The Rescue - Aftermath
Standing together, leaning upon eachother, the duo of Edelgards and Byleths remain strong as the sun begins to set upon this most terrible day.
The Sword of the Creator glows golden with a force that opposes Moebius, and, Other!Byleth realizes, there is something else it must do as well.
Carefully, she hands it over to regular Byleth, and together, she and Edelgard watch as the weapon...
The remains, shaped into a sword.
The Sword of the Creator, at last having fulfilled a loving, hateless purpose-
Having ceased to be a weapon of slaughter.
Having ceased to be a painful memory.
Having ceased to be a weapon, or a memory, at all-
...Dissolves away, motes of gold drifting upon the wind.
Rising, up in the sky, among the embers of the setting sun.
Before vanishing along a gentle breeze.
Though blood remains to be shed in her name, their world's Sothis can, at last, rest in peace.
...
At his request, the scene lingers for a moment longer, in time for t456 to see Nagato's mourning, and in turn, she rushes to her side with all haste.
Hair and eyes remaining purple, t456 gives a short hesitation as to confirm- and, if given adequate permission, will indeed catch Nagato up in a great big hug.
Not to solve a problem, as though there were a problem to be solved.
But, rather, because t456 believed for a moment that she was alone, and the feeling had become more than they could stand.
And though he may not know much.
t456 has lived long enough to know that there are few feelings one should fight alone.
Edited by Whoma on May 27th 2023 at 11:23:31 AM
Yatta!Hub Centralis Museum
Aofushi is too stunned by the sheer nonchalance and casual demeanor displayed on N's end, while she could feel a pulse hammering against the skin of her forehead. The audacity. The AUDACITY. A surge of anger rushed against the woman's head, making her feel her own heartbeat in her ears. How can such a creature exist? Some time ago, she was simply the friendly catgirl with the funny accent who's also Melia's (and now her) roommate, but now she's like a woman possessed.
"Then there's nothing left to say." The magical girl didn't even look urgent when she was tackled to the ground, using this opportunity to grab onto N and allow a surge of plasma to course through her body, attempting to inflict some serious burns and position her enemy for Batman to strike.
Abandoned Pool
"You don't want people to suffer..."
Switch gives Medusa an odd look. How he manages to do that with his static robot eyes is a good question.
SO YOU KICK AROUND THEIR BOOMBOXES BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEIR TASTES.
Switch shrugs.
"Eh, whatever. Just be careful, humans tend to be really good at fighting back against apocalyptic plans like these."
He produces an anti-gravity core.
"Game?"
If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong.Tower
Yeah I think he got tied up too but whatever.
Rumia looks quite surprised when the ribbon and some of her hair flies off her head, though the ribbon itself is mostly intact, evidently it was mostly her hair that got cut. Rather than being surprised from any pain she more looks surprised that she never even considered just cutting her hair it's attached to off.
Then she smiles as she practically explodes with darkness, obscuring her and potentially knocking her opponent back if he was too close. After a few moments she soon stepped out, though looking very different.
For one she was noticeably taller, going from being about teenager sized to adult woman sized. Her outfit had scaled up with her and even looked just a bit fancier, which contrasted sharply with her distinctly feral expression
.
Rather than saying some kind of taunt or jeer she instead leaned forward like a runner about to sprint, which is all the warning her opponent gets before Rumia(?) shoots at him like a youkai missile. If he moved to block he'd feel a lot more force than her previous strikes, going from plain superhuman to like if a charging brute wyvern just headbutted whatever he blocked with.
At least she's moving with less grace, even on her not so perfect standards. She'd stumble if he dodged but still smile. As if she's lost her muscle memory in this form, or just plain not thinking.
Her ribbon meanwhile sits forgotten on the ground, some rubble holding it down.
Edited by shroobot3000 on May 28th 2023 at 6:30:40 PM
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Whadda ARRGGGGHHHH The Eye Master's screech of agony is conveniently-timed, the glass blade indeed slashing him in half. Salazar reacts immediately, tossing the flash grenade into the room. But not without a warning. If you have hands, use them to cover your ears and close your eyes please! Or prepare for some hefty disability checks after this!
GRREEEEENNNNAAADDDEEEEEEEEEEEEE He yells dramatically, quickly putting on a pair of sunglasses and slamming his hands over his ears. For he knows that the subsequent white flash will not only target Nohrians ears and eyes. And indeed, should they be careless, the projectile will affect everyone. Bar Salazar and the ninja, who listened cautiously. Foxy, who decided to close the door and hide, is likewise spared.
