Ashes of Nohr - Library

• Oops!
• I know, I just don't care.
• ...

Link's thoughts are conveyed by some means adjacent to saying them out loud. He's here for a fight and he doesn't particularly care who his target is.

However, the instinct of a hero takes precedent over that of a feral animal, so he whips out a Hookshot and grapples onto and over the walls to skip the Necromites and get straight to Fleurdelis, coming down at the demented spirit with a plummeting slash.

"He's gearing up for war."

Drought because I forgor

Takane has spent most of the intervening days overseeing the construction work, drafting plans with Nitori over video calls and occasionally wringing the town out of as much money as she can get away with without going into full on ripoff territory because hey she's not evil.

"Oh? Well if it's your treat..." Takane says with a somewhat ominous smile as she heads for the door herself. "Never tried a western restaurant before."

Edited by shroobot3000 on May 14th 2024 at 8:48:59 PM

"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."

Gunter frowns, but doesn't show it too much perhaps due to Pucci's unfortunate bout of blindness. He thought it best to excise a potential tumor before it could grow malignant. And "cornering" Pucci at a time where everyone else was gone could potentially have suited him, were he sinister. Or dumber. Because he knew the others would be terribly curious about what'd happen.

He could easily weave a false tale, there were plenty of enemies in the castle and all, but it was all wasteful, wasn't it? Pucci was useful. And obviously a fair bit brighter than the average Cryptdweller. Getting rid of him would be an issue because Gunter couldn't afford to lose out on a precious ally, and the logistics of removing him from the equation would be too complicated at this point.

I would never lie to my son, of course. Gunter says, with a scoff. It was truth, he could say that much bold-faced because there was no lie to it. But he is fragile. Physically powerful, emotionally frail. With a wife who seem to think me as the devil whispering into his ear. Not to mention the rest of the group. The ones I could call bright beside you are the evil ones. He says. Thus, I must deliver the truth piece by piece. Give him and them the important tidbits while sparing him some parts he might find difficult to swallow. You were with him in Nohr, surely. You know that he was fragilized by what happened. Gunter raise his hand and hold the tips of his thumb and index together, before making downward and upwards motion, mimicking feeding.

It's to his benefit and amusement.. Pucci can't see it anyway. I can tell you that I am not an enemy. I intend to remain your ally until Kenjaku goes down. The later morsels of truth I deliver will not change either of those facts.

Between you and me, and while I do intend to keep the unity, his wife is the one hiding things from him, Gunter scoffs. I can tell without my powers. For those new inhumans powers of her must have come from somewhere, didn't they?

RECON

Right away. Gunter channel his power through Charlian's mind, and from it, he fire a powerful psychic blast that will leave Charlian unaffected but will hit EMIYA with full strength if he doesn't dodge. And if he's hit, he'll find out that there's not much raw willpower can do against mental output on that level. The mental mass held within the beam make a Dynamic Entry into his brain, bulldozing through his thoughts, memories, knowledge, reflexes and even basic functions and scrambling his psyche into a soup.

He'll get to recover - depending on how high his intelligence and willpower both are, but he'll be helpless for a little while. And unluckily for the group, the Necromites around them aren't, due to lacking both mental functions, a consciousness and a physical brain to scramble. They form up around EMIYA in a bid to shield him from Charlian until he can recover.

Meanwhile, Beruka directly form a black construct shaped after a tunnel in front of her, using it to run at a high speed. It falters before the Granité Blast, which is only stopped for a few seconds before it punch through the construct, but it gives Beruka enough time to avoid the worst of it and keep pace with Charlian, dodging the swords by jumping around.

Corrin fares worse, being engulfed by the beam and winding up thrown back. The Granité Blast is mostly a concussive attack, but it cause him to suffer some pretty bad burns and bruises, winding up with a particularly large bruise over the upper right side of his face, with parts of his armor torn off at the arms. Being sent flying back, he retaliate by spreading his wings and stabbing Omega Yato into the ceilling, the blade ripping through the magic stone before stopping.

Then, Corrin deploys his tail next, wrapping it around the hilt of the sword. His momentum stops before he shoots forward, using it to slingshot himself forward towards EMIYA, using his wings to readjust himself in mid-air a few times, the sharp hiss of passing swords (and their explosions a few seconds later) all too noticeable. He notices a few red lines on his face, so slight as to immediately turn into scales.

This cause both he and Beruka to swoop in together towards the final Necromites guarding a EMIYA! But whether or not they're better off trying to attack EMIYA or helping Charlian and the others push, it's up to the group. All they need to do is to call on to them and assume they'll solve the problem as efficiently as they can.

Notably though, upon hitting the end of the hallway, the Granité Blast is only able to punch small cracks into the stone before vanishing. A testament to how durable the walls of this place are.

CORRIN : TANK/ATTACK - (AVAILABLE)

BERUKA : ATTACK/TANK - (AVAILABLE)

Library

While it's a noble effort, the gap between the two floors (and thus, the gap between one floor and the top of the walls) mean that Dracus and Karzon are only going to be catching stray Necromites unto their side, with the one at the center free to go. More worriedly, them choosing to do that mean they could be struck by the mage Necromites. Who only need Line of Sight to cast a spell.

Luckily, the duo will be allowed to try to make a charge at them. And it's partly helped by Bucky using his gun. Sadly, it doesn't kill the Necromites, but the mages seem frail enough that the bullets blast off their legs or limbs, briefly stunning them and allowing the melee guys to proceed.

And if they do, and with what Noah has ahead of himself, they'll be right next to the doors on the first floor. The ones Gunter warned them to check.

Wiz the Wizard and Nina are able to safely contain the Necromites, especially the middle ones, from pouring in. And while the overwhelming numbers would have helped them eventually push through, Wiz's bubblegum exploit that advantage to stick them together in place, preventing them from making their way over. This cause Noah's subsequent attack to wipe them out entirely, reducing the Necromites to ashes (at least on the main floor) as they get helplessly swept aside, at the cost of pulverizing most of the shelves and the stairs leading to the first floor.

But the destruction isn't even all that... destructive, due to the power behind the Grand Cross - the portion of the Library in front of them is simply destroyed. Impressively, the stone itself withstand it as it withstood the Granité Blast, and there'll only be a blast mark on the largely-intact stone at the end of the room.

Everything else is smoke and ashes.

Oh, and one crazed Demented Spirit.

What makes you think I'm alive?! Maybe looking at things from a corpse's perspective will give you some much-needed wisdom! Fleurdelis say. The lightning hit blow her backwards, but her armor resist the hit just fine, though burns and cracks run alongside its length, the helm falling apart to reveal a woman's face behind it - with some purple hair to complement it.

She eyes the downed Noah and the other distracted folks - and smile at Ecclesia. Disturbingly, it's not that threatening on its own. Maybe because she doesn't mean to attack her but Noah, whom she attack with a cleave, attempting to slice right through Nuu to get to him. It's a simple but strong strike.... and one she has to interrupt to block Link's downward slash, keeping her sword up so that it'll clash with the tip of his weapon.

She smiles at seeing a challenge, and then lower her sword, trying to catch Link by the leg as she steps forward to try to swing him around and hit nearby do-gooders!

Incoming! Gunter warns, with the right sense of timing, because the next participant of the Library Shitshow is about to step into the right.

   Is that... crying, I hear? I see you're well-prepared to my arrival.    Emanate a deep, echoed voice, obviously not coming from a common undead being.

Coming in hot, not giving the team a chance to breath, is Balthazar, his voice heard from the blasted entrance before he simply resort to flying inside the room. His appearance is fitting with what Gunter described : a rotund undead, with glowing yellow eyes, grey skin scarred in many places with bleeding red wounds, the Necromancer having carved occult symbols within his flesh.

In particular, where his heart is/was, there's a big bloody triangle. And over it, he wear a golden chain with a golden skull in the middle, the symbol of Myrkul. Said golden chain originate from golden jewelry he wear on his tattered black cloak, with no shirt underneath to conceal his upper body, even if he has the decency of bringing black torn pants to the party.

His hands are covered in blood, as are his sleeves. Worryingly, some of his face is as well.

He stares at the group passionlessly, not terribly bothered at the state of the library. Fleurdelis's rampage hardly faze him, and neither does Link being here.

   I'll have to tell the Necromites to simply choke some of you to death. I'd like your corpses intact.    Balthazar raise his hand, and fully demonstrate why Ketheric Thorm would pick him as a necromancer by bathing the room in a green glow, apparently intending on resurrecting every single Necromite in the area from their ashes.

And for those who think him defenseless, he points a finger down and begin blasting down at targets with a green beam. But not of light - upon being fired, it briefly linger in the air before disintegrating into nauseous green smoke. And on a direct contact, targets may discover that nausea will be the least of their ensuing health problems.

Because it poison you.

You'll need to get close if you want me to stop him from resurrecting them! Gunter warns. I can cast a counterspell - the fool has kept a conscience for me to target. But I'll need to get CLOSE'.

ALLY : GUNTER (Available)

Armory

The Ghouls are cut down by Arbiter, his sword, speed and combat skills helping him swiftly overpowered rampaging undead beasts with no deeper thoughts. But yet, the Death Shepherd lives, stepping up to the fight to try to cut him down with a brutal downward swing of its sword. It prioritize getting rid of him over resurrecting the ghouls, since it has deduced they wouldn't be of help.

Or it's prioritizing ending nearby life instead of cheating death for someone else once more.

Either way, Arbiter will still have a bit of a fight on his hand. And so will his Hunters : they hold back the Ghouls just fine for this round, but with The Knight's fire so close, they'll need to hold on and not falter. For the Ghouls only attack harder and harder if they notice any weakness, attempting to mindlessly charge through the shields.

Left to his own devices, Salazar jump to the side and does a sick Dark Souls role to avoid the fire. He quickly raise his Vallite Gun and point it at the Knight's head before firing a bullet at his head, then at his chest. Both bullets are magically enhanced to ignore defense and attack the soul, bypassing his stone armor to directly strike his very soul. But he can't attack any more because of the flames lighting his coat on fire, forcing him to drop n' roll.

Gunter does as obliged - he's very gleeful to blast a Githyanki with the full power of his psychic blast using Cardboard as a conduit. This hit and stun the Githyanki like it stuns EMIYA, holding him in place and allowing Sawdust to land some good hits with the shears. They mark deep red scars unto the molten flesh of the Githyanki, but also almost snap him out of his trance.

He'll be quick to retaliate if not finished off quickly!

Elsewhere, D'Vorah is able to make a living nest out of another, forcing her to become the unwitting broodmother of her offsprings. Would you believe she would have done nastier by you if you'd let her? Good work - ruthlessness is greatly appreciated. Gunter says, sounding very pleased with her.

As for Mark... he opens the door and can thus rejoin the fight, even if he'll emerge to see D'Vorah fucking up that one Githyanki.

