Scene #4663: In For A Penny

Owner	Pose
Anne Blakely	There's no distress call to worry about this time, just a quick message to the Union. The Elenine Alchemist's Guild had previously warned that they may require assistance, because they'd gotten word that a former student was on the warpath and coming after them. They weren't sure of the source, because they weren't aware of any previous students in recent years who had left in bad standing... but they took the threat seriously enough to take some precautions. One of these was setting something up with the Union, and now the signal was coming in, complete with video. That video shows a massive clockwork dragon swooping in and landing on the city walls. It's a fortified city with cannons, guards, and of course the tower for the Guild that is the centerpiece. It's also a full city, with a combination of magical support and some Multiversal imports to make for a swelling population numbering in the hundreds of thousands, easily. The dragon doesn't even try to go for the tower of the Alchemist's Guild, though... it perches on the walls and casually begins swatting cannons off, ignoring the mingled arrows and small arms fire. Atop the dragon's back, Anne Blakely is there... but buzzing alongside on two clockwork dragonflies are TWO smaller beings. One is the puppet, Geppetto, who alights atop the tavern nearest the wall. The other is a clockwork girl in a witch's outfit, who dives for the grounds of the Guild right away. It's her voice that shrilly announces, "Citizens! I bear you no ill will! But the Guild will be destroyed today! If you value your lives, leave through the south gate now!"
Uriel and Qemuel	Two streaks follow, resolving into two women floating in midair. The angels have their wings out this time, Qemuel's dark feathers contrasting Uriel's light. They survey the situation with a sigh, both of them heaving that breath in unison. "This woman, again," Qemuel complains. Uriel nods. "Not the most agreeable of our allies, but it could be worse. Master is displeased with some of the others even more..." Qemuel grunts, a shimmering in her hand coalescing into a tarnished metal axe, nearly as large as she is. Uriel stays floating, but gestures, "I believe the term is... this is your wheelhouse, sister." Qemuel smiles faintly, "There is that to say." She banks and then dives down, swooping in to streak through the barrage of arrows that ping off of the armored feathers. A single cleave of the axe is aimed downward, blasting into the stone of the walls to cleave open a passage, shattering stone to dust and crumbling the nearby tower. Soldiers, apparently, are fair game. In a light voice, she calls out, "As the girl says, noncombatants have free passage! You're fortunate, in the past razing the city would have been Ess Oh Pee." Apparently she expects them to flee TOWARD her through that newly-made gap.
Camilla Ulyssa	Flying alongside the dragon is Camilla; dark gray hair trailing behind her, along with that large coat she wears like a cape, the young foxwoman has her arms acrossed, and changes her angle of flight every so often. Sometimes flying on her back, sometimes backwards, sometimes doing a loop around the dragon to address Anne from the other side, it's obvious she's skilled at flying and could go much faster if she wanted. But she's too busy talking to Anne! "I don't get it, you'd like to fly on your own someday, and you can build a huge mecha dragon, but you haven't thought to make yourself some robot wings?" With a whoosh she changes side, flying under the dragon and to Anne's opposite side. "Robot wings are pretty cool, you could rock the look. They should have bright neon lights all along them, show people you mean business. I'd add cannons or something just so they have even more utility." A glance below, at the guild and fleeing citizens. "It'd be a lot more personal. Not that this isn't cool, but nothing sends a message like descending yourself and bringing cold, hard vengeance in a way that lets them see your face. Know what they did wrong." She doesn't descend to strike yet. Or strike at all, even.
Sigrun Stem	Sigrun didn't have much time, but she had some. She's taken up position in the city, near the guild buildings but not in them, and waiting. Keeping watch, seeing if she could notice anything out of the unusual. She's even sent some scrying spells out to keep an eye on her most prominent blind spots. Turns out she didn't need those, the arrival announced itself abundantly clearly. And so she returns the favour. She has one of her incendiary arrows nocked and the focusing spell is giving her the aim she needs. Winds gather around the arrow until it is released, aimed straight for the puppet Geppetto, and upon any contact the glass tip will shatter and send the whole arrow up in a blaze of lasting flame.
Staren	Staren isn't watching the feed. He's peripherally aware that the Union was asked for help, but what gets this on his radar is Dawn. His support AI alerts him that Anne has appeared again. The Star Hawk is soon diving down into the atmosphere and flying through warpgates. He doesn't know if he can kill Anne. But he kind of has to try, right?
