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Nobunaga     Kagoshima province, Japan
    Local year 1877
    Shiroyama Castle

    A stately Japanese castle looming over a harbor village. Surrounded by trenches and soldiers. In the harbor, the cannon of pre-dreadnought warships rumble. Rifle fire cracks the air periodically. A castle under siege and filled with armored samurai.

    The warlord Oda Nobunaga is here. On a hilltop overlooking the battle, she plants her sword's scabbard at her feet, hands folded on the hilt. Wind rustles her cape, teases through her hair, as crimson eyes wander through the arrangement of defenses and obstacles placed around the castle. Without looking back at those who have come with her, she speaks up in a raised voice.

    "In accordance to the history provided to me upon my summoning, there was a time when the Samurai rose up against the Emperor in a heroic final stand, and were crushed beneath a modern army," One hand raises and she gestures to the castle itself, "Here, I have found a world wherein this event has yet to take place."

    A burst of magic occurs around Nobunaga's feet, shooting light out in all directions around her. These lights solidify into rifles, which drop-- into the waiting hands of knee-high homunculi that have appeared around her. Countless smaller versions of the Demon Archer scatter around her, taking up a battle formation.

    Nobunaga's fist closes as her army forms, "And today we shall carve a new history!"

    Her laughter echoes across the valleys of Kagoshima, creating a pause in the conflict below as soldiers and samurai alike glance around to try and find the source.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Ryouma can never decide if he's fortunate or not.
    This points at not, really.

    It had taken some time to find the battle, but at least once Ryouma has, he knows his way around. It's all entirely too familiar - a few years ahead of what he remembers, if not several, but stil familiar.

    The man in the white naval officer's uniform, and his floating schoolgirl-clad wife, has arrived onto one of the ships' decks. He fits right in - same uniform, walks the deck like he knows where he's going. No, in fact, perhaps he really does.

    "Ah... I haven't been on this ship in so long," he muses.
    He smiles, despite the circumstances.

    It might be that some deckhands might even recognize him. He died ten years ago only for this world, so he might still be fresh in their minds. He did help put together this navy.

    "Oryou doesn't like this place," Oryou notes, idly.
    "Ah? Is it because of what happened to me?" Ryouma asks.
    Oryou rumbles, flustered.
    Ryouma just laughs. "Sorry, sorry. Let's make it fast, then. We'll need cannonfire diverted from the fortress to the Demon King's army if we want to stand a chance."
Raziel     Near the hill...a site is there to behold. Coming into view next to the Demon Archer, a figure of a blue...demon comes into view. Emaciated, skelletal in places, and a corpse blue, he comes into view. His eyes look around, not normal eyes but white orbs that have no pupils. On each hand and leg are claws, three claws infact. Defintely less human and more...monterous. Around his head, like a scarf, is a red standard, wrapped around showing an unknown insignia. Around the right hand of this creature, a glow seems to run up and down the claw, twisting around it like a jacob's ladder.

    'It was here I arrived in battle. In this world, history is unfolding, here two armies collided for the future of a land known as 'Japan'. The woman that had brought me here desired to challenge fate...something I could understand. Perhaps this would provide insight into my own perdicament.'

    As the man moves, it is noticed two flaps hang down his back almost like a cape...but there is something...senew-like about them, though the 'scarf' covers where they would connect to his back. His part in this was simple...get to the castle and silence the cannons...which seems they were already focusing on the new army. The figure leaps into the air, aiming to land in the thick of things and starts aiming to fight his way towards his goal.

    'This battle was in full pitch, warriors on each side fighting for their very right to live. Likely, many more only fighting because their lords had ordered them to.'

    Raziel moves quickly, moving to only fight unless engaged. On his right hand the light comes into a bright sword of light, cutting through people as they stop him. Something flies from each person cut down by him, being absorbed into the blade as he moves.

    Once getting to the wall, Raziel starts climbing it, claws puncing into the side as he starts scaling it. Occasionaly being forced to swing his blade to protect himself from pot shots from the ground or the wall itself.
Nova Terra     On the edge of the battlefield, there's a small shimmer in the air. But only for a moment, the effect quickly fading.

    Finding a good position to stop, Nova glances over the site from the safety of her cloaking device. The battle unfolds before her, chaos growing as new factions insert themselves into it. But Nova's sweep of the battlefield soon focuses in on a nearby hill, where a certain warlord stands. She zooms in with her visor, looking the leader over for a moment. She then whispers, "Target acquired."

