Scene #4215: Silver Grail War: Showdown

Owner	Pose
Kazusa Ujikane	It's High Noon Online. With the proliferation of VRMMOs in Kirito's world, it was inevitable that someone would put together one themed on America's Wild West. Or at least, a highly fantastical, slightly steampunk version of it. Though relatively modest, HNO has its share of dedicated players, and as such the 'hub town' of Stormcloud City is quite bustling with activity both PC and NPC. It's the perfect place for someone who's snuck in from the outside world in physical form to not be seen. Kazusa Ujikane has been playing the part of a gawking tourist for the past ten minutes. After a dedicated harassment campaign- er, PLEADING REQUEST to Kirito, she is here to see a virtual world for herself, not with the dulled senses and sense of detachment of a VR headset. But outside clothes stick out like a sore thumb in a place where spurs and Stetsons are the order of the day. So a poncho it is! A poncho and a cowboy hat, both good at hiding features that are decidedly nonstandard for HNO avatars, and both purchased from a local shop so as to keep from being asked questions like 'where did you get that gear'. "Oooh, Saber, you look really good in that," she observes as they walk. "I kind of want to- oh my gosh, look at that guy's revolver! That is /so cool/..." Someone's easily distracted. Easily distracted enough to fail to notice the way a random 'scenery' NPC suddenly shudders after she walks past, and then turns to amble after her in a lurching, unnatural gait. Or how elsewhere in the crowd, a particular cowboy clad all in black shifts away from a wall, going from 'idle people-watching' to a very interested sort of posture...
Moonlit Saber	Although somewhat reluctant to change out of he rusual kimono, Saber had insisted on coming along with her Master... and that means dressing to blend in so she doesn't draw too many looks. It really only somewhat works. Probably because she picked out some of the most expensive end-game vanity outfits to fit her style, because there is no way she'd want to walk around in pants. ...she's never even -worn- pants in her entire life. So instead, she's only slightly out of place, dressed as a well-to-do young lady, complete with long bustled dress and umbrella. The game is new enough that most players don't have the kind of money for gear like this, but... well, Saber just gives her Master a knowing smile. Too bad that only works for her. "I still have no idea how people managed to live their entire lives wearing things like this." Wrinkling her nose slightly, she plucks at the fabric. "Still... it is nice for once in a while." Saber twirls the closed umbrella and makes a little pose as Kazusa compliments her, then glances toward the indicated cool thing with a soft smile. Easily distracted or no, that's her Master! "I do not know anything about guns, but..." Pause. Suddenly, Saber's gaze sharpens, and she adjusts her grip on the umbrella. "Something feels wrong, Master. I am not sure what..."
Xiaomu	"Doesn't seem so much 'wild' as 'still gettin' domesticated,'" remarks the Gold Vixen as she saunters up beside Kazusa. "You sure we're in the right town, pardner?" The 'Gold Vixen,' of course, is plenty recognizable by voice - Xiaomu cooked up an avatar to join the exploration of High Noon Online. She's also blonde, but the similarities to Xiaomu's offline form end there - she's got a body that'd look appropriate for threatening to spill out of a tight-corseted gown, although that's masked a little by her loose-fitting shirt and looser vest (while the trousers show off a butt that has yet to be flattened by too much horseback riding). She's also got a gold bandanna hanging about her neck, where she could pull it up and tighten it for an impromptu mask if push comes to shove, and a pair of revolvers, one at each hip. Maybe porting Sunshower or Kanokon from one of the other 'Seed' VRMMOs she plays would've been easier, but she doesn't want to lose any of her progress or gear in those games, so - a new avatar it was.
Frankenstein	White Berserker practically had to be pestered by a certain OTHER Master to get out of the house... she hasn't seen much action or even the outside for a while since her Master has been so busy, so this was, at least for her, a good excuse to get out. More so when Kazusa and Saber tell her what they're going to do... so off the wedding dress and into period peices... leaving the Bridal Berserker in a stereotypical cowgirl's outfit and her Bridal Chest upon her back. "I... read stories that... gunfights happen in this time period." she blurts out towards Saber as she follows behind the two, her eyes moving to take a look at the weapon that catches Kazusa's eyes.. "Mmmm?" she thinks a moment, unsure of what to say, at least, until Saber perks up. "Aaah? I... will ... take guard..?"
Kirito	This... is the worst idea ever. Going exploring in a random Wild West game? And just to see what the physical adventure's like? Kirito's not sure WHO in Union command thought that such a venture was a good idea, but somehow Kazusa's insistence has paid off - she's getting her stroll, and he... He is thankfully not bishy this time. Instead the appearance randomizer made him look like some kind of con artist with a villainous mustache. Consequently Kirito decided to pay some money during character creation, customize his appearance to that of his original Alfheim Online setup. Spiky black hair rests under a black hat. He's got sleek black clothes, from pants, boots, a belt, shirt, undershirt... and a button-down, trailblazing jacket with long coat tails! But aside from giving Kazusa some pointers - she seems to have an understanding of the situation well enough - he's grumpily kept his distance. And he's also made preparations. Because EXPERIENCE. Experience tells him that whenever something this odd happens, it's going to be trouble. He's come prepared. This cowboy's got a weapon slung over his shoulder. A gunblade. And he doesn't miss that someone's turned to FOLLOWING the girls. Quietly alarmed, he starts scooting his way after them, cursing the fact that he doesn't even have a Skulking skill here or whatever it's called for HNO! He's a complete n00b, stat-wise...
Winedark Archer	Something is indeed wrong. Saber and Berserker are not the only Servants here. While there seems to be somebody following them from up close, that's not the only stalker they have. As a starter town, Stormcloud City is prepped for events; in fact, one of the first events had working artillery, usable by players and NPCs alike! The cannons have been mostly deactivated, but they're still in place around Stormcloud City, and they've only been deactivated for player use, as NPCs won't activate them without a command (which is probably a bad idea, seeing how hackers exist). And for some horrible reason, those who aren't using AmuSpheres don't seem to actually qualify as players. Which is why an artillery shell is blazing through the city, flying right past Kazusa at a distance way too close for comfort. A few more steps and that may have hit! Is it some sort of glitch...? Anyone thinking that won't have too much time to think, as the presence of another Servant makes itself fully clear. Three arrows, shot at the same time, fly at the buildings around them, bouncing off posts and signs. The arrows ricochet, before finally moving towards their targets: one for Kazusa, one for Saber, and one for Berserker. Nobody else is lucky enough to get shot at. And then, appearing at the top of a building, dressed in an old ragged robe, the mysterious assailant appears. It's the man who called himself Rider, but who was totally obviously an Archer. His large compound bow is in hand, prepping another arrow, as he speaks. "Kazusa Ujikane. Saber. You whom I have not met, but assume is another of my enemies. It has been quite a while since we last met. We paired against the other who claimed he was Rider, yes. It seems none of us were destined to perish that day, and we split with the most temporary of alliances." There's a brief pause, as the man glances around at his targets, assuming that his ricocheting arrows will keep them distracted long enough to let him speak. "But in a war, alliances between enemies never last. So, I greet you one last time." "Tonight, I will kill you."
Tomoe	Speaking of terrible ideas? Tomoe had come along with Kirito and everyone else on this trip. She'd also spent a little bit on her avatar behold the Salmander Cowgirl, god help you all. She's tempate stacking andnothing could seem to stoip her. She was along side Kirito and looking rather concenred at him for a moment, she hopes things do not go too badly but falls in after Kirito, and like Kirito? She's a speed bump, at the moment.