Emiya Shirou	The appearance of a GIANT CLOCKWORK DRAGON is met with movement on the Alchemist Guild's rooftop - that of their highest building, in fact. Someone steps out into view, features hidden under a draping cloak that flaps freely in the wind. Emiya Shirou frowns under the garb that he's donned for several reasons. One was to give possible enemies as little info on him as possible. Another was the fact that it is REALLY DAMNED WINDY when you're high on a roof and it gets pretty chilly. But his frown turns into a scowl, then clenched teeth! "Her again?!" He knows THAT style of Golem. It's QUITE distinctive by now! The last one was bad, but this one... it's shaped like a dragon. Which means it may be as powerful as one! A dragon assaulting anywhere that people live... that's simply intolerable! "It's always giant monsters with her! Ordinary attacks won't do a thing to that..." Exasperation mixes with his desperation and anger for a rather conflicted tone of voice, but his amber eyes are focused on the creature fiercely. Hunting for a weak point.
Setsuko Kaminagi	In recent weeks, Setsuko has put in requests with the Union's various intel teams and systems that anything that comes up involving Blakely, or clockworks that resemble her doings, should at least be pinged in her general direction. She keeps an eye on other such things, but not nearly so stringently; so at first, on seeing the Elenine Alchemist's Guild request, she had thought little of it and mentally filed it away. So she's a bit surprised to see it sent straight to her personal terminal with a high-priority flag... at least until she sees the footage of the dragon. Once again, the swordswoman comes with all due haste - perhaps even more than is due. The demigod comes barreling out the nearest warpgate in full, unassisted flight, her hoverbike nowhere in evidence for once. The instant she's through, her feet touch the ground, and then she vaults upward, gaining a sudden surge of height that puts her high over the city. And with that height, spotting the dragon - and Anne atop it - is child's play. The next heartbeat sees her surging downward like a missile, Zanjintou already drawn and snapping to its full size. She fully intends to open the fight by trying to carve the dragon apart. No speeches, no preamble. Just a straight-ahead full-force attack.
Anne Blakely	Atop the dragon, Anne fusses with her hair while Camilla is chatting with her. She shakes her head, "It isn't about vengeance. Where did anyone say this was /my/ vengeance? Penelope believes the Guild has wronged her. I'm just here for...mmmn... support?" She smiles lightly. "But you're right, I could do wings. I prefer not to modify myself any further than I already have. Besides, in another few decades I may be able to do so magically anyway." A gesture demonstrates, snapping up a fallen sword nearby by simply levitating it up toward her. Surprisingly, the dragon itself isn't attacking... yet. Wings fold over protectively to shield Anne, and the eyes are looking across the city, watching the various citizens flee and panic. Some actually DO use Qemuel's breach, but the dragon is basically ignoring the military at the moment. Setsuko gets its attention. It LOOKS like there are plenty of weak points, but surely all those joints aren't that vulnerable, right? In the meantime, her minions are having some issues. Well, Geppetto is. He hops onto the rooftop, and watches Penelope... but demonstrates some ridiculous reflexes when the arrow comes his way. "What?!" His arm comes up, so that it lodges in that instead of his body... or at least that's the idea. When the whole arm bursts into flame, he SCREAMS very much like a real boy, backing and stumbling away. Desperately, the puppet looks about, then forcefully /yanks/ his own arm off, snapping joint and gears at the shoulder to pitch the flaming arm over the side of the inn, where it splashes into a rainwater barrel. Penelope lands her dragonfly just at the front of the Guild. Arrows ping off her chassis and the machine's, but then a burst of flame explodes and causes her to hop off hurriedly as her mount falls to the ground. Perching atop the inner wall of the Alchemist's Guild, she calls out. "So we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I, Penelope, have returned! Don't bother looking... the old Grand Masters erased me from the school records. But /I/ remember! Everyone of Master rank and above, step outside now... or I take down the entire tower."
Uriel and Qemuel	A brilliant flaming streak plummets from the sky... and Setsuko's attack is deflected with a loud clash of blades! A flaming sword has parried it, though at the cost of a shallow cut along one shoulder. Uriel has ended up in front of Anne and the dragon, white wings fluttering. "I am sorry. Detestible as she is, I am bound to defend her to the best of my abilities. I must stop you." Qemuel floats up immediately after and points to the incoming Star Hawk. "Sister, let me have the warrior. You should take care of the robot. I have seen this one fight, though her limbs seem to be recovered. She deserves one battle sister to another, and you are too kind in battle." Uriel looks up toward the Star Hawk, then sighs, "As you wish, sister." Unless something moves to stop her, she moves to intercept Staren.