    A voice responds back through Nova's visor, "Are you going to engage?"

    Nova ponders the question for a moment, but then shakes her head, as pointless as the action is, "No. Not yet. I'm going to wait and see how this progresses..." The invisible Ghost holds still as she watches the battle play out. Waiting.
Zero      It was suppose to be a peaceful stroll. A nice and relaxing scouting mission to help get acquainted with the various different places in the Multiverse and what not. Unfortunately for Zero, it appears he has walked into a battle he doesn't understand and has no real stakes in. Again. He really needs to figure out a way to stop doing that.

It was the Meiji army that took a swing at the Red Reploid first, and as such it was them that found themselves on the receiving end of Zero's fury. A flash of crimson and green cuts its way through the Emperor's men, settling itself in the middle of the enemy's ranks and as far away from the Samurai forces as possible as possible where it continues to be a problem.

Though completely unaware of either side's story, it would seem that Zero has ultimately decided to side with the Shogunate. Not because he understands what's going on, but because of a kneejerk reaction to being shot at first.
Sanary Rondel      Down in the muck of the battlefield, a figure in a brilliantly white coat can be seen dashing about! Bodies are being flung around, piled against each other, all presumably to be used in some sort of giant horrible death pyre later.

     No death pyre today, though. No, it's Sanary! She's heard that a pitched battle would be taking place, and getting in good with the winning side could get her some good leads towards finding useful artifacts in this region later on. The problem is, she's not quite sure who's going to win yet.

     Thus, she's opted to get into the middle of things without making herself an outright ally of either of the (visible) sides just yet. Instead, she's lashing out at everyone indiscriminately, smashing samurai away left and right with violent swings of her axe, cleaving through squads of soldiers with leaping charges into their ranks, and shouting wild challenges to any who would be daring enough to face her!

     Isn't this just going to make them think she's crazy, though? The plan sounded a lot better in her head.
Nobunaga     It's only a patrol that attempts to halt Raziel's advance on the castle. A patrol of soldiers that he makes quick work of, partly due to surprise and then mostly to horror at his ghastly appearance. Only one even gets a shot off before he is cut down aimed wildly and careening off into the sky harmlessly. Once he reaches and begins scaling the wall, though, it's much harder to remain unnoticed. A sergeant calls out, and shots follow, striking the castle wall around the ascending monster.

    On board the Japanese gunship, Ryouma is at first a source of surprise. However, Oryou prompts most men to keep their distance from him entirely because floating just ain't natural. A man on the bridge, his uniform similar but with more ornate braiding and rank markings, starts. He presses his hands on the railing to lean over, peering. His voice laced with disbelief, Admiral Kawamura murmurs, "Sakamoto..?" He turns away, then, and exits the bridge with a curt order to the Officer of the Deck.

    Who is this man who wears the face of Ryouma Sakamoto, unchanged from the founding of the Navy nearly a decade ago?

    Nova's concealed position is not compromised yet. She has a good view of the battle unfolding in the valley surrounding Shiroyama. Samurai clash with soldiers, swords and rifles rattling off amidst the lounder bursts of artillery and naval guns.

    Nobunaga draws her sword, tucking the scabbard into the sash of her uniform. Blade raised, she calls out, "Ready!" And then the blade is pointed, "ATTACK!" Around her, the gathered formations of childlike homunculi break into a charge downhill, waving swords longer than they are tall. While the creatures can only say one word, there's simply so many that it sounds like an indistinct rumble of war cries.

    Not expecting a charge from the rear, several of the rearmost soldier platoons swing around in surprise, opening fire. The general's command post erupts into disarray, as the officers vacate to a safer position that is not rapidly transforming into a new front.

    Nobunaga, meanwhile, keeps her sword extended. Magic erupts around her, creating a shining circle of golden light. An arm extends from this, and then another. With a smooth motion that is both climbing out of the opening as well as being lifted out of it, a colossal version of the chibi Nobbu soldiers emerges on the hillside with the warlord Nobunaga standing on its hat.

    Big Nobbu holds its nubby hands out, an enormous rifle phasing in and dropping into that waiting grip, and it announces its arrival with a cry that echoes off the hills: "NOBUNOBUNOBU--!"

    The battle is joined on three sides! Homunculi Nobbu clashing against Meiji's army and Samurai forces from the side, while the further flanks of soldiers and samurai contend equally with Zero and Sanary's intrusion with gunfire and swords and officers shouting for fallback positions.
Raziel     The ghoul that is Raziel keeps clawing his way up. As expected, people noticed him as he ascended, which was par for the course. At first, he decides to rely on his skill of dodging, throwing himself across the wall and reclawing himself into it. A few more feet up, and they had repositioned...at this rate he was not going to get anywhere. So he did what any sane person would do.