Likewise, Talon, Cardboard and Sawdust will be safe, being behind a thick heavy door that they'll be able to open up easily, since a key slide out of the Eye Master's bloodied body. Neat!
The Rat Catchers screech and howl, the fog vanishing in an attempt to stop the overload of informations. But it is too late: their fabled eyesight becomes a curse upon them, and they are left babbling about in agony, with two particularly self-disposing Nohrians dropping into the mud pools.
Salazar pull out a common handgun to snipe the locks on the wooden doors nearby, wanting to give the prisoners a shot at spilling out to flee. Sadly for their hopes of getting out though, they're too weak to even so much as crawl out: instead, they linger on, with the only relief being that only a few of them are probably conscious enough to be aware of their cruel freedom.
This seem to upset the nigh-unflappable Salazar, who simply look downcast for a moment. Having turned his gun to the drowning Rat Catchers, he decides to simply turn it away from them instead, his smile coming back shortly thereafter as he hears their screams.
Leave them be. They're Nohrians, coldly asserts the Hoshidan ninja. The strongest of you, open this door and swoop in! She says, pointing to that one black metal door. Only the physically strongest of the group, being Subaru or Ban -or Jeridan, with an appropriate amp- could bust it open, although Odin may try to use Excalibur to bust it open.
Either way it soon falls, and the group will rush into what appears to be the fabled Fifth Floor
But where the Fourth Floor was a ghastly culmination of cold-hearted brutality and sadism, the Fifth Floor is... still a highlight of human depravity but somewhat "scaled down". There's only one prisoner for that matter, being Corrin. In front of him is Iago, on his knees with his hands swatting at his eyes and ears, as if attempting to slap the sound and light away. Around Iago are his bodyguards and handpicked guards and mooks, some of whom were reaching for the door.
Around Corrin are four Rat Catchers, purple lightning-like magic streaming out of their hands to wrap around his limbs, forming big purple orbs of magic around them. And with the "light" of the fourth floor pouring in, they'll see a miserably empty room. There's barely anything within, not even wet straw to form a bed: instead, there's... a tiny pool of water, deep enough for a man to immerse himself in, and discarded plates at Corrin's feet.
Everyone briefly freeze for a second stretched into eternity, a random female Sorcerer wordlessly pointing to the group at the entrance as Iago turn to them, eyes bloodshot and face twisted into a grimace.
Then it grows blank.
Intruders.
Intruders on the fifth floor
Intruders on the cusp of freeing Corrin
That's Iago! He's the one behind all this! I want his head! Screams the Hoshidan Ninja. Iago get up as he speaks, looking to the side as his soldiers step away: he had planned to hide behind them. But still, he remains defiant, reaching for his tome.
I'll kill y-
STOP! Foxy, in an impressive display of agility, slides-jump over the group and blast Iago with his Noro-Noro beams, immobilizing him before he can move. Iago simply freezes, struck by a "magic" he can't resist, Foxy sliding out in front of him on his back, fingers raised like he's holding his guns or something. Foxy time.
Salazar take this as his cue to act, turning to one of the sorcerers holding Corrin and shooting her in the head, freeing up Corrin's right arm as she drops like a ragdoll. Acting on cue, he reach for the other Sorcerer closer to him, restraining his right leg, and punch her in the face, his neck turning to an odd angle as he drops to the ground.
With their captive half-freed and their boss immobilized, the 11 armored guards and wizards in the room scream and scramble for the entrance in a mad, unorganized dash, being so desperate as to try to force their way through.
Edited by Bolded1 on May 28th 2023 at 8:15:36 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterThe Boss Bird
The four of them quickly do as Salazar tells them. And once given the go, Ban charges for the large metal door and attempts to bash through it, using his formidable strength.
Odin does indeed help out as well, as does Morgan actually, both taking care to aim their Excalibur and Thoron to ensure that they won't accidentally hit their allies.
When the door falls, they take but a moment to see and take in what's in front of them. Out of the four of them it's Morgan who notices the puddle of water, letting him wonder if it's deep enough to make use of. Can they save Corrin that way just like they saved that old man?
When Iago speaks and gets frozen, a furious-looking Ban suddenly runs into the room as well, unleashing his full strength as he tries to brutally bash the guards and wizards back with enough power to (at least in the unarmored sorcerer's cases) potentially break all their ribs. He can't get them all even if it works, but probably still a good amount of them.
