"Grovel? Oh, you really don't know me, then."
Having just witnessed how dangerous the projectiles Owlman was firing were, Red Hood decides not to see if his body armor can withstand such heavy firepower. He deftly rolls aside moments before the dragon-injuring bullets can strike him and comes back up shooting, snapping off a few rounds of return fire before Owlman deploys his next gadget.
Jason draws a wicked-looking dagger
with his free hand and slices through the first two oncoming nets, only to have his legs ensnared by the remaining two. He stumbles back and tries bringing either of his weapons to bare in time, but Owlman manages to floor him with a well-placed punch to the chest. Grunting in pain, Jason wastes no time cutting himself free, then holsters his gun when he notices Owlman heading towards a building with a pissed off Nuue in hot pursuit.
"Alright... it looks like his hands are gonna be full with that dragon. That should keep him busy enough."
Once he's climbed to his feet, Red Hood uses his grapple gun to ascend to whichever rooftop was closest to the building Owlman was apparently trying to lure Nuue into. Jason lobs a grenade down towards Owlman's position as more of a distraction than anything else, takes his dagger in a reverse grip, then leaps from his perch and attempts to deliver a diagonal diving slash across his enemy's face. Whether his ploy to get the drop on Owlman succeeds or is countered, he rides the momentum of his attack into a wheel kick that he aims squarely at the mastermind's gut.
"Don't tell me you're leaving already."
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Apr 4th 2024 at 4:52:19 AM
Church Battle Royale
Emma's been running around for heat sources, attempting to siphon them to her greatest extent degree. Gas turns to liquid, liquid turns to solid in her wake. She just got her second boost in power, a nearby nuclear explosion! Radiation is closer to the pure form of energy she was made to feed off of, so to have it readily available all around is what she needs.
Parts of her face mark with bluish white from the amount of heat she's exchanging at a relatively short radius.
Her eyes are still set on the ongoing brawl between Cittufeni, Tilra, and Jack, but having sensed Arlina nearby, she has to hold restraint in immediately blasting her since she has to prepare for Sar—
She now realizes that those two were butting heads elsewhere and one of them came on top. Her test of strength is absent for now, but with two people her equal still present, she still needs more power and Arlina is sitting in a pool full of it, so she has no choice but to run to her general direction.
"How's the redhead!?"
Theoretical maximum capacity: 45%
realFortnite, Swords, Avar-Laren, HC, DNC, Mech, Lukas
Cittufeni regarded Tilra’s vow to tell them what had happened, in the event of her victory. He evaluated her words, analyzed them…
New conclusion found.
"?How do you plan to fight a god?"
"Together." Cittufeni hovered, moving across the landscape rife with radiation and magma, absorbing the Creation Power-rich resources as he traveled closer to Tilra. But even as his damaged form grew closer, he did not attack…and, if she didn’t either, he’d drop directly in front of her. He’d reach towards his arm, take a firm grasp on his wrist, and tear his right hand off with his left before handing it over to the woman.
"If you are victorious, and you tell us what happened here as you say you will…I likely will not believe you. Use this as proof."
Then, Cittufeni invested the majority of the Creation Power he’d just gained from the sundering of the earth into repairing his shell, as well as reinforcing it a fair bit to increase its power, yet kept a fair bit leftover for flight and some tricks, should he really need them. The Android glanced up at the newly returned Arlina, and announced clearly to all present: "I have seen this one in combat before today, as well as Sarah. After comparing combat data and analyzing what I’ve observed of them…I’ve concluded that those two were perhaps the most dangerous of our group present." Tilra was heavy competition for that spot, but Cittufeni intentionally neglected to mention such a fact. If she was to win, putting a spotlight on her wasn’t exactly the best way to go about it. "Recommendation: We eliminate her now. If we battle amongst each other while neglecting to address her first…she will win. Statistically."
——
Liana continued to swing (i dont think there were any attacks against her last round but uhhh ping me if so i’ll edit rq), in a futile and clearly rage-blind attempt to hit anything or anyone...
…
Okksbad’s foreign internals spilled from the gash across his torso with a squelch. He gurgled and “grk”ed, looking down at them and then back up at William. It’d take a lot more than that to kill him!
…normally. But that zoggin’ stupid ‘umie took his orkiness away to make it fair for the others (he should’ve expected it—‘umiez looove rigging contests of power in their favor), and that meant that getting his internal organs eviscerated was somehow a """"fatal blow"""", as if that was anything to be concerned about. Ugh. He felt like one uv dem ‘umiez now, dying from something trivial. As it were though, he at least had some fuel left in the tank, so as he slumped forwards he swung his sword for William’s own stomach, in a final effort at a mutual kill.
"Whaddya know ‘bout…strength…’umie..?"
…
Guts lifted his prosthetic to take the brunt of Cardboard’s attack, the scraping of metal on metal and sparks leaping from the cut just below the wrist. Guts moved swiftly and precisely, reaching for her head immediately after with the very same hand. He’d try to grab her and, if successful, smash her face into the blade to make it compliant with the rules. His eyes shot to Apothea on the roof and saw the lightning in her hands as she prepared her next attack. Regardless of whether or not his attempt at killing Cardboard was successful, he’d break out into a sprint towards the home upon which Apothea stood, making a note of remembering her position just before bursting through the door and into cover from her lightning.
But this maneuver served another purpose as well…with the memory of where Apothea was, he took his sword in both hands and smashed it into the roof, attempting to strike her from below.
…
Corrin did indeed bring Nero Angelo’s blade into the dirt…but he was quick to make his counter, shoving the sword back up from the ground as Yato sped for his side, attempting to thrust it into the young knight’s chest and hopefully impale him with the mighty weapon.
It was doubtful that Yato’s momentum would be stopped though, even if its wielder died. The blade likely would’ve continued on its path, cutting into the demon’s side and drawing a black sludge from the armor that couldn’t quite be described as “blood”, yet maintained the same importance to his wellbeing. It was an injury that would undoubtedly slow him during whatever battle he ended up in next.
——
The Poacher’s body contorted almost unnaturally as he swung away from the first blade, and then spun past the second, disappearing for a moment…
He had no doubt that as he had been able to track Sebastien during his disappearance, Sebastien too could track him. So, he kept it quick, relying on the stunning grace of his dodge to make the man hesitate as he danced to the side and slammed his leg at Sebastien’s own in a ferocious kick, intended to twist his knee a direction a knee most certainly was not meant to go.
——
"He could have," Liky glanced back at Beruka, backing away as she stood. "But he didn’t."
So, she seemed to note the importance of the fountain as well. Did she know the guy, or were their minds simply working at the same answer? Lily wanted to ask but before she could Beruka was already off, assailing Mr. Crocodile with her axe and newly awakened powers. And so she decided to take the time to test her hypothesis, while Mr. Cock was busy dealing with Beruka. Lily hopped a good few feet away, landing by the fountain. Using the sword for support, she knelt down and leaned in, submerging her left hand into the water.
INNATE SKILL: ABSORB ELEMENT
INNATE SKILL: ABSORB ELEMENT
INNATE SKILL: ABSORB ELEMENT
In a few moments and a few failed attempts at manipulating her Willpower, Lily had drained the fountain almost entirely. All that remained of the liquid within were the tiny streams in the cracks at the bottom and insignificant clusters of droplets; the rest of the water had disappeared, but judging by the three sigils that had appeared running down Lily’s forearm, all glowing an aquatic blue, it wasn’t too difficult to guess who now had it.
Lily stood and turned her attention back to the fight. She broke out into a well-trained dash at Mr. Crocodile, jumping at him once close enough and coming down with a chop aimed at his shoulder. The second she felt contact with anything, whether flesh or sand, one of the three marks would disappear from her arm as she used a “charge” of the water she absorbed, exploding out from her arm in all directions.