    Reaching a hand out towards one of the shooters, he moved to try and reach out with telekinesis...

    And HURL him off of the side of the wall, either forward or back, aiming to let them fall to their deaths...and in the case of not high enough to die, he flings them into nearby banners or spikey objects.

    Raziel continues his climb, until he finally gets over the wall. It is the first time he see's the cannons.

    'What a strange weapon these are. Using some sort of explosive device to propel a large metal ball extremely fast. However odd I thought the weapons were, there was no questioning their effectiveness. If I didn't want a quick trip back to the Spirit World, I had better stay out of the path of these weapons, and engage them before their crews could turn them on me.'

    Already running at the closest one, Raziel decides that the only way he is going to do anything is savagely attacking the manners before they could alert the others.
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Ah, Kawamura-san!" Ryouma pipes up, evidently pleased. "Looks like time took its toll on you. I'm sorry for the sudden appearance, but..."

    Ryouma gestures towards the battlefield.

    "I'm afraid it's rather complicated. But the short version of the story is that that commander there is the Lord Nobunaga of legend, and once they are done wasting that fortress, they will turn on your men too. In fact, some are already caught in the crossfire." It must be hard to swallow.

    To make a point, Ryouma wills his sheathed katana to appear out of thin air, heralded by blue wisps of mana that form its shape. "Well, even shorter story, magic. And I fear she possesses the power to bring your Japan to its knees, lest you have similar heroes on-call."

    Ryouma glances back towards the army, stroking his chin. "I believe... I believe our best chance is to work with the remnants of the Shogunate. It would not normally be possible to find peaceful grounds between our Emperor and them, but... the appearance of a common enemy, ah... extraordinary circumstances that might bring about a better fate."

    Not that the Restoration was a failure.
    But what if it could have been even better?

    "Admiral, please. Rally your men, point your cannons at the Demon King's armies. Give me the word and I will go tell the samurai the same."

    Oryou, bored, makes faces at the more scared-looking deckhands. Premium entertainment. Ryouma edges closer to her. "Ah, Oryou, could you please go handle the fighting? I'll be fine, it's just talking."
    Oryou nodnods, and flies off towards the chaos. Once high enough, and directly overhead, she angles herself down to crash like a comet in the midst of the Nobbus, with enough force to separate the armies momentarily from the impact alone.
Nova Terra     As she watches, Nova finds the use of the ancient weapons to be somewhat amusing. Could a shot from one of those guns even break through the fibers of her suit? Rather doubtful. Though Nova has no intentions of finding out at this point. The more unusual combatants on the field don't go unnoticed by the Ghost. She oberserves each for several moments, recognising one of them. However she's not here for them. Not today.

    Returning her focus to Nobunaga, Nova's eyes go a little wide at the arrival of that large... Thing. Somewhat bewildered, Nova asks, "What the hell is that?"

    There's a noticeable pause before the response through her visor is, "Unknown. Possibly a magic summon of some kind."

    Nova mutters, "Magic is weird."

    The response mmmms, "Agreed. What do you think?"

    Nova considers for a moment... "She definitely has the attitude for it. A motivation, I'm not so sure. But I'm here, so might as well test her strength."

    "Understood. Beginning subject observation."

    Nova rises to her feet and begins to move. Normally she'd stick to a slow pace to remain undiscovered. However in this case she's going to have to cross a dangerous battlefield to reach her objective. She can't afford to take it slow. So the Ghost is off and running, a faint blur in the air as dashes across the chaotic battlefield.

    Nova is forced to duck under a swing from a Samurai currently engaged with one of the army soldiers. She then jumps over a number of bodies that have been piled together. She's not sure why they've been gathered like that. Nova is then forced to drop down, skidding into a trench as a barrage of shots whiz by overhead from a nearby firing line.

    Judging herself to be close enough, Nova moves up against the edge of the trench and rests her Canister Rifle on it. Looking through the electronic scope, she sweeps the weapon around until she sights in on the giant Nobbu. She just shakes her head a little as she looks over its features, before raising her aim just slightly to focus in on Nobunaga. It only takes her a few moments of aiming to feel confident with it, pulling the trigger and sending a large bullet streaking towards the daimyo's chest.
Sanary Rondel      Despite the flaws in her plan becoming more apparent by the second, Sanary's actually feeling pretty good about herself right now. She's still got the flame of battle stirring in her heart, and there's still bound to be opportunities to get something tangibly useful out of this fight! Hearing that confusing clamoring coming from above, she gawks at the wave of sword-wielding midgets charging towards the battlefield guided by a similarly dressed massive... Potato thing?