Kazusa Ujikane	"Yeah, this is the right place!" the totally-not-cowgirl replies to the 'Gold Vixen'. "I really wanted to see what it was like for myself! In case I ever have to come here in person." She then nods to White Berserker. "Mhm! That's right. Showdowns and-" Saber says something about a bad feeling. "-eh? Saber, what's..." Kazusa trails off at that point, because it sinks in what 'a Servant has a bad feeling' tends to mean. She immediately turns to take a look around- and that's when the NPC lunges for her throat with lifeless eyes. "Gwuh-?!" Fortunately, Kazusa's reaction times are fast enough that she can... well, not quite /defend/ herself, but at least flop backwards to the ground in alarm, out of reach of the grasping hands. The NPC sort of ends up flopping on her face uselessly. The problem, however, is that this isn't isolated. More than one NPC has turned and suddenly started trying to attack players in a herky, jerky, unnatural sort of movement, as if their AI has been absolutely hijacked by something out of the ordinary. With his attention on Kazusa's attacker, Kirito finds himself subject to a lunge from a saloon girl, stumbling out the nearby door on autopilot, followed by a piano player attempting to grab hold of Tomoe. A sheriff tries to throw a wobbling punch at Xiaomu's avatar. A couple of players are now being menaced by a shopkeeper - a shopkeeper, apparently, marked as immortal. They can't hurt it. But it's sure trying to hurt them. Kazusa is just pulling herself to her feet when a cannonball goes screaming by her head. "WAAH-?!" She goes right back on her ass, scampering back a few feet- to see Archer up atop a building. "O-oh, it's..." It's that guy who helped out against Rider. And... and he's nocking an arrow. And shooting it at them through a crazy series of bullshit riccochets. Aw shit. Kazusa goes stock still.
Xiaomu	"WHAT THE F-" The Gold Vixen's exclamation stops there as she dives for cover from the incoming cannonball. And THEN she gets set upon by the sheriff. "Aw c'mon, I haven't even gotten my feet wet as an outlaw yet, don't go arresting me THIS fast!!" Fortunately, between the Vixen's offline skills and a lucky roll or two in chargen, she's able to hold her own - rolling away from the first punch, getting back to her feet fast enough to block the second, and following up with a cheap shot to the virtual sheriff's equally virtual danglies (does the computer even account for NPCs having those? She's always wondered ...) What the Vixen doesn't have is enough strength to knock the sheriff out with a single punch to the face, even on the heels of that kick between the fenceposts. Keeping him off-balance may be her best bet until she can build up to a knockout ... assuming she's allowed to do that to a sheriff. (Given how often these kinds of stories have a stranger coming into town to stop the villains whom even the sheriff can't stand against, she kind of hopes she is. And it goes with her character motif, so no real harm done. Hopefully. She thinks.) Of course, everyone has to SURVIVE this for her to worry about long-term plans ...
Moonlit Saber	Even though her Master gets back quickly, Saber spins in place and whacks the NPC with her umbrella... though she has absolutely no idea what it means when the invulnerable tag pops up. At least the attacker is down. The cannonball comes soon after, and she's quite grateful it missed... but she also doesn't like how close it came to -not- missing. But then that other voice speaks up, and Saber turns to face the other Servant. "The one who is not Rider..." One quick look at the bow all but confirms it for her. "Archer, you will not--" And then the arrow ricochet begins. Green eyes follow their path as best she can, and Saber quietly steps in front of Kazusa and turns to face her. She winces as the arrow meant for Kazusa strikes her in the back, then again as the one meant for her hits her shoulder. "Master... this is not a safe place to be." Reaching up, she yanks the arrow from her shoulder, then turns around again. "Pull out the other one for me... quickly." The first arrow is thrown to the ground, and she winces again as the second comes out, taking a deep breath. Not the worst of wounds, but she'll have to be more careful in her approach. "I am glad I have my swords with me." Her hand goes to her umbrella... and casts it aside as she draws Kusanagi from the handle. "A pity. I liked the parasol, at least." And then down comes Kusanagi, sending a short-ranged burst of wind to bowl over some of those shambling NPCs in her way.
Frankenstein	Oh hey, all chaos breaks loose now. What fun. That artillery shell goes rocketing by and, fortunately, misses its target, but the distraction is good enough for one of Archer's arrows to ricochet right into the Berserker, causing a minor groan of pain and a new pincushion look for the Bridal Berserker. "Uuu? Enemy... Servants?" she questions, though, getting her answer not only from the radio but from Archer's own admission, out comes the Bridal Chest, sparking up and charging up the Servant some. Kazusa gives her that order... smash... oh wait, there's NPC's around the area.. some that are even trying to hurt her. This isn't good. "Uuugh!" she grunts, shoving NPC's out of the way, smashing them aside with the Bridal Chest, stomping forward, taking a look at Archer. "Arrow... hurt..." she groans out, reaching for it to tug it out of her body. Though, here comes an issue. Archer is up. Berserker is on the ground and there may be people inside a building so smashing the building is probably out of the question. Well, the next best thing is to try and run into the place... and it's here she breaks into a run, heavy footsteps clod over the ground, kicking up dust then loud 'feet hitting wood'. There's tables being knocked over the place, other things being up ended. Shortest path to the stairs is right through it all! "Aaarch...err..."
Tomoe	Tomoe is used to not being a noob and this is going to cost her as the next thing she knows she's under attack by a highjacked NP. The piano player is able to grba hold of her and now she's locked in a melee with them as she tries to struggle losel. "Hey! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" She calls out as she's kocked over and still trying to get free of the NPC. She will attempt to throw them off if she's able to but it's clear she's having a time of it.
Ainsley	Ainsley was actually around this time! But it took a lot of effort to make sure that she was in an outfit that properly disguised who and what she was, so she got here very late. When she spotted the scuffle from afar and heard things getting bad over the radio, she found herself taking a slower approach and seeking out cover so that she wasn't in the cross hairs of a fight with an Archer, someone that could very well kill her before she can even get close. She's dressed in heavy clothing that makes her appear like some kind of Native American girl, hiding her face with a mask that isn't exactly historically accurate but it at least APPEARS to be made of bone so that people don't look too closely at her and figure out she's a reptile. She silently hopes that Archer hasn't seen her, the tiny figure hidden behind a few conveniently placed barrels where she can observe the battle from a relatively safe distance. This makes her harder to spot by, say, the NPCs, which she focuses on particularly hard. She begins to mouth words that come out as gentle dial-up tones, and her 'code' gets injected into the world around them, spreading out and... trying to tell the game 'THIS AREA IS INACTIVE, MAKE THESE NPCs DORMANT'. It has the effect of messing with the visual aspects of the world around her, such as momentarily glitching out her cover and making it drop through the floor, which leaves her vulnerable for more than a second. "Oh hell," she mumbles, realizing she is not in cover the moment she focuses her attention back on her surroundings, quickly trying to move to a better spot, but it's likely her stealth was already shattered with her... pretty blatant magic use.
Kirito	Kirito makes the mistake of going rigid in the streets once he notices the strange pattern of behavior that NPCs - who yes, after a few double checking glances at their icons reveals, are really NPCs - just shoudl NOT be doing. They're lurching around. And not just in any typical way. It reminds him strongly, VERY strongly, of zombies! And he has had very, VERY bad experiences with very real zombies. "hhhheEEEEEEEEE!!" He squeaks like a schoolgirl and dives away from the saloon one, entering a roll that sees him transitioning into a sprint. "Get somewhere NPCs can't path to! Like... ROOFTOPS!" He screams Tomoe's way. And just hopes that rooftops aren't out of bounds in this game. He knows, oh he KNOWS what a Servant is. And that terrifies him. He's fought one once before, and that was at his absolute best. He ends up barreling past a wall of NPCs, sliding under them and delivering a practiced roundhouse kick to another that turns to lunge at him. Even with shitty n00b stats, there's something to be said for the young man's sheer ability to coordinate that VR body and predict his foes. He leaps with all he's got for a low roof, hoping to swing up and get out of easy reach! This IS the guy who pondered trying to climb the outside of Aincrad to reach the next floor early, after all... he does things like this in a pinch. For now, he needs to get somewhere safe, and somewhere he can devise a plan.