Setsuko Kaminagi	The simple feat of having parried Zanjintou at its full size so smoothly, is more than enough to put Setsuko on her guard. She pushes out of the clash to drift back a good fifteen feet, expression grown sharper, and brings the weapon up into her standard ready stance, held directly behind her and pointed backwards. "...Don't apologize for fulfilling your vows," she replies simply, meeting Uriel's gaze steadily. Then Qemuel rises up, and the demigod finds herself being shifted between the two as an opponent- And takes that moment of distraction and split focus on the angels' parts to suddenly lunge down and forward. Almost directly towards the ground, in fact, hurling herself towards the ground underneath Uriel and Qemuel both, such that when she rebounds back up into the air, she'll come up on the other side headed straight for Anne again. It's another attempt at a vicious, straightforward attack with her massive divine blade.
Camilla Ulyssa	"Whoa, hey, I never said you should GRAFT robot wings on yourself, that's not a decision you just take on a whim. I meant like... a backpack? Cool armor? Maybe just bit-like floating wings that follow you." Camilla winces a bit at the idea of just deciding overnight to graft a new limb (or pair of limbs) onto one's body. That sounds like a terrible idea. Green eyes look towards the tower as Penelope makes her demands, and then flit to the two swords hanging out of those complex mechanical sheaths Camilla is hauling. Leveling the tower would be a lot more fun, she muses, but Penelope deserves her revenge. All beings do! Except the ones who don't. Camilla gets to decide that. It's hardly an objective thing. There's people, though. Finally! The young foxwoman unsheathes her blades, finally. They ping, idly, with a smooth, but flat, male voice. <I thought you'd never bother at this rate.> "/Please/. When do I never bother?" <Addict.> "Asshole. C'mon, spin the wheel of fate." Along the surface of the blades, runes begin flashing, like a slot machine. Eventually three stop and become solid, carving themselves on the sword and glowing orange-brown. The swords announce, <Your fate is sealed: homing earth laser.> "Good choice. HEY, FOLKS IN THE TOWER! I SUGGEST DOING WHAT SHE SAYS!" She points one of her swords down. Brown light shoots out, a thin streak that rumbles like an earthquake. It goes for a window. It curves. It zooms for living beings, the laser hunting down as many targets as it can pierce before vanishing a few seconds later.
Staren	"Ugh, why can't we just have one giant robot fight another?!" The Star Hawk unfolds its arms and legs and starts to pull away from the approaching angels... but some range won't stop it. Staren aims the right arm at the dragon and unloads a stream of hypersonic metal from the gatling railgun. Do the angels have a way to block it?
Sigrun Stem	Though the fight seems to be on in earnest, no-one seems to have attacked Sigrun yet. At the same time, she comes to the conclusion maybe she picked the wrong first target, and so her aim shifts away from Gepetto and onto Penelope. This time, the arrow is a new design. A sleek, slender carbon rod, employing something she picked up at a version of Earth, the thing has been clad in little runes for her magic. When it flies, those runes exert extreme pressure on the arrow, forcing it into a denser, more space-efficient package. The very nature of this carbon rod changes, and when it finally breaks the sound barrier, it's no longer what most would call carbon. Because vengeance is timeless, and diamonds are forever.
Emiya Shirou	So much for the plan of sniping something crucial from his lofty perch and hoping that was enough! So many Confederate Elites seem to be backing this offensive that the team's heavy hitters are occupied! "That leaves nobody to-- fine!" Something crucial was just revealed to him. That girl down there, she's the cause for the ENTIRE ATTACK. So she's the only thing he should be aiming for to get any results! And it's a LOOONG way down the tower. Yet... after calculating a path, Shirou leaps! Down from his balcony to a lower balcony, then another and another, until he finally vaults down to the ground level and-- BAAAAAAAAAM-THUNK-CLANK! Sort of... tumble-rolls noisily with the sound of clanging armor mixed with ruffling cloth. He totters up back to his feet though in a less-than-elegant fashion, looking not at ALL heroic for those brief few seconds. Soon though he steadies his stance and stands straight and tall... Then FLINGS the cloak away rather dramatically. EMIYA SHIROU, dressed in articulated plate armor, stands before Penelope! "You've got to be kidding! You'd start a panic and threaten to wipe out a whole guild over a grudge?! What did these alchemists ever do? They can't ALL be at fault! Don't be absurd here!" Absurd. Like that homing earth laser he just saw cut through the tower. A glance is all Shirou needs to realize the woman who fired THAT thing off is deadly dangerous... he'd never be her opponent in a head-on fight. The wannabe Hero of Justice DOES have a plan, right?!