     The normally proportioned person leading that... Thing is probably going to be worth keeping an eye on for this battle. For the time being, Sanary focuses on just fighting everyone within reach, smashing right through sword and gun alike with mighty swings of her axe!

     Unknown to her, however, are the machinations going on behind the scenes with Raziel on the walls and Ryouma on the ship. What she can see with the single eye, however, is the sudden appearance of a lady divebombing the battlefield. An intrigued smirk crosses Sanary's face as she starts approaching Oryou, taking another swing to a pair of soldiers nearby before resting the axe on her shoulder and pointing dramatically towards the sky-woman.

     "You here to make a name for yourself, too? Then how about we give these chumps a show?!" Bellowing out a mighty shout, she points her axe towards Oryou and stomps forward, waiting to see if she'll take the axe-healer's challenge!
Zero      Nobunaga and her army of Nobbus join the ongoing fray. Great, a third wheel. Zero hates those, but he's not exactly unable to pin down why other than bad things generally happen when a third party gets involved.

Zero's attention is immediately drawn away from what he's doing as he contemplates his next move, giving the opposing army more than enough time to surround him. It doesn't really seem to bother the reploid though, especially since they're easily dispersed the moment they decided to get moving again, being knocked away with a combination of superior speed and strength.

"Alright... Here I come."

Zero unholsters a pistol from his back, the hardpoint used to mount it retracting back into the robot's body. Turning off the Z-Saber that's currently in hand, Zero loads the hilt into the top of his gun with a satisfying 'click'.

What follows next is a lot of fancy acrobatics as Zero jukes and weaves through all three armies, doing their best to avoid incoming fire as they bee-line for the oversized Nobbu in the distance. Because if Zero knows anything, it's that the big guy is the leader more than likely.

The sound of rifles shaving off trace amounts of metal and paint as they graze across Zero's armor drown out the sound of what can only be described as 'something charging', but Nobunaga can still probably hear it off in the distance if she's bothering to pay any amount of attention.
Nobunaga     "It /is/ you," Admiral Kawamura blurts out upon seeing Ryouma from a closer angle. The tension in his face relaxes somewhat, "Sakamoto-san. Time has been kind to you, by contrast." His eyes flit to Oryou's antics, then back to the founder of the Japanese Navy. The magic producing that sword, and the oddly proportioned monster manifesting on the hillside are all he needs to take the claim at face value. Resting his hands on the railing, Kawamura beholds the army and the Big Nobbu in the distance, "The Demon King himself?"

    Okay so yeah it's kinda hard to swallow. And yet he's witnessed magic with his own eyes, and his long-dead comrade is here talking to him while a floating girl is harassing his crew. There's only so much one can see and remain skeptical. He turns back to Ryouma with a nod, "Perhaps you are right. Saigo shall be contacted with this offer." His eyes close in a tired way, "We'll have to sort out the details later, I suppose... This has become a matter bigger than when it began."

    He turns, gesturing, and the gunship's casemate cannons begin to traverse away from the castle's battlements. Signalmen on the bridge wing begin their dance, and the other five ships in formation begin to do the same, one by one training their artillery on the Demon King's force.
--
    On the Castle Battlements, various samurai drop back when Raziel leaps the wall. Rifles are discarded and swords are drawn in their place. Heavily armored, ornate, and skilled in the way of the blade-- these men are going to put up more of a fight than riflemen with bayonets. They even wear masks that make them also look like monsters, fitted into their helmets.

    However even trained swordsmen are not going to last long against the Soul Reaver or its ghoulish weilder. As they are pushed back or cut down, one of them shouts over his shoulder. One of the gunnery crews start dragging their artillery piece back from the wall and turning it around, alarmingly towards Raziel's fight.

    "The ships are turning their guns away!" someone else along the walls shouts.
--
    Nobbu soldiers quickly learn to stay away from Sanary's rampage. Each one that's struck in a fatal way pops into violet smoke, rather than the more satisfying bloody corpse that usually results from death. The feisty little homunculi suffer similar fates when facing Zero, despite getting some licks in with their own rifles and swords.