Shadows

The immediate first priority upon Rumia getting out is Gunter "logging" back in into that discord chatroom she call a brain. Where were you?! Where'd that devil... Oh... You've made a pact with him, haven't you? Gunter sighs.

Oh, hi, Rumia! S-sorry for coming here out of the blue like that... Refia says, bashfully. Erm... I was given an order to go and hurt you bad by Azura. She's the leader of my group. Bu-but we both know I'd never do that, right? So I'm here to help you now.

Shadowheart frowns. On one hand, they'd be foolish to go and accept her help given the way Gunter described them. On the other hand, they had a pretty ideal way to get rid of Refia without a fight by just dumping her into the shadows. And if she had wanted to attack them, she would have when both women were distracted earlier.

Her focus on Refia almost overshadow (hihi) her noticing that Rumia is packing a brand new lantern! Where'd you get that? Pretty convenient that there'd be such... bright lanterns right before we step into the Domain of Shadows. She try turning around, then remember Refia is right there and turn around to keep her in sight, due to not trusting neither Pyre or Rumia to really so much as warn her if Refia make a sudden move.

She made a deal with a devil for that Lantern.

... What'd you even trade for that lantern?Shadowheart asks, baffled. Anyway... Do you know her? She points to Refia. She's a Demented Spirit. That's an ominous name. I'm not sure we should trust her.

e-eekk... Refia squeaks out, watching as the trio decide if they'll become a quator or not.

City

I'm so sorry you died like that... Kaa says to Vii, patting her on the back before walking forward. We can walk without fear if none of us are alive, I think. She doesn't test her theory. But before the group can determine if she's being sarcastic or simply very literal, Gunter decide to contact the group once more.

I can feel Prime approaching. And I'm preventing the ghosts from noticing you too fast - but Vladek is right. You should hop in quickly.' If the group look to the left, they'll see a large truck coming their way. Despite Prime apparently trying to be low-key, he's pretty damn noticeable - it's basically a large truck with faded red paint and blue flames painted upon it, with a few more "flames" drawn awkwardly in ugly yellow.

Still, the noble truck apparently does not cause any alert in the traffic. Even as he stops in the middle of it should the group walk up to it. Kaa certainly does, waving over slightly at Optimus as if the group didn't stand out enough. And if the group make it to the truck, they'll see what appear to be a human driver peering out from it. A middle-aged man with brown hair and fierce 'stache, who seem to be wearing clothing more fit for the summer than for the cold night of Moonrise Grave.

He's even rocking a cowboy hat!

The man leans out of the window, glancing at the group then at Kaa. Hi Optimus! I'm sorry, but these people are all dead. I think they drowned in the pool!

... Rest assured, Kaa. I am fairly certain those people are alive and well. And probably pretty cold at that. Come in. The driver says, a bit louder for the second half of his phrase. He make a fairly hurried gesture, and the group will be able to see one of the random women staring at them with a slightly distressed expression on her face in the whole crowd.

Leonidas shrugs and move to enter quickly. He's slightly eager to see some action. Kaa sits at the driver's seat, the windows becoming tainted, thicker and more opaque as they apparently become like smoked glass. The driver vanish afterwards, prompting Leonidas to snort in interest. Once the door is closed, there'll be barely enough space for everyone, but Kaa is thin and small (and stupid) so they should be fine.

The interior of the truck is warm. Made warmer by Optimus turning up the heat after his human allies were left in the cold. The windows are one-way, granting the group a view of the scenery outside, but the "people" outside see nothing, apparently.

Kaa lowers her hood and almost slump in her seat, as if fearful that her reflection could be spotted in the glass. She has been hiding her face well thus far.

My name is Optimus Prime. I've been stranded in this strange world for a fairly long time, as you've probably deduced. Optimus begins, the radio on the truck glowing faintly with each word. You're my first reasonable company since Kaa. And I'm honored to meet brave warriors such as yourselves.

"Reasonable" company alright. Leonidas says, glancing at Kaa. She obliviously flash V signs with her gloved hands.

Looking outside (or well, whoever is closest to the window) will reveal to the group that Moonrise Grave appear to vanish, buildings, lights, streets and women inhabitants fading to nothing once he get far enough. And in the meantime, the way ahead of them spontaneously manifest into existence. Aside from one constant : a tall building, with a yellow "M" marked unto it.

And on the left, there resides Moonrise Crypt, the enormous structure standing tall on top of its mountain, large beams of white light illuminating the murder fortress for all to see.

... I have been unable to make much headway against Ketheric Thorm and Azura, but that is only because we've been lacking trustworthy allies. Optimus continues. Kaa and I have discovered a stronghold within Moonrise Grave - the city we are surrounded by-. Ketheric appears to be guarding something within it rather fiercely. And we believe that it might be holding something of importance to Thorm. Something he, for some reason, cannot hold within the confines of his fortress.

Interesting. Keep him talking - the others are involved in fights I have to attend to.

But we can't storm it because I couldn't hold a sword until recently... and we're just two and they're... a lot in there. Even for us two... Kaa continues, sounding neutral, but trying to look bashful.

Edited by Bolded1 on May 13th 2024 at 4:11:14 PM

Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.

AoN

Recon

EMIYA, stunned from the mental attack, just falls onto the floor. Right on his face. Ow. how's that E rank in luck working for ya EMIYA

There's not much he can do other than attempt to recover, but he's stunned for the turn as his mind tries to put itself back together.

Library

Nu, seeing as how the attack coming for Noah got blocked, rushes along on a torrent of stone towards Balthazar. She's surprisingly quick, and her form is picking up stone rubble, making a shield around her- hopefully, for long enough for her to reach the necromancer.

"Gunter, now!"

Nu calls out, throwing herself at Balthazar and aiming to tackle the man. She's pointy- it'll cut more than anything.

Noah's still down... but he can sense there's still trouble.

No... I've... gotta get up...

His hand twitches, barely inching towards his fallen sword.

I won't let everyone else die just because I'm a liability..!

Something within Noah is stirring.

Shadows

Pyre takes her Moonlantern off of the staff its on and clips it to her belt. The light still shines through and around her- handy.

"I don't trust this, either... this reeks of a betrayal down the line."

Pyre's other hand is still on her sword. She's ready for a fight, or for the act to drop.

Edited by RainbyPlays on May 13th 2024 at 10:52:27 AM

aeiou

Ashes of Nohr

Armoury

Save

• > Ashes of Nohr - Armoury
• A Bonanza of Bros

Following the Knight's backhand, "Pyra" crashes off position, but quickly gets back on their feet. With the new context to what the Knight is doing, the sequence of attacks from the previous post gains new meaning as well!

The umbrella strikes are targeted at the Knight's feet, in an attempt to make him lose balance, fall over and spit fire upwards as to not hurt anyone else. While "Pyra" has fire resistance, the force witnessed can still lead to knockback issues. They have to at least neutralise the Knight before they can do any damage to them, their teammates and especially the orb.

Gotta also try to stun the Knight with something they would like to try in combat for a while now.

| You |

(I hope this will work and temporarily blind and distract them... Actually, do they even have eyes?)

They do need to signal their teammates to cover their eyes though...

| You |

"Salazar, I need your help!"

This is followd by a quick motion of covering their eyes and pointing towards several teammates, signalling a request for Salazar to help tell their teammates to cover their eyes for a flashbang attack as Salazar fires his Vallite shots.

Quickly pulling out the TvTropes UI, "Pyra" quickly flicks the toggle for Night Vision several times, with the rapid change between light and dark modes acting like a flashbang. As this is happening, Ravenos enlarges to pick up the Typhoon into the air to guard it from the fire.

They then swap to their trusty Katawa Shoujo UI and mumbling something that can't be heard this time around. A textbox spawns, and hey make a pounding motion, slamming the textbox from a Ui Hologram to a tangible weapon. Grabbing the now corporeal end with both hands, "Pyra" pulls the entire textbox into reality to perform an overhead swing to whack the Knight in the head in another attempt to stun him and stop the fire.

Successful or not, "Pyra" then suspends the textbox midair to act as a platform to avoid the fire, and provide high ground for teammates. The only drawback is that they can't express their thoughts out loud as the textbox will also broadcast it for everyone to see.

So they instead display several upwards arrows and Tigger emotes on the textbox in an attempt to signal their teammates to jump up onto the platform and snipe foes from there.

Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin

Ashes of Nohr

LIBRARY

   "This is not as effective as it should be. We're vulnerable from the sides."   , Dracus says.

   "Then we switch things up. Our ally behind the shelves is using a strange weapon to strike the distant undeads. Though they aren't going down."   

   "Then we finish them off."   

The two quickly lower their shields again despite that being a bit risky, then hold it in front of them as they charge forward, looking to bash away any Necromites that get in the way. Once they reach the wounded mage Necromites, Karzon swings his flail as he prepares to lunge.

   "The old man said there's no more time to check the doors, but we are close to them. Deal with those abominations and I'll take care of that."   , Dracus says. Karzon snorts, of course Dracus would take the easier option right now. Regardless, this is no time for an argument.

As Karzon goes in to try to overwhelm and take out the wounded mage Necromites, Dracus turns to the two doors and, after a moment of thinking as the Library around him is being destroyed from his current allies' attacks, tries to open the right door right as Balthazar makes his debut.

Neither Dracus or Karzon is in a position to try to stop Balthazar from resurrecting the Necromites, so they have to leave the task of bringing Gunter here to their allies.

—

TRANSFORMERS

The sight of the truck gives Vladek pause yet again. Their supposed ally is a bigger version of those iron travesties that stand unmoving on the road?

Regardless, when Optimus Prime is close enough he approaches without hesitation. He looks the driver over, who he assumes is the ally they were here to meet. What's that thing he's wearing? Some sort of tavern hat? Does he work in a tavern? Is the tavern in that metal thing?

Clearly the world ended up evolving in a way that Vladek finds difficult to comprehend.

Anyhow, he too moves to get in, doing so once Leonidas, Kaa and Vi are all in, meaning he'll probably end up at the window seat. It's a good thing Kaa is thin and small, because Vladek's armor takes up a good bit of space.

Wait, where'd the tavern man go? Was he a ghost all along too?

Despite having armor on, he doesn't mind the heat, which at least means everyone else can warm up without any complaining from his end-

A voice then comes from the radio, startling Vladek for a moment. Now he realizes - this giant metal thing they're inside of right now is the ally they were told about. This stuff is all becoming less comprehensible by the minute. But it'll be worth it in the end, Vladek figures, when he'll get his hands on more powerful magic.

He notices that this 'Optimus Prime' is vouching for Kaa. Which means that either she's trustworthy after all, or they're both in cahoots. Given that Gunter told them to come find the former, Vladek assumes Optimus Prime has their best intentions in mind. So for now he chooses to relax on the Kaa situation.

He listens as Optimus Prime talks, and this talk of something kept within a stronghold intrigues him immediately.