"Inhumane bastards!", he roars, very clearly set off by everything he's seen throughout this mission and needing something to direct his anger towards.
Regardless of how effective he ends up being, Odin goes in for support, attacking an armored guard with Excalibur. Laslow moves in to try to take out one of the sorcerers with his newly bought Brave Sword.
Morgan, meanwhile, starts feeling nervous. He figures that Corrin won't be all too happy to see him. But despite that, he still attacks an armored guard with Thoron.
Edited by DevilPsyco on May 28th 2023 at 8:34:15 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Talon is fine.
Mordecai has goggles, and he has ear protection on account of being a sniper, so he's fine too.
For lack of immediate access to her heavy power armor, RF!Anna closes her eyes really tight and covers her ears.
They pay the dying Rat Catchers no heed, nor the prisoners (save for a glance from RF!Anna), as they move on to the Fifth Floor.
—
Mordecai and Talon don't try to stop the guards from fleeing as they strafe around the room, but RF!Anna stands off to the side, plants her feet, and clotheslines a random mage with her bare arm as he runs past, seemingly just for fun.
"I'll keep an eye on Iago... and call our friends."
—
For a moment, there's a high-pitched mechanical vweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
Until Se'arah answers the phone. "Hey, Anna!"
"We've reached Corrin."
"Okay, cool! I assume you know what to do."
"We have some business to finish first."
"Got it." Se'arah hangs up and relays the good news to everyone else in Camilla's room.
Medusa stares at Switch, completely flabbergasted at his offer of a friendly game after her announcement of her wicked goals.
"I... ah... y'know what, sure. I don't have anything more urgent to do."
Edited by KiriK on May 28th 2023 at 1:36:13 PM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Nohr more like War
Yamame obediently covers her ears and squeezes her eyes shut as the flashbang goes off. She had been about to ask Subaru to help her bust down the door but sees Ban charging in so she figures she'll help him. She's no oni but she's still a tsuchigumo and they're not considered good builders just for their affinity for decorating.
"C'mon let's not waste time!" she says to Subaru, hopping to it to help Ban smash the door down with Subaru hopefully lending a hand too.
When it's eventually taken down, she looks quite surprised at the sight before them. It takes her a moment to then act, using her spider legs to push herself into the air to land a nasty flying kick into either the stunned Iago or any guard blocking her way.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Rescue Math
Nagato Yuki is not a very expressive, or touchy-feely person.
However, this is only because she wasn't made for it. She isn't good at it.
That doesn't mean she doesn't want to.
As such, she returns the hug with as much gusto as she can.
FIN
emblo
Not doing anything else at the moment and being behind cover, she easily passes the save to avoid being Deafened and Blinded.
Door? Door.
!
...
Her face twists when they break through to the fifth floor. This is the head honcho of these pricks, huh? Good thing she basically just ramped her Super meter all the way back up to full pounding on the door.
She quickdashes through the chaos of the guards and sorcerers scrambling against the others, straight towards Iago, and tries to nail him with a point-blank explosive wave of chi!
Edited by Rbade on May 28th 2023 at 3:38:01 AM
/\。。/\Nohr Rescue Mission (Corrin)
Upon hearing Salazar's warning, Jeridan's hands immediately shot up to cover his ears while his eyes are screwed shut and turned away. When the flashbang went off (which he can easily tell given that even when his eyes are shut, he can still see flashes), Jeridan opened his eyes and allowed himself to borrow what he deemed most suitable for this attack, prior to settling on the weapons and prowess of a certain Color Fixer.
Three separate swords appeared on his waist and back, while his uniform turned a purple color while taking on the texture of snake scales.
Taking this valuable opportunity to charge at the black metal door, he swiftly bashed away any and all Nohrian oppositions with a swipe of the massive blunt sword, charging through the black metal door and entering the 5th floor, refusing to spend more time than necessary on these common soldiers and sorcerers.
The honorary agent felt something in him twist when he saw the piss poor condition Corrin is in, before bursting forward with a speed reminiscent of the Purple Tear. Switching the blunt weapon for his rapier, Jeridan rushed forward and attempted to plunge the weapon through Iago's throat and pierce his neck to silence him
while giving Foxy an appreciative nod, allowing his teammates to take care of the stragglers.
Should Iago die from the multitude of attacks, the young man would reach out to Corrin and hold out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, prince. I know it's a lot to demand an answer while you're in your state, but how bad are your wounds?"
