in here? We're here to assist if you're in trouble!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I fought a woman that had a Stand once, before the multiversal upheaval,&amp;quot; Kord mentions aside to Josuke as they step on into the castle, his boots not making any noise as he walks. He seems pretty indifferent to most of this when he has his helmet on. He steps into the main hall and makes note of the lack of torches and lanterns to light the room, making it clear that if Jonathan were in here, he would be...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There must be a study further in. If he is anywhere in here, it would be the living quarters or wherever there would be desks and writing material,&amp;quot; he notes, because he had read that Jonathan was one of those fellows that got folded into the Concord from the League and might have more of an interest in research than most because of it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;JONATHAN JOESTAR!!&amp;quot; he calls into the castle, his deep and Romanian-like voice probably not comforting but plenty loud, &amp;quot;ARE YOU IN HERE?!&amp;quot; And then he starts walking further in to search for the study like he said, following up on his own idea.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Xiaomu nods to Josuke. &amp;quot;Fair enough. Sorry to make you delve into all that.&amp;quot; It does seem like a less than pleasant subject.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;For now, Xiaomu bows politely to the two kids. &amp;quot;I didn't catch your name,&amp;quot; she says to the girl, &amp;quot;but I'm Xiaomu. May you, your family, and your neighbors be safe from all evils, natural and unnatural.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;If the girl wants to introduce herself, Xiaomu lingers for that; if the chance to give her name is declined, Xiaomu just heads on to help search the castle - Kord's yell was REALLY audible, so finding him shouldn't be too much trouble. Depending on how echoes travel.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;A few time periods, a little more context, some names --all of it is helpful, if only in small measures. Priscilla may not look like she's eagerly absorbing the information (she rarely looks eager in most shades) but she has her ears and eyes out for every little detail she can pick up on.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Well then, young man, from what I knoweth of Sir Joestar, the idea that thou art related is quite plausible. Perhaps even likely. An 'alternate world' is not inaccurate, but it is also quite possible, and in fact, oft more common, for them to be similar in all respects but the period of time that is the present. What thou knowest couldst very well be accurate, so do not despair of its usefulness.&amp;quot; Admittedly, she knows /very/ little about Stands, but that's not the term that sticks out at her. She'll have to ask Kord later.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;If it is a matter of import to thee, I wouldst wish to hath thee on hand for whence we art able to track him down once again.&amp;quot; Any matter of heavy gates with unoiled hinges is easily rendered a moot point by her, well-used to shouldering the things aside. She might get a little rough, if need be, seeing as apparently it's not really Joseph's estate. Whilst the others call out for him, Priscilla breathes deeply and attunes her senses to that commonality that all creatures of Lordran share in one way or another: that of one for souls. Hers isn't enormously powerful, and nor wide-ranging enough to cover the whole castle, but she should at least get a general idea of anyone in the rough vicinity, living or dead. She doubts there will be much of a trail by now, but it's worth trying.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;If this vampire's resurrection is an onerous occurence to thine family, especially if it is also a common one, there art means of rectifying the problem in a permanent fashion.&amp;quot; she assures him, very cryptically.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Poco waves. Xiaomu is regarded with trepeidtious eyes for a moment, before finally, the girl nodded. &amp;quot;My name is Anca, this is Poco. Be safe, then..Sh...Jia...Xiaomu.&amp;quot; she shows her literaly skills, quickly adapting to the foreign name. Poco looks like he wanted to say goodbye too, but, perhaps he didn't have faith in his ability to pronounce it and just waved instead.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;In the Castle, the voices echo for what seems to be miles. But surely, this place wasn't quite that large, was it? ..There is no response. Either he wasn't here, or he was very deep inside. There were stairs leading up, as well as doors leading to different wings of the Castle, perhaps even to the tower shown before. Noticeably, the room was in severe disarray; there was dust...no, there was &amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline fg_n bg_n ++ u&amp;quot;&amp;gt;ash&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; all over the floor with discarded, ancient and broken pieces of armor or weaponry strewn about. But whatever battle had occured could not have been recent.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Faded, a painting of a woman stretched across the front-center of the room. It was Queen Elizabeth the First, a ruthless tyrant.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Once Priscilla extends her senses, she can indeed sense the dead. A great number of them, extinguished lives -- the ash that unceremoniously graces this area. The occasional dry rotted corpse, with a gunshot in its head, or perhaps its cranium lopped off. More of that icky muck from the graveyard. It permated everywhere she could think to feel out, but there was something faint. Something living. Jonathan was not nearby, but perhaps teetering on the edges of what she could sense. It was hard to tell exactly where, though.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke looks at Kord in surprise when he mentions there was someone else with a Stand. &amp;quot;Really?!&amp;quot; He's not sure if he's glad to hear it or not. But he will leave any further inquiries to that for later. Because he's worried now. Maybe it's what he's realized, and the danger he knows his ancestor will eventually be in.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;...He really hopes that... it's not happening now...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla gets a nod. &amp;quot;There's... circumstances involved in it,&amp;quot; Josuke replies. &amp;quot;Maybe... maybe it can be prevented here...&amp;quot; He hopes. Even if it would make him powerless. Would it work like that? Would he, from a different world, lose his Stand if Dio's resurrection did not come to pass in THIS world?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;...Josuke finds that... he doesn't really care. He just wants to stop Dio from hurting more people...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;In truth, Priscilla had expected a more empty sort of reception, abandoned by old age and disused by the townsfolk outside. It looks like, perhaps not that long ago, this place had been well used, however, the the adjoining village largely a convenience and attached farmland. The number of dead vastly surpasses her expectations. Then again . . .&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;There art lingering traces of vast numbers of dead amongst these ashes, but thinketh not such ash to be something a vampire wouldst render unto a man. The stench is as pervasive as the graveyard. I am left to wonder if this is Sir Joestar's handiwork, upon corpses that were guided inside, and made to battle him.&amp;quot; She crouches to check out a bullet hole, utterly unflinching in handling disgusting corpses, despite that elegant attire, to a degree that indicates she couldn't be trying even slightly hard to suppress a reaction.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I wouldst recognize the warmth of that spirit, as well. He hast most certainly passed through here, and very recently. Enough so that I believeth he shouldst still be here.&amp;quot; Naturally, she looks up, straight past the stairs and towards the ceiling. &amp;quot;Sir Kord, wouldst thou mind making use of thine power of flight, and ingressing through that hole in the tower?&amp;quot; And then to Josuke. &amp;quot;Anything of use thou couldst provide, thou shalt be rewarded for.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;No response... Hmm. That's... It's too early to say.&amp;quot; Haguro frowns as she listens a little bit longer and gets a bunch of nothing except echoes, following the stairs and taking note of the massive amount of refuse everywhere. The painting gets a disapproving stare from the Cruiser, but she doesn't linger on it for very long. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; Instead, her attention is focused on the room itself. &amp;quot;He might not have even been in here. Although...&amp;quot; She furrows her brow, looking mildly uncomfortable about the presence of all the discarded weapons and ash. Priscilla confirms her suspicions, but the talk of 'warmth' and Jonathan's recent presence has her looking around a bit more closely to see if there's any physical clues lingering aroundi n that room.