Anne Blakely	"A wing-pack would be interesting," Anne muses. Not a bad idea. "Maybe when I have the time. Craftsmanship and good design are importan-" This time Setsuko manages to get a hit in. Probably just one before Qemuel takes action, but still a hit. The blade shears through the outer armor of Rupert's chassis to make the dragon rear up with a ROAR, and his tail lash out at the demigod. Anne is interrupted to grab hold, saved by her dragon's bulk and protective nature. At least she isn't going after the town or anything. "Tch... you again." Geppetto is climbing down to get his arm, much to the horror of the innkeeper staring and gathering his things. Grumbling, the puppet is out of the fight for the moment, though might be back later. Sigrun's arrow... well, that's a thing. Penelope is mystically reinforced, so instead of piercing right through her... it does pierce her chassis, but at an angle that says it was almost deflected, shearing through parts of her mechanisms and making her pause and blink. "Eh?" She looks toward Sigrun as she fumbles to try to remove the arrow. It wasn't fatal or anything, and she doesn't seem too impaired, but the expression of worry on her face says that the clockwork girl can feel it hit something at least a little important in there. She just doesn't know what yet! "That wasn't very nice. This is my vengeance, and well worth it!" She hasn't gotten to the vengeance part, is all. She is CONSIDERABLY more durable than Geppetto, though! Camilla's laser is pretty effective, anyway. Screams and shouts come out as the laser lances through, causing panic within. They aren't really a FIGHTING sort of Alchemist, mostly, though they have explosive potions. Penelope yanks Sigrun's arrow out. Shirou gets a stare of copper-colored lenses, focusing on him. "You'd best get out of my way. They murdered me and my love. Now I'll make them pay." Ignoring Sigrun so that someone else can go after the archer, she focuses on the boy in front of her... with a snap-clack of an unfolding blade within her body taking a quick slice. The blade also glistens with something. An alchemical mixture?
Uriel and Qemuel	Staren is met head-on by Uriel streaking up... with an aura of flame surrounding her. The 'shield' of flame is intensely hot, and the rail gun bullet is mostly vaporized before it slams into her, hurling her back into the ground and crashing through the roof of a house. The house immediately catches on fire, of course, because she's on fire. Also kind of annoyed, as the angel is shaking her wings out and holding her stomach after the rafters collapse and tumble free from her body. "Ugh, this is more Qemuel's thing, too." She glances up and considers... then launches herself upward again, streaking toward the Star Hawk. The flaming sword, supernaturally sharp, engages in a quick strike against one of the Star Hawk's wings. At full speed the Veritech is probably faster than her, if it tried, though. Qemuel tsks as Setsuko gets by her. Not very upset, though. "Mn, not above a pragmatic approach." The axe vanishes into rust as Qemuel summons a tarnished lance instead, darting forward and hurling a flurry of sharp, knifelike feathers toward Setsuko.
Setsuko Kaminagi	A tail swings down at Setsuko, intercepted by the flat of Zanjintou but hit hard enough to slam her back in the air. And in mid-flight, a flurry of feathers lacerates her, opening several cuts along her limbs and torso. "Ghh..." She finally manages to swing her sword around enough to deflect the last of the flurry, but the damage is done. And even now, she's glaring past Qemuel at Anne. "Yes, me again. And always, until I take your head." But a trick like that won't work twice. She's going to have to focus on the angel. "I am not a nice person," the swordswoman agrees. "I act honorably, I choose causes that I believe are just, but I will do what I must to strike down my targets, and I firmly believe that Anne Blakely needs to die." She whips Zanjintou around in a single circle, then adds, "My pity that you are honor-bound to defend her." With no warning, she is very suddenly in Qemuel's face. A sudden surge forward, and then she's striking, swinging the massive sword she wields in wide, forceful arcs. And she uses her ability to fly to its fullest - turning and spinning in the air such that her strikes come from all angles, not limiting herself to 'standing straight' in the air.