Corrin
Cardboard took the key from the fallen master, and opened the door.
The sisters follow the group to the fifth floor, where Corrin awaits.
Sawdust noticed the water in the room. After Foxy did his "magic", Cardboard slashes Iago's chest, while Sawdust rushes with Corrin to offer him her scale.
Here, take this. You'll need it.
Three freaking ghosts!Needless to say, Ban's charge and Odin's magical spelling to immobilize the guards lead to a pretty easy fight on behalf of the good guys, with everyone on the team eventually getting to disable one, when they aren't directly aiming for the big boss. Wohoo teamwork! Downed or removed from being a threat somehow, the guards are helpless, with the ninjas precisely sticking a shuriken through the helmet slit of another one of 'em.
Subaru and Jeridan will see their attacks seemingly ineffective on Iago but by virtue of sheer output, they'll see his face twist into helpless confusion, then horror, right before he gets a kunai lodged through the right eye, causing him to scream in pain. His body also slowly twist with the attacks tossed on it, Jeridan's strike causing his neck to split in half as Subaru's own move punch a big hole through his torso, with her strike causing cracks of light to appear over his body, splitting one of his eyes in half.
And then Foxy cast another Noro-Noro No Beam to further delay Iago, in case someone want to hit him again. Yammers crush half his skull, the other half still having enough cognition to scream in horror as his body is split in half by Cardboard, further separating it into three parts.
Iago can't so much as get a word off as his body explode into bright light, reeling from the combined damage done to him by all five fighters very quickly once the Noro-Noro-No-Mi's effects fade. But noticeably, the whole thing is a Bloodless Carnage. Iago's body is pierced, burned, spider-kicked, slashed, blasted through and stabbed, yes, but through the flesh is damaged in many ways, he ultimately doesn't bleed;
G-GGYYYARRGHHH! HELP MEEEEEE! HEEEEELLLPPPPPPPPP!!! I-AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH
Still, he screams as he dies, blasting off into an explosion of pure energy. And by then Corrin drop to the floor, his two remaining captors falling down dead at Salazar's intervention. Corrin finally drops to the ground, very barely managing to land on his elbows... to then land by his side, so weakened as to be unable to stand up anyway. He then lies on his back, revealing the small wrymslayer needles planted over his skin.
He's too tired to speak but his grimace as he gestures to them screams "they're bad!"
Ew! Says Foxy, standing over Corrin. He backs off, looking around the room. ... We gonna carry him out of the dungeon in that state? Poor guy.
Out of the way! The Hoshidan ninja quickly kneels by Corrin's side and begin to quickly remove the needles one per one. Wrymslayer "metal" is tough, so there's no risk of the needles snapping, and Corrin is so weak as to be unable to move much. Still, the more the needles are removed the more Corrin's sweat-covered skin seem to gain color.
But even without any of them, he's so miserable as to be barely able to speak, simply taking long heavy inhale and exhales mixed in with coughing and wheezing. His eyes dart about everywhere in the room in a panic before they settle on Morgan, at which point they widen... but he grows yet strangely calm, appearing to relax. He's pretty much half-naked, but has remnants of his armor's pants to cover his legs, although every visible part of his body appears to be pretty badly hurt anyway. Burns, mostly, but there's also a few wounds here and there caused by cutting weapons, on top of bruises.
When the scale is given to him, Sawdust will need to put it in the palm of his hand. He can't even close his hand anymore, although he tries desperately.
He keeps wheezing, eye glazing over briefly. Do not worry my liege. I am here on behalf of your mother and High Queen of Hoshido, Mikoto, she reach for an elixir by her side, one amongst at least three of 'em, and slip the concotion into Corrin's half-opened mouth. You are safe. You will wake up in a lush land, teeming with life, surrounded by your real family. You are safe. And you'll be safe for the rest of your life. I promise you.
Still, her tone turns a little desperate as Corrin coughs, the elixir working... but too little. He's that wounded, despite his draconic powers and resistance. Sounding frustrated, the ninja prepares to give him another elixir as Salazar glances down at Corrin and then goes back to the entrance of the room.
This Iago was a cheap parlor trick, it would seem. I will say, never trust a fella who doesn't bleed when he cut himself shaving, he comments, aware that the situation is already so dire that bringing in more bad news could be seen as outright enjoying it by that point. ... He might...
...
SEND EVERY TROOP INTO THE DUNGEONS! SEND EVERY TROOP INTO THE BLASTED DUNGEONS! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW!