   "Then we shall fight, and I shall provide us with enough soldiers to make a siege on the stronghold possible."   , Vladek says, both to Optimus Prime and Kaa.    "My knights are large in numbers. I would be shocked if they failed to rival the enemies' amount."   

In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.

With Emiya thankfully stunned, Red Hood decides to pounce on this opportunity. Advancing on the downed Demented Spirit, he throws down a few more grenades in a bid to clear out the Necromites obstructing his path before opening fire once again in the hopes of gunning down Emiya, should his plan to deal with the Necromites succeed.

---

Relieved that he and his allies didn't have a chaotic wild card to contend with on top of everything else, Bucky whirls on the newly-arrived Balthazar.

"Shit. This is gonna complicate things."

After trading out his assault rifle for a shotgun, the metal-armed super soldier climbs up one of the bookshelves and starts blasting away at the corpulent necromancer, jumping to the next shelf just in time to evade Balthazar's poisonous beam.

---

Vi stares incredulously at Kaa as if she'd suddenly revealed herself to be Jinx in disguise.

"Do they just... not have sarcasm where you're from?"

Once the group reaches Optimus in his truck form, she piles in with the others.

"Yeah, not even the brainiest Piltie could've made something like you," she remarks. "Anyway, this stronghold is where we come in, right? These gauntlets oughta be strong enough to bust their door down."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on May 13th 2024 at 5:11:33 AM

Ecclesia - Library

Even as the others assist her in fighting Fleurdelis, she's still worried about the fallen spirit beating them with ease. After all, she defeated Albaz in his dragon form many times. She hopes Link will prove her wrong in the end. He's so headstrong like Theo at times.

Ecclesia is tripped up by Fleur's sudden sword swing. So it's true, then...? Fleur is indeed trying to kill her. She's a bit distraught by these news, but Ecclesia will find a way to get to her somehow!

Readying a mighty swing with Rockey-Chan on Fleurdelis, Ecclesia whines, "Why are you so mean, Fleur...? If Theo and Adin saw you like this, they'd be disappointed in you!"

Hopefully, being reminded of her former companions will get Fleur to back down. If not, a possible bop on the head might do the job.

And thusly they marched on through the cave, each footstep splashing lightly in the stream under them, echoing off those ancient gray walls. Children nibbled absentmindedly at their bread—courtesy of Taye—as some moved with the aid of the adventurers who offered their help, while the others walked on their own, one foot in front of the other, living in their own minds as they pushed forwards out of this wretched day and towards whatever yesterday would bring, consequences of battle to be intermingled with the peace of the day after…

Those with their attention to the world rather than their thoughts were grateful to Kana, Medicine, Grace, and Taye. They bowed their heads in quick thanks and murmured words of gratitude, but the frowns had been permanently transfigured onto their lips.

Emilia shuffled on her feet, nearly falling forwards. Ladwin caught her, but she shrugged it off and moved forwards, walking even without his assistance. The old knight was surprised at her sudden burst of strength and recovery—what had brought it on? He was glad for it nonetheless; he had hope, seeing her: for an instant the weakness had been shed away, and there now were hints of the princess beneath.

But before long she had weakened again, slowing as she tripped over her own clumsy legs and stumbling along. Ladwin remained close, but didn’t need to guide her along again until she could no longer move on her own, and before long she couldn’t move at all. The weakness had not only returned, but racked her every muscle, and she needed to be carried in his arms.

She was blisteringly warm one moment and freezing cold the next. Her eyes were half-lidded, fading in and out of focus, and she murmured beneath her breath.

"Just a few moments longer," Ladwin told her. By now, far ahead of them, they saw distant glimmers of light. "Just hang on."

At one point, once the more normal among their numbers had grown weary and tired, they caught a glimpse of the moon’s reflection on water outside of the cave, only twenty meters away. It invigorated them and they kept pushing. Emilia grew lucid enough to call for her sister.

"Mia," she whispered once the girl drew near. A faint smile appeared on her pale face. She reached a hand out, clenched in a fist. "She gave it…to me. Entrusted me, she—mother…now, it’s yours. You, you need…you need to keep it safe. Keep it safe. No matter what…"

Mia’s hands shook as she reached out for her sister’s. The eldest sibling unfurled her fingers and into Mia’s palm dropped a lustrous golden ring.

"Keep it," Mia urged in a hushed tone, trying to force it back into her hand, but Emilia would not hold it. "We’re almost there, we’ll get you help, we’ll find out how to…"

By the time they exited the cave, Emilia was dead.

…

They shambled out into the night. The noises of battle were gone entirely now, replaced by the primitive howling songs of orcs celebrating their victory in a dark tongue. The stars were blocked by the blackened smoke poisoning the sky, but the full moon’s light bulged through it, shining down in argent rays.

They emerged at a lake’s side; Dragonsclaw Lake, named so for its jagged crescent shape. Spruce sentinels stood guard at its shore and stretched northwards into a forest; within the trees, a multitude of smoky pillars rose. Ahead of the escapees was a vast, endless plain that pushed eastward. Under the cover of night, the sharpest-eyed among them could only barely make out the faint outline of dark, natural walls, leagues away.

Under the gaze of the ancient city walls built upon the sheer cliff face they had come from, Ladwin slowly laid Emilia upon a flat boulder. He slumped to his knees and bowed his head, hiding his face from Mia. She saw a droplet fall from his face and wet the stone. The knight’s metal gauntlet rose, trembled, clenched into a fist. A sharp clang rang out when he smashed it against the rock.

Then another, and another, and more. The civilians watched in silence. Mia was a statue, staring blankly over the dark lake. Ladwin at last ended his ceaseless assault on the boulder and drew away a damaged glove. On the gray, unfeeling slate was a spread of blood, dripping into a newly formed crack.

Slowly, he rose again, looking away from the others, and into the trees. "We…I…cannot leave her to rot here." You’ve failed. Old fool you are; cannot protect your queen, cannot protect even a girl… "I must…"

But he said no more, and stooped down, taking in hand a palm-sized stone. He lifted it to the boulder and rested it at the corpse’s side, and took another, and another, and another and laid them by her, around her, over her. He could not bury her in the dirt from which she had come, nor in the crypts with her ancestors where she belonged, but he would not leave the princess to rot under a cold, unsympathetic black sky.

The least the girl deserved was shelter, and that was all he had left to give.

Do you believe in 'Gravity'?

DNC - Camp

Alice had been working on assembling some makeshift shelters for whoever might end up here. For all she knew, she'd have company soon... hopefully the good kind. She'd started to smoke and preserve what food she had foraged and caught, as it was much more useful dried and preserved than fresh and quickly rotting.

Piles of soft moss lines the bottoms of a few stick-and-log lean-tos. The tops are covered in needled branches, to make do with the absence of leaves. There's enough for the whole party she had started out with- probably because that was stuck at the forefront of her mind...

Was everyone okay? Did anyone make it out? There was also the most nagging thought on her mind... Taye. She'd never realized how alone she could feel until she lacked that voice in her head...

She keeps the fire going, even as the sun starts to dip below the horizon. She hopes she's not alone. She can't be alone.

???

...what..?

An eerie cold grips @#$%*!'s soul. It can't even bring itself to remember its own name. All they remembered was finishing some spell, and the world going white...

Current state... Corrupted. Initializing data recovery with currently available backups.

Backups..? What does that mea-

Pain blossoms in K@s&$*'s head as some of their memories come into being... Venam. Ren. Meila. Amber. Saki. All gone... all by his own hand.

Ngh- stop..! This isn't right! I shouldn't exist..!

Kush(&'s soul cries out in pain as it's forced back together. Forced to exist after he had erased himself along with everything and everyone else. More memories come back. Talon. Tesla. Everyone and everything he ever knew...

STOP THIS!! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!! I DON'T WANT TO EXIST!! I'VE DONE MY JOB, ISN'T THAT ENOUGH?!

Kushoi was shaking like a leaf, his hands trying to tear and pull at his own skin. He can see a light getting brighter within the darkness. A body made anew for a broken, anguished soul.

No... I don't... I shouldn't...

He hits the light and fades away, being sent to somewhere... where, he doesn't know.

Edited by RainbyPlays on May 13th 2024 at 9:33:25 AM

aeiou

DNC

Hange stood, silently, beside Ladwin, as he laid into the rock until his fist was bloody. When he began to bury Emilia beneath the stones, she stood aside, and left him to put her to her rest. It was only once he had finished that solemn task, that she offered a hand on his shoulder.

"You did well to bring her this far. She's lucky to have someone who cares so much."

Her sympathy is practical. Ladwin knows the way forward, where she does not. But it is not hollow, or born of impatience. In fact, here for the first time, they may have a little time to spare.

And it's something quite peculiar / Something shimmering and white.

DNC

While helping the survivors move through the tunnels, Taye had spent much of the time watching out for dangers on the others' behalf. It thus came as a surprise, when there were indeed no dangers here.

Emilia, however, was not so lucky. The corruption got to her, and it was clear she would not last for long. The most Taye could do, was to hear her last words. That was why Taye paid attention when Mia was called over, and she caught a glimpse of the object that Frilda died protecting.

A simple gold ring. Perhaps it had details not visible from a distance, but to think a whole kingdom was razed for something so unassuming... But that was something to think about later. For now, Emilia was to be mourned.

When Ladwin started his assault upon the rock, Taye stayed away, instead opting to keep close to Mia. She did not know how much comfort she was to the redheaded princess, but surely every little bit helps.

Patiently, she waited for the clanging to stop.

The first thing Taye did after, was to pull out a cloth and wipe the boulder where Ladwin punched it. With a single swipe, every last drop of the blood was gone. Surely Emilia wouldn't want the blood of her bodyguard upon her own grave. And when Ladwin got to work picking up stones, so did she, nabbing a nicely-shaped stone and moving to place it near Emilia.

"Mia?" Taye pointed to another smooth stone, not too far away. "That one looks pretty, could you get it please?"

She looked to one of the more able-bodied children, then indicated a rounded pebble by their feet. "That's a cute stone, are you able to bring it over?"

She gestured to a large, flat, heavy-looking rock. "Kana, I think you should handle that one. Emilia would like a weighted blanket."

Taye kept going, picking up more & more stones, roping in as many willing people as possible to help with Ladwin's efforts. They would find a unusually large abundance of nice smooth stones in the area, all the better to shelter Emilia with.

While picking up rocks, Taye slowly drifted closer to Mia. "My... deepest apologies," she whispered, allowing Mia to continue from there if she so wished.

As Taye's hand reached for the fifth rock, her sole painted fingernail gleamed in the moonlight, showing off its ocean blue color. Memories of a loved one came back to her, and she found herself looking around not just for rocks, but for signs of a certain someone who had been separated from the group much earlier on. She already watched two good people die, she can't bear to lose another...