——
Joy and Grace’s oil lamps, Medicine’s orbs of light, Taye’s match, and Kaisui’s anglerfish all paint a very clear, if not terrifying image: there against the wall, once lying in wait but now springing into action, were men.
They wore no shirts and little armor, but the clothes they did wear were of dark colors, and a black paint had been applied to almost every inch of their bare forms. It cracked in places to reveal the skin beneath, but even with those faint imperfections they still had seemed one with the shadows before and even now, with the party’s light reflecting off of them, were still fairly difficult to keep track of. They were almost entirely hairless, though whether a genetic trait or a choice remained to be seen. As soon as the lights fell on them they broke into a whooping holler, lunging from the walls and readying their blades: short daggers and dirks made from dark metals, curved and lightless. Neither Frilda nor Ladwin recognized the people, but two conclusions could very easily be drawn of them: stealth was obviously their specialty, and they served the Dark Lord.
Now, forced from their shadows, a lesser man might’ve thought the ambushers a fish out of water. While it was true they no longer were in their element, they were far from helpless. This was still a platoon of some sixteen well-trained combatants standing in between them and their escape.
"Bastards!" Frilda hissed, drawing her blade and pointing it defensively at the crowd. One was foolish enough to lunge towards Mia and Emilia; for his efforts he was rewarded with a quick death. Ladwin leveled the bloody blade against the enemies, positioning himself in front of the princesses.
"There are other exits," She whispered to the others while taking a few steps back. Behind them, the darkness crawled on…she didn’t like the idea of going deeper into the castle they were trying to escape, but she doubted their option. "If you think you’re capable of winning this fight, then Sir Ladwin and I will join you, but if not.." She offered a choice to the adventurers. There was a tenseness in the air as she said her words, a group of nine fighters against a crowd of fifteen.
——
As Vincent’s MVS sped towards the mech’s weakened leg, Kado leapt from one mass of machine to another. He landed on the rapidly vibrating edge of Vincent’s weapon and, not wishing to stay on the massive blade any longer than he needed to, crossed its length in a single Force-assisted bound. The Jedi came to a stop atop the Vincent’s back, fingers clinging to its shoulder blade as he crouched down and leaned in to the mech’s head.
"Back where I come from, most Walkers have someone controlling it," He shouted over the roar of combat. "Usually from the inside…think you can get me on top of that thing?"
——
Pucci tilted his head. Within his ability? He was suspicious of putting so much faith into an absolute stranger he just met, yet…he had little else to lose. He felt far from the grace of Gor, further than he’d ever been. Little felt to him the way it once had, and now here was this man presenting an opportunity for him to change again, back for the better.
"And how would you help me?" He asked quizzically, skeptical of his own eagerness. He couldn’t help it—perhaps it was a scam of some sort, or a trap he was walking into…but for the first time in months, he felt hope.
Edited by ISZATSO on Apr 5th 2024 at 2:17:41 PM
With great power…you know the rest.Hub Centralis Brawl
This is not the first nor the last time Mark will deliberately chain himself to a walking taser and makeshift a shock collar of his own creation to unintentionally fuck up his arms. It doesn't take much effort for Kashimo to grab then smash him into a barrel of booze but he's quick on his feet and gets back up from it, his hands twitch at random from the electricity still coursing through him but he's still in control.
"Fuck— I've held out for longer, try me asshat-"
The throw soaks him in mead, this gives Mark a mighty bright idea. He takes off his shirt, and holds it like a rag. He has a juvenile grin to him and throws the shirt straight for Kashimo, hoping to create a diversion and maybe slap him a tiny bit.
"-It's free of charge!"
Mark lets a chain down and kicks it past Kashimo for a barrel full of rum to make it spew out booze and douse him in alcohol. Depending on how fast the sorcerer dealt with his shirt, he either runs in to slog with a flaming fist to ignite Kashimo or launches a fireball at him.
Regardless, the places where alcohol spills begin to be set on fire since there's not enough ethanol vapor going around to cause a massive explosion.
Edited by BoniniBanana on Apr 4th 2024 at 11:08:14 PM
realChurch
Tilra considers what Cittufeni says carefully, mulling it over quite extensively while she drinks Jack like a smoothie. I mean what.
No, Jack exploded. As he does, Tilra's giant flesh arm evaporates into particles of black, misty sludge, revealing her regular arm unharmed underneath. She devours what energy she can from the chunk she took off of him, and stands untouched as the radiation washes over.
Simply put: She's built different. It will take more than that to have a measurable effect.
Unlike the others, the power leaking off of Jack just isn't enough for her to want to eat it. If she were Ynn, she'd gladly devour all of it, but, that just isn't something she's quite as good at.
.Logically, I agree. .Emotionally, I must make one revision.
This is her response to Cittufeni's declaration, a statement of her unbridled intent.
Tilra looks at Arlina. Something comes over her. Maybe not anything good.
."Bet".
Money
Interstellar Overdrive
Louder Than Words
Comfortably Numb
What are you DOING
Tilra explodes at Arlina at frankly inadvisable speed, rolling the d20 die on "Money" and coming up 14. She decides on double or nothing, and rolls 14 again, significantly increasing her strength.
Louder Than Words forms vast and incomprehensible staring faces out into the distance of the world, stretching the horizon long, regulating space and time to keep its structure free of distortion. Teleportation, spacial manipulation, reality-warping- things of this nature are nullified or weakened. Of course, unless Tilra's the one doing it.
A pulse of light emits from Tilra's core. But she moves so fast that it is impossible to process what this means, as she comes in swinging with her glaive, stabbing and striking so fast it comes from every direction at once and even a few directions that don't actually exist. Every strike multiplies, diversifies into a barrage of phantom injection needles that each pack an unbelievably potent mind-altering toxic substance that induces euphoria and death.
Her every strike is delivered with unbridled intent, and carves through reality like a bullet through paper, sparking up a supernova of stardust that completely submerges the battlefield in power and makes the galaxy glow like a hot tungsten filament, showering the fake universe in light and energy ripe for her allies to feast upon.
Despite her calm demeanor, it seems she has learned something from Sarah.
...Well, two things.
For one, self-respect.
For the other...
"How to be a moron and waste too much energy in one flashy over-committal attack"
Yes, when the barrage ends and her intent has been made clear, Tilra plummets to the ground, half-asleep. At the very least, her final attack is still charging.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Complete) - 3/10
Yatta!In a cascade of haphazardly-scattered flames and molten rock and soil, Jack emerges from below the earth to rejoin the fight proper, only to falter as he realizes that the situation changed again. He can see Arlina bathing in a bunch of radioactive detritus, Tilra going after her with an attack that looks a little too overinvested, Emma also being nearby, and Cittufeni just sort of there as well. That causes him to wonder...
<Right, I've seen that (Arlina and Tilra) are both quite strong. Theoretically, if I could hit the former with a sufficiently strong attack and manage to eliminate her, the collateral damage could wipe out the latter too. But if I do it like that, I'd be left alone with two remaining opponents who can both counter anything energy-based I throw at them, who would both see me as the greatest remaining threat. Although, do I have the firepower to achieve a double kill? Let me think...>
He needs some time to ponder his options. He can sort of imagine how the order of elimination might go based on the teamups - Arlina, Tilra, himself, and then Emma and Cittufeni would decide between themselves who won. Of course, that comes with caveats like assuming he won't get smacked down in the meantime, or that Arlina isn't able to overpower Tilra in some way. Not to mention the possibility that Emma and/or Cittufeni are merely holding back in some way. There's far too many possibilities to consider.
He doesn't have enough time to think it through. The more animalistic side, the primal instinct that had awakened due to influence from Evelyn's Wrath sin effect in the previous fight, is disgruntled by his deliberation. It spurns him to action, even though the lack of proper planning could seriously cost him.