Winedark Archer	Archer didn't expect his first shots to succeed. That'd be great, but too easy. Though things DO get interesting, as it seems Rider is here! Luckily, Rider's not against him this time. Maybe, in the end, they can work together. But for now, Archer has a fight on his hands. Saber's taken two of his arrows, and so has the third Servant, who he pegs immediately as Berserker after hearing her speaking patterns. Too stilted and unintelligent for any other class, as well as the fact she just takes an arrow and walks it off. Her running and slamming through the stairs alerts Archer to her position immediately, as he finishes nocking the arrow and launches towards the stairwell, before leaping off the roof. The arrow will proceed to bounce into the stairwell wall, ricocheting back and forth down the stairwell in an attempt to hit Berserker, though it could probably be dodged pretty easily if you ducked. Meanwhile, jumping off a rooftop is PLENTY of time to prep another shot. Two, in fact. One arrow is shot directly into the air...and another at the tip of the previous one. The arrows slam into each other, which causes them to spin around in mid air before flying back down. One launches to hit Kirito while he climbs, while the other seems to be flying straight for Kazusa, at an angle. Maybe Gin will move to take that one again? Except it's going over her head, aiming to fire into Ainsley right at the time her barrier goes down. This is getting tricky, however. Archer's not built for fighting multiple people at once, even if he has weird tricks he can do to assist himself. Well, not built without some help. He ends his leap a fair distance away from Kazusa and Saber, where the NPCs seem to be ignoring him entirely. He seems charismatic, almost as if the NPCs like him too much to attack him. "You seem like a good person. I assume you do not wish for your allies to be hurt, do you? I can spare them, for now. In return, give up the life of yourself and your Servant." Archer doesn't exactly expect this to work. But he's taking that time to move closer, as one of his hands moves to set on a bag on his side. Those at their last encounter may remember him also threatening to use this bag. "Or do you have too much pride? Do you believe you can fight me off, kill me, because you're a 'good person'? Don't deny it. You're full of hubris. Every man is, no exception." "Or will you be an exception, and be selfless? Make your choice."
Kazusa Ujikane	Xiaomu discovers that this game has a brawler skill called 'Low Blow'. Thus, the NPCs are coded to actually /react/ to being kicked in the cannon. The trouble is, whatever's hijacking the NPC seems to be partially overriding their coding. But only partially. The glitchy sheriff partially doubles over, but still attempts to lunge in after her, in a way that's easily dealt with. He flops onto the ground uselessly. Unfortunately, two hijacked deputies lunge in at her right after. The problem here isn't any one NPC, thanks to how brute-force they're being controlled. It doesn't work well. The real problem is how many there are. Though in all fairness, they probably don't have much ability to stop a Berserker. The tables and chairs all ping a little 'invulnerable' tag as she smashes into them, but they DO get bowled out of the way. Because this is a wild west MMO, of /course/ there's tableflip code in place. A couple of NPCs get plowed over, too. She won't have a hard time getting to a higher floor, or smashing through a window - assuming she can get past Archer's arrow. But after a moment she might notice that a card player is clinging to her in a vain attempt to cause something resembling harm. It is not very effective. Fortunately for Tomoe, most of these NPCs are not statted for combat, at all. They're the innocent bystanders. The piano player is easily thrown off, and doesn't seem to have an easy time of getting back on his feet, either. There is, however, the problem of a couple of literal cowboys who have decided that she is worth lunging after in a wildly clumsy and ineffective manner! And then Ainsley's magic washes over the area. What few NPCs haven't been taken control of, immediately despawn - which probably causes even more havoc for the few player characters still in the area. Those that ARE under foreign control? They shudder, stagger and slump... and then lurch to their feet again, now moving even more clumsily than before by an order of magnitude. Where the outside influence was badly manipulating their AI, now it is the only thing moving them at all, and the loss of effectiveness shows in the way they shamble. Rather like zombies, really. Don't look now, Ainsley, but there's a zombie barber shambling after you. As luck would have it for Kirito? The rooftops /are/ within bounds. After all, how many shootouts are there with outlaws up on the tops of buildings? Ordinarily, the NPCs /would/ be able to path up onto the rooftops to follow after him, but with Ainsley's magic interfering, they are unable to come up after the poor fella. They are mostly bumping into walls trying. They are, however, engaging in the peculiar behavior of 'ignoring Archer outright'. Even with the NPCs themselves disabled, whoever is in charge of the magic controlling them has acknowledged the Servant as an ally... at least for now.
Kazusa Ujikane	Kazusa is saved at the last moment by her Servant... in a way that causes her to wince. "-ah! Saber, you're- you're hurt..." A frown. She reaches up to grab the arrow and pull it out, wincing harder in the process. "...be careful, okay?" she murmurs, her voice quiet. "I'm... I'm gonna hide somewhere real quick, and pull out one of my carYEEP!." The girl ducks reflexively when an arrow sails over her head. She stands up straight again right around the time Archer makes an offer that just sort of ends with her giving him an incredulous stare. "You know, that sounded pretty reasonable right up until the part where you asked me to die!" Without another word than that, she lunges through the door of a nearby shop, where thankfully the NPC has already been dealt with by another player. Careful listeners might hear a mumbled, "...I stand as a hero..." And while she's doing that... "Well hey there, li'l lady. What say you'n'me finish our dance while that Greek fella up there settles your Master and her buddies down?" The thunder of hooves erupts from a side alley. The ebon-clad desperado astride a steed of similar midnight has shown himself at last, already whirling that snake of his over his head in lasso form. Like a bolt of lightning, he slings it out at the ground, picking just the right time to get it under Saber's foot and snag her. He means to drag her right out of the fray where he can get a shot at her himself.
Frankenstein	Fortunately, Berserker's a bit single minded on who she's going after. Unfortunately, she's loud and obvious. Making it up some of the stairs, the arrow ricochets, stopping the Berserker a bit... only to duck some to let it pass over her, though, this gives the Archer a good time to escape as the Berserker continues to run back up the stairs once the arrow leaves. "Archers..." she groans out in a tired voice, rounding the stairs and up on the roof. "Uuu?" Stomping towards the edge of the roof, tilting her head. A groan is given... a low groan... meaningless to those who hear it, it's a pained one that causes those to lose their thinking capability... and it's an obvious magic effect, those without some magic resistance might find it hard to breathe. It's with this, she gets a bit of time to look around to see what's going on... and then there's her Master getting shot at and there's the Archer a ways away from the substitute Master. Berserker's Lament slowly dissipates as she gets on the railing, only to leap up with the Bridal Chest at full bare, looming to make a meteoric smash down on the ground... hopefully somewhere near Archer...
Tomoe	Tomoe is very lucky most of the NPCs are not made fo cobaat she's able to get back on her feetbut there's a wholebuch of other problems This time she gets moving and will engage them hand to hand as best she can. Mostly evading and sometimes striking out against them. "What kind of insanity is this?" She has no idea and she's worried for KAzusa notbut there's little she can do as she's tied up with now some Cowboys as well.
Xiaomu	Shouldn't the deputies have come after her BEFORE the actual sheriff did? Gold Vixen is actually thinking that as she straightens up from dealing with the sheriff, and sees two more NPCs - they're not even 'mobs,' really, they SHOULDN'T be enemies - closing in on her in jerky unison. "Avenging your boss is all well and good, guys, but -" She sidesteps around from one of the punches, putting the mook who threw it in between herself and the other deputy ... right around the moment that Ainsley's 'shut off NPCs' command goes through, removing all the non-threatening NPCs and greatly debuffing the remaining threats. She actually takes a moment to give Ainsley an approving grin and an emphatic thumbs-up before turning her attention back to the deputies. She's tempted to put one bullet through both of their heads, but she sticks with decking them, followed by trying to wrap them into a mutual submission hold on each other. The resulting pose, if the Vixen succeeds in her objective and manages to get them 'stuck' like that, probably looks like it should possibly be subject to mosaic censoring. Certainly the Gold Vixen looks like she's enjoying her work - although once the deputies are handled, she looks for ways to assist her allies. "No magic, no swords, no elemental effects worth a damn ... y'know, this game seems like it really ought to be more boring than this."
