Ashes of Nohr
Battle Day Eve
"I think he's the child we were looking for."
At the words of Inti, Pampín walks to Zamba.
Kid... My name is Luli Pampín. Since I was been chosen as the vessel of the god Inti, I became a superheroine and traveled around the Arena helping people. I was in the end of the previous Nohr mission, fighting Garon, and I think you will be fighting them, too. Very brave of you!
Zamba laughs nervously.
I met The King of Rainbow Kingdom, and told me to give you this.
She gives him a book, with a musical key engraved on the cover.
This is a Musical Book. With it, you can cast all kinds of musical spells, fly, whatever. And it even works as a shield! You would be quick on learning those spells.
Thanks, Pampín.
Zamba equips the Musical Book.
...
Fores and Carrillo return with new allies!
Pancho Pantera
◊, the Mad Musician
◊, Mega-Paco
◊ and Plim Plim (Arena debut! It's a magical clown like the Mad Musician, but less chaotic) were randomly chosen recruited by them.
Also, Crisol and Pipeta
◊ arrived because Rosita went offscreen to search them.
Pancho Pantera will fight Ketheric.
The Mad Musician will fight Garon.
Plim Plim will fight Azura and Morgan.
Mega-Paco will join Corrin party.
Crisol and Pipeta will join Nightsong party.
...
"We'll pay for anything you want!" Said Crisol with joy.
Ms. Thingies buys the Invulnerability glove, a Senzu bean and elixirs. If those two attacks are sure-fire, we have to be prepared for worse.
San Martín, Juana and Belgrano bought the 3 updates for their swords each. Pancho bought an upgrade for his lasso, his bolas, and a Seal of Thunder God. Zamba bought a Seal, some Vallite Capsules, and a Globe.
Everybody else bought Senzu beans, greater potions and reviving scrolls. Thanks, Quimirock Co.!
Fight Day!
Moonrise Tower (Ketheric)
Both San Martín and Pancho follow Kidd.
The heck is that music? Is even worse than Zamba's! San Martín muses.
Say pardner, what do you can do with metals?
...
Wayne Tower (Nightsong)
As the group rush towards the entrance, the ITIEI Agents and the Quimirock duo throw some Coke-and-Mentos grenades at the group of foes, with Sawdust shooting some nails.
...
Plane (Big fight)
The group don't say a thing: they are too nervous to talk... Except Zamba.
Cardboard, I want to tell you something...
Could you wait after the battle is over, Zamba?
Three freaking ghosts!Baritone Bar
"VIIILLLE!"
"Uh-oh. I don't suppose anyone has an EMP weapon?"
X uses Dark Hold, stopping time. His energy reserves for the special weapon tick down like a clock as he dashes from one bomb to the next, ripping them from their placements and gathering them together.
Just as time resumes, he dashes out of the bar with an armful of explosives and throws them up into the open air.
"What just-" Katie winces as X shoots a fireball from his Buster, blowing the bombs up in a chain reaction.
"...Not gonna question it, I guess."
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Baritone Bar
When X finishes his thing, Tayden was behind a table, holding a battle droid that got stuck while trying to escape.
"You can stop time?!" Apparently, she witnessed everything he did during Dark Hold. "Hot damn, I need to get that one d-"
Realization struck her. "Where the fuck is Vile?!"
Tayden drops the droid ("Be right back!") and rushes out of the same hole Vile flew out of earlier on. Her guns are still in her hands, ready to fire when needed. As someone whose day job consists of handling villains like him, she knows trouble is far from over.
Edited by Hotpizza on Jun 4th 2024 at 10:54:12 PM
Ashes of Nohr
Cecil is fortunately quite the businessman and gives a free trial of his bread to the merchant before hopefully being able to barter....
Absolutely nothing. He really didn't have an idea on what to buy and kind of just gave the merchant a boat load of fresh and tasty bread for no reason. He isn't one to complain, giving hand-baked and magic-made bread is fun!
Nightsong — Wayne Tower
Speaking of bread, this Nightsong fellow they need probably hasn't had a bite of any good food in a long time, so he tags along with freeing them. With a touch of stealth in mind he doesn't pull out the gigantic amounts of bread yet but he does have his trusty brick-hard-loaf of bread that he just hurls at the closest necromite.
....
Azura/Morgan — Moonrise Crypt Sky
"You can say that shit twice."
Mark replies back to Choso, before going over to Kaa, more curious about who Corrin is to them. Especially after hearing that disaster of a music number by Azura but he's partly looking for material to talk shit about while they're about to be deployed to throw hands with the people down below them.
"Got shit about your pops I can yell at him for?"
realAshes of Nohr
"HYDRA didn't have an army of the undead. This is more like Loki's invasion...which I guess you weren't there for."
Steve salutes Red Hood.
Before departing for the final battle, Thel 'Vadam buys the maximum upgrades on the Prophets' Bane and a Vallite Capsule, while Captain America acquires a Senzu Bean.
—
Wayne Tower - FREE THE NIGHTSONG
The Arbiter emerges from the water and nods to Marco.
"Make haste!" He runs forward. While he doesn't have super speed, he can still make it to the head of the pack simply by having very muscular legs.
Before the barrier is even all the way down, he applies the Vallite water from his capsule to the hilt of the Prophets' Bane, hoping to imbue the Energy Sword with enough power to cleave an early opening for himself and catch the enemy forces off-guard.
—
Moonrise Crypt Sky - FREE CORRIN/VS. AZURA & MORGAN
Aboard the plane, Cap looks around at his company. Karzon and Dracus certainly don't look like hero material, but help is help, and Dracus sounds up to the task.
"Hey, Bucky, you remember our secret move?"
He refers, of course, to Unyielding Justice.
Refia, meanwhile, is flying down on her own power alongside the plane, letting her overhear the diss laid out by Azura to the "fake her" Rumia had rambled about.