    Oryou's sudden arrival scatters Nobbu in all directions, creating a clear space around her landing. Samurai and soldiers alike shield their eyes and brace against the gust of the landing, and for a short moment the fighting has ceased. As things begin to settle and samurai and soldiers start to ready for renewed attacking, an officer shouts from the back line of the Meiji formation: "ALL UNITS, cease hostilities against the Saigo force! Our enemy is the ghost of Oda Nobunaga!"

    Soldiers pause, confused. Likewise, samurai also hesitate, glancing between themselves, and then towards the recovering advance force of Nobbu troops.
Nobunaga     "Aw," Nobunaga tilts her head back, "I'm not a ghost. No matter," Her eyes close, and she lowers the blade of her sword slightly, "I intended to kill them all anyway. Resume--"

    It's right about then that a C6 canister round slams into Nobunaga's chest. The entry wound is small, with a burst of crimson-tinted flames and magic erupting from her back and causing her cape and hair to flap about madly for a second. The Daimyo lurches forward, clutching the wound with one hand. When she lifts her gaze, her eyes seem to glow-- especially when she looks directly at the source of the shot, right down the scope of Nova's rifle.

    Nobunaga straightens, the smile gone from her face. Her free hand raises, thrust out to one side. Multitudes of rifles wink into existence around her, floating of their own accord. She cannot see whoever shot her-- and so the Demon King simply saturates the rough area of where the round came with a hail of gunfire.

    Big Nobbu continues its advance, heedless of Nobunaga's attentions. It hefts the rifle it carries, sighting, and then firing a single cannonball-sized round at the approaching Zero.

    Seems they're opting to leave Sanary alone for now. And many of the smaller Nobbu are getting caught up with the Meiji and Samurai armies in the aftermath of Oryou's entrance.
Raziel     Raziel is completely surrounded on all sides. The cutscene starts as the men on the cannons start turning them around at him.

    Razei's eyes shoot up, this was bad...but would they fire on their own men? Many of them move into melee with him. Raziel, lithe and quick on his feet move around like a fencer, making swiping strikes before diving away again. However, he was biding his time. Waiting for something...

    That something was when the final strike of one soldier tears his soul out. The spectral version of the man looks in horror as the Soul reaver devours him, and starts to become...excited.

    Spinning the blade around Raziel releases a torrent of fire all around himself, aiming to wash over the various Soldiers getting into close range with him, aiming to cook them alive in their armor. The Fire Reaver does it's job, but while he is here infinite soliders could easily overwhelm him...he has but a few moments.

    His Telekinesis reaches out again, with the Fire reaver equiped, it would cause his telekinesis to carry a portion of the fire reaver's power with it...not enough to do more but sorch at long range...but enough to set fire.

    To the nearby powder kegs. Raziel moves, trying to not let them get a good shot on him, while releasing the triggered shot to each keg of powder, before leaping into the court yard itself and moving towards the gate.

    If those guns were silenced...then he could also open the gate, Giving Nobunaga a path to victory.
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Ah, thank you so much, Kawamura-san," Ryouma smiles, bowing politely. "I'll head there, I'm quite fast on my feet now. Time's been kind to me since I died, it's true. I think I've aged back a couple years even!" More than a couple. "Well, please stay safe, alright? Say hi to Saigo for me. I'll handle convincing the samurai. It's in your hands now Kawamura-san. You can do a better job at this than I did. Crushing the opposition, ah... it's not a bad solution, but wouldn't it be nice if we could all get along, even the people we disagree with?"

    If nothing else, the admiral will recognize Ryouma's absurd, naive belief that he can make that kind of reality happen.

    With that, Ryouma leaps off the ship, going so fast as to blur. He's headed for the fortress - expertly dodging obstacles and fights to try to get inside. Who's in charge, he wonders?

    ----

    Oryou, for her part, rises from the crater she created. Shots from the Nobbus bounce off her like she's made of impenetrable steel - well, not all of them. Repeated strikes bruise her, but neither her uniform nor her scaled scarf are riddled with holes.

    She turns to look at Sanary, a flat look in her pink, glowing eyes. "Oryou is just here to help Ryouma. If you want to fight Oryou, Oryou will fight you, until Ryouma calls her back. But if you aren't careful, Oryou will eat you."

    How... polite?

    Oryou's hair suddenly lashes out towards Sanary! Like spears of darkness, corrosive and binding. Or maybe more like... snakes? Somewhere between the two.