Edited by Hotpizza on May 14th 2024 at 12:57:51 AM

Ashes, Machine Mayhem

   "Small human! Shoot!"    D'Vorah hissed to Salazar, pointing with a pincer at the Knight before leaping towards the Githyanki faced by Sawdust, intending to impale it through the chest from behind and rip its heart out with her pincer; such would make for a fine snack.

…

If there was some comfort or reassurance to be found in Gunter’s words, Pucci hadn’t a clue where they were.

What he said made sense on paper, sure, but he was no closer to understanding the truth of what exactly had happened to Gunter. And at least he knew—or at least Gunter would have him believe—that his intentions were not wholly malicious towards them.

Yet.

For even now, Gunter made efforts to plant seeds in his mind—Pucci was blind to many things, but Gunter’s manipulation was not one of them. Oh, he noticed the man’s words: attempting to earn his favor, perhaps, by praising him—"The ones I could call bright beside you are the evil ones"; appealing to emotion—"You know that he was fragilized by what happened"; and even attempting to turn his attention elsewhere—"Between you and me, and while I do intend to keep the unity, his wife is the one hiding things from him".

Pucci considered Gunter’s dialogue, of course, and made sure to remember them well, for only a fool would disregard that which challenged his thinking, but everything from the man’s lips came with less than a grain of salt’s worth of merit to him. He processed everything and believed nothing.

But in spite of that, something Gunter said had stood out to him. The priest asked:    "You said you’re our ally…until Kenjaku goes down. What happens then? I don’t expect you intend to simply say your goodbyes and leave Corrin—or us—happily in peace…"   

——

Over the Arena, Cittufeni flew.

He flew over Astil, where he stopped to watch the copper Swampmarchers stomp across the wetlands, drawing up and purifying water for nearby villages. He flew over Onyxis, where he saw a man battling a bear. He flew over Estraole, where children played in the sunflower meadows below. He flew over Lourent, where he watched a reanimated skeleton ambush a group of soldiers and cut them into ribbons.

He flew over Hub Centralis and stopped, and watched with arms crossed. Something was wrong.

He sensors picked up a number of disturbances; the temperature in the immediate area was dropping starkly, the seismic activity below him was rapidly increasing, and—

All at once the night sky exploded with action.

A crimson orb from the side sped towards him, but not nearly as fast as the laser who’s heat signature he picked up from behind or the bright green flame fired from above.

Cittufeni ducked backwards to avoid the orb as it flew past, weaved through the barrage of lasers from behind, and dodged the flames by flying around them. A massive buzzsaw missed his shoulder by a mere few inches and another laser, more powerful than the barrage, would’ve struck his arm had he not lifted it. There was more coming, and all of them he intended to dodge, when the orb returned and exploded in his face. The impact sent him flipping head over heels backwards only for some colossal object to ram into him from behind, massive metal jaws biting down and threatening to crush his arm.

From below, Kado observed the whole thing. He lifted an eyebrow at the odd fight, before realizing that the tiny speck in the sky was being assailed by a series of giant, mechanical threats:

Skeletron Prime, a truck sized metal head with four arms that hovered around it, each ending in a unique tool of violence and utter destruction.

The Twins, two giant floating eyeballs—one with a green iris, and one red—connected by a metal cord that pulsed crimson, almost akin to a retina in design.

And lastly, the one currently plummeted closer to the ground with Cittufeni in its jaws, the Destroyer. What could best be described as a "fucking huge robot worm", each segment glowing with some arcane power.

The fight was rapidly approaching the ground—and thankfully, this was one of the more abandoned areas of HC, where the lights of the apartments had been turned off for nearly a decade and the buildings had gone to rot and decay, vines crawling along their sides. Minimal casualties, at least…

He’d ought to fight, the Jedi reasoned, before their brawl could reach towards other, more densely populated areas of the city. And so, as the Destroyer smashed its head (and Cittufeni with it) into the pavement and dragged closer down the street towards Kado, he ignited his golden lightsaber.

Edited by ISZATSO on May 13th 2024 at 10:43:08 AM

Do you believe in 'Gravity'?

Centralis - Mechanical Mayhem

Kushoi was looking out over Centralis from a rooftop. He had a distant, contemplative look on his face.

Why..? Why did I have to survive..?

His survivor guilt session was cut short by a sudden rumbling sound as the building he was standing atop was demolished at the bottom.

"!"

He quickly calls one of his Pokemon into existence.

"Let's go, Pyro."

Pyro is reacting to Kushoi's Code: Mega!

Pyro Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard X!

In the span of less than a second, he's taken to the air on a Mega Charizard X,◊ which simply seemed to... appear?

They dive towards the fight, Kushoi landing on a different building as Pyro takes off.

"Pyro, use Overheat."

The Mega Charizard inhales before unleashing a huge jet of flame at Skeletron Prime, the resulting blast hitting all of the arms at once.

Pyro's Sp. Attack harshly fell!

Kushoi is still wondering why they even did this. Was it a sense of guilt? Trying to make up for what they did? They can't bring themselves to fight directly, instead relying on their Pokemon like they always used to.

God, I'm pathetic... I should've jumped in too, but here I am, hiding behind my Pokemon like a coward... Maybe I deserve this. I probably deserve all of this.

Edited by RainbyPlays on May 13th 2024 at 11:18:44 AM

aeiou

Wiz would quickly move his attention to the first Demented spirit, watching Link be attacked by the cleaves and grabbed to attempt to slam him into the others. If it would succeed, he'd be able to avoid it by jumping back and then ducking under Link's flailing body. Though, whatever was happening clearly hasn't ended yet — as Wiz continues to hold up his magic circle as he shoots more blobs of this bubblegum like substance at the Necromites, this time much bigger than the first. These completely engulf them, leaving them stuck in opaque pink spheres that bounce slightly before just rolling.

Though, he'd stop upon seeing the new enemy that just showed up... Looks like things were getting more chaotic now, he thought. Upon looking at him begin his spell, he recognized that glow from anywhere... And to feel that evil magic... He was planning on reviving all the enemies that THEY had just spent precious time obliterating?! Absolutely not! With that, he gripped his staff, pointing it at Balthazar... And it almost seemed to be coming to life?

"Extend!"

The hands that had been twisted together, making the perpetual hand signs of "rock on" suddenly came to life, creaking and cracking sounds being heard as the hands moved slowly at first, not unlike an elderly person, but they adjusted fast, the hands opening as they shot towards Balthazar, growing in size as they attempted to grab him abd stop his spell in it's tracks...

Armory

The Knight had continued spewing flames until the bullets hit him, causing him to stumble backwards as the flanes stopped prematurely. It was him VS all of them... But somehow, he didn't seem to care all that much. The "flashbang" didn't seem to phase him as he ran towards Salazar with his fist reeled back to get into a bit of melee combat with him. Can't let him use those guns after all.

However, he would be interrupted by seeing "Pyra" take out a text box... Only for it to be sent at him?! Somehow, he wasn't as surprised as he should be. Instead, he grabs on the sword on his chest, causing a ring of fire to form around him before he rips it out right before the box would have hit in an overhead slash, slicing the box in two. The Knight continues forward however, now using the blade to try and slash Salazar again, since the gun was the thing on his mind right now.

I'm finally a big boy!

DNC

After crossing safely the cave, Grace puts Joy on a lush patch of grass near the lake, where he can take care of him and heal him. But, there was conmotion near this place...

Grace went to watch the funeral of Emilia, silently. He puts some stones on her resting place, and then bows before her, tears rolling on his face.

---

Ashes of Nohr

Recon

Corrin...

Beruka...

Attack!

The trio orders them to attack the Necromites shielding EMIYA, so they have free field to fire a triple blast of soda at him.

---

Library

Wh- Who are you?

Zamba and Nina noticed Balthazar, but it's too late for them: he fired his green "beams" of lethal gas.

Zamba... I don't feel so good... *cough*

The kid whips from his coat pocket two cloth masks. He puts one on Nina's nose and mouth, and he wears one himself. It would not be much, but they can lessen the amount of noxious gas they breath.

Stay here, Nina.

Gathering every pound of will power, and fighting against the nausea, Zamba walks slowly towards Balthazar. He has in a hand the book just picked as a shield, and the glass knife he got from Fores in thd other.

Gunther... I'm approaching him... Please, stop him.

---

Armory

Thanks to D'Vorak, both sisters are free from enemies. Cardboard notices the freaking textbox platform that "Pyra" materialized.

I'll go to grab some weapons. You step on this platform and shot every foe you see.

Sawdust jumps with help of a small burst of water from the suit "legs", and arrives to the platform top, where she can fire nails at the foes... But just a moment, because the box got slashed in two. With another burst of water, she returns to her place and aims for the Knight.

Meanwhile, Cardboard jumps to the armory, thinking what weapons she will steal.

Edited by BombonBombin on May 13th 2024 at 12:01:31 PM

Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated... Yet.

DNC

It was always unfortunate to lose a patient, even if Medicine wasn't overly attached to them. She felt the need to say something to Ladwin though.

"Sorry I couldn't do more. Curses of that caliber aren't my area of expertise." She sighed. She idly wondered if she could have done anything else but with how pressed for time they had been she couldn't have gotten any close examinations or experiment with solutions.

---

Shadows of Nohrdor

Rumia sniffs "Refia" and looks deep in thought before speaking.

   "Well I know Refia but I also know this is not Refia but maybe notRefia is also nice like Refia even if notRefia is not Refia but she could help us like Refia and notRefia can knock out baddies like Refia though maybe she has different powers since she's notRefia and she kinda smells like Wriggle but not as flowery so maybe notRefia is also notWriggle or maybe not."   

Beat.

   "So yeah she can join us."    Rumia adds. She opts to stick with notRefia since they have two lanterns and thus would need to buddy up to get through the shadows.

She either doesn't notice Shadowfart contemplating ending Pure or doesn't care. Probably the former. The unnerving sounds don't even register to her as spooky.

"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."

Ashes of Nohr

Armoury

Save

• > Ashes of Nohr - Armoury
• A Bonanza of Bros

The textbox misses, which actually gives "Pyra" more time to suspend it in the air. The moment they step onto it and signal their teammates to get on though (with Sawdust getting on), the textbox gets sliced in half (and Sawdust jumping back down as a result), the half "Pyra"'s not stepping on getting launched horizontally before reeled in by Ui.

Now the area looks a lot like Small Battlefield what with 2 platforms above the main ground. Ravenos carefully lays the Typhoon on the other platform as "Pyra" displays the upwards arrows and Tigger emotes for teammates again, especially the now targeted Salazar.

School

Save

• Ashes of Nohr - Armoury
• > After School Hammer Time

We skip forward to after school (without the tea time) here as (2) is about to return home for the day before noticing the Bonanza Bros surrounding a Green Warp Pipe in the middle of the court that wasn't there before. They haven't joined a club per se and there's time, so they've decided to approach and see what's going on.

| You |

"H...hello."