"Come on..." she whines.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Ashes of Nohr - IGNITION
The Sky
Sadly, the right wing of Joseph's plane violently severs itself from the vehicle in a brutal explosion, hurling off the debris right down the mountain and causing the plane to careen uncontrollably! GGGGGGGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Joseph screams, attempting to direct the plane towards the fortress. This causes Beruka, who was giving Karzon a fairly skeptical sideye, to immediately have to suddenly grab unto the nearest handle, with everyone else at risk of being violently thrown about by the gravity.
Hmph, good one, Morgan.
I... I thought you launched an attack on the plane?
Yet due to good piloting skills or simply the plane having completed quite a lot of way before getting.... shot down (?), the vehicle is already over Moonrise Crypt's walls. And as such, Joseph is quick to slam his fist down to open up the plane, opening up its backside for people to drop into the battlefield below. Air and snow violently whip the faces of those inside it, as they're suddenly greeted with the cold air - mixed in with the searing heat coming from the chaos beasts.
WE HOPE YOU'VE REALLY ENJOYED YOUR TRIP ON AIR JOESTAR! WE'RE SORRY TO ANNOUNCE YOU'LL HAVE TO HANDLE THE LAST PART OF THIS FLIGHT ON YOUR OWN! WE'VE PROVIDED YOU SOME PARACHUTES FOR THAT PURPOSE! no refunds After turning away from the mic, Joseph reach for the Robotbrain
, grabbing his own parachute that he had smartly placed on his left. Come on little buddy. We've got some asses in need of kicking.
I'm sorry Joseph. I'm afraid I can't do that. The Robotbrain replies, mechanical claws firmly gripping the control yoke. A captain goes down with his ship.
N... no! You can't do this! It ain't even a ship, you robot moron! I'm not gonna let you sit in there and die!
Joseph Joestar... I am a machine. I did not live. And I will not die. I'll simply fulfill my programming. The Robotbrain blast Joseph away with a concussive robotbrainblast, blasting him out of the cockpit. PIGGGGGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Heh... so long, kid. If you die and go to hell, could you... tell them "Demented Spirits" that RX-0980 is the reason why they're there to start? Godspeed, kid.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX———————————————————-000000000000009999999999999999999888888888888888888888000000000000000000000000000000000000000000! Joseph screams, futilely reaching out an hand to the plane as it goes down. Unaware of the tragedy happening in the cockpit, Leonidas and Choso both decide to jump off parachuteless, with the former using his shield while the latter simply divebomb downwards. Kusakabe has the senses to grab a parachute and so does Gunter (who had a bit of a crash course). Beruka doesn't, and neither does Kaa, the latter growing a pair of draconic wings while the other does the same but with insect wings, allowing them both to fly unimpeded.
Kaa try flying to Mark if he has no parachute, lifting him up. N-no?! Huh... I guess that he brushed his teeth rarely?!
Azura and Morgan watch the burning plane vomit up a batch of intruders from the sky. Some might be less fierce than the rest, but they were all diving straight into hell to rescue Corrin. And as Azura looked down at him, she was displeased to see him looking up at them with something akin to hope on his face. And a little bit of worry/dread, which still annoyed her.
Still, Azura had planned for them to crawl out of their hiding place eventually. Their deaths would be Corrin's final dive into the depths of despair, after all. All was according to plan as usual.
Hihihi, look at them go! They really aren't afraid of us, aren't they?!
It doesn't matter. They'll die either way.
Such a bold assault! Straight from the sky! Gunter says, not deploying his parachute right away, instead deciding to move closer to the action. Kusakabe does not think the same, deploying his own parachute as quickly as possible. ... How'd you live to be that old and still run into danger like that? Kusakabe says seeing Gunter, grumbling. And then a yellow streak of flame whiz really close to his face, past his cheek, lighting up the very tip of his cigarette. And soon, Kusakabe comes to really regret his decision to deploy his parachute straight away.
Dropping down into Moonrise Crypt, the group will be attacked by a barrage of stray lava blasts fired by the chaos beasts, quickly shredding Kusakabe's parachute and dropping him off into the ground below. Joseph take a similar fall, the creatures apparently aiming there specifically to give them a more terrifying death than they would normally. Hey! They were smart enough to attend a concert, right?
The Githyanki raiders pointedly do NOT make any effort to save the Istiks. And even Voss
Still, Kaa and Beruka are able to fly around to get some shots off their allies's back, preventing Kusakabe and others from taking bad damage straight away, even if he has to clumsily deflect a few of those blasts with his sword. Gahhh! I know I'm pretty good at Simple Domains, but I can't use them in mid-air!
Calm down. Law floats down to Kusakabe, not having grabbed a parachute. He keeps one hand on his coat, the other grasping his katana. What he could show at the prison was absurdly weaker than what he could do at his peak, and he was glad to demonstrate it here by using R O O M to create a large blue orb around himself, extending to almost cover half the battlefield. The projectiles within ceased moving, as Law raised his index before pointing it downward, redirecting them at the lava monsters below.
And for those who were using parachutes or otherwise helpless, Law's next move is to use Shambles to teleport everyone off to the group, after using Takt to first cancel their momentum. This cause Kusakabe to fall on the snow ass-first, with everyone else doing as cool a landing as they want. However, Choso and Leonidas, along with whoever dropped off the plane fast' will still arrive first.
And that's good timing for Milin and Lilith, who see their assault sadly negated. Because when I said that almost half the enormous courtyard is taken by the stage, I mean that the other half is taken up by an army of Chaos Beasts. Which prove very resistant to their bold but outmanned assault. The stage group's music persists (albeit with the vocals off) as the beasts's first row is disturbed... but the cryogenic and psionic ammo ultimately isn't enough to bring them down. And Garon shows nothing but cold disdain as the ammo futilely impact his invincible body, prompting the king to simply scoff derisively.