{Guess we're doing this now.}
Jack starts his engagement against Arlina by pulling back with each hand, then making repeated punching motions to hurl wild haymaker-like bursts of atomic-imbued flame in her rough direction, slowly advancing to a closer position. Between the size of the blasts, the lack of control of his own power, and just plain not worrying about collateral too much, there's a very real risk that a stray flame could burn someone else, like Tilra or Emma. Maybe not Cittufeni, since he's a bit further away and Jack isn't going to be that blatant.
Then, he proceeds to launch himself absurdly high into the air via an explosion-powered jump, lingering momentarily before hurtling back down to the ground again, propelling himself with a blazing trail illuminating the sky. With the grace, precision, and subtlety of a meteor, he comes crashing down onto the battlefield with incredible force and full intent to physically land on Arlina. Just like the last time he did this, the resulting backlash will destroy his own legs, but this time he doesn't trust that it'll actually kill the target, ergo he propels himself away with another explosion shortly afterward to avoid immediate retaliation.
Should Jack be doing his attacks in a less collateral-and-self-damage intensive way? Probably. Is he going to? No. Can he? Also no.
The fact that only 140 characters are allowed here is honestly so disappointing to me.DNC
Taye jumped into action. She slid between the princesses and the ambushers, swinging her sword in a wide arc to knock the latter away. Even if this action turned out to be unneeded, it was something she did out of instinct.
"Worry not."
Her blade blocked any incoming daggers, shoving them aside before Taye aimed for the cracks in the ambushers' black paint. Something about those cracks drew her attention, and at this point she was working as swiftly as she could.
The ambushers should soon find something odd - small but unusually slippery puddles beneath the feet of men who rushed at the group, puddles that certainly weren't there a moment ago but certainly exist now. Puddles that allies of Taye are able to step on without slipping at all.
Edited by Hotpizza on Apr 5th 2024 at 6:33:35 PM
DNC
Against a group of well-trained warriors like this, in such a tight space, Hange's instincts were that retreat was an absolute necessity.
And yet...
"Although we are highly outnumbered, we do have some advantages over these soldiers. If I had more space, I would engage in a skirmish, which... wait, that might be it!"
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I may have a better plan. Stick with me here, but I'm going to need us to run away. Follow me, and do whatever you can to slow them down!"
This is step one, should her allies choose to follow it, she will lead them the way they came down the dark corridor.
"Keep them at bay as best you can. Or, better yet, use your magic to kill them. If I survive this next part, I think I'll be pleased with myself!"
Hange quickly turns around, and fires the hooks on her ODM gear all the way to the other side of the hallway at a slightly elevated angle. Then, gripping her carving blades tight, she sails above the soldiers as fast as she can, delivering high-momentum carving strokes to the tops of many of their heads.
Thus, her plan is revealed: Engage in a mock-retreat, utilizing the group's superior area-control to outmaneuver the larger, less versatile group of assassins. Thus, for as long as they have the space, these warriors can be picked off one by one.
It is a result of a mindset bore of years of titan-hunting. Against opponents who outclass you in raw strength, others must be utilized to secure humanity's upper hand!
Edited by Whoma on Apr 5th 2024 at 10:03:01 AM
Yatta!DNC
Kana is actually quite pleased to see the assassins. Not because she's about to coldly sink her blade into a companion's back or because she's delighted at the idea of murder, but because these assassins, who seemingly wanted to be darkness incarnate yet had those slight cracks exposing their flesh, their humanity. One she was morbidly certain she could rend apart with her strength or weapons.
Not that she underestimated them - in her world, Kana had taken on bigger odds. But she knew that they bore sinister magic and devious means that could overwhelm her if needed. She needed to be prudent. But at the same time, she wasn't afraid, drawing her axe and letting the water ring recede around its blade, revealing it to be a Vallite Axe. Or at least, her take on it.
And speaking of water...
Kaisui! Let me share the burden of maintaining those orbs! And allow me to do something risky with them! Kana extends her mind to the orbs themselves, attempting to help them keep floating and keeping their shape. It's a difficult task, but thanks to Kana's aquatic prowess as a water dragon (of divine blood too), she only seem to flinch slightly at the sudden cost. And Kaisui's own struggle will be considerably lightened.
At the same time, Hange orders her manoeuver. Kana hesitates seeing Taye leading the battle but decide to agree. Besides, her own plan worked into Hange's. Jumping into the air, Kana began to engage in acrobatics, jumping across the air and kicking Kaisui's floating water orbs to throw them straight at the enemy. They'll explode into their face, creating big puddle to assist Taye's, with the sheer pressure in the orbs making them pretty deadly to be hit by.
Please keep that man under surveillance, thank you!
But yet, Kana used her powers to keep their shape even as she unleashed her super strength, kicking the orbs around at the floor and making them bounce about on the walls, floors or ceiling and making them suddenly explode upon hitting or even being close to an enemy, her path an imprevisible one. Though of course, Kaisui can also manipulate them or remotely detonate them whenever she wants.
Regardless, Kana make the spheres levitate her way as she jumps around with great agility, jumping around and doing flips in mid-air as she punch or kick at the orbs, always having at least one limb available to smack the ground and rebound with. At times, like the projectiles she threw, she even bounced on the walls or ceilings. Like an agile grasshopper instead of a... divine dragon.
Kana smiled, aiming precisely despite her wildly jumping around, enjoying her aerial acrobatics as she flips several times in mid-air at times, almost looking like she's lost track of the situation only to keep on sending the projectiles at the group.
By the time she's finished, Hange swoop over. And Kana watch her go with an impressed expression on her face. Unwilling to send her alone against forces that were perhaps diminished but no less threatening, she unfurls her wings in mid-air and bat them once, hurling herself forward. Naturally, she's not as fast as Hange and will come in later anyway because of the headstart, but Taye (and her)'s efforts help her see if the black paint is just paint or if there's something else.
I'm right behind you, keep going!
If yes, Kana goes in at the first assassin with a punch, attempting to impale them through the stomach with her fist. At which point she does a roll forward, unfurling her wings and immediately tossing the assassin out at their allies with a flick of her arm. With her strength (demonstrated right now), simply flicking the assassin could break a regular human's bones, but Kana raise her axe overhead with her free hand, making the water on the blade "bounce" upwards into a tall whip-like blade that she swings forward. It works like a water cutter, slicing through flesh, stone and metal alike, but mostly through flesh hopefully.
If they have some bizarre immunity or magic protecting them, Kana goes in with a diagonal swing of her axe at the nearest assassin. Hitting the ground, she rolls over forward once and bends her legs before immediately jumping over the other assassins, attempting to swing her Vallite axe at them. The Vallite Axe will proceed to attack their souls, bypassing flesh to targt their essence instead.
This will cause them to feel like they're drowning, water pouring out of their eyes, ears and mouth. And indeed, at the right spot, they might end up drowning on dry land. Kana doesn't really care because they're murderous assassins and are probably going to be finished off now or return to do later crimes.
She doesn't attack them all though.
Either way, Kana's face is pretty stone-faced through this, simply going from side to side to size up opponents or attacks but staying blank otherwise.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterDNC
The pair of explorers were about to follow Frilda, but seeing the others already in action...
I'll follow you! Grace, start playing your flute!
Joy follows Hange's plan, hanging from the rope and attempting to kick the assassins on their heads, and maybe some water balls.
Meanwhile, Grace plays his flute, letting out a music akin to a snake enchanter's, that could distract the assassins, buff his allies, and maybe dispel some darkness from them.
Three freaking ghosts!HC
"Tch, back home it feels like the worst people always come back." Killer Moth remarks. He recalls that time the Joker fell into an erupting volcano only for Killer Moth to see him again like next month at the Ventriloquist's birthday party. He showed up uninvited of course.