Emiya Shirou	The brink of life and death can be decided on a single second! Shirou proves this quite well with a snap reaction as the copper-clad wraith takes a swing at him. Panicking for a defense, Shirou raises a hand-- "TRACE ON!" White light shoots wildly from his palm and forms out into a jagged SOMETHING that the poisoned blade clashes into. Shirou's entire body lurches back from the impact. he just barely avoids getting an eyeful of poisoned blade and instead goes tumble-rolling back and skidding across the ground. HOW he manages to maintain his balance and stay upright after that impact though, that's a show of skill. Even if he looks a bit wobbly in doing it. The energy finishes solidifying into Bakuya right as he steadies himself. "An ENTIRE GUILD couldn't be behind that!" He protests. "That's just what a mad, vengeful ghost does!" That her blades are poisoned isn't lost on him. But she's also the lynchpin of this entire operation it seems. Without her, is there a reason to continue the assault?! Does he need to kill her?! Ugh. But does it count if she's in that form? Is she not somehow corrupted by that freakish... necromancy, soul-binding, whatever it is?! He doesn't know. "Slaughters solve nothing! At least name the guilty party!" Instead of going directly on the attack with melee - and risking a gut full of poison blade - he extends a hand... and chants. "My body is made of swords," "A shell of steel with fire for blood." "I have created... over a thousand blades!" As if on cue, the air around him RIPPLES with a torrent of magic. A dozen ornate and dangerous-looking swords of all shapes and sizes, all bearing ominously-powerful and noble auras, manifest and float in midair, angled at Penelope. "Never retreating, never knowing victory." With that, they all fire off like arrows in bursts of three-four at different angles. Shirou has NO intention of fighting her in melee if he can avoid it. That poison might be instantly lethal!
Sigrun Stem	As flammable as the boy seemed, the girl seems sturdy. Sigrun considers her plans some more, and with the bodyguards busy with the sharpshooter's allies, she decides it may be time to go for the head of this operation. Her aim shifts to Anne Blakely herself, specifically to the woman's left eye. This time the arrow is nothing special. It's just sturdy and when released, it is almost immediately supersonic, and it keeps accelerating until it hits something, anything, or gets out of Sigrun's effective range. Her target is not.
Uriel and Qemuel	"I'm a fallen angel of Battle, not of Honor," Qemuel points out. "Even were I still in His Graces, I wouldn't have it any other way~" Her lance twirls about as she clashes with Setsuko's blade. Like the Demigod, she is at home in the air... and in an instant, it's a glittering match of blade versus lance, the tremendous sword driving even Qemuel backward with every strike, but her lance sending ultra-fast jabs and reposts with the extra reach. One thing that Setsuko doesn't have to worry about is hostages though. Qemuel is keeping the battle well away from the citizens. Steadily, though, the sheer mass of the blade is driving Qemuel backward. Clash after clash, she yields space... until a flick of her wing reminds that she has those steel-like spray of feathers to add to her own abilities. It's a deadly flechette attack, though it leaves her open for an instant.
Camilla Ulyssa	Screams confirm the people inside the tower didn't put up quite enough of a fight. Maybe that was too much? No, she's pretty sure no matter how much she held back none of the people in there could give her a fight. Her hopes lies with all the response, but she doesn't feel like intruding. An unfair fight? Boring. Mars was right, she's an addict. To adrenaline, not fighting specifically, but it sure is one way to do it. A glance left, a glance right. Everyone's having fun! Even the little lady seeking revenge has found herself a stab-buddy. Those are very important in life. Camilla has a few, but none that she's seen recently. "Well, she's busy. I think I'll go take a look inside the towe--" Ah, none of that. Sigrun fires an arrow towards Anne, and the fox is immedialty on it. She's fast-- no, that wasn't speed, it was teleportation. Camilla stands in front of Anne, taking the arrow to the chest, with all of its supersonic impact. Oddly she doesn't get thrown back violently. She flinches, but controlled flight takes her past Anne, back around, and then to her side, arrow still sticking out of that thick uniform. It doesn't look like it drew blood, or penetrated past the clothes. The impact did leave a pretty nasty blue mark though, under all those clothes. The magical uniform does not absorb impacts perfectly. "Ow, sheesh. Mars!" <Form - Gonne.> One of Camilla's blades rearranges itself, clicking and clanging mechanically. A large pistol is in its stead now, with the same runes present. It's immediatly pointed towards Sigrun, and unleashes-- another homing earth laser. A thin streak of brown light, fast, rumbling like an earthquake. It does pierce or cut, but only in the sense if you flick a rock at something hard enough it will. For the most part, it hits like a boulder would.