As for the unibeam, Morgan doesn't even flinch, and lets one of the taller and beefier Chaos Beasts handle it. A Smelter Demon, a BLUE one at that, raise from the mob and tank the beam, smoke pouring out of its chest as it shakes its head up and down, apparently laughing. And as the horde unleash itself at both, they'll be basically swarmed by strong attacks from all sides, with a larger Chaos Beast, its small head disproportionate next to its oversized body, approaching Milin to cleave her forcefield in half.
However, even if she's likely to have a way around it, Choso and Leonidas drop from the sky, their combined impact squashing the nearest beasts and repelling the rest. And as they raise from their position, the rest of the group arrives. Hmph. Choso narrows his eyes, seeing the army in front of them. None of them had really anticipated this to be easy, but only now did they realize that these monsters were a menace on their own. Taking them on alone would be a great challenge. Handling Azura and Morgan on top of that?
I like your moxie, but don't run in half-cocked. You're just gonna get killed. Leonidas chimes in.
Yes. He's right. The battlefield is theirs. The Emperor speaks from Corrin's Castle. A benefice of the secret being outed is that it could now command from a safe distance. ... And Corrin's gone now. Indeed, the trapdoor below Corrin lowers itself, despite Corrin trying to get up at this point. However, the chains are too thick for him to free himself. And he vanishes below the stage. At the same time, Azura nods at Garon, and the Nohrian king vanishes from his spot, retreating deeper into the fortress, seemingly to guard Corrin in case he were to be found anyway. I can't keep track of him, they've given him a ring of mind-shielding.
I can keep track of his Voice with my Haki. Just tune in to that.
The Emperor does an approving grunt, and everyone will be able to tune in to Law's Observation Haki sensing, allowing Garon and Corrin's voice to be felt as they descend down the fortress. But as Law prepares to lay out his plan, the Lava Beasts aren't polite enough to wait them out, instead immediately running in.
Alright, we'll have to form a smaller team to block off these things while the rest of you handle the Cursed Spirits. But first, we'll have to charge through and send 'em flying if we want to actually get where we wanna go! Leonidas says, raising his shield.
Trafalgar, couldn't ya teleport us straight to the stage?
My ROOM doesn't reach that far. And you'd be in the middle of those lava things. Law answers. Let's just blast through those things.
Fine by me. We'll make it to the stage and split off there.
Errrr, and how many of you are going to be looking for Corrin, again?! Kusakabe gulps, fearful at the idead of tackling two powered-up Disaster Curses with little backup.
... Beruka doesn't know where she want to go. She doesn't want to save Corrin only to burden him with killing Azura... but on one hand, perhaps her resentment at Corrin "abandoning" her and Kaa is causing her to gain doubts at the worst possible moment. Still, she'll always figure it sometimes. Or depending on which side call upon her the most.
Kaa doesn't have the same issue. She wants to go save her dad.
The Demented Spirits do absolutely nothing for now - they simply wait to see if their Chaos Beasts can't handle the intruders. Who, regardless of what Law and the others want to do, will first need to fight their way through that horde to start with. Once there, they can choose to go after Garon or reach the main stage.
KUSAKABE - TANK/ROGUE AVAILABLE
TRAFALGAR LAW - ATTACK/ROGUE AVAILABLE
CHOSO - SNIPER/ATTACK AVAILABLE
JOSEPH JOESTAR - ROGUE/SNIPER AVAILABLE
GUNTER - TANK AVAILABLE
LEONIDAS - TANK/ATTACK AVAILABLE
KAA - TANK AVAILABLE
BERUKA - ATTACK AVAILABLE
THE EMPEROR - ROGUE AVAILABLE
Voss's dragon soars overhead, and with it, a smaller line of Red Dragons. Behind them, and more importantly for the group, are the Githyanki army. With the gates of the castle having apparently been left open, in what had to be a deliberate move by Ketheric, they're free to pour in into the courtyard. Through they'll still charge in after the group.
Either way...
Moonrise Crypt - Innards
I can shove it up your ass with a thought if you bother me' Kidd replies to Pancho, not even answering his other fellow. PUCCI has emerged in a pretty friendly environment, to be sure. And Shadowheart winces as she hears the sound of music being briefly interrupted before competing with another music, along with the familiar sound of metal creaking above, accompanying the sudden damage done to the plane.
But Ketheric's Necromites do not wait for the group up above to start the fight to actually approach the Intruders right at the bowels of the base, with a few green pairs of eyes immediately shining upon the group before immediately rushing into the room, looking to apparently bury the group with nothing less than sheer numbers. Not a bad tactic, but one that won't work so easily on Kidd, at least for the Necromites with armor on them.
But luckily for Ketheric, a lot of his troops are unliving advertisments for the necessity of wearing armor when heading out to danger. And while Kidd is able to handle a lot of the troops pouring in into the room, there's still a lot left over, looking to quickly make a solid headway into it before the thin entrance can be exploited as a chokepoint.
From within his throne room, Ketheric says nothing. He could afford to have the Necromites go down in a rush so long as it killed the Intruders - for once Lord Myrkul were to rise, then his infinite legions would more than make up for the paltry numbers of loss he'd have endured there. That, and he was tired of allowing Azura's folly to doom here. Obviously, he had made a mistake not trying to get Corrin himself.
But while the Demented Spirits and Intruders could keep themselves busy, he still needed as much chaos as he could.
Either way, Shadowheart get to business. Buy me some time! I'll be able to get them off our tail if I can call upon Lady Shar! She kneels on the ground, linking her hands in prayers. It'd take more than a mere spell to deal with an horde that numerous - she'd have to summon help of her own.
That coward Ketheric can't even come face us himself?! Talk about an immortal! Kidd is able to hold back to horde for now, but the Necromites begin digging in entrance through the wall, smashing their limbs into the stone until they shatter, then slamming themselves until they're able to form holes big enough for them to crawl through in their maddened quests for living beings to rend apart and add to their mass.
The group is going to have to act pretty quickly - if they want to even leave the room alive!