He was about to try gunning down Kenjaku but of course he can summon mooks from nowhere. He quickly deployed two moth drones to start firing their machine guns while he used his own wrist gun to start blasting the wretched beasts, using his other hand to shoot his web gun at Kenjaku to keep him from making a run for it or immobilize anything that tried to take the bullet for him.
He briefly winced, feeling an odd headache around these things. Weird.
DNC
"Just cause I'm a healer doesn't mean I can't fight." Medicine scoffs, readying herself for battle. She opts to go with Hange's plan since she's more of a ranged fighter anyway. When it's time she quickly points her palms at the enemy, sending bursts of purple colored danmaku projectiles. These will be guided enough to move around her allies and somewhat track the movements of the enemy. What should be noted about them though is that if they hit a hostile target they burst into potent toxins that will start eating away at them.
Avar-Laren
Sebastien was getting the feeling this guy wasn't actually human, him being used to inhuman monsters masquerading as human is the only reason he didn't flinch. He did indeed hear the guy coming which is how he's able to react in time to avoid getting his knee capped. Instead the kick "merely" knocks him over into a roll, losing grip on his blades. He quickly gets back on his feet and adopts a knife fighting stance, drawing out an unusual looking knife; seemingly made of a sapling.
Edited by shroobot3000 on Apr 5th 2024 at 11:55:23 AM
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Makai
Peppino wipes the sweat off his pixelated brow again and approaches the boss.
Astil
Refia is a little surprised the angels don't care about what she is, but also relieved. She smiles. The Areuis really are alike.
Then her cyber-enhanced senses detect an approaching presence, and she turns in its direction. She recognizes it. As the demon focuses in on it, her eyes glow with all the colors of the rainbow. "...Iris?"
I think that counts as a MAJOR red flag to Areui and Kirue, considering that if Yazur knew Navitus's full name,
they probably do too.
Confluence of Fates
Reyna uses her Insect Glaive to pole vault over the fireballs. She launches forward with Strong Jumping Advancing Slash, a whirlwind of glaive slices, hoping she might be able to mount Tera Soulstealer. I know you couldn't mount Xeno'jiiva, but it had a scrapped 'mounting' variation of its theme and you can mount Safi, so maybe this is different.
Min Min's
The water pillar recedes into the ground, leaving Kirike soaking wet and gasping for breath.
Still, she manages to overhear "Pyra"'s explanation.
"Heh, thanks," Demyx says, rubbing his upper lip with his index finger.
"Spontaneous combustion... That's a new one."
"Huh?"
"Wh-when I get really stressed and over-focus on a way I might die, it...happens." Kirike shrugs. "I have power over fate, but no control of that power. So usually it affects myself and no one else."
"That's rough." Demyx starts idly adjusting the tuning knobs on his sitar. "Well, don't go exploding in our faces now."
Kirike looks away. "If you don't keep talking about it..."
"Oop, my bad."
Sword Tournament
Kills:
- Liana: 1 (Ganondorf)
- Blade: 1 (Flandre Clone)
Deaths:
- Ganondorf: 1 (Liana)
- Flandre Clone: 1 (Blade)
2. A: 3K/1D
3. Guts: 3K/1D
4. Apothea: 2K/1D
5. Adam: 2K/1D
6. Shez-F: 2K/2D
7. Corrin: 2K/2D
8. Nelo Angelo: 2K/2D
9. Liana: 2K/3D
10. Ganondorf: 1K/1D
11. Flandre Clone: 1K/1D
12. Shez-M: 1K/1D
13. Fighter: 1K/1D
14. William: 1K/1D
15. Dante-B: 1K/1D
16. Mahke Etstop: 1K/1D
17. Vergil: 1K/2D
18. Goemon: 1K/2D
19. Odio: 1K/2D
20. Cardboard: 1K/2D
21. Jetstream Sam: 1K/2D
22. Dante-W: 0K/1D
23. Okksbad: 0K/1D
24. Sawdust: 0K/2D
Blade's bracer is now emitting a pillar of light all the way up into the air, alerting all combatants as to who has the decisive lead.
—
Sam is about to go after Blade already, but noticing the alert, he guesses this spot might become crowded momentarily, so he changes course. He leaps up and hurtles across the battlefield to Okksbad and William, unleashing his charged slash flurry on both of them, and additionally enters Blade Mode to dice Okksbad into so many pieces the ork dying to such an attack is actually fair and reasonable.
—
Vergil gets beaten down by Shez-M's reversal, until...
"Your nightmare begins here!"
He unleashes Sin Devil Trigger.
◊ And summons his doppelganger, a spectral copy of this monstrous form. Vergil slashes up and down at Shez-M with Mirage Edge, then left and right at both Shezes with Yamato, with his doppelganger replicating his moves like Ice Climbers.
Ganondorf teleports all the way back to the multi-wielder mayhem, going straight for revenge on Liana by bringing one sword straight down on her head, while swinging the other in a wide horizontal spin slash that could potentially also hit Fighter and Shez-M.
—
Being successfully bound in place doesn't stop Odio from charging. And he's familiar with lethal force, moving what little he can to guard his neck.
"BE LOST TO THE DARK!" He slashes the air, opening a rift that reveals a purple void with a demonic face leering out. Force emanates from the rift in rippling shockwaves before finally exploding in A's direction, the devastating Archon's Mark ultimate attack. After all the energy is released, the rift closes.
—
Dante-W smirks. "Now it gets interesting."
Devil Sword Dante flies out of Dante's hand, in a loop around him, before impaling him in the chest. No, no one suddenly took control of it and turned it against him. The blade dissolves into orange light and he thrusts out his chest as power explodes out, assuming his own Sin Devil Trigger
◊ form.
"Bet you never thought you'd see this in a million years!"
He promptly re-summons his Devil Sword and waits for Donte's move.
—
"You can be a swordsman and an assassin," Goemon quips as he blade locks with Adam. "They're not mutually exclusive."
He gets in an iai stance and slashes diagonally upward opposite Adam's downward slash, parrying the blow. He's ready to attempt another stab, but his attentive eyes happen to look back and see Blade's beacon. "Hold that thought. I have a fight to finish."
He runs off to the south.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Swordnament
Clone One decides to quickly get outside the building and with one exciting leap, gets on the roof of the next one. She sees a clusterfuck going on, between Odio's weird attack on A and Corn and Nelo/Nero/Whatever Angelo's skirmish.
She also sees an opportunity for a sneaky kill. Hey, she's the serious one not the honorable one. She tosses Laevateinn into the air then fucking spin kicks the handle, sending it flying at a high speed at the slowed and probably distracted Nero Angelo with the intent of stabbing him all the way through center of mass; at which point the sword would incinerate him from the inside out.
If he's dead from that (or it missed), Laevateinn vanishes in a puff of smoke and reappears in her grip.
Edited by shroobot3000 on Apr 5th 2024 at 12:18:35 PM
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Bluster Kong
Bluster looks comically insulted by Kaila's reaction to him.
The TV-Headed Man silently looks for a moment as the houseplant and Yharon go off to epically do their own thing in the distance. He then returns his attention to the people in front of him as if nothing had happened, only to see a cannonball coming for him...
Which promptly gets blasted away by a yellow beam. A quick look to the left reveals it was Clover, holding their yellow soul in their hand before putting it back on/in their chest.
"Oh, what a kind gesture."
"You were gonna explain?", Clover asks.
"Oh, right. You see-ah, hold on."
He turns around, grabs Bluster Kong and just lifts him up as if he weighs nothing to have him avoid the GREATEST JAGRAS' jaws.
"As I was going to say, I helped him become his best self so that he may make you all happy."
"And how was that supposed to make us happy?" , Mara asks.