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord looks aside at Josuke, and recalls the circumstances of the fight for a moment there. He looks at the boy with a beat or three of awkward silence, and just fails to confirm or elaborate. Without further questioning, he moves on to the matter at hand. Jonathan didn't respond when he called out. So the dark-attired fellow breathes another sigh.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And receives a suggestion from Priscilla. He turns and does exactly that, his wings spreading out and beating a few times, needing no updraft or even much space to pick up speed, just immediately taking off through the door. He flits up to the hole in the tower to land at the edge where it looks the most sturdy and call inside.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Jonathan Joestar!&amp;quot; he calls into the tower, in the hopes the man would at least answer.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Haguro finds misplaced dust and ash; possibly from someone having moved through the area previously, not excessively long ago. Perhaps a day or two. Prints of some kind of heavy, tread-less boot mar the thick layers of clutter on the cobbled floor.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;While Count Kord does not receive a response beyond the bellow of his own voice, he too, finds signs of someone having been through the area. Far more recent, clearer footprints to follow. If he chose to observe the room closer, he'd see some awfully..disturbing things. Like the gigantic breastplate discarded on the ground, and the boulder sized broadsword to match impaled in the corner. The room itself, was a dungeon, with chains hanging from the ceiling, some attached to thick steel collars. This was The Room of Dragon Decapitation.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The footprints led both in and back out of a sturdy iron door on one end of the dungeon. At most, these were hours old. Considering the amount of space between the tower and the main hall, it was clear the man had covered large amounts of ground searching every nook and cranny of the Castle. Perhaps he could be found at its core.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Not much to find as far as Xiaomu's concerned. She doesn't really have any good idea of where to look that the others aren't already thinking of.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;On the other hand, the fact that those footprints are so fresh is a pretty promising sign. &amp;quot;Mr. Joestar?&amp;quot; Xiaomu calls out, keeping her staff at the ready just in case those footprints belong to somebody less friendly.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#8b0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;This room has a comforting smell.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Shut up.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord might sound a little crazy, muttering that to himself up there, but THANK GOODNESS NO ONE CAN HEAR IT. Kord doesn't find it as comforting, as it shows signs of battle with horrific and unnatural beings whose destruction left only these pieces of armor and weapons presumably only there because they survived the disintegration of their owners. He decides to start following the footprints instead of fruitlessly shouting, as the trail of disturbed dust is assuredly the way to track down the man who could not have been here more than an hour or three ago.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Reminiscing about battles past... trying to understand how you got here, in this moment, with these people? What caused a fight like this to even be possible?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Such a mad road to walk, Joestar,&amp;quot; he murmurs, his thought process spoken aloud as he follows the trail, &amp;quot;But the one that leads to understanding.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span style=&amp;quot;color:#8b0000&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The entire castle is like a graveyard of the damned. You are quite like this Joestar. Hunters of the unnatural.&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; Yveltal liked to talk to Kord sometimes, maybe an echo of his own thoughts or some darker part of him, or maybe words from the actual deity. Kord just gave a grunt, further displeased by how chatty his thoughts had become. The noise wasn't welcome when he's trying to be cautious in his steps.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke doesn't have any way to sense Jonathan, sadly. His Stand isn't going to help him here. But Priscilla seems to be able to, so he sticks near her. He does venture, &amp;quot;If we could find something that was his, that might have been broken and he'd have the rest of... I might be able to help find him.&amp;quot; Though that's ridiculously specific, and from his tone he doesn't expect to have that kind of luck. But he remains nearby in case he's needed!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As Haguro starts to search for clues, Josuke starts! &amp;quot;Good idea!&amp;quot; he offers, and starts to assist in searching for physical clues. He doesn't really know what he's looking for, and he can't ask because he can't get in touch with Jotaro just yet -- Jotaro doesn't have a radio, and he wouldn't be able to call a phone from here that his much older nephew would be able to answer. To the group at large, he notes, &amp;quot;If you find something broken that fixing would give more clues to, let me know!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;As Xiaomu calls out, Josuke's sense of worry increases. There is a distinct frown on his face, and he looks rather upset by all this. &amp;quot;...Crap... I hope we're not too late...&amp;quot; he says, under his breath. He should have asked for more information before coming here! He should have gotten over his own discomfort at dealing with the Speedwagon Foundation and just FOUND OUT! What if is IS too late? What if it's too late, and he had access to the information that could have stopped it?! (''Please let it not be too late...!'')&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;That is very specific.&amp;quot; Priscilla just says it out loud to Josuke. &amp;quot;I am not so certain he maketh great habit of employing items liable to break, over his own abilities.&amp;quot; She follows. Briefly, she thinks to the bullet holes, and asks &amp;quot;What of expended ammunition?&amp;quot; That sort of counts as breaking, right?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Regardless, if examining corpses isn't going anywhere, she'll head off on her own. Not keen on being ambushed by an undead monster out of the dark (for the Nth time), as soon as Priscilla rounds a corner, she turns herself invisible, moving through the corridors with an utterly silent gait, doing her very best to track down where she had felt a living person from, through pretty rudimentrary hot-cold. On the way, she keys the radio.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Count Kord. Lady Haguro. What is it that thou see?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;quot;There was definitely someone here recently.&amp;quot; Haguro responds, resisting the urge to actually touch anything in favor of trying to mentally map out the footprints. &amp;quot;Not very recently, but... Maybe a day or two ago? If that is the case, though, then...&amp;quot; She pauses, listening in on the radio conversation and frowning worriedly. &amp;quot;... How long was he fighting? We may need to hurry if he hasn't had time to recover and is still fighting now.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Ultimately, all the paths taken, no matter how roundabout, lead to one space. The footprints followed by Kord, Priscilla's sensory -- the countless places of battle against the inhuman they passed through, it all took them to one place. A grand staircase that went up, up, up ...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;It went on, occasionally twisting to the side, continuing its ascent for what felt like ages. A needlessly lavish extension made by Elizabeth the First in the sixteen hundreds that would lead to what had been her throne room, with a glorious overlook over Windknight's Lot. Though split through the winding, near infinite mazelike halls of the Castle, every one of those who entered would find themselves here. And in that room, disheveled by battle, a chandalier having shattered against the ground and crushed creatures that had been reduced to ash, there was a person. A man clad in strange, eccentric armor and with a decorated sword strapped to his back. Sunlight cast the room in a nicer way then that almost decrepit, dank feeling the rest of the Castle showed, by and large. The man turns; his armor is primarily composed of rings. If one were of the personality to count each one, he was adorned with exactly seventy seven rings. It had to be impossibly heavy, it should be, but it didn't seem to bother him at all.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;His gauntlet clad had reaches up to unbuckle the straps keeping his helmet in place, removing it with as smooth a motion as possible, revealing shiny black hair and a handsome face. Familiar, striking blue eyes.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Jonathan Joestar, who had been deep in thought, bore an expression of surprise. &amp;quot;Who...?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;There's no sense in keeping herself hidden when Priscilla recognizes who it is. It's unlikely she'll be first by a significant margin, but before she even so much as takes the opportunity to figure out who these paintings can be attributed to, her focus is entirely on the so-called archaeologist wearing a suit of armour and wielding an impressive sword. That's a little more like it.