KIDD - ATTACK/TANK - AVAILABLE
SHADOWHEART - ATTACK/HEALER - CHANNELING
THE EMPEROR - ROGUE - 'AVAILABLE
Moonrise Grave - Nightsong
The entrance lobby to Wayne Tower is shockingly pristine, the Necromites having apparently not bothered to actually make defensive fortifications with the time they had. That, or they had wisely deduced that the desks and couches made of some thin white wood wouldn't hold up to the violence when the fighting start. And they were right : Arbiter immediately smash through the glass and does a carnage on his first entrance, slicing through the Necromites closest to him and instantly ending their unlives. He's definitely right to have been on the offensive, for the Necromites themselves seem thrown off by his brazen offense. He's backed up by Zuko, who lags behind a little, but still kick heads off and burn bodies as best as he can.
This open up a small gap for Coke-and-Mentos grenades and nails, of all things, to slip in and disturb the Necromites, pushing them around. One Necromite end up getting its entire upper body smashed by bread of all things, adding in to the ridiculous arsenal being tossed at them. One which Gortash and Salazar dignifies as best as they can with searing arrows from his beloved arbalet. However, it can't be denied that it's effective : by the time the Shadow Knights roll in, the Necromites are left disorganized, allowing them to be easily slaughtered and driven back by the more serious Githyankis and Shadow Knights, the former of which seem humiliated at having to fight alongside Istiks with such "weaponry".
That, and admittedly, spending too much time outside the Astral Sea made them very hungry and damn it Cecil.
Optimus and Marco roll in next, with Optimus's shots blowing apart the soldiers. Marco's assault, made easier by Pyre's covering, is to simply "slice" at the enemies with his blue flames wings, causing them to instantly drop down to the ground, dead. Needless to say, the Necromites on the first floor don't stand much of a chance. And the group make very short work of them.
But just because those on the lobby weren't prepared doesn't mean the ones on the next floor aren't.
Necromites Warlocks, their powers still intact, cast Hunger of Hadar on the stairs leading up to the floors above. A few Githyankis enter it, scream, and... do not come out again.
Elevators are still working, along with the power. But upon being entered, the cables are cut, dropping the elevators. The Githyankis do not take those, probably due to knowing better than to pointlessly lock themselves in steel box. Either way, progressing upwards conventionally will be complicated. A fact that Balthazar, Ketheric's lieutenant, relishes from the very top of the tower.
I see they've assigned some of their top minds to this particular outing. He scoffs.
Below, Marco and Optimus look up at the ceiling of the lobbies. If any of you want to be flown upwards, now would be the time!
I could ram through easily too! But you'll need to hold on real tight, alright?
I've always wanted to ride a gigantic robot! Let's go!''
And for those who would like to face the darkness themselves... I could provide you with a protection to it! Gortash raise his arm, revealing his modified Force Curtain on his left arm. However, he has no intention for heading up. However, I do not intend to head top yet. My intention is to go below. And only by dispelling those clouds may I do it. Would you help me? I can assure you this will help us with freeing the Nightsong! However, you'll need to take out the Warlocks creating those clouds first!
Zuko will go with Marco. For those wanting to go with Gortash, they'll have to do as he say and cross a cloud of Hunger of Hadar to kill the warlocks first.
Maybe it was experience, maybe it was deduction, but Gortash had a feeling that this "Wayne" fella had neat stuff hidden in his tower. And he couldn't wait to find it.
OPTIMUS PRIME - TANK - AVAILABLE
ZUKO - ATTACK - AVAILABLE
MARCO - TANK/HEALER - AVAILABLE
GORTASH - ROGUE/SNIPER - AVAILABLE
SALAZAR - SNIPER - AVAILABLE
Edited by Bolded1 on Jun 4th 2024 at 8:24:24 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterAshes of Nohr - IGNITION
Moonrise Crypt - Sky
Karzon and Dracus (who snaps out of it) immediately hold on to the nearest handles too.
"I should have known flying in this iron contraption was a horrible idea!"
"Sorry, but did he just say he wants us to jump out!?" , Karzon asks.
"We have little choice." , Dracus says as the others start jumping (or flying) out. "We will simply use Lord Vladek's dark warp magic to head on down once we are close enough to the ground."
"The-wait, but I don't-"
Dracus jumps out before Karzon can finish. The lone knight in the plane looks around for a bit before swallowing his fear of the situation and letting go of the handle to jump out too. Neither of them took a parachute, because with their armor they're too heavy to make use of those.
Due to their higher weight (because of said armor) Dracus and Karzon quickly end up passing by most of the group, especially those who deployed their parachutes.
The lava blasts then come in, and Karzon, surprisingly, responds fast by holding his shield down so that the blasts will hit it instead of him. Thanks to the shield having been buffed earlier on, it's able to take those attacks without just immediately being destroyed, though it does suffer damage after a few hits.
Dracus, who's already glowing as he prepares to make use of Vladek's magic, looks at him like he's crazy.
"What are you doing!? Ready the spell!"
"I don't have the spell!" , Karzon responds.
"What? Yes you do!"
"No, I used it up earlier! I'm not sure how you did not notice!"
"When exactly did-"
A lava blast hits one of Dracus' shoulder pads, breaking off a part of it.
"Agh, forget it! Get over here!"
Dracus pretty much swims through the air to reach him and grabs his wrist. Right as a lava blast was about to hit Dracus' helmet, he gets ready to activate the spell-
The blast suddenly careens away and the duo are warped down safely, courtesy of Law. Dracus lands on his stomach and Karzon lands on his feet, but with his shield below said feet.
"... how did you do that without using the spell?"
"It must have been one of our allies. Now get ready to fight. I am not going to risk my neck for you a second time." , Dracus growls as he stands back up and gets ready. Karzon gets off of his shield and picks it back up. The damage is bigger than expected, a few more lava-based attacks on it and it'll basically be useless.