Staren	"Woah, woah, woah, they murdered you? What? Hey, if this vengeance is actually justified... look, just what the hell is going on?!" He groans as he sees the railgun bullets being turned to vapor and dissipating. So much for that plan. Although... it looks like Uriel was still hurt. Ah, so even angel magic has to obey the laws of physics: Just because the metal turns from a liquid to a gas, doesn't mean it isn't still very heavy and going very fast. He smiles a bit, glad he has a weapon that works. But then she comes for him! Uriel is able to nick the mecha's wing (well, a mecha-scale nick, anyway) as Staren tries to avoid her and soon is fleeing full speed, once again unable to attack his target. "Ugh! What are you angels even /doing/ with her? So, did you decide to rebel against Heaven by being evil or what?"
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko is relentless. Her stamina is infinite - or nearly enough so that she could fight for literal days without tiring. The concept of 'sprinting' or 'overexerting' doesn't exist for her. It makes for a battering ram of an opponent, one that just keeps coming, keeps pushing. She knows it about herself, and works it to her greatest advantage, especially against opponents she can push back. So it is with Qemuel, and so Setsuko does. She runs more risk of taking hits than Qemuel does, but at the same time manages to work her blade's incredible length as yet another advantage in keeping herself from taking anything directly in that exchange... until the feathers lash across her sides. "Ghk-!" Blood sprays. It's a clean hit, a deep wound across her left abdomen. But there's a split-second opening, and the demigod doesn't so much as slow down. She takes the opening. Lunges in, swinging Zanjintou up from below in a brutal upwards swing as if to bisect Qemuel entirely- -only for the blade to vanish. In the split second of flinch that trick will buy her, the brief panic of 'trying to halt an attack delivered during an opening, Setsuko takes another opportunity to launch herself at Anne and her dragon, calling forth the larger blade again in a swing intended to carve the dragon's head off.
Anne Blakely	An arrow toward Anne. Rupert makes a move to block it, but even if it isn't an armor-piercing diamond arrow, a supersonic shot would likely tear through the wing... and unlike Camilla, Anne's body is actually rather fragile! That's a bad thing for her to get shot by! Fortunately Camilla is there to tank the shot, though it looks like that hurt even with the Deus being that much stronger than Anne. She whistles lightly, "Well I'm glad someone is taking care of that archer. They've badly damaged Penelope." Badly damaged? Penelope doesn't look too badly damaged! At least, she can move and her arms are moving. Maybe that is why she's sluggish in some ways, though. It's hard to tell with the plating covering the internals. The blade clashes, and Penny steps forward. At least she seems more interested in talking than killing anyone else... though her other hand? It's pulling out a large glass globe full of liquid. She's looking at the tower, where injured Alchemists are hobbling out. The laser didn't kill them all or anything, they aren't THAT inept, but it was pretty devastating to morale and hurt an awful lot of them. "I can't remember! Everything's unclear! I've died TWICE already thanks to them!" Penelope is not screaming as much as one would expect, but she's definitely upset... and as Shirou starts his chant, the girl tosses the globe toward the base of the tower.
Uriel and Qemuel	Uriel is fast, even if a veritech is faster. She streaks after, not letting up and keeping Staren busy. She can still speak of course, because Angelic Presence. "No. We help her because our Master bids it so, and helping our Master is right. The Blakely woman does terrible, evil things... yet her soul is not as stained as it should be. A very curious thing, but ultimately not my place to judge." She doesn't hurl any fire after Staren anyway. Qemuel clashes and 'stumbles' in midair. She can get a better hit in, but though she doesn't fatigue like a normal person, Setsuko's relentless barrache is leaving her with numerous cuts and bruises of a more small nature, but adding it up over time does make her sting. Then comes the attack- Which slips by her. "Wh... aha! Well-played! Always going for the objective, not the defense! THAT is a soldier, not a rabid dog!" Setsuko has pleased her by focusing on the BATTLE not the FIGHT... though of course she whirls about and launches forward with a vicious lance thrust when she sees the opportunity.
Staren	"I don't care about soul stains. I care about making the future have less dangers in it than the present. Given what she does, remove her." Staren replies. "Of course, that applies to you too. If you serve evil and enable her... then it does not matter that you are just following orders." The Star Hawk transforms and speeds away in plane mode, then turns and fires a long burst at Anne's dragon again. Will Uriel block it...?
Anne Blakely	Anne is saved from the arrow! And Rupert... begins to rumble, right when the massive blade of Setsuko's sword slashes upward! It doesn't behead him... but the dragon's jaw is slashed badly, tearing half its mouth open so it's dangling there. Or, well, it dangles there after the follow through. The impact snaps Rupert's head upward. He tries to grab balance, but the back claw crumbles under the shift of weight, destroying the parapet and causing the entire dragon plus rider to topple over backward and plummet to the ground. Anne escapes harm... mostly. She leaps off to land with a thud next to the clockwork dragon, sighing heavily. "Up, Rupert. We aren't here to destroy the city, and it looks like your flamebreath is more dangerous to you than the city." Rupert struggles to his feet with a grunt. If he could ever talk, he can't now. Anne says, "At this rate, /someone/ will sneak by my allies and make me a bloody mess again. See if Penelope is finished and we can withdraw."