...
... Be angry.
Nooo, you don't think so?! Foxy says, hauling himself out of the room, trying to pass it off as being on the lookout. He's much safer being part of the group but ya know. Ya haven't got anything useful to help him to his feet in that case of yours?! We need to move!
Salazar checks into his case and rub his chin, slowly shaking his head. Well, I don't need these because I never get hit! He says, sounding proud of himself.
Gahhh, you ever heard about foresight, man?! As Foxy speaks, the pools behind him slowly start to meld together. It's hard to see because of how blurry the surface is, but they start to meld together and slowly begin to come together as a form of a sort, appearing to be in the middle of shaping a pair of grotesque "legs" before moving on with the rest of the body.
Well yes it is a word in the dictionary to refe-Foxy you should go back to the room right this instant. Salazar says, trying to sound as serious as he possibly can with his squeaky voice, pointing at the mud behind Foxy with a concerned expression. And the pirate, in answer, simply sighs.
He's right behind me isn't he?
...
Oh my! Camilla says, covering her mouth in surprise, kneeling by our Beruka's side to do her nails for him.
As for this Beruka, she snaps awake, glancing at Se'arah. Tell me he's been transported elsewhere already! She says, echoes of Iago's hapless yelling being heard even within the room.
Edited by Bolded1 on May 28th 2023 at 12:14:29 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterRuined Pineapple
GRAHHHHH RAH MORB TIME URAAAAAAA
The man grunted as he was slammed backwards and dragged against the rocky ground, the two of them only coming to a stop once they had gotten dangerously close to the edge. Rather than react in a pained manner to the cracked ribs in his chest or the blood falling from between his teeth, he only laughed madly, the crimson liquid dripping down his lips as he did.
"Now THIS…THIS! Is a FIGHT!" He cackled. "Nothing like what YOU three could give me!" A pulse of dark magic exploded around him, aiming to send Rumia flying so that he could once more get to his feet.
With great power…you know the rest.Camilla's Room, because something happened again
Selena jolts up upon them getting the message.
"They did?", she asks, elated and turning to Beruka, hoping that this news will ease her nerves a bit. But then Beruka makes a very good point. As long as Corrin hasn't been transported yet he is still in danger.
—
Birdcage
Ban is about to try to help Corrin get up, but moves aside when the ninja approaches. As such he, Odin and Laslow keep a distance as the ninja gets those needles out of him. Ban would ask if he's alright, but he's very clearly not.
The look that Corrin gives Morgan doesn't invalidate his nervousness one bit. As such he quickly puts up his hood. Not that that's going to do anything, but it makes him feel safer. When the hood covers his eyes, he doesn't need to think, only follow orders.
Odin and Laslow appear alarmed when Salazar points out the obvious.
"I knew he had holographic doubles, but I didn't account for him sending the double down here instead of coming here himself.", he mutters, looking anxious now. This is really, really bad. The real Iago must be aware of their presence now, as well as the fact that he and Laslow are not on his side.
"We need to get him out of here before Iago and his reinforcements show up. We will be overwhelmed if we let him reach us.", Laslow says. The four then look at Cardboard and Odin and Laslow move to try to help Corrin.
"You guys stay on the look-out, we'll get him to that puddle. Lady Anna can heal him.", he says. Ban nods and turns to the door, just in time to also see the mud moving. He quickly moves, trying to grab Foxy by his arm and pull him back into safety.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Nohr Rescue Team (Corrin)
Jeridan immediately crouched down and took out an item entrusted to him by the blue haired assassin around the start of this mission. "Here's a gift from Beruka." The young man said with a small smile as he gingerly pried open Corrin's mouth, slowly but surely pouring the bottle's content down his throat.
A while back...
"This... mixture will be a lot more useful to him than I." As the group prepares for the infiltration in the armory, Beruka quickly hand Jeridan the Hyper Elixir she was granted. "Give him this. And good luck."
The Hyper-Elixir will, hopefully, keep Corrin alive long enough to get into the puddle and be healed inside the Orb.
Without another word, Jeridan immediately reached out and collected as much loot as he possibly can get away with, including several Rexflame tomes and staffs wielded by the Rat Catchers, as well as several small weapons used by the guards. Now that Corrin's safety is assured, he might as well take whatever resource he can. Interestingly, he also took the Wyrmslayer needles with him, possibly as a souvenir?