"I am always ready to fight." , Karzon says as he readies himself, switching out his regular weapon for the blade he took from the armory at Corrin's Castle. Dracus looks at him for a moment.
"The extra range does not seem like it will be very helpful here." , is his quick excuse for the weapon switch. Dracus chooses to just take it as it is. He's good with weapons, but Karzon is the most skilled with weapons out of Vladek's entire entourage.
The two knights charge forward towards the beast. With Garon retreating, Dracus is already feeling a lot less nervous despite the challenge still in front of them.
"Once we get through these, you should help them handle the remaining beasts, I shall help save Corrin." , Karzon says to Dracus. Oddly commanding all of a sudden, Dracus thinks, but he figures Karzon knows what he's doing. His traps aren't going to be very helpful on an open field anyway, so maybe that's it.
Plus, it means Dracus doesn't have to go fight Garon again.
"Very well."
KARZON: GO SAVE CORRIN
DRACUS: REACH THE MAIN STAGE
—
Moonrise Grave - Nightsong
With the initial wave of Necromites beaten, Vladek rallies his troops to keep going. That tower will be theirs! ... well, the group's, not Vladek's troops specifically.
Vladek notices the clear disdain the Githyankis are feeling, but doesn't care at all. No, he is busy with more far more important things than potentially petty squabbles. If what he's planning ends up working, they could throw every insult under the sun at him for all he cares.
Upon it becoming clear that going further upwards will prove more difficult than first expected, Vladek turns to Optimus Prime.
"I will come with you once again, iron ally. And my knights will help us overwhelm the warlocks with sheer power and numbers."
Vladek un-summons the Shadow Knights for now. Mainly because Optimus Prime does not have the necessary room to carry them all up.
VLADEK: CONTINUE UPWARDS TO REACH NIGHTSONG
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Wayne Tower of Nohr
Save
- > Ashes of Nohr - Nightsong
- Fiery Lunch
Everyone else already handled the first wave as "Pyra" and Squad prepares themselves. Oh well.
Still, dealing with hazards and maybe traps on the way will be an issue - conserving energy for the final battle is important, and disabling traps, fending off enemies and clearing hazards would take a LOT of energy.
- > Charge through with Marco
- Deal with the clouds
"Pyra" chooses to fly, having the means to do so.
Ravenos attaches themselves to "Pyra", transforming into a giant pair of black feathery wings allowing "Pyra" to fly. The Squad continues to hover, though the Typhoon doesn't live up to its name and is stuck on the ground.
"Pyra" looks at the Typhoon and then their hammer.
They proceed to swap out the electricity Power Effect with wind to see if the Typhoon can fly by rotating its wheels fast enough.
Well, the results is quite comical what with a bicycle with a storage compartment flying just by rotating its wheels really, really hard. It's a good thing though, now that everyone can fly and therefore gain better mobility.
Du-Du-Wa-Do-It, Arena KatsudouAshes of Nohr
Courtyard
"Sonofa-"
Lilith hits her boosters and rockets to the side, and then upwards, some of her suit's armor paneling and weaponry getting torn off. This leaves one of her arms exposed.
"New plan- Upsilon, give 'em hell."
As you wish, ma'am.
The Super Destroyer above starts to barrage the field with HE shells, aiming to take out some of the Chaos Beasts.
"Also- deploy the Atlas. I need some heavier gear."
From the orbit-bound ship comes an even larger pod- though it isn't actually a pod. It's just drop armoring.
For a huge-ass 'Mech.
A 20 meter tall, 100-ton pillar of guns, rockets, and engineering.
It slams into the ground, all but flattening any nearby beasts and knocking the rest back. Lilith quickly clambers inside and starts it up.
Time to clear a path! Outta the damn way!!
She spins up the autocannon and begins to spray copious amounts of lead at any oncoming beasts, her 'Mech very slowly lumbering forward as she does.
Hey! Someone keep these pricks off me! They'll scratch the paint!
Ally Callout: Any
Meanwhile, Milin. The beasts tear at her suit, shredding some nanites which are quickly replaced by the stores inside her body.
"Oh, fuck you."
She reconfigures her suit's leg armor into a larger central thruster, jetting off upwards before hovering above.
Oh boy I've got a really stupid idea.
Milin holds up both of her hands, beginning to send her psionics out to gather clouds into a rolling storm.
"Hey, Emperor! You've got psionic energy, right?! So why don't you give me a boost?"
Ally Callout: Emperor
With a yell of effort, Milin sends the gathered lightning down at the battlefield, aiming to send it down at the beast that had blocked her shot the first time.
Crypt Innards
As the Necromites swarm the room, Phoenix takes a deep breath...
"Taste the flames of a fallen god."
From Phoenix's body, brilliant orange flames shoot out, aiming to reduce the Necromites to ash. The immortal-killing properties that are infused with these flames should also work wonders on the Necromites. Her heart pulses with fire- her body is heating up. She can't sustain this for long without risking heatstroke- or worse.
Wayne Tower
Once the ground floor is cleared, Pyre heads in herself. She pulls out a scroll from her bag.
"I'm headed up. Tibi do Penna!"
The scroll burns away and Pyre jumps up...
...and keeps heading upwards, defying gravity to simply fly. Such is the way of magic. She has her sword in one hand and a hand crossbow in another, with an explosive arrow loaded.
Edited by RainbyPlays on Jun 4th 2024 at 4:06:44 AM
aeiou: the secondDecepticon Base
"Ah but of course. Then we're kindred spirits in that way. I don't know if it's the same in your world but in mine, I was there when it all started. At the time, Lord Megatron was simply one of my opponents in the pits of Kaon. Imagine my surprise when after defeating me in a hard fought battle, he began regaling me of his ideals for a better Cybertron." Deathsaurus looks to the side, gaze distant in the nostalgia. "Ah, those were the days. It still feels like yesterday when we stormed the Senate and I relished in ripping Proteus apart with my bare servos."