Sigrun Stem	Sigrun notices that orb, she also notices the incoming attack. If Sigrun was a better businesswoman, she wouldn't make the decision she chooses to make, she needs to dig out this arrow and launch it before that orb hits, there's simply no time to put up a shielding spell. The arrow is a special one, it has a blunt tip and a net attached to the rear. It speeds up like the others, though it doesn't go supersonic and has some guiding to make it maneuver properly. It seeks to capture that orb in its net, and then sail off into the distance, a small tracker on the arrow will help Sigrun find it later. Before it lands, its magic is designed to make it slow down and land gently. Unfortunately, with that kind of opening being left to herself, Sigrun takes a direct hit from that laser, she's knocked back, through a bookcase, and lands on the floor. She winces in pain, sure she's awake, but she's broken an arm. There's no way she can fire another arrow until that heals.
Uriel and Qemuel	Can Uriel block /all/ the bullets? No. Can she get a good portion of them? Yes. The blaze explodes around her again, the might of the sun flaring to try to change the bullets from solid to liquid to gas. Sure, they keep velocity, but with greater resistance the accuracy goes to shit. Some of them might slip through, but only some. Uriel replies simply, "I will shed no tears over Blakely's death, but until then I will do as my Master commands. You are unfortunately my opponent. Perhaps another time, when my sister and I are not here to stop you, you can end this. Until then, I will guard her, just as I will try to stop her from harming the innocent."
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko pursues the target rather than her opponent - and pays for it. She expected she would; someone of the caliber to match her blow-for-blow is someone you can't take your eyes off. It still hurts, having that lance of Qemuel's pierce her. It's not terribly deep, but it's deep enough, and it comes through the front rather than the back, as the demigod just manages to turn herself. But the tip of that lance sinks in a good ways before she can bring a hand down to stop it with sheer brute strength. When she pushes herself off, the wound bleeds freely, and the lance comes away dark. And even that wound, though the pain shows on Setsuko's face, does not slow her. She whips Zanjintou around and up, and brings it down into a different ready stance - pointed forward, grip beside her right cheek. "To lose focus on your objective in a battle is to lose the battle." For the moment, Anne is repulsed, and it remains to be seen if she'll stay around like this... so for the moment, Setsuko holds her position in the air, not attacking but not lowering her guard. "...Perhaps some day we'll meet in a battle where I can focus solely on crossing steel with you," she says after a moment.
Anne Blakely	The arrow sails true. Penelope's toss hurls the globe... and the scholars look up with horrified eyes. Do they recognize it? It doesn't matter, because the arrow pops the net and folds over it. The globe flies across, nearly hitting the wall anyway but... Sigrun is nothing if not an excellent shot, meaning the worst jarring it has is a light jostle when the arrow hits the ground. 'Hits' being a very exaggerated term. Penny screeches, "NO!"
Emiya Shirou	Shirou's energy was spiking. Countless trace lines firing in his head and revving up for a big and powerful magic feat of some kind! The chant just SCREAMS 'ultimate technique', doesn't it? But out come wounded alchemists... and that changes everything. Suddenly figuring out what Penelope intends with that globe, Shirou reacts on PURE PANIC! His whole body angles forwards and he pumps some of that gathered energy through his legs. The result, as he springs forward... WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!! As superhuman speed goes, it's at the lower limits, but he'd be a blur to entirely untrained eyes. Bakuya's swung up at an angle to deliver a diagonal cut to Penelope as Shirou blitzes past. If the manuever's successful... Kanshou appears in his other hand as he spins around whilst skidding past, and FLINGS them both in great arcs that would boomerang around and intersect on Penelope! She left an opening there by ignoring him, he's not going to risk all the Alchemists' lives! "MOVE!!" He screams to the gathering Masters!