Ainsley	Ainsley experiences the consequences of her spell very quickly. When the barrels vanish, she is vulnerable to an arrow shot. This is not something she is ignorant to, because she is vaguely aware of the nature of the threat, but when the arrow impacts her faster than she can avoid it, she makes a noise that is distinctly inhuman between a mewl of distress and a growl like a tiger, and moves to find her cover much more quickly, moving in the opposite direction of the barber NPC that's grabbing at her. "N-no thank you, my feathers are fine," she mumbles, soon flying up onto a balcony where more crates are conveniently stacked up and trying to remove the arrow that hit her in the leg while she was dodging. Deciding it's best to leave it there until a medic can get to it, she takes a couple of steadying breathes. Then she closes her eyes, and opens them again. The magic-sensitive beings in the area would probably sense her Arcane Sight activating as she tries to look directly into the code of the game and how it treats player entities and their UI, and how it communicates the UI elements. For conveniences sake, she squints and murmurs soft computer-y noises (they sound really unpleasant) in search of 'Boss Event' kinds of pop ups, but if she can't find one, she'll just engineer a UI element herself, but that's harder and riskier in several ways. She casts the spell. ATTENTION A native american outlaw has struck town! Some downright unpleasant happenstance is making life troublesome for a bunch of cowboys and they need your help! And the local version of a quest marker would appear in the vague direction of Winedark Archer. That is, if the game just doesn't outright kick her for hijacking the code like this, and that's if the spell even does anything, as it's very complex and Ainsley can't find all the necessary Name fragments to properly manipulate the local code without causing some interference around her.
Moonlit Saber	It hurts when the arrow is pulled out, but Saber seems largely okay. She took some damage, but she heals quickly, and she did have some form of protection under her sans-stats vanity clothes. "I think I will have to do away with this clothing if I am to properly fight..." Green eyes close briefly, and those fancy clothes explode out into tatters then vanish into sparkles, revealing the kimono underneath. It's a shame to lose those expensive clothes, but... well, they can be replaced. She steps forward, waising Kusanagi high to strike at one of the shopkeeps who has been turned into a virutal zombie... when she hears that familiar voice. "..Rider." Saber turns to face him, bringing her sword up, but the horse is too fast. She lets out a yelp as that snake wraps around her leg and yanks her off her feet, and it's all she can do to not lose grip on her sword. "Unhand me!" It definitely hurts to be dragged along the ground like this, but at least her Mystic Robe protects her from some incidental damage... as well as from the effects of Berserker's cry, especially at this distance. Still, it's some time before she's able to arrange her limbs in the right way to drive Kusanagi into the ground, anchoring herself and preparing for the pain of having her leg sharply yanked... though if Rider isn't prepared to let go of that snake lasso, he just might find himself unhorsed!
Kirito	At some point Kirito realizes that he does have a weapon, and it's a premium starting gunblade. A weapon he has NO experience using, but it's got a cutting edge and a sword-like grip in addition to the trigger. With a yell or two he just swings the thing around without much grasp of its balance yet... he clobbers the few NPCs that get in his way, and scrambles up towards the roof. What he wasn't counting on... was getting shot in the back with an ARROW. or rather... In the LEFT BUTTOCK. Which he notices as his HUD flashes red around the edges and his HP plummets, and a thick BUZZY-STING replaces what should be agonizing pain. He grunts and hurries up to the roof, reduced to a third of his HP. But he traces the arrow's sources quickly and readies his weapon. Only after he starts feeling around does he realize... "Right in the---?!" Well. That's a bit embarassing...
Winedark Archer	Of course Kazusa's not going lie there and die. Her refusal just lets Archer prep for MORE VIOLENCE. "A shame. That means nobody here is safe. You know the power of Servants. With one action, I can level this game." Is it a bluff? Who knows, Servants are pretty damn weird. Winedark moves his hand to the string of his bow, but stops when a gun fires at him, another player shooting at him in an attempt to take down the boss. Well, this is going to be problematic. But he's not completely in the blind about MMOs. Dashing forward to grab a stall and toss it at the player, he leaps onto the overhang of the tavern, before shouting to the playters around. He's also keeping a close eye on Kazusa's movements. Time to use a magical thing known as 'PVPers'. "Outlaws! I seek your assistance in defeating my enemies! Lend me your arms and fight against your fellows and those who fight against me, and you will be given great rewards! Choose your side!" See, Archer doesn't believe that 100% will choose to be the better man. He can get atleast a few players to aid him if he tells them there's rewards involved, which should at the least offset those who will attack him. And then, he's knocked off the awning as Berserker quakes down, sending him to his knees back on the ground. He quickly dodgerolls after he lands to avoid any follow up attacks, before firing an arrow at Berserker's weapon, as he stumbles up to his feet. "A Berserker's never one to underestimate. No matter. Make your next move." "However, know that doing so will have me bring forth my true power: the power of self. Are you willing to take that risk?"
Kazusa Ujikane	Tomoe may have problems of her own right now, but they're not very big ones. The NPCs were already laughably awkward before Ainsley's spell, and after it they're just plain laughable. Even as a starting newbie, they don't pose much threat to her at all... though with her stats, she probably can't do much more than knock the higher-level ones over. Then again, that's a solution in and of itself. They can't even get back up once they flop down. Of course, that leads to similar solutions, like... ...Xiaomu. Xiaomu no. That is bad and you should feel bad. You have now pitted two virtual zombie NPCs against each other in a way that would set parental groups against the developers rather angrily. And with their actual AI completely disabled, all the two can do as 'magical puppets' is to sort of awkwardly shift in a vain attempt to disentangle. They're effectively taken care of... except that one of them has somewhat feebly taken hold of her 'scarf'. And elsewhere in the same brawl, Kirito has managed to clobber a couple of NPCs easily. WHile he's climbing up there, he will notice a HUD indicator offering 'suggested skillchain' - it recommends which attack skill he should use next, and apparently can automatically execute it for him! It goes away after a second, but it was recommending a shooting followup. Seems his weapon can both shoot and slash. Possibly both at the same time, with the right skill! ...Assuming he doesn't keep getting shot in the butt, anyway. Meanwhile, oh hey, a quest marker! "Oh HELL yeah I knew this wasn't hacking!" "Oh they're gonna be /so/ jelly when I get the rewards for this-" "See this is why I love HNO, the devs love to get out and-" Oh look, here comes the hardcore playerbase. A couple of remaining players are already turning around to point revolvers at Archer, and several more are rushing in from the distance! Ainsley's hack has served a rather nice purpose in getting the players to open up on their enemy. And Archer has now taken firm control of the situation with the words 'great rewards' and 'choose your side'. A couple of players look between each other, and then open fire on Tomoe, Kirito and Xiaomu. A couple of them look between each other, and then immediately start trying to beat the crap out of each other. One or two are still trying to shoot Archer, and one girl in blue and purple colors has just climbed up onto a roof and started using her rifle to snipe other players.
Kazusa Ujikane	Meanwhile, Rider's day is going great. He's got him an opponent. He's dragging her out of the fray where he can have her all to himself. "YEEEE-HAW! Bout time I got me a one-on-one with you, li'l la-GUWAUGH!" And right off the horse he goes, the yank hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to dislocate anything on Saber. Probably. It also results in the black-clad cowboy going for a skid of his own, while the horse snorts angrily, stampeding off into the distance. Rider is back up onto his feet quickly, and... spends the next second or two chasing after his horse. "Gat-dangit, Wi- you dumb animal, get back here!" But he has been unseated. There will be no more riding the angry horse for this fight. So instead, Rider turns around to face off with Saber, with only his snake whip in his left hand, and a revolver in his right. "Well, missy, looks like we're doin' this the rough and tumble way." Above, the sky is beginning to cloud over, and below, the Servant is starting to advance, whipping his serpentine companion around into a hissing, rattling flourish of movement as if preparing to strike... only to suddenly unload a pair of quick shots with his sixgun. Keeping an eye on Kazusa proves to be difficult. She ducked into that shop and... well, either she's still there even now, or she vanished. Either way, she's out of sight! It has suddenly become very difficult to keep track of her. At least until the moment where a /GREAT BIG CYBORG SPIDER/ in black, yellow and red leaps off a nearby roof to lunge down at Archer, mandibles first. If it can get a bite in on the Servant, there will be more than just gouge wounds. There will be cybervenom, potent and deadly. Not enough to kill someone as hardy as a Servant, but it's certainly likely to be an issue.