She might notice the fact he actually says Lord when referring to his own Megatron but didn't when referring to her world's earlier.
"Indeed." he continues on her mention of noble, as well as her offer to depart further in. His troops follow in line, Lyzack at his side and Leader-1 directly behind him. "Perhaps the only fitting way for him to expire if any. From mortal injuries sustained fighting Optimus Prime. The only comfort is Prime didn't get to outlive him."
Lyzack frowns a little, noticing her leader decide to neglect mentioning the whole Galvatron ordeal. Then again he had admitted in private before his distaste for the reformatted Decepticon Leader. She sometimes wondered if Scorponok hadn't pulled his coup that Deathsaurus might have done so.
"Unfortunate that during the battle, I was occupied with the Probat campaign." Deathsaurus sighs. "What an irritating species. Did you know their waste and remains when superheated create hyper-refined energon crystals? Something Killbison discovered after I had a city of theirs glassed from orbit."
Baritone Bar (except they're outside now)
As the bombs explode relatively harmlessly, X might hear Vile's distant shit-eating laughter. Tayden will hear it closer but is unfortunately too late as she finds him already hopping into the cockpit of a big metal behemoth
◊.
"It's not exactly Ride Armor, but I'm sure this feels familiar to you, X!" Vile boasts, as the robotic giant points its right hand at Tayden and fires a barrage of rapid fire plasma shots whilst firing a pair of shoulder missiles at X.
Oh and the Sniper Joe is still there Tayden. It opts to target Katie this time with another three round burst from its buster.
Ashes of Nohr
Well that went well all things considered. Rumia frowns though at all the preparations their enemy has made. The suggestion of flying appeals to her and seeing all the others opting for it she gets an idea.
"Hey Mr Phoenix! Help me cover everyone else who is flying up!" she says to Marco (polo) as she starts flying up herself, ready to either slash or blast anyone who tries intercepting the other fliers.
> Assist: Marco.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Baritone Bar
X gasps at the sight of the Cybernought, then grits his teeth. "Yeah. Too familiar."
He looks around and realizes the Sniper Joe is there. "Look out!"
Katie notices the Sniper Joe in time to dodge, diving to the side as she fires a plasma shot at its feet. Meanwhile, X gets hit by the missiles, engulfing him in the explosions.
Ashes of Nohr
Moonrise Crypt Courtyard
Captain America grabs a parachute only to dive down and not open it for much of the fall, using his shield to protect himself from the chaos beasts' blasts, only pulling the string just before he hits terminal velocity to ensure he doesn't shatter his bones upon landing.
"I'm on rescue," he says as he forms up with the others on the ground. "Point the way, I'll lead the charge, everyone else cover me!"
He attempts to break through the Chaos Beast horde with a simple forward shield charge, though that likely won't be nearly enough.
What might fare better is Refia, who comes crashing down fist-first in between the others and the stage, launching a tidal wave of pink fire out from her fist at the Chaos Beasts.
She looks back at Law. "Can you use your Rooms to isolate big groups of them?"
Captain America: GO AFTER GARON
Refia: REACH THE MAIN STAGE
—
Wayne Tower
"I have no time for this. I must reach the top as soon as I can." Thel 'Vadam swaps to his Carbine and climbs onto Optimus' leg. To at least help the others, he shoots at the heads of the Warlocks from this unusual vantage point.
Edited by KiriK on Jun 4th 2024 at 3:48:53 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Bucky gives Steve a thumbs-up.
"Heh, how could I forget? I was just wondering if you planned on showing everyone here how it goes when we hit-."
Then something happens to the plane that results in its right wing being blown off. Bucky and Red Hood just manage to grab onto their respective seats in time, while Vi digs her gauntleted fingers into the bulkhead she was leaning against to keep herself anchored in place.
"What happened to us dropping in on them?!"
"Someone never got the memo and blew our cover!"
"Less talking, more getting the hell out of here!"
Grabbing a nearby parachute, Bucky offers Captain America a quick salute.
"See you at the bottom, Steve!"
With that, the former Winter Soldier leaps out of the falling plane's now-open backside and begins the descent towards the battlefield below.
Jason had wanted to leap from the plane and divebomb Garon from above with the intent of skewering him with the Soultaker katana, but said plane being unexpectedly shot down quickly puts the kibosh on that maneuver. After passing a nearby parachute to Vi, he takes off running before jumping from the plummeting aircraft with the pink-haired Zaunite right behind him.
Once they've reached an optimal altitude, the three deploy their parachutes just as the chaos beasts decide to assail the party. Bucky brings out his rifle and begins returning fire, prompting Red Hood to do the same with his AK-47 while Vi keeps an eye on her parachute.
"Can't this stupid thing go any-?"
Fortunately, Law safely warps everyone to the ground before anyone has to worry about being shot down by the Chaos Beasts. With their enemies advancing on their position, Vi cracks her neck.
"I'm heading down after Corrin," she says.
Red Hood puts his gun away before freeing the Soultaker from its sheathe.
"Leave Garon to me," he says. "You haven't faced him or Kenjaku's other freaks, have you, Vi? Somehow, these things know a lot more about us than they should, and they won't hesitate to throw whatever baggage you've got in your face."
"Yeah? Whatever they've got, it's probably nothing I haven't already told myself," Vi replies, downing the strength-enhancing elixir she had purchased earlier in the quest and crushing the empty vial in her grasp. "Hope this stuff lasts long enough."
Bucky raises his rifle and opens fire on the oncoming beasts.
"Right behind you, Steve! I'm taking the stage and settling the score with Ketheric's lackeys," he chimes in. "Now, let's keep moving before these damn monsters overrun us!"
With that, the three charge into battle. Once they've closed the distance between themselves and the enemy forces, Vi moves to grab the nearest beast by the throat before launching it towards the other monsters, as Jason hurls a few grenades into the horde and Bucky continues blasting away at them.