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;We had wondered where thou had gone, Sir Joestar, but it wouldst seemeth thou were busy producing quite an impressive trail of corpses.&amp;quot; she says, kind of out of the corner of the room. &amp;quot;Well, perhaps corpses is not the correct term, as they were perhaps already. Still, I am gladdened to see thee well. Though I am now even more confident in thine skill, I cannot say these matters encouraged us.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Moving to the center of the room, she turns to look out the windows for just a moment, looking to the trick of sunlight. &amp;quot;So? Didst thou find the quarry thou sought, in the end? Am I to understandeth it is this 'Dio'?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:863|Haguro (863)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; After a lot of wandering, false alarms, and very nearly blasting a hole into a wall or three, their target has been found! Haguro's wary at first when they come across the heavily armored man, but when he reveals himself to be Jonathan Joestar, she finds herself staring even after Priscilla confirms that it is indeed him. &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;You're..? Oh! Ah...&amp;quot; Haguro clears her throat and manages a slow salute, never taking her eyes off of the heavily armored British man. &amp;quot;It's good to finally meet you. The people back in the village might be worried about you.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke's grown noticeably pale at all this, and those with enhanced senses will doubtless hear his heart running away with him. He'll make his way through the area with the others, possibly apart from the others at times, since he'll probably have to find his own way through the place, lacking flight or super-jumping ability.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He stops in the destroyed room with the broken chandelier, pausing when he sees the knight. He doesn't count the rings, no. There's things he's worried about that aren't ring-armor. He does notice it though... individual rings? Or are they bound together somehow? Why would someone wear a suit of armor like that? That wasn't the fashion in this era, was it?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;The knight reveals his face then. His eyes and Josuke's aren't exactly the same... but maybe someone here would notice that they are indeed close enough to notice the resemblance. With the two of them in the same room, perhaps any similar features the two of them share would be easier to notice.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke certainly has noticed a resemblance. But to someone else he knows. The man before him shares a lot of features with Jotaro! Of course Jotaro's features are more Asian. But aside from that, the resemblance is uncanny. It leaves him briefly speechless, in fact.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla confirms that this is Jonathan Joestar, and Josuke seems to 'wake up'. He breathes a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping. &amp;quot;Whew... I was super worried...&amp;quot; he breathes, along the exhale. He straightens then, as Priscilla asks about Dio, and he looks to Jonathan for the answer.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Also... manners! Jonathan is a gentleman, right? Josuke bows politely. &amp;quot;H-hello, Mr. Joestar. My name is Josuke Higashikata. P-pleased to meet you.&amp;quot; He really doesn't know what to think. Other than OH THANK GOD IT'S NOT TOO LATE!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Kord, Count of Dragoni and Hand of the Concord,&amp;quot; the man in the skull-like helmet replies with a bow when he espies Jonathan and overhears the question. &amp;quot;And you, Jonathan, have been absent for long enough to warrant checking in on your well-being.&amp;quot; And then he doesn't bother to ask the man if he's doing alright because it's clear that Jonathan has only been here in investigation of the ruins. Ruins that speak of battles that happened half a year ago.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You do... thorough and impressive work,&amp;quot; the Count says, gesturing with one thumb over his shoulder toward all the sights he had witnessed on the way here. &amp;quot;I would guess, Your Majesty, that he hasn't found his prey, if he has returned here and is combing it as much as he seems to be,&amp;quot; he guesses aside, because he just observed that the man's attire and his roaming might suggest as much.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Such a restless hunter...&amp;quot; he murmurs, looking back and considering what might've brought the man here when it's clear the fight was months ago.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That's a lot of rings, all right. How many doesn't really matter - not nearly as much as the fact that he's wearing that much metal, NOT articulated or power-assisted, and still moving around pretty easily.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Rather than approaching to shake hands or fistbump or anything, Xiaomu just waves to Jonathan Joestar. &amp;quot;Came looking for you. I'm Xiaomu, we've crossed paths a couple of times before but you might not remember me that well.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan, his hair unkempt from all the time it spent inside of that helmet, looks somewhat sheepish of Josuke's sudden bow. &amp;quot;Ah...thank you, but there's no need to bow to me.&amp;quot; Now that he had a moment to get his bearings and look at each person gathered here, he began to get a grasp on the situation. Jonathan nods to Xiaomu, he could recall meeting her in that psychic escapade and as well, in Lordran. &amp;quot;Is that so..? I do suppose I've been in here for a long time.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;To play off his embarassment at having made them having come so far out of their way, he rubs the back of his head lightly. &amp;quot;Yes, that man is correct. All the battles fought here were done nearly six months ago, though..I'd wonder where you heard that name. Dio...no, when the final confrontation came, my world became conjoined with the Multiverse. It was at that time he fled with his tail between his legs.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Just remembering it made him frown deeply. His expression was almost angry. &amp;quot;While I appreciate the compliments to my skill, I was not the only one who came here that night. I was assisted by several others.&amp;quot; Even if several of them had not seen the next sunrise. As the thought entered his head, his gaze drifted to the bowl of wilted roses floating about an off colored liquid. &amp;quot;After checking on the townsfolk, I wanted to make sure nothing had been biding its time in the sprawling halls of the Castle. And...I suppose its selfish, but I found myself studying my previous battles here. It was a valuable experience.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;That Josuke boy, Jonathan couldn't help but feel..connected to him, somehow. It wasn't just a similarity of eyes, but a similarity of the soul. &amp;quot;I'm very sorry for making you all come all this way.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The sun was dipping below the horizon now. It suddenly brought forth a flash, a single memory.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;span class=&amp;quot;underline bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hur&amp;quot;&amp;gt;The sun has set and your life will go with it!&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Perhaps I've been cooped up in here too long, though.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;I supposeth, then, I blame thee not for dressing for war, though I wouldst ask the particulars of such a peculiar choice of equipment at some time.&amp;quot; says Priscilla. &amp;quot;Art these people known to thee personally, or simply accessories to this tragedy?&amp;quot; she also asks. Though questions about who else came here are tempting, they might be in poor taste, so, instead, when Jonathan goes the length of apologizing-&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;Then let us depart. Soon it shalt be dark, and miserable to navigate those winding passes by.&amp;quot; Priscilla bends down just enough to offer her hand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;You did not make me go anywhere,&amp;quot; Kord tells Jonathan with the vague sense of personal insult that snobby sorts might portray, but the dismissive wave he gives in the man's direction and the following statement changes the context, &amp;quot;I know you are not yet dead, and that is what I came here to check. I will examine the castle for a few hours after you leave, as I want to see the remains of the battle for myself. The dark is no stranger for me.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;And then Kord just kinda wanders off, having grown uneasy around all of this EMOTION... that he knows he has no answer for, as he feels it impolite to linger around a man who may very well be mourning a loss of two separate natures. Loss of friends, and a loss of a major battle.