"Well, just a minute ago you weren't quite snappy."
He puts Bluster down.
"Now, perhaps you'll like this song most deft-"
Bluster suddenly has to duck because Obese straight up yeets Shadowman at him.
"I said I would kick him in the nuts and I'll do it even if it's the last thing I'll ever do!", Obese grins. It's becoming clear that the TV-Headed Man doesn't quite have the situation under control, so Bluster does what he knows is best...
And comically starts running away while screeching.
"Get back here!", Obese shouts as he and Shadowman give chase.
"... never mind, Bluster exits stage left."
After some murmuring, most of the group simply disperses to go on their merry ways, either not caring about hunting down Bluster or not considering it worth the effort. Claus and the G.E.M. soldiers specifically go back to do whatever they're here for, hidden away somewhere in the town.
Columbo and Clover stay behind with the TV-Headed Man, the latter looking ready to intervene if anyone tries to attack them, since Clover figures the TV-Headed Man hadn't done anything to earn being attacked.
Flowey also stays behind, though hides somewhere, because his attention isn't on the TV-Headed Man, or Columbo, or Inspector Gadget, or any of the others why may also stay behind. No, his attention is on a very familiar face. An old 'friend', so to say.
"Now that is someone I never expected to see again...", he chuckles eerily to himself. "Good old Clover. This could be interesting."
Astil
"Hm?", Areui asks when Refia mentions an 'Iris'. He, Kirue and PC!Areui turn to look in the same direction as Iris is flying over. Looking down, she notices Refia.
"Oh hey. I should go say hi.", Iris says before descending, Deliderp in her arms.
"Hey Refia. How are you doing? Who're your friends?"
PC!Areui puts one hand on his chin, looking at Iris curiously. Areui also looks at her, though he's staring more than looking inquisitive. Kirue takes notice and taps him against the side of his head.
"You okay?"
"Wha? ... uh, yeah, just... something about this feels weird."
Going by their reactions, it seems they either don't know Iris' full name or just aren't connecting the dots just by looking at her.
Sword Tournament
"Oh shoot-", M!Shez grunts as he's forced to defend against Vergil's first slash, though both he and F!Shez then get hit by the second slashes and are knocked on the ground.
The copy is then about to strike too, and Ganondorf's about to swing at M!Shez due to him being in range.
"ARVAL!"
F!Shez transforms as well, both of them now boosted. F!Shez gets in front of the Vergil copy and deftly blocks its attacks, while M!Shez quickly turns and jumps over Ganondorf's swing. M!Shez is noticeably slower than he was just now, and F!Shez is also slower than she was when she first transformed. Both are still faster and stronger than they normally are, but it's still a clear downgrade. Any nearby warrior with the eyes to notice this and a strategic mind should instantly know what this means: they share whatever their transformation draws power from, and if they both do it, their power is reduced to accommodate for that.
F!Shez immediately unleashes her super attack, attempting to catch both Vergil and his copy in her whirlwind of slashes, while M!Shez tries to do the same against Fighter and Ganondorf.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Church - Battle Royale
Wow, that's a lot of people headed for Arlina.
"Knocked out, but otherwise fine."
She says to Emma, one of her eyes looking at her while the other focuses on the rapidly-approaching Tilra.
"-oh, ok."
Arlina summons a shield of light around herself, blocking attacks from every angle...
...except ones that don't technically exist and aren't covered by her magical barrier. Tears open up all over Alina's skin before-
Wanderer of the Stars
Wow, that took a lot more mana than she would've liked, due to the normalization of reality. But she's now skimming the barrier between reality and the space between- enough to be intangible and at least dull the impact of the reality-breaking strikes being aimed at her.
She grits her teeth, holding out until one attack finishes. She stomps down on Tilra as she falls, aiming to send her half-asleep form crashing into Emma to knock them both back.
"..."
As she shifts back into reality, she notices Jack coming at her with nuclear hellfire and all that entails. She's still slowly healing from all of that radiation, but the fire is rather irritating. She sighs, watching as most of the blasts outright miss her or dissipate against her regenerated shield- though she does note they do make cracks in the surface. Stronger than they look, I suppose.
"You're all fighting the one person who can actually give you your full memories back... Minus Tilra. I don't know what the fuck her mind is. Do you just not trust me? At all? I'm not an asshole... well, not that much."
She folds her arms.
"But hey, if you actually want to try and kick my ass and doom yourselves, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that."
She grins and finally retaliates, spreading her hands outwards as she summons all sorts of weapons that, while looking like her usual light constructs, are actually made of a sort of 'negative' energy- something she'd done to prevent the energy-absorbing people from simply eating her attacks.
Pointing both of her hands forwards, the weapons fly down, bombarding the whole battlefield in a sea of blades.
Confluence of Fates
Gronny leaps away from the attack, acting on its own intuition and using Aura Sphere on Tera Soulstealer. It will curve to try and hit even if Soulstealer moves. (technically, Aura Sphere should never miss, but that isn't very fair.)
Rayne activates the shield on his Arceus Cannon, watching as the fireballs slam against the translucent golden shield and crack it- quite badly, actually. He notes he'll have to start dodging attacks rather than relying on that. He finally notices the glowing from his bag, and noticing the Psychic attack from earlier, grabs the Dark Plate from his bag and slots it into the cannon. The ring changes color to match, and so does the projectile-
"Take this!"
Rayne fires the cannon once more, holding down the trigger as it charges up before unleashing a Dark Pulse at Soulstealer. Seems different plates change how the cannon works.
Centralis - Luster
Cue the death roar of Yharon. The houseplant lands and sighs.
ominous forshadowing and flowey, huh
well, good luck i guess
They warp off in a shower of sparks, to go do who-knows-what.
DNC
Kaisui sighs and draws an oversized wrench
◊ from somewhere on her. She's also changed back
into her normal clothes, a black t-shirt and some jeans. Much easier to move in.
When she feels Kana take care of maintaining the orbs, she looks visibly relieved- doing such a thing was tiring, after all.
"Alright, watch this."
While Kaisui wasn't technically as strong as her alter as Kai, she was still much stronger (and more durable) than any average human. Leaping forward, water jets from her feet to send her flying forward before she slams her wrench into the nearest assassin. (The wrench is comparable in size to most maces, if you need an idea of how big it is.)
She also just summons water inside of any nearby assassin's lungs- and at a rather high pressure, too, aiming to simply pop them from the inside.
Edited by RainbyPlays on Apr 5th 2024 at 7:36:44 AM
aeiou: the secondKashimo has Mark's shirt flung at him, something that indeed confuse him for a little bit, regular as a tactic it is. It flies on his face but Kashimo quickly flings it off and start running for Mark, seeing it as the ideal tactic to do when confronted with his chains. Though he needed to watch out at any range, he knew that fighting up-close meant the chains wouldn't be able to keep him away from Mark for too long.
And as he feel a warm liquid fall down his back and the back of his legs, as his sandals step into cheap booze, but more importantly as Mark come at him with a flaming fist, Kashimo realizes all the more that his range will be useful. Ah! Good use of your environment! But it can't make up for you lacking direct strength! Kashimo says, flinging Mark's own shirt back at him. With some of his Cursed Energy in it to make it a surprisingly solid mass of cloth.
Kashimo proceed to duck beneath the cloth, avoiding the flaming fist by an hair as he attempts to whack Mark in the chest with a punch, meaning to hurl him into another barrel of booze. As it happens, a fire does trigger behind Kashimo, the Sorcerer rushing after Mark, feeling his adrenaline rise with the general temperature.
There, he attempts to smack Mark multiple more times in the chest and face to keep him standing. And for his final punch, some lightning flare out around his arm. And if he land that punch...