"Choso, clear us a path!"
"Show me what you can really do, Gunter!"
"Give 'em hell, Leonidas!"
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jun 4th 2024 at 2:09:54 AM
Blackreach, G.E.M. Base
Alex
◊ sits on a bed in the room he'd been put in. He still feels like slapping himself silly, how did he not take into account that there would obviously be security cameras that'd show him freeing Ishizu?
... he knows why. Normally Shinui would've warned him about it. And would have probably just deactivated those cameras for him. He really feels Shinui's absence, and not just because of how helpful he usually is, he misses the watch-bound demon in general.
When Seth had his wife and the council members impri-sorry, 'put under house arrest', Shinui had become angry with Alex and turned himself off, and had stayed off ever since, refusing to turn back on even when Alex tried to do it by force. He didn't know at first what Shinui's problem was all of a sudden, and it had taken him an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out what was going on.
Shinui knew that Alex wouldn't sit idly by. But Shinui is also G.E.M. technology, and even if he has a soul, he is still able to be overridden, and Seth had already revealed to Alex years ago, before his death, that they were able to listen to conversations picked up by the watch. Not to mention that, with Shinui's sedation needle, they'd have been able to force him to make Alex fall asleep at any time.
By deactivating himself, Shinui had given Alex the one and only chance he'd ever get at freeing Ishizu without immediately being discovered, and doing it via a supposed argument wouldn't make anyone listening in suspicious off the get-go. ... And even with all that, he had still been discovered.
"I really only ever got as far as I did 'cause of you being there with me, didn't I?", he mumbles to himself with a sigh.
The door suddenly opens, snapping Alex out of his thoughts and standing up. Who's it going to be this time? Linda, trying to intimidate him again? ... which, granted, she always manages to do. Or is it Norm, here to try to assure him this whole ordeal shouldn't last much longer?
To his shock, it's neither of them. It's Seth
◊ who enters the room. His usual glasses have been replaced by a pair of sunglasses that he keeps on even inside the building. Alex isn't really sure why.
Things are quiet for a good minute or so, the situation tense. Alex is fearing the worst right now, but he's also concerned. He knows Seth. He was the man who basically ensured Alex had a place to stay when he ran away from home. He trained Alex, taught him. Hell, he died for him.
Alex refuses to believe that the same man would be capable of doing something like this, even after having found out that in the past Seth was a bit... less stable than he was when Alex met him.
"... Are you here to tell me I'm about to be executed or something, Mr. Seth?", Alex asks, which prompts Seth to look surprised, after which the man chuckles with amusement.
"What a first thing to say to me after so long. No, I'm not here to punish you for anything."
"... you're not?", Alex asks, still wary.
"Going by the reports, Ishizu was found by Thor and his family. Which should mean she's in a safe location right now. Now, Alex."
Seth moves to sit on the bed.
"You seem to have complaints about the way I'm doing things."
"Complaints? Complaints!? That's the biggest understatement ever!", Alex angrily says, his temper beginning to take over.
"Everyone was so overjoyed to have you back again, Mr. Seth, and then you do all... all of this!"
"Taking my rightful spot as leader is, I believe, not a controversial thing to do."
"You LOCKED them all up! Even your wife and infant son!"
"They were safe, were they not? You've put them in more danger than I did."
"I-"
Alex balls his fists. Technically that's not wrong, but it's still bullshit too.
"And what about the people from Lucas' and Claus' world, huh!? What kind of excuse do you have to take them hostage!?"
"Lucas and Claus were planning on leaving the Arena, and we need as much help as we can get. I had to assure-"
"Taking people hostage is NEVER okay! It's happened to me! I know it's happened to Dad too!"
Seth's smile fades.
"The truth then. I'm afraid that this goal is too important for me to be concerned about moral issues. If I have to do underhanded things to reach that goal, then that is simply how it is. And my threats are not empty ones, Alex. There are agents in this company that will pull the trigger if I command them to, not just Linda."
"I can't believe this...", Alex snarls, teeth gritted. "I owe you a lot, Mr. Seth, but if you think for a second that I'm gonna help you with whatever this all is for-"
"I am researching the Navitus Artifacts, and have spent most of my time compiling all the data we have on them and looking them over. I'm 100% convinced that there are at least two artifacts in the Arena as we speak. That is why I put all of our time into further developing our anti-Navitus technology. When we find the artifacts, we will destroy them."
"There's still no reason for all this! You could've asked Thor for help! He's seen what the Staff of Navitus can do, and I've told him about what the Necklace did to me!"
"I have mixed feelings on Thor. I believe he knows more than he's letting on, but I do not have proof for this yet. According to eye witnesses, he seemed strangely hesitant about the anti-Navitus weapon."
"Maybe he just thought it'd be too dangerous for us to go up against those artifacts. I know we don't have footage of the people's fight against the Cyber Angels, but we all heard what happened. Regular people like us can't compete with that!"
"We can, once we have the technology to handle them. Which we do. Now we just need to find the artifacts."
"... I... okay... but what do Lucas and Claus have to do with all this!?"
"They will help find them, of course. They're psychics, they're more attuned to this sort of thing. And if sacrifices are necessary to get to said artifacts, then we will not have to sacrifice any of our own. Two artifacts, two potential sacrifices."
"That is...", Alex says, eyes wide with disgust.
"They're aware of this. And they know they have no choice in the matter. Just look at what Claus already had to do. He had to end one of his closest friendships for the sake of his family's safety."
Seth says this with zero feeling in his voice. There's not a shred of remorse present.
Alex, furious, full-on draws his blade and points it at Seth threateningly. The man does not even summon his deadly shadows, only chuckling in amusement once again. They both know very well which one of them is in a position of power in this situation, but Alex isn't calm enough to think about that right now.
"I am not letting you hurt them, or anyone else! I don't know what happened to you, but you are not the man who became my guardian and one of my best friends!"
Seth now stands up from the bed again, simply pushing the sword to the side with his finger.