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Josuke just looks immensely relieved. He inhales, as though he's about to say something, but then seems to think better of it, and doesn't say anything. Not until Jonathan speaks of being cooped up too long, and apologizes to the group. &amp;quot;...It's okay. I can understand it, this looks like a really big fight happened here.&amp;quot; Probably something horrible, given how scared the people outside were. He doesn't immediately answer the concern of how they'd heard the name 'Dio', though; now that Jonathan's all right, Josuke doesn't even know how to begin explaining it all!&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Priscilla's mention of the pass reminds him. &amp;quot;Oh! That's right. I fixed the tunnel coming here, so you shouldn't have to go through the mountains on the way back,&amp;quot; he offers, with a smile. And then he asserts, &amp;quot;It's safe, I promise.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Kord's mention of Jonathan's battle prowess (at least he assumes that's what Kord's talking about) gets a nod. &amp;quot;Yeah. Even if you had help, that's still really impressive. You're really strong,&amp;quot; he notes. Though he blinks a bit as Kord just sort of wanders off.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;M-Mr. Joestar...&amp;quot; he hedges. &amp;quot;There's... something I need to tell you.&amp;quot; Josuke chews his bottom lip, trying to figure out how to explain it. Then he gets an idea. A determined look comes to his face then. &amp;quot;You wanted to know how we know the name 'Dio'. This is why.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;He turns then, presenting his side to Jonathan. &amp;quot;Because he's tied up with my family.&amp;quot; Then he reaches to pull down the collar on his left side. It's just enough to show the skin of the nape of his neck. And on that patch of skin?&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;...A star-shaped birthmark.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Will Jonathan know what the birthmark means? Has it always persisted? Or did it start later? Hopefully Jonathan understands...&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:'''{{#var:1107|Jonathan Joestar (1107)}} has posed:'''&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Oh, this...in much older times, there existed a rite called the Challenge of Seventy Seven Rings. It was a test of fortitude and skill, and while I had no seventy seven opponents to best, the closest thing was surely making the treck through the mountains and this Castle adorned in the heavy armor of Rings.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Evidently, he'd gone through the entire mountain range -- gorge and all, wearing this heavy stuff. And if the implication were to be believed, he hadn't taken it off in days. &amp;quot;Ah -- I see.&amp;quot; Kord's ..unruly personality, shall we say, didn't seem to put him down. Jonathan just smiled gently and let him wander off, he didn't believe the man was in any danger, afterall. He hoped he found something worthwhile among the remains of the Castle-wide battle waged against Dio and his lieutenants that night. Jonathan had done some soul searching, and perhaps, a little bit of grieving he hadn't had time to do beforehand.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Priscilla is answered simply, before Josuke got his attention. &amp;quot;We'd all come with the intent of destroying Dio, no matter the cost.&amp;quot; In other words, they'd all marched there, knowing that they would face inhuman beasts beyond compare, at least, at the time. They'd all gone there making peace with the knowledge that the likelihood of one of them, much less all, making it out alive was small.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Then, Josuke showed him his birthmark. Instinctively, his unoccupied hand smacked over the exact same spot on his own neck. The exact same birthmark that he possessed, and that his father had before him. &amp;quot;T-that's..!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;Proof of Lineage.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;Jonathan's body dramatically contorted in his surprise. &amp;quot;But, that shouldn't be possible....unless, you're from another reality..?!&amp;quot;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14301</id>
		<title>Jonathan Joestar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14301"/>
				<updated>2017-05-03T16:42:40Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=00228B&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=1107&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=http://i.imgur.com/fiiaVOv.png?1&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=True Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=League&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4-Associate&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=A zombie has no right to an introduction!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=No.&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=195cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=105kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Black&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Blue&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Kazuyuki Okitsu&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02OuQB8i3GI Gentleman's Legacy]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A proper English gentleman by the dictionary, Jonathan holds himself to a strict code of conduct befitting the noblesse oblige of the Joestar family. Possessed by an explosive drive and a personality suited to overcome adversity, every hardship seems to make him crank it up a notch and become even more intense in his efforts to conquer the difficulties presented before him. This big-hearted and resolute attitude endears him easily to others, even more so when they come to hear the tidbits of his sad tale that Jonathan is willing to share. Of his study into a mysterious stone mask, of his father's death at the hands of his adopted brother, Dio, and of the same man's transformation into an inhuman monster that feasts on human life, which prompted the appearance of Jonathan's now deceased master, William A. Zeppeli. Instructed in the Tibetan martial art of Hamon, which applies breathing techniques to generate an energy similar to sunlight, he set forth to eliminate Dio and his followers. Even now, Jonathan searches incessantly for any sign of where the vampire has scurried off to lick his wounds, and of any leads that would give him greater clarity on the nature of the vile Stone Mask that has caused such tragedy in the wake of its misuse.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining='''Hamon of the Sun:''' A Tibetan breathing exercise that causes the body to generate an energy similar to sunlight. Hamon has a great many applications, but its primary use is in burning away Undead and similar dark creatures of the night, so long as he maintains the breathing pattern necessary for it. As well, his already impressive physical might is further enhanced by his overflowing Sendō. Speed, Strength, Reflex, Stamina, are all boosted to an incredible degree, such that he becomes capable of lifting a three hundred pound anvil and throwing it with one hand, with enough force to smash the head of a Chimera.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant='''Sendō Overdrive:''' A key trait of Ripple Energy is its conductivity. Energy travels in waves, and Hamon is no different as it can pass through a variety of objects solid or otherwise. Sendō is the technique that passes Ripple through something to attack, such as transmitting a wave of Ripple through a wall to blast something on the other side, without damaging the wall itself. Likewise, it can pass through an organic object to shatter something inorganic, an example being a charge of Ripple being sent through a frog to destroy the rock it was sitting on, without harming the frog in question. Sendō is a very useful trick up the sleeve of any Hamon practitioner worth their salt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Scarlet Red Overdrive:''' Using Hamon to flood his hand with ripple, Jonathan can create ripple-charged fire through his own body heat. This Red Overdrive can pass to other parts of himself or to other people without harm, through physical contact and allows him to absorb nearby open flames into his Overdrive, increasing its power proportionately.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Turquoise Blue Overdrive:''' Hamon conducts best through liquids, water being one of the absolute best in that regard. With a large enough source of it present, Jonathan can suffuse the body of water with ripple, causing it to condense into a form closer to plasma than a liquid, massively amplifying the potency of his Hamon in the process, allowing for a potentially devastating punching or kicking attack that unleashes a short range blast. While difficult to use due to the circumstances necessary, it is without a doubt Jonathan's single strongest Overdrive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Sunlight Yellow Overdrive:''' A continuous attack of Overdrives transmitted through Jonathan's fists, the entire duration of the attack is equivalent to being exposed to the high-noon sun, for a vampire. The output of ripple is unlike any other Overdrive attack Jonathan is known to perform, the mere residual energy has regenerative properties to living things, causing dead grass and flowers to bloom around his vicinity. While each individual punch of this Overdrive is weaker than a Blue Overdrive, the entirety of the attack is many magnitudes greater. It is considered Jonathan's Ultimate Technique.