Before he uses his own scale and get into the puddle, he asked a rather important question as he helped Ban pull Foxy back and closed the black metal door, prior to waving his golden fan to freeze the door shut. "Someone still has to carry the Orb while the rest of us gets in. Who will be handling our escape?"
Edited by cyzja922 on May 28th 2023 at 5:04:51 AM
Nohr
"Ah! Right!" Yamame realizes both the ninja doesn't know about the orb plan and also that she forgot the orb plan. She turns to her to explain. "So um, we have this orb with us and some scales that let us teleport to this... realm which is basically a safehouse. The plan was for us to extract Corrin into there then have one of us escape alone with the orb to take it to safety."
She briefly checks Corrin to see if he has any viral infections, her disease powers don't exactly heal but she can tell the viruses and the like to just kill themselves so there's that.
"Ah, I probably shouldn't be the one to carry the orb outside. I'm not too confident in knowing the layout of this place." Yamame admits. After that she takes a defensive stance, not trusting the weird forming mud monster to not just get through the doors somehow anyway.
Ruined Pickle
For normal Rumia that would have been enough to knock her off completely, as shown earlier.
Unfortunately this isn't normal Rumia, so instead it simply makes her stagger out of surprise, stumbling back but not falling over. She growls, sounding more like some wild animal than a person, before stomping the ground in front of her.
Whilst before that would have been just an immature display of anger, this time a visible "shockwave" of shadow starts rushing at her foe which if making contact will burst into a magic blast.
Oh and since it's going in a shockwave pattern it might hit Luin and the others lol but Rumia isn't really thinking right now.
Meanwhile at the Arener SDM
"I feel like I'm missing something important." Flandre hums, idly munching on some scones. "Feh, I hope Rumia is fine. Maybe I'll send Karasu to go find her."
For now though she has some snacks to eat and tea to drink.
Edited by shroobot3000 on May 28th 2023 at 1:58:10 PM
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Hub Centralis - Museum
Batman is fast, but N is faster. Though she cannot see him, N can hear Batman well enough to take into account his actions and, though his kick does collide with her, it's not got the counter-momentum to stop N from tackling Aofushi- mostly due to not being a direct hit.
Aofushi's counterattack rips through N with a visceral sound of boiling flesh and blood, nevermind the ungodly smell it creates- and yet, despite what are now unquestionably lethal injuries, N keeps hold of Aofushi, the smile snapping off of her face.
"First of all, rude, and second, boring," she says, words wet with blood, "I go out of my way to set up this beautiful orchestra, and you've left nothing but bad reviews. Everyone's a critic. It doesn't tend to bother me, but you specifically..."
A sinister energy begins to leak from N's body, crackling in the air around her.
"Something about you. The look on your face, it's like you know me, and I've forgotten it. Forgotten you, your face, like everyone else I'm supposed to..."
Suddenly, there's a look on N's face (or what remains of it), too, like a kid being shouted at. Frightened and vulnerable, an absolute reversal of the confident insanity she's carried up to this point.
N stops, and lets Aofushi go, standing up, somehow, with the hollow cavity of a body that remains to do that with.
"M'supposed to remember. Shame, that, you caught me wishing I was dead."
She shakes her head. The energy around her picks up, from a low crackle, to something fierce, violent enough to pick up wind, quickly dispelling the smoke in N's immediate vicinity (though leaving the rest of the room healthily obscured)
"'Means this little tragedy's reached its conclusion."
A glow shines from N's remaining gun, Roaring Anima transforming in a flash of light, it's blue crystals turning blood-red.
Manic smile leaping to her face (though not reaching her eyes this time), N immediately opens fire.
Five shots each, five at Batman and five at Aofushi. These dexterous and deadly shots are violently powerful and mindbogglingly fast, even as compared to before.
Each subtracts lifeforce from its target on hit. Substantial, even to someone supernaturally tough. To someone not supernaturally tough, it is, luckily, not so violent as a bullet traveling at similar speed.
Thank Batman she doesn't have the other gun.
Her accuracy here isn't fantastic, it's amazing she can even see with her body so mangled, but her precision is on-point. An obvious target is one likely to take a nasty shot.
Good thing for Batman, N once again spent a really long time talking before getting to the shooting.
Yatta!Regardless of the lack of blood, Subaru still recoils at how Iago falls apart. She did that (or at least contributed)? That's not. That wasn't supposed to.
... It's par for the course in this hellish place.
Oh. He's still alive. They'll have to escape ASAP.