Boomerang Bro is the one to notice and greet them this time around. With (2) seemingly curious about the pipe, guess they'll have to explain as well.

| Boomerang Bro |

"We... didn't really manage to find somewhere to live in here at first but found a Warp Pipe system in this city, so we utilised them to get around and set up a base below campus. The base here is a secret to most others..."

Well, (2) can always just store it in Text History and keep it cached somewhere.

| Boomerang Bro |

"Anyways... wanna come join us as well?"

(2), who is mostly curious about the Warp Pipe system, decided to hop into the pipe after them, with the pipe closing above them.

(2) now visualises a map UI with pipes around similar to the fast travel system in Superstar Saga. There's pipe symbols all across campus, the Metro station and even the shops close to "Pyra" and therefore (2)'s apartment building.

(2) can also visualise symbols depicting each Bro and the Lily symbol depicting themselves on the map. The Bros all chose the pipe leading to Underground Base (with Fire Bro almost choosing the music room representing their poor sense of direction).

(Warp Pipe Noises)

(2) arrives at an underground 3-bedroom apartment, with Gold Bro having their own bedroom. The living room contains a lot of training dummies, a conspiracy board with a map of the entire Arena denoting possible locations of other scattered Koopa Troop members, and a television shaped like the platform used in Bowser's Fire Bar Fury. Fundamentally not a very complex place, yet aesthetics wise is very Mushroom Kingdom.

Guess what, they play instruments as well!

| Fire Bro |

"Ah, we sometimes play music in the music room when other clubs aren't using it but it's booked today."

Guess the Koopalings rubbed off on them.

What's the instrument lineup, you may ask? Hammer Bro is on drums (shaped like a series of Koopa shells with cymbals being Buzzy Beetle shells instead), Fire and Ice Bros are on guitars (with the colouration of their respective flower), Boomerang Bro is on bass (with the neck having the colour pattern of their boomerangs) and Gold Bro is on keyboard (with coin symbols on the white keys).

Yep, a lunatic fusion between various Bros, Houkago Tea Time and the Crimson Squad. Only in the Arena.

Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin

DM Post: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14315151240A21923900&page=15476#comment-386878

Previous Post: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14315151240A21923900&page=15475#comment-386864

Ashes of Nohr

Moonrise Crypt - RECON

With Red Hood throwing some grenades while Corrin and Beruka getting called on to clear necromites out of the way, Charlian used this opportunity to leap into the air and held Gae Bolg like a javelin. The muscles in his right arm bulged and flexed as he prepared to hurl the weapon at the Demented Spirit, aiming to take out EMIYA in one shot while he's still reeling from the mental attack so he doesn't have another opportunity to scatter them. Charlian won't be using it as the Soaring Spear That Strikes with Death, since a simple spear throw to the heart will do.

However, in the split second before the young man actually launches the attack, a thought flashed through his mind. He realized that this would be his first time actually killing someone, even if they're not exactly human. Will he really be able to dirty his hands and deal with whatever consequences coming his way, no matter what it is? Will he truly be able to live with the fact that he's ending EMIYA's life permanently?

That thought did not stop his body from taking action, as those doubts are miniscule compared to his overwhelming desire to assist others. It didn't take long for that sliver of doubt to be overpowered by the fighting instinct of Cu Chulainn and the confidence brought by Apollo's power, and for the spear to leave his hand a second later. It soared through the air and went straight for EMIYA's heart, glowing with Apollo's power so it pierces through any remaining necromites that might shield him. Charlian landed on his feet and exhaled deeply before silently observing whether it hits.

---

Apollo's Radiant Image:

• The tie bian's striking power is greatly enhanced.
• The tie bian is shrouded in a sheath of light, greatly extending its reach.
• His movement speed is now enhanced and can Daze nearby enemies when sprinting.
• After breaking an enemy's defense (e.g. armor, barrier), the next attack's power is doubled.
• When parrying an enemy's attack perfectly, temporarily blind them with an intense flash of light.
• All damages dealt (even strikes using his fists and feet) are now radiant as well as physical.
• All attacks are strengthened by a small significant degree until he's struck.
• An aura of light constantly surrounds him, earning him the ire of the wretched undead but simultaneously make them more inclined to keep their distance.

Cu Chulainn's Feral Strength:

• Servant Parameters: gains enhanced physicality (especially Endurance and Agility) but drastically worse Luck.
• Class Skill - Magic Resistance C
• Personal Skill - Battle Continuation A
• Personal Skill - Disengage C
• Personal Skill - Divinity B
• Personal Skill - Rune Magecraft B
• Personal Skill - Protection from Arrows B
• Noble Phantasm - Gae Bolg

Edited by cyzja922 on May 14th 2024 at 11:21:59 AM

"I know you're here, Kenjaku. You big fucking nerd. Where's my goddamn cheese?"

Armory

D'vorah d'vouring d'Githyanki was d'sgustingly awesome for Mark to witness upon the doors opening, but The Knight is still a problem to deal with. He leaps into the air and spins the blades of chaos around before flailing them straight for the sides of the knight. The blades would lodge themselves into the ground as he shoots himself for The Knight's back with a flaming dropkick!

real

Vandalon IV

The skitarii backed away when Mordran approached, his crimson armor whirring as he knelt in front of Philip and observed the wound.

"Hm. We have nanites that might be able to heal it—it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a better chance than none." He said at last, backing away and rising to his full height once more. "And if not…our prosthetics are some of the greatest in the Imperium, at least. But let us make haste, and not allow it to come to that."

Thorsig flexed his arm and grinned. "He doesn’t lie; half this damn arm is metal!" But the Space Wolf’s smile fell suddenly and he lowered his arm, a grim expression etched upon his face. "But still, original flesh is not something you can so easily get back. So aye, let us move fast and hope for the best."

Mordran nodded at his soldiers and they all tapped away at some device hidden beneath a lid on their mechanical arms. Red and angular hover-bikes with a copious amount of triangles incorporated into their designs materialized beneath each of them and, almost in sync, they swept their legs to either side of the seats and placed hands upon the handles.

The engines hummed silently, but a blue energy, roaring with power, exploded from the thrusters and they were off suddenly, moving from the outskirts of the ancient and ruined town to cross the flat and frozen landscape. Mordran glanced at them, shrinking on the horizon, and then at Thorsig, who lowered himself to his knees. He outstretched both arms, a sly smirk grown on his lips. The space marine said one thing and one thing only to the trio:

"Hop on."

Do you believe in 'Gravity'?

Pica-Verse

Previous

Sora happens to press the purple button first by coincidence, resulting in Emi's counterpart having his voice restored. He sighs as the remote breaks down right after.

"Now what?"

"We regroup and make a plan."

---

Game

Caught in the recovery from his move, Data Monty gets combo'd by the Not-Freddies (Quantum Freddy and Evan), giving Emma and Jax time to use their healing. The Group Potion, despite only Jax using it, heals the whole party, and Emma additionally heals herself back to full.

90/100 Biomass

Gradius also chips away at Data Monty, but after Jax's mighty attack, something is triggered. The Leap Strike knocks him into the air, only for him to recover and land with a slam that shakes the bridges, potentially staggering anyone on them. Except Quantum Freddy, for some reason.

Immediately following this slam, Data Monty steps forward and throws a wild haymaker at Jax, then steps forward and throws another with his other hand, then goes into a rush of punches (not quite at an anime Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs speed tho) before finishing with a jumping Superman punch that could blow Jax away.

Delilah has Charlie jump to avoid the stagger, then roll-spam in and attempt a basic attack. Like Evan, the new format combines three of her moves into a combo, being a Ghost Fist punch, Jumpscare lunge (which can also come before the punch to close the distance if she's not already close to the target), and Infernal Revenge eruption.

A little weirded out by Jax taking such direct action, Cassie panics when Data Monty zeroes in on him, leaving her too stunned to select his Counter Strike skill.

"Press the Y button!"

Cassie quickly does so. If done in time, Jax will be prompted to raise his guard and block the attacks, which will be successful as long as he keeps it up. He can also use a straightforward counterattack, or use the time he has between the first few punches to 'navigate' to Counter Strike on his own, activate it, and soak up the rest.

---

Makai

Previous

Peppino does not do well in this level. It's a brutal slog, and he makes it to the boss gate with a dire need to pee from all the fluids he's had to drink to regulate his temperature.

---

Astil

After an uneasy amount of waiting both in-universe and out, Roxas and Xion come back with Gummiphones, passing them around to whoever is waiting (including Thor and Iris if they've rejoined the others by now).

read the wiki page for all the features

---

Mission: Pursue the Giant Monster - Engie Please Read the Damn Headers

haha, only a minor fire weakness bitch
Malzeno hisses as the blood of Desghidorah scorches his body. It reminds him of a time when his own blood was searing hot. It enrages him further.
He slashes through the Pyroclastic Shot, scattering the lava (which it is now that it's exposed to surface air) away from himself before he continues with a violent flurry of wing slashes.

As for the main event, the drill starts to dig into Godzilla only for him to immediately swat it away before it can get too deep. He rises upright and whirls around, swinging his tail like a whip at Machinedramon's head. He also begins to glow, specifically his pre-Atomic Breath blue.

---

The Drought

Main Plot

A bell jingles as Lumina opens the door. A pleasant aroma wafts in, accompanied by the sound of mingling patrons.

"You can't just order whatever you want," Lupin snickers at Vanilla. "It's a restaurant, after all."

Beyond the door lies a quaint,◊ idyllic restaurant.◊ There are all sorts of folk, all clearly from some medieval fantasy world. The human, the seemingly human, and the very clearly not human. Adventurers and wizards, elves and a lizardman—just the one—all dining together and making merry.

There are two waitresses. One has small demon horns and is otherwise unremarkable. The other looks like an elf, but anyone with a knack for sensing power can tell she is something else—something far greater.

And there, stepping out from behind a screen at the back, is the lone chef. He looks like a normal guy◊—and, again to anyone who can sense power, he basically is one. The restaurant itself has more magic about it than him.

"Hola, Tenshu!" Lupin calls. that would be the Japanese word for "shopkeeper" or "proprietor", not a proper name, but everyone calls him that

"Hello, Lupin. Who are all these folk you've brought with you?"

"They're my helpers for the drought situation I was telling you about last week. Their meals are on me, by the way."

Tenshu scoffs. "If you say so. Help yourselves to seating and feel free to peruse the menu."

The Committee enters, and the door closes behind them.

—

Side Plot

Unfortunately, Luna was noticed and followed.

Zenigata enters the base. "This is where that pest ran off to..."

He notices Luna, but ignores her in favor of inspecting the interior. Supply of food and water, computer, a couple tables and chairs, a strange restaurant door just standing there that has nothing behind it and disappears when he opens it, and...

Uh-oh.

"Hey, what do we have here?" He unfurls the blueprints. "Looks like that well plan I've been hearing so much about."

Then the inspector looks at Luna. "Hey, wait a minute, that must mean this thing is..."