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor='''Metal Silver Overdrive:''' Hamon conducts excellently through many types of metal, Jonathan's preferred method is charging his own weapon, the sword of Luck &amp;amp; Pluck, with ripple to increase its durability and cutting power. Especially against entities weak to Hamon, it goes through them like a hot knife through butter. As well, it can be used as a variation of Sendō to disarm some opponents, though it typically doesn't have a great effect. Even against Vampires, its inability to destroy them even with a direct hit makes it a very ineffective tool for dispatching them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Life Magnetism Overdrive:''' With a little bit of time, Jonathan can use positive-negative Hamon to attach leaves or other similar materials together, inducing a magnetic effect. This can be used to create a compass, or even a hang-glider.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Navigation(Consent):''' With certain items, like a glass of wine, Jonathan can use Hamon to track others down. This is done by charging the target with positive Hamon, or at least, something on their person. Then, with a glass of wine or perhaps a water compass, Jonathan can send negative Hamon into it which will cause a reaction in the vicinity of his positive Hamon, essentially telling him how close or distant he is, even if not giving specifics.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Minor Regeneration:''' Ripple breathing produces a small regenerative effect. Insignificant wounds become ineffective until Ripple Breathing is interrupted.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages='''What Are You Doing?!''' Unforgivable!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Jonathan is an honorable man who follows the ethos of gentleman's code. He has very strict concepts of good and evil, and a fiery temper when prompted by what he considers despicable, into action. In such cases, Jonathan is prone to pick a fight regardless of how advantageous it would be to do so in a given situation or how well he could match up to his opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Who'll Be The Last One Standing?!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;:''' Possessed by unbreakable willpower, Jonathan's drive isn't always a good thing. It means he isn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes to be right, with no regard to his chances of victory; his personality is very much prone to make him stand his ground and keep fighting until he dies. While this persistence can be a boon under the right conditions, it can be lethal in the wrong ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''That's Enough, Dio!&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' In regards to his adopted brother, Dio Brando, Jonathan has tunnel vision. Dio is a Vampire, and Jonathan feels responsible for his inhuman status, which came about due to his research into an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan will go to any length to contain threats pertaining to the more gothic side of supernatural themes. This goes double for Dio himself, and the Stone Mask whose origins remain yet a mystery to everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''No! I Should Have Been There To Protect You..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' Jonathan's chivalrous nature makes it easy to exploit him through the people he cares about. Threatening his friends or family is a good way to incite him to action, making him easy to lead into traps. His existing Troubles mean that, even if he knows that he's walking into a trap, Jonathan won't back down from that fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''This Is My Final Ripple..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' Practice of Hamon requires a very specific manner of breathing. Jonathan has been trained to breathe this way reflexively, but any sort of irregularity in that respiratory pattern will destabalize his abilities with Hamon. Exhaustion, or damage to his respiratory system of any kind, can be devestating as they would strip him of all his Advantages granted by Ripple Breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Where Am I?&amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;:''' Being from the late 1800's, just before the turn of the century, Jonathan's scientific knowledge is somewhat limited, even if impressive in his own time. This can be used against him in certain ways, such as with Dio Brando's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes. Without complete understanding of modern medicine and science, Jonathan is susceptible to more advanced strategies that incorporate Modern Technology or Modern Physics.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure-2&amp;diff=14283</id>
		<title>JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure-2&amp;diff=14283"/>
				<updated>2017-04-24T21:56:13Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;===Phantom Blood=== The setting is England, 1888. Life for many, is very mundane. Personal troubles persist for everyone, of course, but for the few that are in the 'know' ......&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;===Phantom Blood===&lt;br /&gt;
The setting is England, 1888. Life for many, is very mundane. Personal troubles persist for everyone, of course, but for the few that are in the 'know' ... those few, wish that life were that simple. Supernatural terrors plague the small and forgotten land called Windknight's Lot, as the newly reborn vampire, Dio Brando, takes residence in the long-since-abandoned castle. Missing villagers are not uncommon, and by the time night comes, those who are left lock up and cower inside their homes, praying for the morning light. Dead bodies buried and forgotten are rising from the graves, and some say, that many of the missing folk appear to have joined their ranks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jonathan Joestar and his party of allies set off to follow up on rumors of this place, which has since cut contact from surrounding areas, intent on putting a stop to the un-natural going ons that torture the villagers so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the other end of the world, monks in Tibet train themselves in the ancient martial art of Hamon in preperation for the day that unspeakable evil rears its head to threaten humankind. The Hamon Master, Tonpetti, gathers his two best students and ventures off to meet up with William A. Zeppeli, having been requested to do so under extenuating circumstance via letter. Straizo and Dire accompany their master without hesitation, more than happy to put their skills to the test against the terrible Stone Mask and the monster it gave unlife to.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14282</id>
		<title>Jonathan Joestar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14282"/>
				<updated>2017-04-24T03:45:03Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=00228B&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=1107&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=http://i.imgur.com/fiiaVOv.png?1&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=True Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=League&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4-Associate&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=A zombie has no right to an introduction!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=No.&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=195cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=105kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Black&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Blue&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Kazuyuki Okitsu&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02OuQB8i3GI Gentleman's Legacy]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A proper English gentleman by the dictionary, Jonathan holds himself to a strict code of conduct befitting the noblesse oblige of the Joestar family. Possessed by an explosive drive and a personality suited to overcome adversity, every hardship seems to make him crank it up a notch and become even more intense in his efforts to conquer the difficulties presented before him. This big-hearted and resolute attitude endears him easily to others, even more so when they come to hear the tidbits of his sad tale that Jonathan is willing to share. Of his study into a mysterious stone mask, of his father's death at the hands of his adopted brother, Dio, and of the same man's transformation into an inhuman monster that feasts on human life, which prompted the appearance of Jonathan's now deceased master, William A. Zeppeli. Instructed in the Tibetan martial art of Hamon, which applies breathing techniques to generate an energy similar to sunlight, he set forth to eliminate Dio and his followers. Even now, Jonathan searches incessantly for any sign of where the vampire has scurried off to lick his wounds, and of any leads that would give him greater clarity on the nature of the vile Stone Mask that has caused such tragedy in the wake of its misuse.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining='''Hamon of the Sun:''' A Tibetan breathing exercise that causes the body to generate an energy similar to sunlight. Hamon has a great many applications, but its primary use is in burning away Undead and similar dark creatures of the night, so long as he maintains the breathing pattern necessary for it. As well, his already impressive physical might is further enhanced by his overflowing Sendō. Speed, Strength, Reflex, Stamina, are all boosted to an incredible degree, such that he becomes capable of lifting a three hundred pound anvil and throwing it with one hand, with enough force to smash the head of a Chimera.