Xiaomu	"Urk." Gold Vixen makes a face as she realizes one of the virtual deputies now has a grip on her bandanna, and tug as she may, she can't break that grip as easily as she was hoping to. She's going to have to pry the deputy's fingers off her bandanna the hard way, and she's a sitting duck in the meantime. And that's when the bullets start flying, so 'sitting duck' is no longer an abstract difficulty - it's a very real danger, Sure, she's only 'here' as a virtual avatar, her real body is stretched out on a futon or a couch or something, but even getting VR-killed is still a pain, and annoying, and an interruption to aiding her allies - at least one of whom ISN'T a VR-body. Anyway, she's got two deputies weighing her down and a significant handful of players shooting at her with bullets she DOES NOT want to hold still for. "Sorry guys - !" the Gold Vixen calls out, trying to curl up with the entangled deputies - and then to roll the three of them towards some kind of cover. Into one of the buildings, maybe, but somewhere that she can hunker down long enough to pry herself loose ...
Moonlit Saber	While she was able to stop before being dragged -too- far away, Saber finds herself separated from the fight. She... really doesn't like that, even if she knows her Master is capable, and even if she knows there are allies nearby. She still worries, though, but at least she knows Kazusa will call her if something comes up that she's needed for. Besides, she's fighting another Servant, and there's no way she can afford to not be at the top of her game. Saber takes the time Rider is chasing after his horse to get herself up off the ground and dust herself off a bit. "...I do not like you, Rider." Green eyes focus on the tall Servant, trying not to be distracted by the snake whipping. "Last time, others got in my way. I do not think this will go the same way." When the gun comes up, Saber quickly darts forward. Kusanagi lashes out, neatly deflecting one bullet from the air, and the burst of wind around the blade nudges the second shot enough to the side that it just barely grazes her cheek, drawing a line of red. She continues her charge, striking at Rider with Kusanagi while she has the advantage of being in close again.
Kirito	Kirito blinks a few times at the suggestion, then... grins. Distance attacks. He might have a chance after all at being a distracting nuisance at least for this troublesome Servant! but first... the players. He gets only a slight warning, but it's enough! Kirito acts more on desperate instinct and zen-like skill in his hope to protect Kazusa's life here. The Black Swordsman notices players taking aim but he doesn't just stand there. He starts sprinting as fast as he can manage with his noob stats, leaps off the roof and back into the fray... and CHARGES THEM. "UUUUUUUUUROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Charges them... and roars the fiercest warcry he possibly can. A scream of battle fury most VRMMO players could never uncomprehend. The battle spirit of someone actually fighting for their life. A few of these players might just flinch. But the few that shoot... Kirito zigzags with smooth, practiced motions... and reads his opponents carefully. Though he lacks system assist from GGO's advanced Bullet Line... he raises that Gunblade perfectly! The bullets SPANG OFF OF IT in a show of sparks, rattling the blade nastily and surely doing a number on its Durability, but Kirito follows up by activating that skill and firing a nearly point-blank shot aimed straight at the guy's face! Or neck. Something like that. "Get out of our way!!"
Tomoe	Tomoe thanks to Aisnley she's got a much easiler time of thing and she's bake to get lose, she can knock the high levels down and that's what whe's going to do. She'll put some cow tipping skils to work here and she's at lest glad to have that out of the way until other players get mixed up n things. Tomoe yelps and start dancing from the shots like she's in some old western movie. "This is insane Kirito!" She'a almost crying in a way this is just one insane day even for her. Still she's not getting hit but she's got no way to attack really!
Frankenstein	It takes Berserker a bit to get up and in that dust cloud, her outfit's been replaced by her bridal outfit, much better... and a bit more armored. She raises her weapon back up as she starts to charge, but the arrow strikes and diverts her attention to smashing something else, probably scattering a few player characters around. "Uuuuu! Out... of... way!" She swings the Bridal Chest a bit more, bullets from PC guns rip through her bridal outfit, creating some nice holes in it... fortunately for Berserker, she's made of some tough stuff. Or at least is shrugging off any bullets... She swings the Bridal chest in wide arcs, trying to seperate people from her and Kazusa... her Master seems to be okay for now but Saber probably won't forgive her if she didn't do SOMETHING to protect Kazusa. At least until... someone very familiar comes out of one of the buildings. "Arach...nea?" she spurts out in a question, turning back towards Archer. The large ball opens as she waits, sparks flying between her and the metal upon her head. Master told her to wait for an opening... and that's what she's going to do.
Ainsley	Ainsley has been injured before. She's been stabbed, burned and otherwise bruised and scraped. She's been winded and harmed and trampled. But an arrow being stuck in her flesh is actually a new problem. Once she has turned the wild west town into a horrific free-for-all with her arcane improvisations, she slips down behind cover completely and tries to tend to her wound. She doesn't perform more magic while she's doing this, she just tries to remember the best way to remove an arrow. She checks for if it went all the way through, grimacing at the dripping blood. Snap. She pulls the broken arrow out the other end while she grits her teeth, and then she shuts her eyes. Her fingers flex and she prepares for the mana drain that White Berserker will undoubtably put onto her over the course of the fight. "That ability of his," she murmurs, thinking to herself about whether her magical purview can even handle whatever Winedark Archer is doing to convince these people that they should fight FOR him and not AGAINST him. Having seen the NPCs, Ainsley figures it has to be something magical, and it may be possible to disrupt it. This all being thoughts to think about so she isn't thinking about her bloodied leg and the chaos around her that would kill her quickly if she came out of her cover into sight of any of these players.
Winedark Archer	While some of the PCs are indeed being greedy little shits and attacking their fellows, a few are still posing Archer a problem. Bullets slam into him, making small holes in his robe and causing him to need to roll out of the way, countering with a barrage of arrows to get them off his back. Atleast everyone else is distracted by his new posse...where's the Master? Suddenly, giant cyborg spider! Kazusa manages to pin down Archer, and her manibles easily tear through his robe (luckily it'll probably come back later, it be cosmetic). However, they're stopped as they slam into his armor, assisted with him grappling her head and pushing it back. Gilded bronze shines showing the intricate Greek armor of noble warriors and warrior kings, as Archer slams his bow into her spider gut, nocks an arrow, and aims to fire it straight into her to give him a chance to roll back from under her. And then, he monologues. "I don't know if you are Kazusa Ujikane, or a friend, but it doesn't matter. You have made your choice. You have defied a king. Not just a king...but a demigod. The blood of gods flows through me! The blood of the sea, of the skies! I am the son of Poseidon! I am the Lord of the Winds!" Suddenly, Archer dashes forward, frontflipping straight onto Kazusa's back, as he releases the string on his back. Energy flows through him, energy that is most definitely characteristic of a Noble Phantasm activation. "I AM AEOLUS!"
Winedark Archer	As Archer activates his Noble Phantasm, a sudden gust of wind picks up, as a breeze flies out of the bag. Followed by an even stronger push of wind, enough to knock people off their feet. And then, a third wind flies out, even stronger, turning this into a full blown storm. The wind circles around, slamming into everything in sight, whether it be player, NPC, interloper, or obstacle. Chairs, tables, and even wagons are picked up and flung around, as sand and dust is sweeped up and blown everywhere, blocking visibility, flying into eyes and lungs, and all around being a nuisance. The wind itself is ALSo a hassle, being strong enough to toss people into and through buildings and even possibly kill them if it hit them at the right angle and location. This is a full blown, high powered storm, centered around Archer and Kazusa, and who knows when it'll stop. Meanwhile, Archer slams down to pin against Kazusa, holding onto her tight as he draws an arrow, and proceeds to /stab/ her with it. Over and over, ignoring the wind buffeting them. "You have made a grave enemy! In the name of Aeolia...I will kill you now and be done with it!"