"I... I'm willing to do so." she says. A frantic chase to fight her way out sounds like something to help her calm down.
/\。。/\Riverwood, Sleeping Giant Inn
Loki
◊ and the Asgardian woman whose name he had learned was Sylvie
◊ are presently standing out on the Sleeping Giant Inn's porch, having since exchanged stories about themselves and their respective experiences.
"This... alligator version of me, are you certain he's literally just an alligator or could he merely be someone who's been disguised as one for the longest time?" Loki inquires.
"Again with the bloody alligator. It wasn't any stranger than a pair of giant glowing eyeballs or some all-powerful dog-headed arsehole nearly wiping everything out," Sylvie replies, making no effort to disguise the annoyance in her voice.
Loki merely smirks, unbothered by her irritated tone.
"Forgive me for being curious about what's probably the most peculiar version of, well... us," he says, gesturing to Sylvie.
"Speaking of other Lokis, what were you saying about a red-headed one who's a complete and total piece of shit?" Sylvie asks.
"Was. Thor and I made sure that pathetic, cowardly charlatan got exactly what he deserved. You're welcome," Loki says.
Edited by IchigoMontoya on May 28th 2023 at 4:05:23 AM
Hub Centralis Museum
Aofushi narrowed her eyes and closed her lips when blood from N's face dripped onto her own, prior to immediately standing up and backing away. The woman's frilly pink outfit combined with the massive quantity of blood that's not her own made her look like she was on the receiving end of a nasty prom night prank. At this point, she can't even muster the desire to speak anymore, now knowing that this is absolutely not the same person as Nia.
Funny, considering she should have figured it out when she heard the distinct lack of accent in the cat girl's voice.
Now knowing that decisive wounds are needed to put her down for good, the magical girl brought out a pair of weapons: A golden dagger and short sword
. Holding the dagger in her left and the sword in her right, Aofushi lowered her stance and rushed directly at N, dodging the first three of the five shots coming her way. The fourth grazed her left flank while the fifth landed directly in her left shoulder, temporarily disabling that limb.
However, the girl did not stop here. Using the last of her left hand's strength to place the dagger handle between her teeth, Aofushi finally reached striking distance and lashed out with a plasma-charged short sword, aiming to completely slice off the arm that held Roaring Anima.
Museum
Pain rocketed through his body. One, two shots had missed; but the next three hit their target. One slammed into his shoulder, eliciting a howl from the man's lips. The next went into and through his leg, just above the knee and forcing him to the ground. The third and final shot got him in the chest, passing through his armor and drawing from him a pained huff as he felt himself growing weaker with no way to remedy it. The man tried to get up, tried to stand, but failed and fell forwards onto his face, now able only to move his fingers as he attempted to crawl away into a corner where he could recuperate, but even then that strength, too, was sapped away from him.
With great power…you know the rest.

Batman, Vulkaros, SOL Opost: Teacher & Student
Hospital
The dark knight fell back from the cloud of smoke, firing his grappling hook at the ceiling and zooming up so that he could reposition. However, as the criminal erupting towards the woman he was fighting alongside, he found himself in a position to aid her. So, a jerk of his arm changed his direction—Now, he swung towards the area just in front of Aofushi, right where N was headed. He pushed his boots forwards, intent on canceling the latter's attack with a momentum-fueled swinging kick.
____
Tower
While Luin and Lutemis alike are in the midst of battle with the BIG BIRD and Vulkaros has been restrained (i think i dont remember if thats something i wrote yet but im not looking back to find out), there is one figure who offers to remove Rumia's ribbon for one.
"Fun?" He asked, his voice almost mocking. "And here I was, worried that killing you and bringing in your head would be a boring affair." He lifted his sword to her neck, slicing the ribbon off with a jerk of it the blade seemed to come a little too close to her neck for comfort.
——
Hub Centralis, Elsewhere
"C'mon! We're gonna be late!"
"Do not rush me. We will arrive exactly when I intend for us to arrive."
The girl sighed. She lifted herself up onto the foundation of the empty fountain and waited there, swinging her legs as she watched her newly assigned Achara do…Whatever it was the eight foot orc was doing.
"What was the point of us not stopping for food if we were gonna just stop here anyways? We're late either way, right?" She tilted her head and lifted both arms, gesturing around her at the desolate plaza within which they rested. The aged orc looked up from his crouched stance at her, his blue eyes fierce amidst his faintly green skin and flowing white beard.