---

Ashes of Nohr

Library

Link gasps, then yelps as he gets pulled along for a ride. However, as Fleurdelis is swinging him, he tucks in and tries to snag her by the shoulders, then simply fall backward, relying on all the heavy gear he carries to give him leverage and throw her overhead, like an impromptu tomoe nage.

—

Armory

Thel 'Vadam glares down the Death Shepherd. He orders the Hunters to part for it while focusing on blocking the ghouls, then throws down a Bubble Shield. In essence, putting himself and his foe in the nonmagical equivalent of Compelled Duel, as the shield blocks attacks going both in and out, but not creatures passing through.
His personal energy shield pops as the Death Shepherd strikes it, saving his fleshy body from harm but leaving him vulnerable for the next few seconds. He stretches one of his long digitigrade legs to his left and pulls himself in that direction with a great big sidestep, then uses the other big strong leg to throw a backspin kick at the undead monster's shoulder.

The Hunters start to back up as the ghouls continue to pressure them. One gets scratched in the 'head', causing a few worm-like bodies to fall from its mass. They both ready the assault cannons built into their arms, but between the actual enemies and the unfriendly fire, they'll take a bit to charge up.

Edited by KiriK on May 14th 2024 at 2:45:34 PM

"He's gearing up for war."

Moonrise Crypt - HQ

I'll be sending you what I've learned in the Library. The group there has amassed precious information.

Gunter sends EVERY GROUP THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NIGHTSONG AND DEMENTED SPIRITS plus the extra tidbits in the non-cursed books. But not the information about the "familiar stranger". That one is not shared.

He does that while talking to Pucci while using his telepathy to talk to everyone at once.

Ah, the golden question. "And then what?" Gunter hadn't figured it out himself but that's because there were benefices to staying as there were benefices to leaving. And he was careful about telling Pucci anything that could reveal his hand.

He needed to still have a role - that of Corrin's loving father figure. So the truth would be foolish to say out loud. But he still needed a bit of that truth in what he was going to say.

I will return to Nohr and await the next disturbance to deal with. But I'll keep in touch with Corrin and Beruka, of course. Gunter says. I am not friends with most of the members of this group. But perhaps I was careless with my wording - with Kenjaku dead, our alliance will lost it's raison d'être and we will go back to being... acquaintances. And we will go our different ways at least until I find a new crisis that would require the attention of the Arena.

It wouldn't make sense for me to betray you anyhow. Beside the ethics of betraying my own son and his allies - I need your help to help defeat Kenjaku. Turning my back against a group that collectively managed to overwhelm and kill him wouldn't be wise. And I haven't gotten this far in life through impulsivity.

I think Corrin has had his fair share of malicious fathers across his time. There is no need to further burden him.

And if you are curious about the pear, I think it should be destroyed. The power to erase memories is a tainted one.

Krakenburg - Hallways

Red Hood's grenades are effective, but Rosita and co give the order at the right time, Beruka and Corrin swooping together (one flying, the other running) to meet at the same time, one with a downward diagonal blow, the other with a upwards diagonal one, both using Omega Yato and their Vallite Axe together to create a grand cross-shaped slash that more than blow away the Necromites. Once again, this leaves EMIYA alone to be lifted up by the soda, shot in the head by Red Hood and impaled by Charlian's downward strike, the attacks all cumulating together in a way that effectively erase him.

All that's left in the end is a single black orb - which Corrin reach for... before pulling his hand away when Beruka shakes her head no. Good work. She says, during the very brief lull in the fight. She glances at Charlian : she'd noticed his hesitation. And while it was brief enough not to affect the fight, she was left a little surprised that this was apparently his first mission.

We will need to kill more like him. You've done well not letting the hesitation slow you down - but it could have been deadly in another situation. Next time, do not hesitate for one instant. Beruka says to Charlian. The others did their job fine. She could tolerate soda guns so long as it worked.

Corrin still seemed a bit struck by everything as he observed the Memorlye sitting in front of them. This is apparently the core of the Demented Spirit. It's melded with the soul to give them their bizarre powers. You should- Beruka crush it under foot while heading for Corrin, putting her hand on his shoulder and kneeling next to him in brief silence. Hm. Satisfying.

For his part, feeling her touch remind him of two things - that he had allies and that they needed to get going. After all, the Kagura Squad might be tending to the Necromites in the back, but they could swarm at any moment.

I'm sorry. He turns to her, looking despondent. Beruka answers him with a smile, though it's strained due to them not being out of danger yet!

Don't be. You're doing excellent and- Right as Beruka is about to continue, the torches sufficiently in front of them (and behind them) across the hall turn off, plunging the hallway in darkness apart from the part where the group is very specifically in. The Necromites still being faced by the Kagura Squad, despite keeping their numbers, suddenly freeze in place and turn tail, fleeing the hallway.

There's a slight pause in the air as- Let's run. Beruka advises the group. No point in sticking around and watching, right? Corrin take her statement to heart, turning around and quickly running down the hallway. There's some water this way! Follow me! He tell the group. And they might want to apply his advice, because a summoning circle appear in the middle of the way. A towering one, easily covering most of the hallway.

It has thick black edges with the tips of golden arrowheads sticking out of it, and smaller red edges between them and the "arrowheads". The middle of the circle is a rotating red star with a black flame in the middle, which appear to grow with every passing second. A fact the star itself displays on the white sections of the circle, between the tips of the red star : 7, then 6, then 5.

There's a heavy thud with every second passing by. The circle grows wider and brighter, slowly crawling up the very walls. And the torch grow dimmer and dimmer, soon plunging the entire hallway in darkness.

The more it goes, the more the flame take a shape as it burns brighter and grow larger. The sigil of Nohr : whatever was coming on that side, it had a strong tie to the Country of Dusk. And that meant Corrin would rather be brawling with Thorm than having a glimpse at whatever was coming out.

C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'monnn! Corrin run desperately, tears forming at the edges of his eyes as he violently shove his way into a particular wooden door at the end of the hallway, vanishing from the group's sight for a moment. Beruka accelerate her pace in answer, but doesn't yell his name, for it get caught in her throat. Even she is feeling a very disagreeable pression upon her shoulders.

At that moment, she had two priorities : making sure Corrin was alive, and running.

Moonrise Crypt - Library

From Nu's head, a red beam shoot out and impact Balthazar, way too fast for him to register or dodge. The green light in his hand dims. And he frown at the realization. Hm? That isn't a counterspell you just cast... Balthazar sees Nu coming his way and just hover a bit further, letting her and Wiz's hand sail past him. He also float to the side, distant from the rest of the group.

Elsewhere, Dracus and Karzon will make a lucky discovery - behind each door is a thin but deep little 'pool of water... and apparently nothing else beyond that. A convenient discovery. A very'' convenient discovery.

You have done well! Now quick, you have to escape from there!

   Magic like that isn't one you just learn in a book. And you bear no traces of ceremorphosis either! How curious! Unless...    The shotgun blast impact Balthazar, punching holes in his body, but he doesn't care one bit. Pain is welcomed and physical damage like that cannot faze an undead. In fact, he laughs, coming to some sort of realization he doesn't feel sharing. It doesn't help that he glance at Nina and her gas mask.

   Having Master Thorm as an enemy is already foolish. But having that as an ally is even moreso! Oh, you truly are lining up to my dissection table!    Balthazar slaps his hands together, holding them there for a second before slowly separating them, allowing a sickly green light to illuminate his face, with it twisted into a dark smile.    A spell like this one won't be negated so easily. And your corpses should be solid enough for a thorough study afterwards!   

Get out of there! I won't be able to stop that spell he's doing! There's pools above for you to jump into!

Fleurdelis laughs at Ecclesia, and zooms forward as a blur, although she attempts to smash through the stone directly to Noah. She doesn't really care about being caught in the incoming Cloudkiller : she care about making sure people stay in the area of Cloudkiller with her.

Bah, you think I'd care about their approval?!

That, and with the others not appearing to pay much attention to her (despite being a violent armored swordswoman in their midst) she's relatively free to attack him - the stone will only hold for one blow before she cleave through!

Armory

The Death Shepherd is toppled to the side by Arbiter's kick, but it try to keep its footing by planting its sword into the ground... though the toughness of the floor make the tip of the sword bounce off, making the Death Shepherd fall to the ground in a way that would probably make it very embarrassed if it had the mental capacity/consciousness/sentience to express that.

As a result, it doesn't strike back immediately.

Salazar grab his head and send it unto the head of the nearest ally, gesturing for the others to cover their eyes. As a result, he does get burned, but it's pretty standard fare for him. So it hurts, but he's able to keep going. And while he fail to get to one of the platforms because of the damage, he try to shoot the Knight again, emptying four bullets at it.

The Death Shepherds and two ghouls (i made a mistake woopsie) approach the entrance of the Armory, turning to the hallway where the fight is going. This might be a problem for later, though at least, the group is able to get rid of the second Githyanki, who perishes when D'Vorah decide to pull off a Fatality on him, having been too distracted by Sawdust and Gunter's Mind Blast to fight back.

At least there's a platform but the ceiling isn't that high.

Shadows

Shadowheart grab her spear and hold it close to her chest, glancing at Pyre. Don't be paranoid. It's just prudent for me to have that weapon out. It wasn't the time yet. Pyre could still be useful. And with Refia around, especially as a sort of... ally, it wouldn't do well to start a fight she'd probably lose.

And Refia herself was already too distracting. Shadowheart watched the demon carefully, aware she could attack and try to kill them at any moment. She didn't know how these Demented Spirits worked, but they were evil and hard to kill apparently. Meaning that she could push them out and grab a lantern. Or just smash them. Who knew? Only Refia did. And Shadowheart wasn't comfortable with that.

Gunter keep silent - he's trying to enter Refia's brain, but find that hard to do due to the two natures within. He doesn't communicate that with the team.

As the group progress, though, they'll begin to see a small green light at the end of their vision. A putrid odor fills the group's nostrils, with Refia gagging a little. It's the smell of corpses. Shadowheart acknowledges a bit too quickly. And as the group walk forward, they'll be able to see that the green light is actually a small pillar of green light. It's pretty thin too - and the tip of it disappear into the seeping darkness all around them.

In the middle of the field is a white altar, with a sickly, crumpled-up little pear sitting on top of it. The aura it exudes is almost as pugnant as the energy field all around it - and obviously enough, should the group try reaching an hand through... That's a dead curse. I don't think I need to be explicit about what it'd does on contact?

Nothing I can't dispel. Shadowheart glares a bit when Refia step to the side, realizing she doesn't trust any of her teammates in this. But still, this was her moment to stand out. The young woman reach out and prepare to apply her spell to undo the curse. But then, right as she does that, a massive shadow looms over to the the group, and she turn around in fright.

It bends and skirt around the light. And soon produce two of its own : two intense orange eyes, looking a bit like a cartoon's character. And then the shadow being's body become thicker and even darker than the Deeper Darkness all around the group, making it visible even in an environment where it shouldn't stand out at all. They'll be able to see something like the shape of an incredibly large bird, with an inavianly long neck, and something like a cheerful smile form on its face, forming a wavy orange line unto it.