Kazusa Ujikane	The good news is that the deputies make for some very good bullet shields. Having been 'despawned', they no longer have HP, which means that the players can't really kill them. So the Gold Vixen's roll for cover with two virtual zombie lawmen works out in terms of saving her from getting shot by other players! The bad news, of course, is that she is now on the floor of the General Store with two deputies who are attempting to follow their magical directive to reach out and strangle her. They're not all that effective like this, but having gotten that close... Well, it would be great if Xiaomu could pull something like the veteran player Kazuto Kirigaya. He might have a newbie's stats, but where player skill is such a big part of the game, most people won't even hold a candle to the famous Beater of SAO. One of the attacking players takes a step or two back in shock, with a muttered, "What the f..." The other tries to line up a shot, but the parrying is on par with- "This some kind of smurf account or something? This guy's too good to be-" Pow. At this range it's easy to get a perfect hit in, and put one player down for the count. In the meantime, the guy shooting at Tomoe is just starting to laugh his head off. He's not even trying to hit her any more, just keeping her dancing. This is kind of cruel, really... though it's possible his ability to reason is being affected by that unsettling groan that Berserker unleashes, and he's a little too far gone to actually do something smart like 'finish a fight'. Speaking of Berserker, she has discovered that HNO employs ragdoll physics. She discovers this by ragdolling a player character. That one's sure not getting up. There's another one on the perephiry getting ready to shoot, but after seeing that, and hearing the noise the Servant makes, he's... well, he's a tad bit hesitant. Meanwhile, Ainsley has a moment to herself. There's so much going on that her hiding has gone completely unnoticed. She has time to start checking around, but if she starts analyzing the magic present, she'll find that whatever was done to the NPCs is completely separate from whatever Archer might be doing. It's a magical control of some sort, but it's being manipulated by Someone Else(tm). Whatever plans any other PCs in the area had, though, all those plans are on hold. Anything and everything that's bolted down is now flashing 'IMMORTAL'. Anything that's not is being flung hither and yon. Including player characters. Several have been KOed already.
Kazusa Ujikane	Chomp chomp gnash bite- Kazusa might not have the battlefield experience of the Maximal she's copying, but she at least has the basic combat instincts and knowhow. She can make the spider body do what it wants, and she has a basic idea of how to attack with it, and that's enough to get through Archer's robe - to find gleaming bronze armor. The first bow hit is enough to slam her off him, but she manages to skitter just barely out of the way of the ensuing arrow... not that it will do her a lot of good. She's making the mistake of fighting up front in a form better suited to hit-and-run tactics. The faux Transformer tries to skitter out of the way of that sudden lunge but she's just not ready for it, and can't move before she finds herself pinned down and at the center of a raging, furious windstorm. That alone tears at her. But more than that, she's got an alleged demigod pinning her down, stabbing into her robospider body over and over. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. And then at last, amidst sharp noises of pain, there's a forceful growl of, "Kazusa, /MAXIMIZE/!" The next time that arrow descends, there's a spider-mandible grapnel being lifted up to grab it and stop it short. If Archer doesn't pull his arm away, it's going to be grabbed by a spider's jaw, which will immediately begin injecting spider venom. And the face he looks into now is... it's as if someone made a copy of Black Arachnia, but used Kazusa as the physical model. And she's been torn up by winds and stabs alike, but she's got her metaphorical teeth gritted. "I don't know... if you've noticed... but the best heroes... are the ones... that /defy/ gods, and kings..." The spider legs arrayed around her all swing around as one, to point at the same spot on Archer's chest. "...and Ancient Greece is long dead, for that matter." And with a ragged hiss of effort, the torn-up pseudoMaximal fires all of those lasers into her opponent point-blank.
Kazusa Ujikane	"Well you ain't much more'n a pretty face yourself," Rider replies to Saber, almost petulant in his response. "You got a real fancy sword 'n' real fancy clothes, and y'got that highfaloutin' way o' yers that just screams 'Oh, ah'm too good fer this filthy world!'" For that, his voice goes high-pitched, openly 'imitating' Saber. Then she lunges in, and the gun-toting Servant is immediately on the defensive, backpedaling and cracking his snake-whip in an attempt to ward her off. It doesn't work fast enough to avoid him coming out with a couple of lines of red running down his black clothes. He hisses in pain. "Ain't but one girl ever impressed me, and it seems to me I oughta disabuse you o' these notions, bein' better'n'her OR me." That's when the howling gale of Aeolus picks up, and a fierce grin splits his face. "How's about I Ride Like the Wind, see what shakes out." He whips the snake around himself once, twice, drawing a rattle and a hiss, before the serpent turns around on itself to become a lasso again. And just like that, his revolver is back in its holster, while up above the dark clouds have gathered themselves into a tight, spinning vortex on the sheer power of Archer's violent wind. The cowboy brings a pair of fingers up to his lips, and looses a loud, piercing whistle, before whipping his lasso up- -to snare around the tornado that comes /slamming/ out of the cloud like a physical object, filling the town with even more horrendous wind and noise, feeding back upon the Three Winds. With a yank, the cowboy in black hauls himself up onto the winding, roaring twister, loosing an exultant hoot and waving his hat around, before stopping to yell down to Saber. "That was a joke, see," Pecos Bill yells. "Th'snake's name is 'Shake'! Li'l play on words, and whatnot!"
Ainsley	Ainsley does take a moment to find the source of the magic being 'communicated' to the NPCs is not from the Archer over there, and that alone causes some pause in her, arresting her certainty for the following surprise. Ainsley is squinting through her pain and listening to the battle over there, using her magic to pick up on the vocalizations of the people in this wild west town. When she overhears what Winedark Archer says, her face twists in surprise, her expectation thrown underfoot. She realizes what it would mean right before the wind starts picking up, giving her a desperate moment where a hand shoots out for a solid grip and scrabbles for a moment. Her historical knowledge is real helpful in preparing her so she isn't thrown through a window immediately when the wind picks up, and she uses her magical flight to keep her grounded and her hands on a railing so she isn't rocketing into the air where any number of pieces of debris could hit her. Her eyes keep peeled for the presence of crates or people flying that might strike her, but she thanks her lucky starts she has a low profile and at least some upper body strength to desperately cling to whatever architecture looks the most sturdy. She remembers something. Berserker is heavy. She may be able to fight through the wind... and Archer sure is distracted! She turns her head and calls using her magic to White Berserker: "Now is the time to strike! Get him off of our ally!"
Xiaomu	While an epic showdown takes shape atop the roof of another building, the Gold Vixen winds up inside the town's general store - right as the intensifying windstorm starts blowing debris around. And dust. Lots of dust. Being indoors helps, to the extent that the foxy otaku's avatar is now sheltered from the elements. On the other hand, it also means she's stuck INSIDE the general store with two, still-being-manipulated NPCs whose last directive was to kill her. But there are plenty of improvised weapons to be found within the store, compared to outside - and it's the Gold Vixen who has the wits to put any of those to use. If it weren't so windy, the sounds of a beatdown ensuing would emanate from the general store as the Gold Vixen valiantly defends her virtual life.
Tomoe	Tomoe day just keeps getting worse but she is still dancing she doe snot want to get hit, she's not sure what will really happen to her, then again it may just be old reflexes die hard. IT an't be certain there. She's never going to live this down but there seems to be a building anger in her, this might end up getting /nasty/ in a moment given what happened to her in SAO...
Kirito	DOWN goes the one guy. And this familiar sight reinvigorates some of Kirito's spirit. ... there's no doubt he's probably getting some insane bonuses for beating players so past his level, if this game has such features. "Nah, I'm just a vet from Alfheim." He answers casually... only to leap right back into the fray at the OTHER player.... BUT. THEN he's lurched VIOLENTLY skyward by FREAKISH WINDS, and can't help but yell childishly for a few seconds. he's slammed HARD into a roof and ends up only able to just HOLD ON-- WELL. He's lucky enough to be stuck under an overhang the winds aren't quite able to completely rip through, but the impact sends his remaining HP plummeting to a few shreds. That said. His view of Rider somehow managing to LASSO A TORNADO WITH A SNAKE is unobscured, and it's a feat that leaves him staring dumbfoundedly in purest disbelief.