"Just because we may not arrive on time," The old man grunted. "Does not mean that we are late. I told you, already. We arrive precisely when I mean to. I've also already told you that—"
"You don't like to repeat yourself. Yeah, I know." The girl sighed. She looked down to the purple robes she wore, and the numerous gold symbols lining it. She lowered her arms, catching the slightest glimpse of what lay on her wrists under the sleeves, as well as her palms and the back of her hands; the burnt skin tissue that would scar her for the rest of her life, a reminder of what she did to deserve this.
She had always been a competitive student, moreso than anyone else in her class. She needed to know more spells than them, had to have a deeper understanding of the hidden machinations of reality and a respect for the power of being able to influence fate. This competitiveness had drove her to the edge and then beyond. She had tapped into the darker, more forbidden corners of Majik, had held her hands too close to the flame and had been burned for it. So, she was pulled from her learning, pulled from her classes and assigned to follow her least favorite of all the teachers in the seminary to this new, unfamiliar land. She glared at the orc’s back, her Achara, “mentor”, facing away from her. He was far too strict, never tolerating any sort of slack and always being particularly hard on the girl. "Kana," he would always say, "Kana, you've failed to meet my expectations once again." She consistently outperformed her fellow students, but even still he would never give her any sort of credit, would never tell her that she did a good job but instead lectured her on how to do it better, and it infuriated her to no end. "Teacher Gen," she'd ask, "What is it that you always seem to expect of me?"
"Better, Kana. I expect better."
Her fists grew white as she balled them and her face grew red from the sheer thought of it all. The entire situation was unfair. She is told to do better, and when she tries to do better she is punished for it.
"I do not wish to be here, either." Gen spoke, as if reading her thoughts even though she was behind him. "It was your own mistakes that led both of us here. Remember that." He had been crouched over some sort of object he had brought with him, a raw copper and gold contraption that hovering a few inches off the ground. The blue of the copper was concentrated in a perfectly spherical orb within the three golden rings of varying sizes orbiting around it.
Kana barely withheld the scoff that threatened to break loose from her lips. The only reason she did not allow herself to was because she understood that if she did make such a noise, the reprimanding from Gen would last hours. "Well, what are we doing here anyways?" She asked, growing impatient. They were expected at some location, she had been told, but she knew not who, where, or why. Simply when: tomorrow.
"I am navigating. You would be wise to take this time to practice. Preferable not the forbidden spells, though."
Hardy fucking har. Kana rolled her eyes and slipped off of the fountain, shaking her head. The first joke she had ever heard come from the old orc's mouth and it was at her expense. She stood, facing away from Gen and at a dilapidated statue that had begun to lose the battle against nature, overgrowth plaguing the face of what was once a handsome hero immortalized in marble. The girl reached her hand out towards it, pointing her index finger and tracing runes in the air. The tips of her finger gave off a faint orange flame that left a trail, but did not Cast even once the runes had been fully drawn. She had not yet reached the level of mastery in Majik where she could Cast even without the special dust than nearly all young learners used. She did this for some minutes, before stopping and looking to Gen with a frown.
"You know what doesn't sit right with me, Teacher Gen? Why would they assign you of all to this? Why not—I don't know, Teacher Vesho? He loves this sort of thing—exploring and journeying. Are you…Being punished, too?" She asked, a snarky smirk crossing her face.
Gen only stood and turned to the student, towering a good few heads over her. He looked down with a scowl, the scars crossing his face that no other teacher had and his broken tusk alongside his more intact one serving to further terrify Kana. She wondered for a moment if the orc was about to revert to his more primal instincts and rip her apart, but Gen only lifted a hand to the collar of his furred jacket, grabbing it and pulling it down just enough for Kana to see that there were burns on his chest and just below his neck. Adding to that, she saw, as the sleeve of that arm fell back a fair amount, that he had those very same burns, the ones Kana borne on her own form. He pushed his collar back up and returned his arm to his side, speaking only a few words before returning to his business with the floating contraption.
"Perhaps because we are the only in the seminary to have made our folly and survived." His voice was hushed and somber, but his words drilled into Kana's psyche. It was true; reaching for the fire in the darkness and being rejected like they had been was often a fatal endeavor. They both were lucky to have survived with mere burns as permanent reminders. Kana returned to her practice with a new understanding of the situation, and did just that for the next few hours, not even a single utterance between the two in the time that followed.
Edited by ISZATSO on May 27th 2023 at 1:55:31 PM
With great power…you know the rest.