Here it comes! Kashimo has struck Mark twice before. Each time imbuing him with a positive charge of electricity. When he feel he's accumulated enough, which might happen if Kashimo struck Mark more this round, he can then discharge the negative charge in him straight for Mark as a thin bolt of lightning that won't be discharged on the ground, insuring it won't hit the booze at their feet.
And will directly hit at Mark to try and inflict him great damage towards the upper body area. It's an attack that, in Kashimo's general sphere of power, is nigh-undodgeable. No one can so easily dodge lightning. Which is why he's confident that Mark could be dispatched by it.
Regardless of result though, there's a roar as Corrin comes in like a shadow, gliding over the flames with his arms out. In answer, Kashimo spins around to hit Corrin in the face with a roundhouse, knocking Corrin out of the air and back towards the fire. His first reflex is to try and get-up, but Kashimo comes down at him with a crushing stomp on his stomach, breaking the ground around them as blood and saliva alike fly out of the young man's maw.
I should be doing what he wants now but... Kashimo tilt his head to the side at seeing the little grey scales on Corrin's face where he was struck. He has time: Corrin's been stunned by the shock of Kashimo kicking him, groaning in pain as the wound on his face mend itself. To the Sorcerer's fascination, it's like the grey scales grow out from right below where the skin was. I guess that a power like that make sense for a weakling - growing stronger by being kicked around must be useful to you, huh?
Corrin groans, eyes closed, still deep within his little crater. Kashimo glances down at him, unamused by his scintillating repartee, and slowly move his sight up to the flames around them.
I guess that he wouldn't mind a little experiment. Kashimo bends down to grab Corrin by the collar, meaning to toss him into the flames.
Sir Crocodile sees Lily approaching and know she has done something to the water. He's on-guard, but it doesn't necessarily mean much with Beruka's new tendrils leering over at him. Much to his frustration, he's realized that he had screwed around too much with the fontain. It's one thing to destroy it after they realize his weakness to water, it's another for Beruka's sudden awakening to chase him off as he meant to do so.
His sadism had been detrimental to him - hence, he'd decided that he'd be efficiently with his killing. As Lily approach, Crocodile try to use his greater size to his advantage by swinging his hook at her to impale her, putting her at a range where her attacks would have a much harder time reaching him. But if it turns out that Lily is not able to deal with it, Beruka come to the rescue.
One of her tendrils stop Crocodile's hook dead-on, a shower of sparks flying from the point of impact as the liquid darkness wraps around the hook to try to pull it off. And while Crocodile had planned for Beruka to interfere, his plan B barely fails because Lily's speedier than he had thought, the young woman striking him in the shoulder and causing him to scream in pain, recoiling back as he gets splashed with water, making his face, right shoulder and arm and the middle of his torso vulnerable to damage even if Lily doesn't use water.
Beruka's tendrils then swoop in to pluck the civilians out of the sand pit around Crocodile. Another offer itself up has a platform for Lily to avoid falling in it herself if needed. While still Razor Floss, Beruka is subconsciously skillful enough with her metal to make it simply cold and metallic. Thus, not too agreeable, but also not something that'll hurt the others.
While the sand pit was basically matter turned to sand and can't be reversed, the sand pillars in front of the balcony do collapse from Crocodile's sudden distraction. One that Lily would be wise to invest in, because the enraged pirate's next move, after walking back gawking at what had happened, is to reach for his shoulder to quickly try to absorb the moisture on himself.
Two more tries - you've got two more tries! He says, his observation skills still sharp despite the pain and fury. And... Kuhahahaha... You're one ally shorter now too. If Lily turn around (she might not, it's not wise), she'll indeed see that Beruka has ditched her and the fight to move to where Corrin is fighting Kashimo and Mark, with the tendrils gone aside from the one stopping her from stepping on the sand pit.
She also cared for Nuue's rampage and the blasts happening around them. There were still civilians to care for...
... But she cared more about Corrin than about anyone else. And as she ran away, she spared Lily a glance and a nod. It was up to her.
Hold on, Corrin! Whenever you are, please, hold on!
I'd have taken you hostage but it looks like she wouldn't care about it, sad, huh? Crocodile's right hand become amorphous sand which he stab into the ground, before swinging his entire upper body forward as he shoot the sand forward as a silicone torpedo, slicing the ground in front of him and looking to impact Lily in a way that'll rob her of her moisture.
Not done yet, Crocodile grasp the sand and wait for Lily to make a move before he goes for another swing, hurling a crescent-shaped Razor Wind (but like Sand Wind instead) attack straight at her, looking to achieve the exact same result.
As for Owlman, with one hand busy and all, he decide to waste one of his extra bullets on Red Hood's grenade, shooting it back and causing it to explode in mid-air. This could make Red Hood more careful of going down to him. And when Nuue charge into him, Owlman jump over her to the first floor of the building, smashing through the window and doing a brief roll forward before he immediately continue running up the stairs, having covered his face with his arms and letting chunks of glass fall off his armor.
The building he's entering looks like a small hotel with striped painting on the wall and a small set of stairs that went up five floors. It looked cozy, if modest, and some of the terrified citizen had fled there, wisely hiding in the side rooms and not heading for the stairs.
His main plan was to lure Nuue up the stairs where he'd planted explosives earlier for preparation. He'd make them detonate to make her fall down, hurting her (his explosives packed quite the punch) and letting her fall down. It wasn't exactly an anti-Nuue plan because she could fly, but in her state of mind, he was persuaded she'd follow him. But the problem was Red Hood camping on the rooftop, and likely also having a winning option of stopping Owlman from ascending any further, nevermind he was a gunman with the higher ground.
Hm... Keeping his cool, Owlman reach into his utility belt and produce a flashbang. A... flashbang, simple as that. He couldn't find a way to tie it to an owl motif. And he toss it up the stairs in anticipation. Now, granted, Jason has the skills and pragmatism to do a reverse of what he did with the grenade, but Owlman's big bulbous eyes will shield him from being too affected, something he demonstrate by keeping running no matter what as explosions may ring out from beneath him.
Why he'd put more explosives beyond the first set? Preparedness.
Thus, Owlman run through two more floors before he decide to change the rules, jumping out of the third floor's main window immediately in front of the stairs. He proceed to spread his suit's armored wings, gliding over the plaza and sweeping to the right. He glances back at the building, remembering he saw some people in there.
Grabbing his remote detonator, he prepares to remotely detonate the rest of the bombs. It's also connected to the building's foundations, hopefully burying Nuue and Jason, if the big blast doesn't kill them of course.
. Owlman stays silent, not even bothering with a villainous grin as his clawed thumb remove the remote det-owl-ator's "safety cap", before slowly moving to a big red button sitting on top of it.
...
Some of the spirits are shredded by Killer Moth's guns, but at least two remain active. And while they're too slow to bodyblock the net, Kenjaku himself deal with it by bothering to step a foot into the water. There, acting with skill far surpassing Kashimo's, he proceed to apply his Cursed Energy to the particular spot of water at his feet, limiting it to that area as not to disperse it and tire himself out.
Suguru Geto caught some of the most useless curses in all of Japan to bolster his arsenal. Weaklings that could be dispatched with a baseball bat so long as it had a modicum of Cursed Energy. Geto kick the water forward at Killer Moth, the droplet acting more like shotgun pellets, all having been converted into deadly projectiles by Kenjaku's great prowess, perhaps even shredding through his net to damage the man himself.
Kenjaku then Flash Step himself as his spirits once again become somewhat more aggressive, meaning to distract the criminal as Kenjaku appears behind him in a burst of speed.