   Ooooohhhhhh my! Visitors so soon after the last one? And it's a whole group this time too! Ideal to start a party!   

Wh-

   And at least one of you is already pretty dead! How nice of you!    W-what? I'm... half alive! At least. I think?    Well, three and a half is better than a whole four!    The owl stretch its neck around the group, sizing them up.    The only regular around here is immortal! Can you imagine the gall of that? It's not like he actually has a pulse, but he keep refusing to go to my party! The reincarnated young man looked like a cheerier fellow, but he blew me off! Can you imagine that? I even had a speech prepared and he blew me off! I put a lot of effort into that one too - but he just walked off!   

Y-yes, this is very sad, b-but we're here for-

   The pear? Ooooooooooh dear! No, it won't do! I know this one-    he form a hand out of darkness, and jam it over his shoulder, closing an eye and taking a slightly deeper tone of voice.    It kills your memories... How boring is that? It kills everything you are -your memories, your personality, your dreams- but you still keep a pulse! Isn't that a bit cruel? You should go eat the other Pear Ketheric keeps on himself. This one will kill you good! And if you cut it into bits, you can share it with-   

Shadowheart blinks and look at the rest of the group. With there being only one use for the scroll (meaning there's no other book to decurse), this information is new to the group.

There's more than one pear?!

Refia blinks. Now that was something Azura would want to hear, right? She could probably get back in her good graces if she shared that.

   Ooohhhh, you seem kind of confused. Is this your first time seeing a ghost? I'll answer a bunch of questions for you then! One for each of you, to be more precise! But only if you promise to answer a question of mine afterwards! Alright?! That seems fair! And we can afford to waste a bit of time knowing the party's going to be a long one!   

... A question for each of us? Shadowheart's eyes widen and she cover her mouth in realization.

   Yes! Next?!   

You should try to get further information out of him. Two pears... now that's unexpected.

Moonrise Grave

Hold yer horses. Strongholds aren't all that easy to attack even with just numbers. Leonidas says. I'm not doubtin' my odds of smashing those undead to pieces. But they're a pain in the ass to kill again. Equalizing the numbers won't be enough if we lack the proper tools and knowledge.

Leonidas did consider himself a strong warrior - and he wasn't afraid of taking on gods if needed. But he knew that there was a certain trickiness to taking on enemy fortresses. And while greatly renowned for performing very well (if ultimately to no avail) against a much larger force than his own, Leonidas has the wisdom to know that he owned that particular feat due to being the one defending somewhere where it'd be easy for him to hold the line. But as the attacker? That'd be more difficult.

Doubt we can equip your whole dark army with those things. But once we get all the proper tools, it'll be far easier to launch an attack.

Still, if it had anything important, it had to be breached and conquered. Especially if it was the only place like this in the city. It's just that it couldn't be done now. Because otherwise, the odds were that Vladek's army would spend itself trying to breach though. Besides...

Suddenly, the sky in front of the group briefly illuminate purple, announcing the arrival of a most curious sight for some, a very common one for others : a large red dragon, about the size of a house, its arrival heralding the flight of a bunch more of those, all around the building with the "M" on it. The first dragon unleash a gout of flames at the top of the building, but a sickly green shield is able to block it, forcing the dragons to revise their objectives and fly down instead, near the base of the tower.

A bunch more lights shine down near it, probably transporting smaller or less aerial units.

Would you say that it would be a good time to attack? Optimus asks the group. He would leap on the occasion, but since everyone is inside him technically, he still want to revise their opinions before dragging himself to a soon-to-be-warzone.

Heh, feel like hell of a coincidence, but sure! Let's crack some undead skulls.

Of course they're here too... Whatever you do, you should know that these green things do not know the concept of gratitude. I advise you to be cautious about showing any empathy to these strange figures.

Optimus and Kaa don't appear to acknowledge Gunter's warnings.

Moonrise Grave remain eerily still around the group as Optimus accelerates towards the stronghold. Which appear to be the tallest skyscraper of the area, standing impressively tall even next to its "rivals". It appears to be placed next to the riverside of the area too, making for easy access later, with a bridge leading to another part of Moonrise Grave, this one much less taller.

Kaa doesn't appear to really be reacting to any of it. Seeing the dragons made her go quiet, and knowing that there's a battle ahead convinced her she should ready herself and not be too ditzy.

Vladek. Would you need any time or preparation to summon that army of yours?

If Vladek says "yes", Optimus stops about 75% of the way in, or a bit more. And Leonidas, Kaa, him and Vi will have to get off, emerging by the concrete riverside, overlooking the nameless river piercing through Moonrise Grave. The city light still surround them, but the light of the nearby flames will prove much more illuminating still, echoes of the fight being reflected on the surface of the water nearby.

Whoever or whatever is fighting, one side of the fight involve guns.

Oh, and there's the Merchant too!

WELCOME STRANGERS!

If Vladek does not, then Optimus keep driving. But will see the Merchant on the side, prompting the group to shop if they want.

Nobody really care to notice or point him out.

Upon getting to the tower, the group will see that it appears to be filling out a good portion of the city block by itself - with a large parking garage in front of it that appears to be defended by tall, thick concrete fortifications (standing no less than twenty meters tall) and a large metal door. All of it black and with green energy streaming through it, of course.

The Necromites defending it still have some flesh to them but they also have military uniforms and, most notably, guns they use to try to shoot at the nearby dragons with. In front of the fortifications are blasted ruins, flames having melted the concrete off, but it appears like a forcefield is protecting the defenders from the fury of the dragons above.

Below, Githyankis battle with Necromites, with the former having the advantage, but facing the problem of the Necromites regenerating due to the presence of Death Shepherds atop the fortifications, endlessly casting revival spells to keep the Necromites fighting. Still, the Githyankis are fighting well, running behind blasted rocks and cars to weather the assault of the rifle-undead.

But that seems about to change as more and more reinforcements pour out from within. Namely, ghouls, or the renimated corpses of previous contestants, running into the battlements and dropping unto the battlefield below to start fighting as well, hoping to gradually wear down the Githyankis by sheer numbers. Amongst them is a corpse clad in a patriotic suit, though he's notably missing his shield.

That force field is being maintened by some sorcerers within the... concrete courtyard behind that door. You will need to breach through it to access it. I can summon a shield to clad one of you. And don't forget to focus on that. The "Githyankis" do not deserve any help from your part.

Htak'a! One of the "Githyankis" scream, decapitating a ghoul as Optimus Prime breach into the battlefield, doing a dick drift to let the others get out of the truck as quickly as they can. He stops a dozen meters short of the main gate, which he can't access easily due to the flaming ruins and discarded vehicles on the way. He does proceed to transform into a totally sick robot though, with his Convoy behind him transforming into a large shield and sword for him to wield.

For her part, Kaa unfurls her sword. Whatever it is, it's covered in bandages, with only a few gaps in them to reveal a faded gold beneath. She unfurls draconic-looking wings and take to the sky, overlooking the battle to see who she should easily assist. Just say my name and I'll come to the rescue!

Leonidas grabs his shield, grinning as he start deflecting a few bullets. I'll be your shield. But don't be mad if I go and get more kills than you!

The undead begin targeting the good guys as they arrive, the Githyankis turn to look at them but do not attack, due to a new influx of Ghouls and zombies to deal with.

OPTIMUS PRIME - TANK - AVAILABLE

KAA - ATTACK/TANK - AVAILABLE

GUNTER - ROGUE - AVAILABLE

Edited by Bolded1 on May 14th 2024 at 8:03:10 PM

Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.

Moonrise Crypt - HQ

Ah, the golden question. "And then what?" Gunter hadn't figured it out himself but that's because there were benefices to staying as there were benefices to leaving. And he was careful about telling Pucci anything that could reveal his hand.

He needed to still have a role - that of Corrin's loving father figure. So the truth would be foolish to say out loud. But he still needed a bit of that truth in what he was going to say.

I will return to Nohr and await the next disturbance to deal with. But I'll keep in touch with Corrin and Beruka, of course. Gunter says. I am not friends with most of the members of this group. But perhaps I was careless with my wording - with Kenjaku dead, our alliance will lost it's raison d'être and we will go back to being... acquaintances. And we will go our different ways at least until I find a new crisis that would require the attention of the Arena.

It wouldn't make sense for me to betray you anyhow. Beside the ethics of betraying my own son and his allies - I need your help to help defeat Kenjaku. Turning my back against a group that collectively managed to overwhelm and kill him wouldn't be wise. And I haven't gotten this far in life through impulsivity.

I think Corrin has had his fair share of malicious fathers across his time. There is no need to further burden him.

And if you are curious about the pear, I think it should be destroyed. The power to erase memories is a tainted one.

Krakenburg - Hallways

Red Hood's grenades are effective, but Rosita and co give the order at the right time, Beruka and Corrin swooping together (one flying, the other running) to meet at the same time, one with a downward diagonal blow, the other with a upwards diagonal one, both using Omega Yato and their Vallite Axe together to create a grand cross-shaped slash that more than blow away the Necromites. Once again, this leaves EMIYA alone to be lifted up by the soda, shot in the head by Red Hood and impaled by Charlian's downward strike, the attacks all cumulating together in a way that effectively erase him.

All that's left in the end is a single black orb - which Corrin reach for... before pulling his hand away when Beruka shakes her head no. Good work. She says, during the very brief lull in the fight. She glances at Charlian : she'd noticed his hesitation. And while it was brief enough not to affect the fight, she was left a little surprised that this was apparently his first mission.

We will need to kill more like him. You've done well not letting the hesitation slow you down - but it could have been deadly in another situation. Next time, do not hesitate for one instant. Beruka says to Charlian. The others did their job fine. She could tolerate soda guns so long as it worked.

Corrin still seemed a bit struck by everything as he observed the Memorlye sitting in front of them. This is apparently the core of the Demented Spirit. It's melded with the soul to give them their bizarre powers. You should- Beruka crush it under foot while heading for Corrin, putting her hand on his shoulder and kneeling next to him in brief silence. Hm. Satisfying.

For his part, feeling her touch remind him of two things - that he had allies and that they needed to get going. After all, the Kagura Squad might be tending to the Necromites in the back, but they could swarm at any moment.

I'm sorry.

Don't be. You're doing excellent and- Right as Beruka is about to continue, the torches sufficiently in front of them (and behind them) across the hall turn off, plunging the hallway in darkness apart from the part where the group is very specifically in. The Necromites still being faced by the Kagura Squad, despite keeping their numbers, suddenly freeze in place and turn tail, fleeing the hallway.

There's a slight pause in the air as- Let's run. Beruka advises the group. No point in sticking around and watching, right? Corrin take her statement to heart, turning around and quickly running down the hallway. There's some water this way! Follow me! He tell the group. And they might want to apply his advice, because a summoning circle appear in the middle of the way. A towering one, easily covering most of the hallway.