    At least the Nobbus can catch a break from her.
Nova Terra     Even as Nobunaga is summoning her armory around here, Nova is moving. She starts running along the trench she's in, identifying a new firing position as she prepares her next shot. However, the daimyo wisely saturates the area, meaning Nova is still in the target area. One of the shots fired in the barrage finds her even while cloaked, Nova grunting and losing her footing from the pain.

    Nova crawls up to the wall of the trench, resting against it. Blue light washes over her as she decloaks. She tilts her head to look down at her shoulder, where there is an obvious hole in her suit. The suit absorbed most of the impact, thankfully, so there's no blood. But no doubt a bruise is going to form there. Rubbing her shoulder, Nova quietly admits, "Not bad."

    The voice of her advisor once more crackles in from her visor, "Do you require extraction?"

    "Not yet. I'm not done." Nova climbs to her feet, raising her head just enough to peer over the edge of the trench in the direction of the advancing Nobbuzilla and the leader atop it. What should have been a lethal shot was not... Though Nova probably should have expected that. Time to change tactics then.

    Nova pulls herself up out of the trench, quickly shifting into a fast dash. But she's not heading for Nobunaga, but instead rushing towards the nearest imperial cannon line currently sieging the castle. Has she changed sides!?

    The imperial officer raises his sword and then swings it down, "FIRE!" Just as the soldiers light their cannons, Nova reaches out with her mind and shifts the heavy weapons, turning them in Nobunaga's direction. The resulting barrage of cannon fire streaks not towards the castle, but the giant Nobbu and its rider.
Sanary Rondel      Sanary lets her healing magic work over the wounds she's already sustained against the Nobbu soldiers, cuts sealing back up and bruises fading away in short order. Perhaps tellingly, however, she's avoiding the Nobbu soldiers herself after the first few exchanges with them. Why antagonize the more magical-looking force when she's already predicting they're victory in this strange scenario? Of course, even thinking that proves to make things even more complicated when the samurai and the soldiers appear to be joining forces AGAINST the magical minions.

     Well.. Screw it. She's already challenged the strange floating woman to a fight, so she's got bigger priorities right now. There's a vaguely whistle-like noise coming from the healer as Oryou rises, clearly impressed by the display of power. "That so? Alright, then... I ain't got orders from anyone, but if we've got people to look good for, then I won't go in easy!"

     Again, sounded better in her head than in practice. Brandishing her axe against the weaponized hair, the axe-wielder rushes straight for Oryou as would be expected of someone with a giant axe. She slashes at one side of the hair coming towards her, leaving her other side undefended as it catches around her free arm. She grimaces as the burning, draining sensation sets in, her healing magic coursing through her body to stave off the pain if not the actual effects of Oryou's attack.

     "Time for a... Hair.. Cut!" Delivering that line in the most stilted way possible, Sanary doesn't stop in her charge as she rushes forward to try bowling right into the floating schoolgirl shoulder-first, challenging strength with strength!
Zero      The mighty Giant Nobbu fires its cannon at Zero, causing the reploid to grind his advancement to a halt and plant his feet firmly into the dirt below. They raise a single arm up in front of them as if to block the cannon ball, a green spinning disc of energy appearing over their forearm as they do so.

"Sorry. Not today."

The cannonball slams into the energy discus, causing the robot to skid across the ground a couple feet from the sheer force of impact before it's redirected back at the humongous homunculus.

After quickly regaining balance, the charged Buster Shot that Zero had been holding onto until now is also unloaded, aimed at the giant Nobbu's head in hopes of dispatching it. Homunculus don't work without heads, right? Only one way to find out.
Nobunaga     "I am putting a great deal of trust in you, my friend," Kawamura comments to Ryouma with a slight nod. "It was good to see you again. Even as a spirit." When the Servant jumps the gunwale and dashes off across the sea, Kawamura rubs his chin while contemplating what kind of afterlife would have this kind of result.

    He turns, dropping out of his thoughts, "All guns ready for bombardment. All ships are to open fire and suppress the Demon King's army until instructed otherwise."

    "Understood!"

    Kawamura lifts binoculars to his eyes.
--
    In the castle itself, samurai contend with Raziel. There's no intention of firing on what are already greatly diminished warriors. When the cannon comes around, the Samurai still around Raziel dip back to give the weapon a clear line of fire. However, no such report occurs. Gunners run from the stockpile and abandon the weapon when smoke erupts from the powder on hand for reloading, right before those sealed barrels catch and detonate. The forward battlement of the castle collapses in a mess of burning wood and stone tiles, leaving the gate ajar and exposed. However, the soldiers are no longer interested in taking the castle so this opening is not exploited.