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant='''Sendō Overdrive:''' A key trait of Ripple Energy is its conductivity. Energy travels in waves, and Hamon is no different as it can pass through a variety of objects solid or otherwise. Sendō is the technique that passes Ripple through something to attack, such as transmitting a wave of Ripple through a wall to blast something on the other side, without damaging the wall itself. Likewise, it can pass through an organic object to shatter something inorganic, an example being a charge of Ripple being sent through a frog to destroy the rock it was sitting on, without harming the frog in question. Sendō is a very useful trick up the sleeve of any Hamon practitioner worth their salt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Scarlet Red Overdrive:''' Using Hamon to flood his hand with ripple, Jonathan can create ripple-charged fire through his own body heat. This Red Overdrive can pass to other parts of himself or to other people through physical contact and allows him to absorb nearby open flames into his Overdrive, increasing its power proportionately.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Turquoise Blue Overdrive:''' Hamon conducts best through liquids, water being one of the absolute best in that regard. With a large enough source of it present, Jonathan can suffuse the body of water with ripple, causing it to condense into a form closer to plasma than a liquid, massively amplifying the potency of his Hamon in the process, allowing for a potentially devastating punching or kicking attack that unleashes a short range blast. While difficult to use due to the circumstances necessary, it is without a doubt Jonathan's single strongest Overdrive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Sunlight Yellow Overdrive:''' A continuous attack of Overdrives transmitted through Jonathan's fists, the entire duration of the attack is equivalent to being exposed to the high-noon sun, for a vampire. The output of ripple is unlike any other Overdrive attack Jonathan is known to perform, the mere residual energy has regenerative properties to living things, causing dead grass and flowers to bloom around his vicinity. While each individual punch of this Overdrive is weaker than a Blue Overdrive, the entirety of the attack is many magnitudes greater. It is considered Jonathan's Ultimate Technique.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor='''Metal Silver Overdrive:''' Hamon conducts excellently through many types of metal, Jonathan's preferred method is charging his own weapon, the sword of Luck &amp;amp; Pluck, with ripple to increase its durability and cutting power. Especially against entities weak to Hamon, it goes through them like a hot knife through butter. As well, it can be used as a variation of Sendō to disarm some opponents, though it typically doesn't have a great effect. Even against Vampires, its inability to destroy them even with a direct hit makes it a very ineffective tool for dispatching them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Life Magnetism Overdrive:''' With a little bit of time, Jonathan can use positive-negative Hamon to attach leaves or other similar materials together, inducing a magnetic effect. This can be used to create a compass, or even a hang-glider.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Navigation(Consent):''' With certain items, like a glass of wine, Jonathan can use Hamon to track others down. This is done through a reaction between the conductor and ripple that must already be present, if not in the body of the one being tracked, then in something on their person. Jonathan's ability to track others this way is constrained to knowing that they are nearby, and having an idea of how relative that is to his location.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Minor Regeneration:''' Ripple breathing produces a small regenerative effect. Insignificant wounds become ineffective until Ripple Breathing is interrupted.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages='''What Are You Doing?!''' Unforgivable!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Jonathan is an honorable man who follows the ethos of gentleman's code. He has very strict concepts of good and evil, and a fiery temper when prompted by what he considers despicable, into action. In such cases, Jonathan is prone to pick a fight regardless of how advantageous it would be to do so in a given situation or how well he could match up to his opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Who'll Be The Last One Standing?!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;:''' Possessed by unbreakable willpower, Jonathan's drive isn't always a good thing. It means he isn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes to be right, with no regard to his chances of victory; his personality is very much prone to make him stand his ground and keep fighting until he dies. While this persistence can be a boon under the right conditions, it can be lethal in the wrong ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''That's Enough, Dio!&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' In regards to his adopted brother, Dio Brando, Jonathan has tunnel vision. Dio is a Vampire, and Jonathan feels responsible for his inhuman status, which came about due to his research into an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan will go to any length to contain threats pertaining to the more gothic side of supernatural themes. This goes double for Dio himself, and the Stone Mask whose origins remain yet a mystery to everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''No! I Should Have Been There To Protect You..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' Jonathan's chivalrous nature makes it easy to exploit him through the people he cares about. Threatening his friends or family is a good way to incite him to action, making him easy to lead into traps. His existing Troubles mean that, even if he knows that he's walking into a trap, Jonathan won't back down from that fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''This Is My Final Ripple..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;:''' Practice of Hamon requires a very specific manner of breathing. Jonathan has been trained to breathe this way reflexively, but any sort of irregularity in that respiratory pattern will destabalize his abilities with Hamon. Exhaustion, or damage to his respiratory system of any kind, can be devestating as they would strip him of all his Advantages granted by Ripple Breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Where Am I?&amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;:''' Being from the late 1800's, just before the turn of the century, Jonathan's scientific knowledge is somewhat limited, even if impressive in his own time. This can be used against him in certain ways, such as with Dio Brando's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes. Without complete understanding of modern medicine and science, Jonathan is susceptible to more advanced strategies that incorporate Modern Technology or Modern Physics.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14281</id>
		<title>Jonathan Joestar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14281"/>
				<updated>2017-04-24T03:41:54Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=00228B&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=1107&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=http://i.imgur.com/fiiaVOv.png?1&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=True Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=League&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4-Associate&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=A zombie has no right to an introduction!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=No.&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=195cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=105kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Black&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Blue&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Kazuyuki Okitsu&lt;br /&gt;
|Song=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02OuQB8i3GI Gentleman's Legacy]&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A proper English gentleman by the dictionary, Jonathan holds himself to a strict code of conduct befitting the noblesse oblige of the Joestar family. Possessed by an explosive drive and a personality suited to overcome adversity, every hardship seems to make him crank it up a notch and become even more intense in his efforts to conquer the difficulties presented before him. This big-hearted and resolute attitude endears him easily to others, even more so when they come to hear the tidbits of his sad tale that Jonathan is willing to share. Of his study into a mysterious stone mask, of his father's death at the hands of his adopted brother, Dio, and of the same man's transformation into an inhuman monster that feasts on human life, which prompted the appearance of Jonathan's now deceased master, William A. Zeppeli. Instructed in the Tibetan martial art of Hamon, which applies breathing techniques to generate an energy similar to sunlight, he set forth to eliminate Dio and his followers. Even now, Jonathan searches incessantly for any sign of where the vampire has scurried off to lick his wounds, and of any leads that would give him greater clarity on the nature of the vile Stone Mask that has caused such tragedy in the wake of its misuse.&lt;br /&gt;