It has thick black edges with the tips of golden arrowheads sticking out of it, and smaller red edges between them and the "arrowheads". The middle of the circle is a rotating red star with a black flame in the middle, which appear to grow with every passing second. A fact the star itself displays on the white sections of the circle, between the tips of the red star : 7, then 6, then 5.

There's a heavy thud with every second passing by. The circle grows wider and brighter, slowly crawling up the very walls. And the torch grow dimmer and dimmer, soon plunging the entire hallway in darkness.

The more it goes, the more the flame take a shape as it burns brighter and grow larger. The sigil of Nohr : whatever was coming on that side, it had a strong tie to the Country of Dusk. And that meant Corrin would rather be brawling with Thorm than having a glimpse at whatever was coming out.

C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'monnn! Corrin run desperately, tears forming at the edges of his eyes as he violently shove his way into a particular wooden door at the end of the hallway, vanishing from the group's sight for a moment. Beruka accelerate her pace in answer, but doesn't yell his name, for it get caught in her throat. Even she is feeling a very disagreeable pression upon her shoulders.

At that moment, she had two priorities : making sure Corrin was alive, and running.

Moonrise Crypt - Library

From Nu's head, a red beam shoot out and impact Balthazar, way too fast for him to register or dodge. The green light in his hand dims. And he frown at the realization. Hm? That isn't a counterspell you just cast... Balthazar sees Nu coming his way and just hover a bit further, letting her sail past him.

Elsewhere, Dracus and Karzon will make a lucky discovery - behind each door is a thin but deep little 'pool of water... and apparently nothing else beyond that. A convenient discovery. A very'' convenient discovery.

You have done well! Now quick, you have to escape from there!

   Magic like that isn't one you just learn in a book. And you bear no traces of ceremorphosis either! How curious! Unless...    The shotgun blast impact Balthazar, punching holes in his body, but he doesn't care one bit. Pain is welcomed and physical damage like that cannot faze an undead. In fact, he laughs, coming to some sort of realization he doesn't feel sharing.

   Having Master Thorm as an enemy is already foolish. But having that as an ally is even moreso! Oh, you truly are lining up to my dissection table!    Balthazar slaps his hands together, holding them there for a second before slowly separating them. In the palms of his hand, there

Moonrise Grave

Hold yer horses. Strongholds aren't all that easy to attack even with just numbers. Leonidas says. I'm not doubtin' my odds of smashing those undead to pieces. But they're a pain in the ass to kill again. Equalizing the numbers won't be enough if we lack the proper tools and knowledge.

Leonidas did consider himself a strong warrior - and he wasn't afraid of taking on gods if needed. But he knew that there was a certain trickiness to taking on enemy fortresses. And while greatly renowned for performing very well (if ultimately to no avail) against a much larger force than his own, Leonidas has the wisdom to know that he owned that particular feat due to being the one defending somewhere where it'd be easy for him to hold the line. But as the attacker? That'd be more difficult.

Doubt we can equip your whole dark army with those things. But once we get all the proper tools, it'll be far easier to launch an attack.

Still, if it had anything important, it had to be breached and conquered. Especially if it was the only place like this in the city. It's just that it couldn't be done now. Because otherwise, the odds were that Vladek's army would spend itself trying to breach though. Besides...

Suddenly, the sky in front of the group briefly illuminate purple, announcing the arrival of a most curious sight for some, a very common one for others : a large red dragon, about the size of a house, its arrival heralding the flight of a bunch more of those, all around the building with the "M" on it. The first dragon unleash a gout of flames at the top of the building, but a sickly green shield is able to block it, forcing the dragons to revise their objectives and fly down instead, near the base of the tower.

A bunch more lights shine down near it, probably transporting smaller or less aerial units.

Would you say that it would be a good time to attack? Optimus asks the group. He would leap on the occasion, but since everyone is inside him technically, he still want to revise their opinions before dragging himself to a soon-to-be-warzone.

Heh, feel like hell of a coincidence, but sure! Let's crack some undead skulls.

Of course they're here too... Whatever you do, you should know that these green things do not know the concept of gratitude. I advise you to be cautious about showing any empathy to these strange figures.

Optimus and Kaa don't appear to acknowledge Gunter's warnings.

Moonrise Grave remain eerily still around the group as Optimus accelerates towards the stronghold. Which appear to be the tallest skyscraper of the area, standing impressively tall even next to its "rivals". It appears to be placed next to the riverside of the area too, making for easy access later, with a bridge leading to another part of Moonrise Grave, this one much less taller.

Kaa doesn't appear to really be reacting to any of it. Seeing the dragons made her go quiet, and knowing that there's a battle ahead convinced her she should ready herself and not be too ditzy.

Vladek. Would you need any time or preparation to summon that army of yours?

If Vladek says "yes", Optimus stops about 75% of the way in, or a bit more. And Leonidas, Kaa, him and Vi will have to get off, emerging by the concrete riverside, overlooking the nameless river piercing through Moonrise Grave. The city light still surround them, but the light of the nearby flames will prove much more illuminating still, echoes of the fight being reflected on the surface of the water nearby.

Whoever or whatever is fighting, one side of the fight involve guns.

Oh, and there's the Merchant too!

WELCOMME STRANGERS!

If Vladek does not, then Optimus keep driving. But will see the Merchant on the side, prompting the group to shop if they want.

Nobody really care to notice or point him out.

Upon getting to the tower, the group will see that it appears to be filling out a good portion of the city block by itself - with a large parking garage in front of it that appears to be defended by tall, thick concrete fortifications (standing no less than twenty meters tall) and a large metal door. All of it black and with green energy streaming through it, of course.

The Necromites defending it still have some flesh to them but they also have military uniforms and, most notably, guns they use to try to shoot at the nearby dragons with. In front of the fortifications are blasted ruins, flames having melted the concrete off, but it appears like a forcefield is protecting the defenders from the fury of the dragons above.

Below, Githyankis battle with Necromites, with the former having the advantage, but facing the problem of the Necromites regenerating due to the presence of Death Shepherds atop the fortifications, endlessly casting revival spells to keep the Necromites fighting. Still, the Githyankis are fighting well, running behind blasted rocks and cars to weather the assault of the rifle-undead.

But that seems about to change as more and more reinforcements pour out from within. Namely, ghouls, or the renimated corpses of previous contestants, running into the battlements and dropping unto the battlefield below to start fighting as well, hoping to gradually wear down the Githyankis by sheer numbers. Amongst them is a corpse clad in a patriotic suit, though he's notably missing his shield.

That force field is being maintened by some sorcerers within the... concrete courtyard behind that door. You will need to breach through it to access it. I can summon a shield to clad one of you. And don't forget to focus on that. The "Githyankis" do not deserve any help from your part.

Htak'a! One of the "Githyankis" scream, decapitating a ghoul as Optimus Prime breach into the battlefield, doing a dick drift to let the others get out of the truck as quickly as they can. He stops a dozen meters short of the main gate, which he can't access easily due to the flaming ruins and discarded vehicles on the way. He does proceed to transform into a totally sick robot though, with his Convoy behind him transforming into a large shield and sword for him to wield.

For her part, Kaa unfurls her sword. Whatever it is, it's covered in bandages, with only a few gaps in them to reveal a faded gold beneath. She unfurls draconic-looking wings and take to the sky, overlooking the battle to see who she should easily assist. Just say my name and I'll come to the rescue!

Leonidas grabs his shield, grinning as he start deflecting a few bullets. I'll be your shield. But don't be mad if I go and get more kills than you!

The undead begin targeting the good guys as they arrive, the Githyankis turn to look at them but do not attack, due to a new influx of Ghouls and zombies to deal with.

OPTIMUS PRIME - TANK - AVAILABLE

KAA - ATTACK/TANK - AVAILABLE

GUNTER - ROGUE - AVAILABLE

Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.

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Ashes of Nohr

Moonrise Crypt, False Krakenburg, Hallway - RECON

The impressive display of teamwork finally reassured Charlian that they will be able to work together without issues. One of his greatest concerns when it comes to working with strangers is that their communication would be too disconnected due to Charlian's rather meek nature outside a fight, but that wasn't the case. They've taken down two Demented Spirits so far, both with incredible cooperation.

"You're all doing great!" Once EMIYA is confirmed to be dead, Charlian can't help but compliment them a little as he momentarily basked in pride for contributing significantly and dealing the finishing blow. As he dismissed Cu Chulainn's replicated abilities (which, by extension, dismissed whatever appearance change it brought on), Beruka's statement quickly sobered him up. It's true, hesitation can be deadly in a situation of life and death, and Charlian might've doomed the team to another round of scattering and bombardment if that hesitation prevented him killing EMIYA.

"Yeah, alright." Charlian replied in a slightly timid manner that couldn't even be masked by the confidence brought by Apollo's boons. "I won't let it slow me down." The young man hoped his somewhat uncertain answer can placate the assassin for now, but knows that she will likely keep her eyes on him.

To shift his own attention away from the topic, the Replicator observed the Memorlye, listened to Gunter's explanation, and remembered the black core he saw on Midori's corpse. He made an attempt to pick it up, but Beruka already crushed it. It's likely too dangerous anyways... or is it? Charlian can't help but wonder about the orb's properties. Either way, I should probably replicate a container and secure one for myself later, if only to at least study and understand how they work. I can't get more info without taking some risks, after all.

The sound of the Necromites' footsteps drifting further away brought his attention away from the shattered core and towards the direction of the Kagura Squad, where he saw the skeletons actually leaving. This could mean one of two things:

• There's something far more dangerous- Oh, fuck.

Before Charlian can even consider more possibilities, the giant, expanding summoning circle covering the hallway confirmed it for him. While he's reluctant to immediately return to Corrin's Castle since most of the group are still able to fight, he recognizes that they're mostly here on scouting duty, and that Corrin is scared out of his mind right now. Without any questions, the Replicator decided to run, taking advantage of his boosted speed to pick anyone who might be left behind.

---

Apollo's Radiant Image:

• The tie bian's striking power is greatly enhanced.
• The tie bian is shrouded in a sheath of light, greatly extending its reach.
• His movement speed is now enhanced and can Daze nearby enemies when sprinting.
• After breaking an enemy's defense (e.g. armor, barrier), the next attack's power is doubled.
• When parrying an enemy's attack perfectly, temporarily blind them with an intense flash of light.
• All damages dealt (even strikes using his fists and feet) are now radiant as well as physical.
• All attacks are strengthened by a small significant degree until he's struck.
• An aura of light constantly surrounds him, earning him the ire of the wretched undead but simultaneously make them more inclined to keep their distance.

Edited by cyzja922 on May 15th 2024 at 4:28:52 AM

"I know you're here, Kenjaku. You big fucking nerd. Where's my goddamn cheese?"