    It is this ruined gatehouse that Raziel approaches. And this same ruined gate that Ryouma approaches. And standing before it, with an entourage of warriors, is an ornate samurai in war-battered armor, sporting a broad, gleaming helmet crest. His hand rests on the hilt of his katana, glaring at Ryouma through the eyeslits of his monstrous oni-masked helmet. Even without giving his name, the warrior's identity is clear: This is Saigo Takamori.
--
    Big Nobbu simply tosses its spent rifle over its shoulder, the weapon disappearing. It performs a drawing motion, producing an equally oversized sword and brandishing it.

    The reflected cannonball slams into Big Nobbu, then, staggering it. The sword is dropped when the large homunculus starts flailing its arms for balance. Zero's followup buster shot strikes home as well, scorching a dark mark all across Big Nobbu's face. Further cannonfire redirected by Nova strikes the great homunculus while it's unbalanced, and it collapses onto its back with a low, "No--Buuu--!"

    Big Nobbu begins to disappear. The Demon Archer herself lands beside it, more rifles materializing around her.

    Nobunaga pauses, there, taking in the new layout of the battlefield. The samurai, small in numbers, are confused and no longer doing more than backing off and defending themselves. Their castle is breached, but there's too many obstacles to break into it. The Meiji army has fully turned their attention on Nobunaga's force. She squints-- and the ships in the harbor are also starting to shell her homunculi.

    Nobunaga frowns. This has not gone as planned. Despite Raziel's best efforts, the obstacles presented have become too great for her to take advantage of his success. And therefore, there is only one viable strategy.

    Oda Nobunaga turns, marching right back up the hill where she had come from. The various Nobbu remain, but they aren't being replenished anymore.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Ryouma stops - samurai, and a shadow he can't quite pin. That's... bad! No, wait, this is... is it bad?

    "Saigo Takamori! Oh... how fortuitous." No, it's not bad at all. They had their disagreements about modernizing Japan, but... in the end, he could have never done it without his help.

    But this is wrong. He shouldn't be against the Emperor. Does this mean that their Ryouma failed to bring Saigo and Kido together?

    Or did the alliance crumble after he died?

    Ryouma refuses to draw his katana. "Saigo, do you remember me? It's Ryouma. What happened? No, more importantly... right now there is no time to squabble over who should own Japan. There is an enemy at your gates, who would slay both you and the Emperor without hesitation."

    Please, please work.
    How terrible it would be if this Saigo and their Ryouma were on bad terms, he thinks. Luck, don't fail him now.

    ----

    Oryou loses hair to Sanary's magical axe - though she'd no doubt notice the hair is hard as concrete. Probably harder. What works even better is ramming into Oryou and grounding her. Where a more mundane foe might have broken ribs from the tackle, Oryou merely glares up at Sanary while underneath her, somewhat pained and strained but still defiant.

    "You're strong to hurt Oryou like that. Most people just bounce right off Oryou. But Oryou is strong too!"

    Her right hand bursts into flames, and she suddenly tries to whirl right back up with a flaming uppercut!
Nova Terra     Nova is dashing towards Nobunaga's position when she notices the large Nobbu falling backwards. She stops, watching as the strange creation crashes down. The barrage of cannon fire seems to have brought it down, with some help from the others here. However Nobunaga looks to still be relatively unphased... And leaving?

    Nova reaches up, raising her visor to rest on her head as she watches the Daimyo leave. It's unfortunate. The Ghost was hoping for some more chances to test the leader's strength. She could give chase... Mmmm, no. There doesn't seem much point right now. Perhaps there will be chances in the future.

    Glancing around at the quietening battlefield, Nova briefly wonders about the significance of it...

    Only briefly. This is Earth. She's Terran. What does she care about this planet's history?

    Nova radios, "Reigel. Mission accomplished. I need a pickup."

    "Should I add her to the list?"

    "Mmmmm... No, not yet." Nova begins walking off the battlefield, light washing over her briefly as she vanishes from view, "I need to see more."
Zero      The Giant Nobbu falls, and Zero is left with nothing but a smoking gun and the slightest tinge of guilt for helping kill a thing that apparently was only capable of saying its name. The guilt really doesn't last for long though.

The combat reploid slides a hand across the top of their blaster, unholstering the saber hilt they had plugged in earlier.

"Nice shot."