Frankenstein	There's a whole lot of things going on... Saber's master having a 'fun' time with Archer... at least that's before she was knocked off her own feet from that wind, creating a small dent in the ground with her face and horn. The groan gets louder as she apologizes over the radio for what she's about to do. With her Master's permission, she's slowly getting up, that giant ball on the end of the rod starts to spark in green, striking the ground every which way and onto the woman's horn and earfins. But oh hey, ragdoll physics... A minor distraction as she watches one of those she sent flying... go flying... only to focus back on Archer... Who's pinning down Kazusa. She starts stomping closer, the wind buffeting the Bridalzerker's dress, the sparks getting rapid and more pronounced as she drags that giant mace across the ground... "Let... Go.." she groans out, directing it towards Archer only to break into a slow run! "Let... Go... Of... Kazusa!" She soon sprints the remaining distance only to leap into the air, swinging the Bridal Chest back "BLASTED!" she starts, the sparks engulfing the massive lightning rod... "TREE!" as she comes down, she SLAMS the large head of the rod into the ground near Archer and Kazusa, creating an explosion of lightning that indiscriminately strkes at everything in the immediate area a few feet around her. There's a look of pain upon the Berserker's face as she's driving this with more of her energy... creating a massive drain on her Master as well.
Moonlit Saber	The wind is already picking up, and Saber can hear the soudns of battle behind her... as well as the declarations of Arhcer on the radio frequencies. Aeolus? She'll have to remember that name and look it up later, as it's not one she's immediately familiar with... the disadvantage of being sheltered in life means she's blocked from a good bit of the knowledge of the modern world and history that the Grail gives to Servants. But right now, she has other things to deal with. Namely, another Servant right in front of her. "Was that meant to be an imitation of me, Rider?" Saber does not look amused, but she doesn't look angry either. After a moment, though, she says petulantly, "I do -not- sound like that!" Humpf. "I am not here to impress you, Rider! I did not want to fight, but you have forced my hand by coming here and doing these... things." Saber draws into a defensive stance as she sees the snake come out, ready to cut down any attempt at whipping at her again... only to look upwards as a tornado descends down amidst the rest of the howling winds. Slowly, she takes a few steps back, trying to work over in her head how to deal with this. The fact that the town seems indestructible is good, at least, but still... And then he explains the name, and Saber... blinks. "...I do not get it." But she doesn't have a lot of time to ponder the bad joke. The wind is getting even worse, and now she has a Servant-powered tornado to deal with. "You come at me with wind?" Saber's eyes narrow slightly. "That... is unwise." She's talking big, though. Saber is not really sure if she has enough mana in her to have Kusanagi dispel that tornado and the Three Winds on top of that. Perhaps she could do it if she poured all the prana of her existance into the weapon, but that would not help matters. The true owners of Kusanagi could likely do it, but Saber would have to draw power from elsewhere. BOOM~! And that was not the power from elsewhere she meant. With silver hair already wafting in the powerful winds, Saber is left with sparks running along each strand and down over her body as a blast of lightning strikes the ground not a few feet away from her. She knows that wasn't aimed her way, but she also knows that a stray strike with that power could put her down. "This is beyond control... I must put an end to this." She'd survive a hit from lightning, but would anyone else? Would Kazusa? No, she had to take her stand here. "Master... Kazusa... I apologize, but this must be done."
Moonlit Saber	Saber takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, not normally a wise thing to do in front of an opponent. But she seems perfectly calm in the face of all this danger. The skies above, filled with storm clouds and wind and tornado... begin to darken. Despite the main clock tower in town still saying it's early, it almost appears as if night begins to fall. "I speak for all those with no home. I am surrounded with love, yet always alone. The princess fated to be without her homeland, exiled in time of war to be a stranger in a land not her own." Saber looks up again, green eyes glowing brightly as the full moon rises, its light reflecting off her hair and eyes, almost making it seem as if her entire body is gleaming. "Share in my feelings for all eternity. Come join in my refuge, by the command of Princess Kaguya." Despite her soft words, there is an amazing power to them, and the moonlight that washes over the entire town almost has a weight to it. The effects are, indeed, different from person to person, but the deep, cold feelings of loneliness fill the entire town, that sinking concern in the pit of the heart that each individual is truly alone in a world not their own, that there is no way for them to return to the place they belong. And Saber stands tall, pulsing with silvery moonlight, as she swings Kusanagi in a wide, slow arc, drawing the rampaging winds from all sides to her and guiding them with a calm hand.
Winedark Archer	Archer pulls away his arm hurriedly, moving the arrow into the distance between himself and the grapnel. Spider bites are bad. Robot spider bites? Probably worse, and he's not going to risk it. Though, risking it wouuldn't be much worse than what happens next. Archer is pounded left and right with lasers, piercing through his armor and him. Simultaneously, a giant lightning rod slams down, creating lightning everywhere. The wind carries it, smashing into Archer and electrocuting him as he screams in pain, sent flying off Kazusa. He lands on the ground, though stubbornly, it's on his knees, and he refuses to die. It seems he's focusing all of his energy on living right now. "If you think you can kill me like that, you are mistaken. I am a stronger hero than you will ever know!" He prepares to fight again, but Saber activates her Noble Phantasm...and emotions slam over him. The winds die mostly die down; one of them calms entirely, while another gets less violent, though the third one is still pretty strong. It'll need to be redirected instead of calmed, and is most certainly the North Wind, though with Kusanagi, Saber could easily do that. Meanwhile, Archer just stops. The emotions pour over him, as does the loneliness. "You...why. No. No, no, that's not possible. You're not...no one will ever refuse me what I have seeked! Years, years, I have seeked this for so many years...no...it can't...RAAAAAAGH! All of you...DIE!" And then, Archer proceeds to rapidly knock arrows. When he's done, he has estimately a dozen arrows on his bow, all pointing in every direction at himself. Fiddling with the string, he pulls, and every arrow fires in a different direction. They're otherwise normal arrows, but it's hard to dodge them when there's one in every direction! With this, he clutches his chest, pulling himself to his feet, as he shudders horribly. "Saber. I will retreat. But next time...next time we meet, I will sever your head from your neck, and I will make you wish you had never done this to me. I will make you suffer...Rider, we will talk." And with that, Archer runs to make a retreat into whatever dust is still lingering, eventually turning into Spirit Form once he's at a distance. He'll never admit it, but he lost horribly, and was outmatched. Next time...he'll need to have a real gameplan.
Kazusa Ujikane	Xiaomu and Tomoe are preoccupied. Kirito has a front-row seat for the devastation; whatever his opponents might have said about being an ALO veteran is lost when they themselves are lost to the riotous chaos of brutal wind. Kazusa, meanwhile, has seen better days. Much, much better days. And then her body is wracked with lightning. She takes less of it with Archer there to absorb the brunt, but in a Cybertronian body like this, even that little bit is dangerous. She lets out a pained shriek, her fingers and feet digging into the dirt as she thrashes. Between that and the stab wounds the Transfauxmer has taken, when the attack ends, there's not much more she can do than just lie there. She is a sitting duck for any arrow sent her way, unless someone moves in to protect her. Especially with the weight of that moon bearing down.
Kazusa Ujikane	"...aw, hell. A cotton pickin' princess o' the... the Moon." The blood drains from Rider's face about the moment he realizes Saber's identity. That alone would be enough to wrongfoot the cowboy Servant, but then the moon itself rises, and the crushing weight of solitude settles down upon him. His whole body is wracked with a violent shudder of fury, of sadness, grief and ire dancing across his face in equal measure. It's quite possible this was the worst possible outcome for him even before the wave of Kusanagi causes that tornado to shudder in his lasso, to twist and buck and finally pull itself free of Shake's loop, before dissipating entirely. The wind belongs to the Princess now. This, of course, leaves Pecos Bill to come falling out of the sky, slamming into the ground and kicking up a plume of dust. With a low growl - at himself, at the world, at Saber, but more than anything at the moon - he hauls himself to his feet, giving Shake the Snake one last whirl around himself before striding forward. There's no surety in his steps anymore, no calm confidence or bravado. The moonlight reflects off a pair of narrow lines down his cheeks; a faint stream of tears. He doesn't even seem to hear Archer.