|Defining=Hamon of the Sun: A Tibetan breathing exercise that causes the body to generate an energy similar to sunlight. Hamon has a great many applications, but its primary use is in burning away Undead and similar dark creatures of the night, so long as he maintains the breathing pattern necessary for it. As well, his already impressive physical might is further enhanced by his overflowing Sendō. Speed, Strength, Reflex, Stamina, are all boosted to an incredible degree, such that he becomes capable of lifting a three hundred pound anvil and throwing it with one hand, with enough force to smash the head of a Chimera.&lt;br /&gt;
|Significant=Sendō Overdrive: A key trait of Ripple Energy is its conductivity. Energy travels in waves, and Hamon is no different as it can pass through a variety of objects solid or otherwise. Sendō is the technique that passes Ripple through something to attack, such as transmitting a wave of Ripple through a wall to blast something on the other side, without damaging the wall itself. Likewise, it can pass through an organic object to shatter something inorganic, an example being a charge of Ripple being sent through a frog to destroy the rock it was sitting on, without harming the frog in question. Sendō is a very useful trick up the sleeve of any Hamon practitioner worth their salt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Scarlet Red Overdrive: Using Hamon to flood his hand with ripple, Jonathan can create ripple-charged fire through his own body heat. This Red Overdrive can pass to other parts of himself or to other people through physical contact and allows him to absorb nearby open flames into his Overdrive, increasing its power proportionately.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Turquoise Blue Overdrive: Hamon conducts best through liquids, water being one of the absolute best in that regard. With a large enough source of it present, Jonathan can suffuse the body of water with ripple, causing it to condense into a form closer to plasma than a liquid, massively amplifying the potency of his Hamon in the process, allowing for a potentially devastating punching or kicking attack that unleashes a short range blast. While difficult to use due to the circumstances necessary, it is without a doubt Jonathan's single strongest Overdrive.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sunlight Yellow Overdrive: A continuous attack of Overdrives transmitted through Jonathan's fists, the entire duration of the attack is equivalent to being exposed to the high-noon sun, for a vampire. The output of ripple is unlike any other Overdrive attack Jonathan is known to perform, the mere residual energy has regenerative properties to living things, causing dead grass and flowers to bloom around his vicinity. While each individual punch of this Overdrive is weaker than a Blue Overdrive, the entirety of the attack is many magnitudes greater. It is considered Jonathan's Ultimate Technique.&lt;br /&gt;
|Minor=Metal Silver Overdrive: Hamon conducts excellently through many types of metal, Jonathan's preferred method is charging his own weapon, the sword of Luck &amp;amp; Pluck, with ripple to increase its durability and cutting power. Especially against entities weak to Hamon, it goes through them like a hot knife through butter. As well, it can be used as a variation of Sendō to disarm some opponents, though it typically doesn't have a great effect. Even against Vampires, its inability to destroy them even with a direct hit makes it a very ineffective tool for dispatching them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Life Magnetism Overdrive: With a little bit of time, Jonathan can use positive-negative Hamon to attach leaves or other similar materials together, inducing a magnetic effect. This can be used to create a compass, or even a hang-glider.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Navigation(Consent): With certain items, like a glass of wine, Jonathan can use Hamon to track others down. This is done through a reaction between the conductor and ripple that must already be present, if not in the body of the one being tracked, then in something on their person. Jonathan's ability to track others this way is constrained to knowing that they are nearby, and having an idea of how relative that is to his location.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Minor Regeneration: Ripple breathing produces a small regenerative effect. Insignificant wounds become ineffective until Ripple Breathing is interrupted.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=What Are You Doing?! Unforgivable!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Jonathan is an honorable man who follows the ethos of gentleman's code. He has very strict concepts of good and evil, and a fiery temper when prompted by what he considers despicable, into action. In such cases, Jonathan is prone to pick a fight regardless of how advantageous it would be to do so in a given situation or how well he could match up to his opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Who'll Be The Last One Standing?!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Possessed by unbreakable willpower, Jonathan's drive isn't always a good thing. It means he isn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes to be right, with no regard to his chances of victory; his personality is very much prone to make him stand his ground and keep fighting until he dies. While this persistence can be a boon under the right conditions, it can be lethal in the wrong ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That's Enough, Dio!&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In regards to his adopted brother, Dio Brando, Jonathan has tunnel vision. Dio is a Vampire, and Jonathan feels responsible for his inhuman status, which came about due to his research into an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan will go to any length to contain threats pertaining to the more gothic side of supernatural themes. This goes double for Dio himself, and the Stone Mask whose origins remain yet a mystery to everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No! I Should Have Been There To Protect You..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Jonathan's chivalrous nature makes it easy to exploit him through the people he cares about. Threatening his friends or family is a good way to incite him to action, making him easy to lead into traps. His existing Troubles mean that, even if he knows that he's walking into a trap, Jonathan won't back down from that fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This Is My Final Ripple..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Practice of Hamon requires a very specific manner of breathing. Jonathan has been trained to breathe this way reflexively, but any sort of irregularity in that respiratory pattern will destabalize his abilities with Hamon. Exhaustion, or damage to his respiratory system of any kind, can be devestating as they would strip him of all his Advantages granted by Ripple Breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Where Am I?&amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Being from the late 1800's, just before the turn of the century, Jonathan's scientific knowledge is somewhat limited, even if impressive in his own time. This can be used against him in certain ways, such as with Dio Brando's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes. Without complete understanding of modern medicine and science, Jonathan is susceptible to more advanced strategies that incorporate Modern Technology or Modern Physics.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14280</id>
		<title>Jonathan Joestar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14280"/>
				<updated>2017-04-24T03:26:35Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=00228B&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=1107&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=http://i.imgur.com/fiiaVOv.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=True Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=League&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4-Associate&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=A zombie has no right to an introduction!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=No.&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=195cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=105kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Black&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Blue&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Kazuyuki Okitsu&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A proper English gentleman by the dictionary, Jonathan holds himself to a strict code of conduct befitting the noblesse oblige of the Joestar family. Possessed by an explosive drive and a personality suited to overcome adversity, every hardship seems to make him crank it up a notch and become even more intense in his efforts to conquer the difficulties presented before him. This big-hearted and resolute attitude endears him easily to others, even more so when they come to hear the tidbits of his sad tale that Jonathan is willing to share. Of his study into a mysterious stone mask, of his father's death at the hands of his adopted brother, Dio, and of the same man's transformation into an inhuman monster that feasts on human life, which prompted the appearance of Jonathan's now deceased master, William A. Zeppeli. Instructed in the Tibetan martial art of Hamon, which applies breathing techniques to generate an energy similar to sunlight, he set forth to eliminate Dio and his followers. Even now, Jonathan searches incessantly for any sign of where the vampire has scurried off to lick his wounds, and of any leads that would give him greater clarity on the nature of the vile Stone Mask that has caused such tragedy in the wake of its misuse.