He says this to Nova right before she vanishes from the field, before deciding to leave himself. Unfortunately he doesn't have fancy teleportation beams though, so he has to hoof it back.
Raziel     Raziel would land near Ryouma and the Samurai that the latter addresses.

    'It seemed all of my effort was for naught. Was I too slow in bringing down the fire power, or had the opposition outside been too much for the Demon archer to contend with. Reguardless, I found myself surrounded by enemies, and without support. Crawling towards the exit, I looked for a way out. However, upon this I spied a chance to listen onto my enemies for next time.'

    However, Raziel knew he could not stay here for long. The moment he was spotted, he simply saluted, and pushed his hands out. Abandoning his physical body and ejecting himself in the spirit world. Quickly, he did not stay...in case someone among his enemies could see him, and follow after him.
Sanary Rondel      Just what is this floating schoolgirl made of?! First, she falls in out of nowhere, then she starts floating, and now her hair's made of rocks? Even that impact has Sanary feeling an unnatural buzz to her shoulder, and it's easy enough for even her to realize that there's something off about Oryou.

     "Heh... Really now? Well, I ain't like most people." With that little boast delivered fairly normally, Sanary's caught off guard by the sudden twist, and she catches that uppercut right on the jaw with a loud crack! It's to the healer's benefit, then, that she's quite sturdy herself even as she gets sent flying back and up several feet, somehow managing to maintain consciousness from the rattling.

     As luck would have it, she lands in a seated position atop some fallen soldiers, her first instinct being to cross one sweatpant-covered leg over the other in a smooth motion as if she had planned the counterattack and the subsequent landing all along. "Nnnn blluh."

     The attempt at talking ruins that illusion immediately, along with the brief gush of blood as her mouth opens. After taking a moment to focus a green cloud of healing magic into her face and get her jaw realigned, though, she's speaking normally again. "Not bad! If I couldn't use magic... Heh. Oryou, right?" Standing back up, she sends that cloud to her lower back while facing Oryou with a vaguely respectful smirk. "Name's Sanary. Looks like the battle's done here, so.. Uh. No sense for me being here. We'll have to finish this another time."

     No sense sticking around if the forces she antagonized are teaming up while the one she was hoping to get in good with is leaving already. She should probably get going sooner rather than alter.
Nobunaga     Drawing attention to the ghastly shadow of Raziel has several samurai in Saigo's entourage going for their weapons. Several katana are drawn before the soul reaver retreats to the spirit realm, vanishing from their sight. Saigo himself stares at this for a moment, before relaxing the grip on his own sword and returning his attention to Ryouma.

    "Sakamoto Ryouma. It has been some time, has it not, since you perished," He inhales deeply, his posture shifting from tense caution to a more at-ease stance. The men around him also begin relaxing, although two are poking around where Raziel had vanished, trying to locate where the 'monster' had run off to so quickly.

    "We had our disagreements," he echoes Ryouma's thoughts out loud, clearly sharing the same sentiment, "But you always held Japan's best interest in your foolish, idealistic heart." He lowers his gaze, eyes cast in shadow by the visor of his helmet. After a moment, he reaches up to remove the helmet entirely. With it held under one arm, the massive warrior produces what may have been the first smile his face has worn in a very long time, "Perhaps this old warrior can yet learn from that much-needed foolishness."
Ryouma Sakamoto     Ryouma doesn't get flustered so much as he grins like an idiot. "Death itself could not change my wish. No, rather, I think it's merely given me another way to bring it about. It has its ups and downs, but I'd not wish to go back and change my fate."

    Not yet, anyway.

    Maybe in a few hundred years of playing Counter Guardian he might have grey hair, a tan, and an intense desire to kill himself, too.
    Or maybe not. He has Oryou for support.

    With the shadow retreating and the battle winding down, Ryouma allows himself to relax. "I could stay long enough for a drink, if you'd like to accompany me to the admiral's ship. I'm sure we can work something out. It seems even in death, the Demon King still acts to unify Japan."

    That's still really weird to him.

    ------

    Oryou watches as Sanary rises, curious. "Oryou thinks Sanary is pretty though. Oryou will be glad to finish this another time."

    Well, off the axewoman goes.

    Oryou looks at her hair, reaching for the parts that were cut off. Is she sad? Probably a bit. She needs to fix this before rejoining Ryouma, how unsightly to be seen like this. Also it hurt! That part was bad too.

    It's probably good it didn't drag on, separated from Ryouma she wouldn't have kept up forever.