Camilla Ulyssa	"I'm not a fan of archers. Or guns!" Camilla tells Anne, while holding up her pistol. "They get the job done, but they're terribly impersonal." Chatter is cut short when Setsuko's strike causes the dragon to start falling, leaving Camilla floating there where it used to be. "Oh. Huh. Missed that one, sorry!" The apology is sincere, sadly Camilla lacks the ability to be multiple places at once. She thinks she saw her target eat that laser and get sent flying back, but she was distracted. She uses the brief pause in hostilities to yank the arrow out of her uniform. The clothes mend, the bruise underneath only visible for a moment. "Never underestimate someone who can get through Vestis... ah, chances are they're still alive. Good! Maybe I can fight them another time, then." That's her logic. She doesn't chase after Sigrun, not even to verify if she's up or down. Instead, she slowly floats down towards Anne, twirling that gun idly. As she stops, she becomes distracted by the still ongoing battles. She wonders who to shoot. "Ah, c'mon now, wouldn't you rather focus on me, miss whoever-you-are?" she asks Setsuko, chipper. "I don't think Anne would be a very good or fun fight! Now take me, the more bored I get the more likely I am to do something like this! MARS, WHEEL OF FATE!" Runes dance on her gun and sword. When they stop spinning and, finally, a set of three runes forge themselves into the now blank metal, the weapons announce: <Your fate is sealed: small earth beam.> The trigger's pulled-- towards one Emiya Shirou. A brown, earthly blast of magic rips through the streets, a meter tall and wide. It's the equivalent of getting hit by a very large, thrown boulder, only there's the chance of getting caught in it, since it lasts a few seconds, per standard magical girl beam rules.
Uriel and Qemuel	Qemuel draws the lance back with a quick snap of attention. "I'm not one to seek battle for battle's sake... but I do appreciate an opponent that understands me. It's saddening that I must be defending this woman, but our Master needs us, and I won't betray her desire. She needs us." This is the first real indication that the one the Angels call Master is NOT Blakely herself. For now, Qemuel simply moves and shifts, not attacking nor leaving an opening. She's covered in blood from numerous smaller injuries, while Setsuko is injured worse. Tactically, she might be able to press for defeat... but her task is to protect Blakely, and the witch has said she's going to retreat. "It's time for us to go."
Anne Blakely	Oh. More bullets. Anne dives behind Rupert, who grunts incoherently as the bullets riddle across his frame. They do damage, much to Anne's chagrin, though the fact that he's taken so many hits and can still fly is a testament to Rupert's durability. He is her most powerful creation, so this shouldn't be a surprise. "Yes, I think it's time to go," she calls out, climbing atop. "Not to worry, there are always priorities and choices. I would have done the same." Funny, Rupert didn't actually... fight much beyond shielding Anne, did he?
Anne Blakely	The thrown blades are more than a match for Penelope. Alone, she might have taken Shirou... but when the clockwork girl twists and turns to do a dodge, there's a noise. Ever hear the 'twang' of a steel wire snapping? That's what it sounds like, and one of the clockwork girl's legs buckles. Something that Sigrun hit earlier finally gave way, making her squeak and the witch's hat flutter away. She still manages to dodge, but on the boomerang back she's in no position to properly dodge. The clockwork girl leaps atop Geppetto's dragonfly as it buzzes by to pick her up, grabbing hold of the puppet-boy's remaining arm. "PENNY!" Oh, gallantly swooping in to rescue his beloved wife! With a loud clatter, the leg of the clockwork girl, severed just at the knee, tumbles to the stone below.
Emiya Shirou	Shirou's assault would've been lethal against a creature of flesh. What happens here is a thing he was hoping would - dismemberment and disabling without killing is WAY easier when your opponent's body is largely mechanical. An arm can just be repaired, right?! Down she goes, but as Shirou didn't expect that she'd go down with JUST THAT a second set of his favored weapons have already materialized in his grasp. He's not going to contest her being dragged off, but seeing her collapse, he exclaims, "Next time might not go as well for you! Don't go taking vengeance on people you can't even remember clearly!" But this... This leaves him a bit open himself. A sudden surge of magic nearby has him turning and-- "Hwghhhhh-k-!" Though he raises his blades to try and catch the strange Earth bolt, this doesn't go well for him! SOMEHOW the ceremonial weapons manage to hold the beam at bay and scatter its outer edges when by all rights, the blast should've simply engulfed him. But the sheer FORCE pushes Shirou back across the ground. His passage leaves horrible ground ruts... and... Kchk-tck! The weapons start cracking. "It's too much--!" Boooooom! The boy's sent flying as the beam finally hits, albeit not as directly as originally intended. His armor crumples in places but the worst of the matter is that he's flung hard right off his feet and send tumbling and bouncing across the ground like a ragdoll until he eventually SLAMS into the inner wall and comes to an abrupt halt. OWWWWW. He's not getting up from that one just yet...