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=What Are You Doing?! Unforgivable!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Jonathan is an honorable man who follows the ethos of gentleman's code. He has very strict concepts of good and evil, and a fiery temper when prompted by what he considers despicable, into action. In such cases, Jonathan is prone to pick a fight regardless of how advantageous it would be to do so in a given situation or how well he could match up to his opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Who'll Be The Last One Standing?!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Possessed by unbreakable willpower, Jonathan's drive isn't always a good thing. It means he isn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes to be right, with no regard to his chances of victory; his personality is very much prone to make him stand his ground and keep fighting until he dies. While this persistence can be a boon under the right conditions, it can be lethal in the wrong ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That's Enough, Dio!&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In regards to his adopted brother, Dio Brando, Jonathan has tunnel vision. Dio is a Vampire, and Jonathan feels responsible for his inhuman status, which came about due to his research into an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan will go to any length to contain threats pertaining to the more gothic side of supernatural themes. This goes double for Dio himself, and the Stone Mask whose origins remain yet a mystery to everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No! I Should Have Been There To Protect You..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Jonathan's chivalrous nature makes it easy to exploit him through the people he cares about. Threatening his friends or family is a good way to incite him to action, making him easy to lead into traps. His existing Troubles mean that, even if he knows that he's walking into a trap, Jonathan won't back down from that fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This Is My Final Ripple..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Practice of Hamon requires a very specific manner of breathing. Jonathan has been trained to breathe this way reflexively, but any sort of irregularity in that respiratory pattern will destabalize his abilities with Hamon. Exhaustion, or damage to his respiratory system of any kind, can be devestating as they would strip him of all his Advantages granted by Ripple Breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Where Am I?&amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Being from the late 1800's, just before the turn of the century, Jonathan's scientific knowledge is somewhat limited, even if impressive in his own time. This can be used against him in certain ways, such as with Dio Brando's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes. Without complete understanding of modern medicine and science, Jonathan is susceptible to more advanced strategies that incorporate Modern Technology or Modern Physics.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14279</id>
		<title>Jonathan Joestar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://multiversemush.com/mw/index.php?title=Jonathan_Joestar&amp;diff=14279"/>
				<updated>2017-04-24T03:23:31Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;VVendettas: Created page with &amp;quot;{{CharacterRedux |NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar |Color=00228B |Char_id=1107 |Img=http://i.imgur.com/vQcAdaG.png |FullName=Jonathan Joestar |Gender=Male |Species=Human |Theme=JoJ...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{CharacterRedux&lt;br /&gt;
|NameOnMUSH=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Color=00228B&lt;br /&gt;
|Char_id=1107&lt;br /&gt;
|Img=http://i.imgur.com/vQcAdaG.png&lt;br /&gt;
|FullName=Jonathan Joestar&lt;br /&gt;
|Gender=Male&lt;br /&gt;
|Species=Human&lt;br /&gt;
|Theme=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-2&lt;br /&gt;
|Chartype=FC&lt;br /&gt;
|Active=Active&lt;br /&gt;
|Function=True Gentleman&lt;br /&gt;
|Faction=League&lt;br /&gt;
|Rank=4-Associate&lt;br /&gt;
|Ranktype=Member&lt;br /&gt;
|Quote=A zombie has no right to an introduction!&lt;br /&gt;
|PAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|AAge=20&lt;br /&gt;
|Aging=No.&lt;br /&gt;
|Height=195cm&lt;br /&gt;
|Weight=105kg&lt;br /&gt;
|Hair=Black&lt;br /&gt;
|Eyes=Blue&lt;br /&gt;
|Voice=Kazuyuki Okitsu&lt;br /&gt;
|Profile=A proper English gentleman by the dictionary, Jonathan holds himself to a strict code of conduct befitting the noblesse oblige of the Joestar family. Possessed by an explosive drive and a personality suited to overcome adversity, every hardship seems to make him crank it up a notch and become even more intense in his efforts to conquer the difficulties presented before him. This big-hearted and resolute attitude endears him easily to others, even more so when they come to hear the tidbits of his sad tale that Jonathan is willing to share. Of his study into a mysterious stone mask, of his father's death at the hands of his adopted brother, Dio, and of the same man's transformation into an inhuman monster that feasts on human life, which prompted the appearance of Jonathan's now deceased master, William A. Zeppeli. Instructed in the Tibetan martial art of Hamon, which applies breathing techniques to generate an energy similar to sunlight, he set forth to eliminate Dio and his followers. Even now, Jonathan searches incessantly for any sign of where the vampire has scurried off to lick his wounds, and of any leads that would give him greater clarity on the nature of the vile Stone Mask that has caused such tragedy in the wake of its misuse.&lt;br /&gt;
|Disadvantages=What Are You Doing?! Unforgivable!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Jonathan is an honorable man who follows the ethos of gentleman's code. He has very strict concepts of good and evil, and a fiery temper when prompted by what he considers despicable, into action. In such cases, Jonathan is prone to pick a fight regardless of how advantageous it would be to do so in a given situation or how well he could match up to his opponent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Who'll Be The Last One Standing?!&amp;lt;Trouble&amp;gt;: Possessed by unbreakable willpower, Jonathan's drive isn't always a good thing. It means he isn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what he believes to be right, with no regard to his chances of victory; his personality is very much prone to make him stand his ground and keep fighting until he dies. While this persistence can be a boon under the right conditions, it can be lethal in the wrong ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That's Enough, Dio!&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: In regards to his adopted brother, Dio Brando, Jonathan has tunnel vision. Dio is a Vampire, and Jonathan feels responsible for his inhuman status, which came about due to his research into an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan will go to any length to contain threats pertaining to the more gothic side of supernatural themes. This goes double for Dio himself, and the Stone Mask whose origins remain yet a mystery to everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No! I Should Have Been There To Protect You..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Jonathan's chivalrous nature makes it easy to exploit him through the people he cares about. Threatening his friends or family is a good way to incite him to action, making him easy to lead into traps. His existing Troubles mean that, even if he knows that he's walking into a trap, Jonathan won't back down from that fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This Is My Final Ripple..&amp;lt;Significant&amp;gt;: Practice of Hamon requires a very specific manner of breathing. Jonathan has been trained to breathe this way reflexively, but any sort of irregularity in that respiratory pattern will destabalize his abilities with Hamon. Exhaustion, or damage to his respiratory system of any kind, can be devestating as they would strip him of all his Advantages granted by Ripple Breathing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Where Am I?&amp;lt;Minor&amp;gt;: Being from the late 1800's, just before the turn of the century, Jonathan's scientific knowledge is somewhat limited, even if impressive in his own time. This can be used against him in certain ways, such as with Dio Brando's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes. Without complete understanding of modern medicine and science, Jonathan is susceptible to more advanced strategies that incorporate Modern Technology or Modern Physics.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>VVendettas</name></author>	</entry>

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