It's because he knew that there's quality in quantity of course - but those weak spirits could also be used to test an opponent's powers, speed, swiftness, their battle instincts... So he could send the bigger more specialized ones to exploit any weaknesses he'd deduced! Now, of course, he wound up scattering himself a bit too much and he died because of it. I make better use of weaklings, I think. While talking, Kenjaku goes on the offensive, attempting to wrap his left arm around the criminal's right one before trying to hammer him in the right side of his body with multiple swipes of his left arm.
If he succeed, or if he still grab KM's arm, he then try to just dunk him into the water with a throw, letting go of his arm and standing over him.
Using weak spirits to assess things mid-battle can be costly against an opponent that goes all-out from the start or who benefit from killing things. So I do it... slowly, over time, hurling them over months, making my characters more vicious or less vicious, sometimes slower, sometimes faster. By seeing how fast Ketheric or Azura can kill someone like you, it means that an eventual Arena superstar like... Nicole, or Anna, or Jeridan, will have the apt challenge instead of prevailing or losing too fast. Kenjaku raise his head to look at a dim sewer light, bringing his hands up slightly.
I think I've thrown about a hundred extras at them by now. It's demanding work, you know? I've got to be noticeable but under the radar. And since Idiot is gone, there's not many people I can talk to about it.
By the way - you haven't answered. Azura or Ketheric? Kenjaku says, raising an eyebrow, tapping his foot against the water repetatedly to simulate impatience.
Outside, on the road to the Plaza, someone is making their way to the battlefield. A tall old man wreathed in black armor, who seemed like he could fight his way through the entire crowd if he wanted. But he didn't need to - they simply parted around him.
I'm coming, Corrin! He mutters to himself.
Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 5th 2024 at 11:53:35 AM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterConfluence of Fates
Terapagos needed a moment to get back into the swing of things. But while its Terastal power is gone, it's far from defenseless.
It begins to float again, then turns to the biggest threat among the intruders, this being Soulstealer, who isn't paying attention to it right now. Which gives Terapagos the chance to set up a Calm Mind first, boosting its Special Attack and Special Defense.
After that it launches a Tera Starstorm attack right at the Soulstealer.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Mr. Crocodile’s hook swung for Lily as she neared, the golden flash drawing her attention and eyes widening in fear as she realized much too late that she wouldn’t be able to avoid it.
Thankfully, Beruka had her back.
As her Cursed Tendrils pulled the man’s stabatron 3000 away from her collar, her hand slammed into Mr. Crocodile’s shoulder and exploded with water. Knowing that she couldn’t just drop to the ground since all that surrounded him was an ever-twisting pit of sand, Lily kicked off of Mr. Crocodile and flipped away. She came to her feet a few inches away from the sandpit’s edge, but took a couple steps back anyways.
The girl was silent as she glared at Mr. Crocodile, realizing from both his words and the lack of action from Beruka that she was gone. Of course, she thought, she can help Curtain—Corrin now. Can’t blame her, but… She faced the man alone now. All the jokes had left, now it was time for her to lock in.
Two tries. Lily held Lun before her, pressing the flat of it against her left palm and sliding her hand across the metal. Along with a shimmer and a cloud of mist that dropped from it, seven blank, flat, and white symbols appeared in a line that seemed to spin slowly around the weapon’s length. Two tries. I can work with that. The symbols were very familiar, and quite possibly could’ve been recognized very quickly: they were seven of the eight phases of the moon, in order from waning crescent to full moon and then back to waxing crescent.
He’s observant, she noted of the man, before resolving not to use the moonsigns until the exact moment she needed to; they were the second phase of the plan she’d thought up back at the start of the fight, and if she weren’t cautious about revealing their use, he’d likely think up some kind of counter.
Pulling her suddenly from her schemes was Crocodile slamming an arm into the ground. Expecting an attack soon, she exploded not towards him…but rather to a table, left on its side amidst the chaos. She coiled her arm around the wood beam and crouched behind it, feeling sand and splinters tear into her skin as the torpedo smashed the table. Lily peeked out from over the damaged edge just in time to see his following attack speeding towards her. With a yelp she leapt out from behind the table and over the wave of sand, not seeing but hearing as the wood was torn apart.
That could’ve been me, Lily realized.
She landed on the platform left by Beruka and bounced towards Mr. Crocodile, coming within a dangerous close range to unleash a powerful blow aimed at his gut, expending a second charge of water if successful. The punch’s strength exceeded that which could be expected of somebody her size, not quite devastating but hopefully enough to push Mr. Sandman back a good distance. If it was, then she’d use that same hand to pluck the Waning Gibbous from the sword’s orbit and throw it at his torso, where it would explode into a frigid cloud meant to freeze the water to himself.
But, that was a lot of "if"s, and a lot of room for failure at any stage.
——
"Hah! Now we’re talkin’." The Poacher reacted upon seeing the knife come out. He held his hands out in front of him, edging closer to Sebastien with miniscule footsteps.
When he came close enough, he lunged at the man and kicked out at his shin in an effort to throw him off balance; if successful, he’d then try at an uppercut aimed at Sebastien’s chin.
With great power…you know the rest.Confluence of Fates
Normally Soulstealer wouldn't be so easily mounted, but the Aura Sphere and Starstorm do a good job on keeping him pinned down after he avoids the Dank Pulse.
Unfortunately, when you mess with the bull you also get the horns. In this case, Soulstealer glares at her before his body starts glowing and the crystals turn red. This is her only warning before he roars and fires a Tera Fire boosted Heat Pulse from his energy core, bursting out from his body and hitting anyone around or on top of him.
This isn't the end of his turn though. The crystal armor shifts to a brownish color as he slams his forelimbs into the ground. The earth shakes as his forelimbs glow and on top of the bioenergy bursting from the ground under them (but not the entire area so dodging is a thing they can do), they also have to contend with it being basically the equivalent of him using Earthquake.
Oh and some rocks fall from the ceiling too but in random areas that happen to not be where they're currently standing. Convenient!
Leo Lusterless
The GREATEST JAGRAS scowls at Bluster Kong's fleeing form. How dare this creature attempt to escape him.
With a mighty roar, he starts barreling after Bluster Kong, albeit running more like an ape than you'd expect a quadruped of his build to run like. For rule of funny let's assume he runs over Shadowman and Obese like a freight train and chases Bluster Kong off screen to parts unknown.
HC
"Talking about yourself in the third person?" Killer Moth asked, raising an eyebrow as one of his moth drones flies in to bodyblock the shotgun blast and get shrekt instead. He's indeed too distracted gunning down the spirits to not get grabbed and slam dunked into the water. This feels familiar, like that time he ran into Killer Croc who mistook him for Firefly. At least he apologized after.
"Ketheric wasn't nearly as obnoxious I suppose." he groused, clutching his head as he got up. He was feeling a migraine coming up. Something he didn't notice but Kenjaku might is that his hand currently clutching his head looks a bit... sharper. In fact his fingers look more like claws at this point and are starting to tear his glove.
His remaining drone decides to swivel around and try to gun down Kenjaku.
Alar-Varen
Sebastien had remained on guard, making sure not to jump the gun and waiting for the Poacher to make a move. Honed reflexes are what allow him to avoid the kick, responding in kind by lashing out with his knife; holding it in a firm backwards grip. The Poacher if he gets slashed will note it's not only sturdier than you'd expect a twig looking thing to be, but also they'd feel sudden fatigue. As if their very life force was sapped by it.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Centralis - Market
Nuue lets out a growl that turns into a roar as she returns to her Fell Dragon form. Because why try and chase someone into a building when you can just-
WHAMMO
...Nuue slams her full weight into the building.
Depending on how unstable those explosives are, that might detonate them. Or it might just bury them, I dunno.
"QUIT RUNNING!!"
Nuue takes a deep breath in and shoots a massive jet of flames out, sweeping it towards Owlman...
...but also setting a good few buildings ablaze. She's going to hate herself later, but now isn't the time for that.