Ainsley	Ainsley is clinging desperately to the structure, relying on its code to hold up because it was never meant to shatter under these winds. Her teeth clench behind the bone mask she chose to wear for this occasion, her clothing ruffling and her own tail whipping in the wind so she can avoid being thrown about... and then something hits that all at once draws away the winds. The lizard woman feels the cold touch of loneliness creep through her veins, the familiar sensation dragging across her nerves, searching for her old scars and fears... She doesn't resist it. Loneliness is a feeling all social creatures have, and she is no exception. She uses the opportunity to remind herself that she is but one living being among this chaos, that her loneliness is not the only one that matters. That innumerable people are endangered here and not just herself, and that empowers her because she one being but she is Not Alone. She resteadies herself, propped up on one leg and turning her attention away from the touch of Loneliness down to White Berserker... To someone that she can reach, that may still listen to her. She could shake this familiar, unwanted sensation by reaching another, instead of buckling under its weight. White Berserker's Master knows all too well what the madness of solitude had wrought for the Servant, and what it would mean for her if it bubbled up. She reminds her Servant through their personal connection, "You are not alone. As long as either of us draw still live and fight for that life, that will be a fact." The words would echo with warmth, with comfort. With a conviction that comes from somewhere deep, deep, deep within Ainsley. A confidence that she fought to attain. She just hopes it reaches Berserker. She doesn't know if she could stand being rejected by someone close to her right now.
Frankenstein	The lightning falls, the sparks slow to just hit Berserker's ear-fins and her eyes close. She's silent as she holds herself still with the Bridal Chest still embedded in the ground. The NP done by Saber of Silver washes over her and something snaps within the Servant's mind. She was alone. No one there. None to read with. She would never have her wish... a sibling... another perfect person like herself. A few tears drop from the Berserker's eyes... she wasn't in her world... she wasn't anywhere close to where she should be... She was... abandoned. Her creator didn't want her. He shoved her out of his life... and now.. her Master is nowhere near... at least in her mind. She opens her mouth, as if to cry out for help, but no cry comes, just the low... gutteral moan... her Lament of the Falsely Living. She growls out with this sudden loss of the one person she cared about, her Master. The one who accepted her. And then there was the Saber and Kazusa. The Lament grows louder, hands clutching to the Bridal Chest harder and harder... and a word escapes that groan as some of those arrows embed themselves into the Servant. "Master..." and with those winds dying down, the footsteps of her Master slowly coming to her. She's deep in that loss, that feeling, but the voice of that one person... 'You are not alone.' a voice she recognizes through that bleak feeling. Those four words repeat within herself, only to be countered... 'I ... have no one.' and more of those words reach into her. "Master...?" The lament slowly dissipates, leaving the Berserker a quiet fixture on the ground. Her eyes slowly open, head turning towards the voice. Clouded, tear filled eyes slowly turn towards the lizard-master before she quickly reaches out to snatch up the Master and hug tightly against her... "Master... I... am not... alone?"
Kirito	So many strange things happen at once. With the winds calming, Kirito doesn't have much opportunity to do so himself. Because the moon rises... and his gut sinks like a stone as it does. He's known that loneliness before. The depths of true despair. Of being alone... no... of not DESERVING to be with anyone. Faces flicker in his mind's eye, all moving away and fading to nothing. But two of those faces represents loneliness most of them all. Asuna. Sachi. As the faces fade away, he finds himself reaching out into the air and whimpering gutturally, then dropping forward onto his arms and knees, every bit of his soul cringing. A raspy noise bubbles up from his throat. Rage. Despair. These are the noises of someone unsure whether he wants to scream in fury or break down and sob. For now... his mind's stuck in a loop of dreadful depression, unable to take in what's happening around him through the pulsing, wrenching feeling that everyone's gone. Then his avatar rises in an almost inhuman, lanky motion, arms dangling like a ragdoll's. He lets out a great and awful SCREAM across the quiet town, breathing turning ragged and rapid. But then, without any warning whatsoever, his avatar goes completely inert and just flops down limply in a slumped-over position. <AUTO DISCONNECT> blips up over the avatar...
Tomoe	Things have just gone to hell in a handbasket for Tomoe today it mau have bene buest she shouldn't have come. The town is cone more or less or at least eveyrhing in it. The only luck she's had is to get to some cover, and that's baout it she digs into the ground due to the winds and can only watch as the insanity gets even worse. She's not even sure what the hell is happening anymore. Somewhere in the back of her mind? She's almost panicing even if she's not directly here? She's long forgot tht she's not. She watches in insanity go on and there's nothing she can do about it, and her HP's almost just about gone too. Tomoe's an experianced elite right? She's always afraid, she's afraid of the multiverse deep down. people with the power of gods who could wade through her home and cast aside men like rags, burn entire citiers to the ground, unleash horrors that would be meyths there but it's not evne worsse there un top of all of that? She's a fake, she's not an elite she's not Tomoe The Iron Lily or Eisen, she's just a stupid bystander the sort the Elites of the Multiverse would never pay the time od day to or just step on but the worst fear is? She's a fake she's not anything she hides behind smoke an mirrors and she just feedbacks on this as she's sobbing without end muttering about just how false everything she's done is how she's really just a lie. The massive amount of physical stress this causes her? Cause her dive system to kick in the auto disconnect and her avatar falls over to the ground.
Moonlit Saber	The moonlight continues to shine brightly over Saber's body as she calms some of the raging winds and directs what she can back up to the sky. Her motions are slow and methodical, graceful and serene. She feels some regret over having subjected friends and allies to this, but she'll apologize properly later. Looking up at Rider, seeing the trails of tears on his face, she raises Kusanagi. "I should strike you where you stand for threatening to kill my Master." She wants to, she really does, but... with all that's happened, with the winds and the storms and the lightning and her own Noble Phantasm... she is more concerned about the safety of her Master than about removing a rival for the Holy Grail. Saber gives Rider a very sharp look for a moment before turning, rushing out around the corner and to Kazusa's side. "Master?"
Kazusa Ujikane	Rider is distracted in his advance, his heart a million miles away. He can only just register that he's still in a fight, and the movements of his rattlesnake whip are erratic, instinctive. When Saber turns to run away, all he can do is scream. "Don't... don't you run away... DON'T YOU RUN AWAY!" A stumbling step forward, and then he drops to his knees. "You come back... you come back here... come back..." Sniffle. "...Come back, Sue..." Kazusa has... absolutely seen better days. The cybertronian body is pretty badly damaged, though once she reverts it won't be quite so extensive in /absolute/ terms. The card will reduce it to injuries of the same /relative/ severity. She'll still need some medical care, though. A fair bit of it, at that. "Saber..." The chuckle she utters is a little weak. "I'll have to apologize to Arachnia. This body's... a little poorly suited to straight-up fights like that." There's a brief shift in her body, followed by sparks. "...don't think I can transform back. Probably better if we get me in a shuttle, then I revert. I'll be fine, though. You're not... you're not low on magic, are you?" Even now she's worried about Saber moreso than herself.
Moonlit Saber	Although her voice is still cold, Saber reaches down to grip her Master's hand. "Mas--Kazusa. I am fine." She slowly glances back to where she left Rider, then up toward the moon... and closes her eyes. The glow around her body begins to fade, and the full moon gradually vanishes, giving way to the sunlight appropriate to the time of day. When she opens her eyes again, they're back to their usual green, and her voice isn't quite as cold. "I will be fine," she repeats, sliding a hand into her sleeve. With how injured Kazusa is, does she dare make the suggestion? "...we will call medical."