RAGE: 2/3
Confluence of Fates
Rayne has an idea. His cannon retracts into a more portable form, though he can't fire it like that.
"-Gronny, return! Koraidon, let's go!"
As one 'mon is swapped for another, Rayne leaps up onto Koraidon, moving out of the path of the Earthquake just in time. Dodging the falling rocks that may or may not be falling into his path, Koraidon (with Rayne) skids to a stop near Terapagos.
"I'm here to help you, alright? I don't want to hurt you... That dragon isn't very nice, huh?"
Rayne holds up his Tera Orb (which is charged again) and nods once at Terapagos before tossing it onto the turtle, aiming to Terastallize it. Other than that, he doesn't attack this turn.
aeiou: the secondMahke Etstop - Sword Tournament
Because of her arrogance, Mahke gets demolished by Corrin and Nero Angelo. RIP, Mahke. She needs to stop dying!
Corva Penryu - Sword Tournament Audience
In frustration, Corva shouts, "You forgot to dodge again! Stop embarrassing me!"
Mr. Khamen - Makai
The pharaoh laughs, "I am Mr. Khamen! Welcome to your doom, Peppino! Maki-maki-maki! "
He tries wrapping Peppino in bandages.
Seeing as his attempt to get the drop on Owlman via distracting him with a grenade hadn't gone according to plan, Red Hood sheathes his dagger and grapples back up the rooftop he'd used to launch his attack. He knew Owlman wasn't just running into some random building; no, he wanted his opponents to give chase and rush headlong into what was most certainly a trap. Unlike Nuue, though, Jason wasn't blinded by mindless fury.
"Could he have actually rigged this whole city block into one giant death trap? What am I saying? Of course he could've. He's the goddamn Owlman."
Red Hood unslings the sniper rifle from his back and gets straight to tracking Owlman as the latter runs through his hotel turned trap. Before he can open fire, though, he quickly turns away when the flashbang goes off. As soon as he returns to looking through his scope, Owlman has left the building and is preparing to set off his bomb.
"Not on my watch, dirtbag."
Taking careful aim at the detonator in the supervillain's grasp, Jason pulls the trigger and snaps off a shot intended to destroy it before the building can be blown sky high. Just as he's about to try his luck at sniping Owlman himself, though, Nuue comes crashing though the hotel and sets a few other buildings ablaze.
"I really hope those ones were empty..."
We were greeted at the edge of our sanctuary by a young boy named Morgan. Though he appeared normal, with horns on his forehead that almost gave him the appearance of some particularly boring Dryad, we soon deduced him to be one of the guardians of this place. He appeared bored, asking us for a mutual alliance in defeating Ketheric. Who was, according to him, "busy" attending to matters esoteric and unknown even to them.
The young boy was polite in a way some of my allies back at Baldur's Gate are. Lacking decisive skills in critical fields, they instead lick the nearest shiniest pair of boots, hoping that their owner will eventually notice their impromptu effort and reward them with titles, gold and prestigious positions. As a chosen of Bane, I have found my shoes ambushed by these sycophants more than once, though it has been to my benefit in swaying minds and influencing Patriars.
However, I find these leeches to be vexing. And I care not to surround myself with them - for a strong head is helpless if its body is too weak and rotten to suppot it. Faced with perils, it is all too tempting for them to leave ship. And Morgan, I suspected, was quite eager and willing to sabotage the ship on his way out on top of that. I could see mockery beneath the boy's eyes. His words hid knives. His questions prodded at our weaknesses. Within his truths were the smallest of lies, meant to lure us on technicalities.
He told us that some of the unfortunate "invaders" of previous parties have been captured alive and kept in jail cells to be experimented on by one of Ketheric's vile Shar-spawned abominable undead. Just as he told us of secret passages within the walls. Of lesser guard presence in portions of the castle. Or secret texts of Baalthazar, eminent necromancer, within the Crypt's lauded "Librar", apparently containing "juicy intel" to be exploited.
He even told us that there was a man around the stronghold, providing items and "upgrades" to wary explorers. We were familiar with that man - we had met him already. And I knew him from my beloved city of Baldur's Gate.
Forgive my brief lapse. Even my cold black heart find it hard not to be overtaken by nostalgia at the thought of my dear city. Begging for tyrannical order.
I could tell what was a lie and what wasn't - I jealously guarded my secrets and fed him some of my lies in return. Yet, unfortunately to us, it had seemed like my comrades were more willing to trust him than I was. And when he promised them a "Binding Vow" that could be made by voice alone, my very brief shock allowed the rest of my team, bar the Urge, to deduce that there was some truth to his words.
The Urge and I asked our teammates not to trust Morgan - a support I appreciated - yet the good Captain retorted that Amicus meus, inmicus incimi mei. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. By holding a seeming alliance with Morgan and Azura, who seemed to be plotting against Ketheric, we could pit them against each other and more easily get what we came here for. But I knew that Morgan meant to lure us into dropping our guard.
The Urge joined my side yet was unable to convince them. And they signed a Binding Vow forbidding Morgan (and any of his associates) from harming the members of my team, bar the absent Optimus Prime, myself and the Urge. But the same applied in return to Snake, Captain America and Katana.
Pleased with himself, Morgan promised us another meeting. And when asked about his motives, he simply said that what he and Azura were specifically looking for was outside of this world. Their way of informing us they had no agenda to uphold whereas Ketheric had one. Telling us that was a critical mistake on Morgan's part however : for if that was the case, then what were they doing as Ketheric killed and captured so many of our esteemed predecessors? Be it incompetency or omission, I did not believe these two to be worth bargaining with.
Yet the Captain remain insistant - his charisma surpass mine, I must admit. And he is knowledgeable of the ways of warfare. But Binding Vows are magic. Foreign magic. An inherently unpredictable thing whose rules we barely know. And if those "binding vows" are anything like the devilish contracts of Avernus's denizens, then they'll ruthlessly exploit every little loophole or hidden clause to their advantage.
The Captain is too charismatic if anything. Katana follows his lead. And even Snake, who seemed to be at odds with his patriotic colors and attitude, has adopted grudging respect for the Captain and is following him along.
The Urge and I have been making plans for a quick escape path if something goes wrong. The girl, Azura, has returned, peering at us. She doesn't talk like he does, but her smile is yet very telling. Her presence complicate my plans, both she and Morgan appear to be patrolling the perimeter, moving as they want with no regard for the Crypt's labyrinthian design. Azura in particular has taken to lightly hitting one of the walls with the tip of her awkward spear, slowly, methodically.
Even now, I can hear the sound. Steadily coming closer at times and then fading away.
Prodding.
By tomorrow morning, I will assign the team to carry out certain duties tied to retrieving "intel" or prisoners - and will abscond to seek my prize. The Urge has said he'd assist me but I need to consider how to best remove him while keeping him an ally for as long as I can. Isolated and without my equipment to help me, I will be vulnerable to danger after all.
Negotiations aside, I've managed to craft miniature long-distance communications device from reverse-engineering some of Snake's gear, again. Raw material was provided by the Merchant - this will enable me to know when they will be making contacts with at least Azura and Morgan, but I've decided to assume that they might have at least one complice whom I will need to watch out for.
Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 5th 2024 at 3:25:07 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter

Centralis - Market
"GET BACK HERE!!"
Normally, Nuue would use some sort of seeking magic on a foe that's trying to bait her, but she currently isn't thinking very clearly. Instead, she's still scampering forward on all fours, but she simply leaps over the (possibly bound) Red Hood before igniting flames on her feet and speeding into a downwards glide.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Nuue aims to slam into Owlman, her claws outstretched and coated in Fell energy. Being hit with such a thing would cause flesh to wither and die- albeit slowly, but it's still painful to get hit by.
RAGE: 1/3
aeiou: the second