"Alex, my boy. Have you forgotten about the state of your health? You need G.E.M. tech to survive day by day due to only having half a soul. If you don't assist us, then you can't expect us to spend precious resources on you."
"I don't give a single fuck about that!"
"But your parents do."
Alex goes quiet, only letting out a brief sound of shock as his grip wavers for a moment. Seth takes a few steps forward until he's standing in front of the boy, looking down at him.
"They've voiced their own complaints very clearly already. But they will help me too. Because they know you're at stake. How would they feel if you chose to throw your life away?"
Alex narrows his eyes and keeps his teeth gritted. He pulls back his sword and sheathes it again, but when Seth starts to smile Alex suddenly grabs the taller man by his collar.
Seth just shakes his head.
"I'm afraid, my boy, that your days are numbered then. Though if you change your mind, a simple message through Shinui is all it takes-"
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!"
"It's not even your room."
"OUT!!!!!", Alex screams at him while letting go of him and pointing at the door. Seth simply walks to the door, though looks back at Alex as he stands in front of it.
"I will be paying a visit to Thor as soon as I know where he is.", he says. "I might've taken you along if only you weren't so stubborn."
He turns back to the door, and as he's about to go through-
"I don't know who you are. I know you're not Mr. Seth. You can't be.", Alex says, voice softer and more fragile.
"Maybe you're wearing his corpse, but there's no way you're him. And the moment the others realize that, they'll put an end to you."
"... even if your rambling had any valid base to it, none of them would turn on me as long as I have Linda on my side."
"The fact that you think Linda wouldn't turn on you too despite everything proves you're not Seth."
"She's loyal to G.E.M., Alex. And I am G.E.M."
Seth leaves the room, closing the door behind him. After several minutes of trying to take it all in, Alex sits back on his bed, face buried in his hands. He's not crying, but he's genuinely at a loss of what to do. The only thing he knows for sure is that he will not help them. As horrible as those artifacts are, this is not an acceptable way to deal with them.
With that in mind, he knows he only has a few days to live. He has to get out of the building somehow, find Thor, tell him what he knows before that information can go down with him...
But how?
Edited by DevilPsyco on Jun 4th 2024 at 11:19:10 AM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.M1R2
"Dodge!"
Thanks to a combination of [Shed Your Chains!] increasing his evasion plus a direct command to actively use said evasion, Tsujigiri dodges the Moonblast outright. Rhea uses a [Seed of Mastery] on him to increase his accuracy and the power of his next attack.
Meanwhile, Katre has Slimy use Dragon Breath on Espeon in the hopes of paralyzing it. This isn't how it works mechanically, but if the para procs it should hopefully stop Espeon from intercepting Clefable again. 1d10, procs on 8 or higher
Makai
As soon as Springman's grip has loosened, Peppino springs (heh) up and out of it.
"EYAAAAUUGH"
As he comes down, he tries to grab Springman's top coil, then twist and bend it down between the other coils, essentially pushing Springman's head down through his neck.
Mission: Pursue the Giant Monster
Godzilla stops and looks down, noticing a lone human figure approaching from the front. Neither the fear to flee nor the respect to follow, this one has audacity. Deeming her not a threat but too strange to ignore, he stops and waits to see what happens.
"Heeeyyyy!" Min Min shouts, running between his legs and up to the trackers.
"Before you go, I wanted to give you an offer. My noodle house was in the evacuation zone, so I'm losing business right now.
"If you guys, the saviors against that three-headed monster, will endorse my business so I get a bump in activity after everyone comes back, I'll treat you all to a free meal. Right now. Any takers?"
"Hmmm..." Malzeno looks up at Godzilla, who continues to just stand there. Odd...
If the Regent tries to scan his thoughts again, she'll see that he's actually letting the trackers follow and waiting for them to finish this interaction, out of respect for their help with Desghidorah and Machinedramon.
Edited by KiriK on Jun 4th 2024 at 4:56:10 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Blackreach
Seth, as well as Linda, arrive at the elevator that leads up to the mainland.
"I'm gonna be surprised if Thor's willing to talk to you.", she casually notes as they both step into it.
"I'm sure he'll have things to say, and that he'll want answers. And you're here, so that'll make it more likely he'll agree."
"I dunno, I get the feeling he's gonna be pissed at me.", Linda shrugs.
"Perhaps so. I guess we'll have to see."
The elevator starts taking them up.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Mzinchaleft
At the ruin where the elevator stops, Young Xehanort stands in front of the Great Lift, hands behind his back. The first thing they see upon stepping out is him.
"Seth Runihara, is it?" he asks. "If you will indulge me for a spell, I was hoping to pick your brain about something."
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Albaz - Mission
" Of course I will... Do you mind if my friend Ecclesia endorses your place as well? "
Springman - Makai
KO! Down goes Springman! The portal to the next area arrives in a flesh!
Ecclesia - Wayne Tower
Instead of rushing in blindly like some of the others, Ecclesia opts to lag behind and fire lightning spells from a safe distance. She may be ditzy, but battle tactics are one of her top skills.
Edited by josh6243 on Jun 4th 2024 at 3:17:21 AM
Mzinchaleft
Seth is, of course, somewhat surprised to see a random person waiting there for him.
Linda's sole response is to swiftly pull out a gun and aim it right at Young Xehanort's head.
"Don't be hasty now.", Seth says. "It seems he's only here to talk."
Linda looks at him from behind her own sunglasses, and while she keeps her gun trained on the boy, she moves her finger away from the trigger.
"... in fact.", Seth then continues. "Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up."
"If that's what you want.", Linda says, resuming her walking and keeping her eyes on Young Xehanort as she passes by him.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay."Now, you didn't need to go so far for me."
Young Xehanort is shorter than Seth, but he still speaks like his presence is commanding. Implying he'd be fine with Linda listening in, or even that if he wanted to escalate to violence, she couldn't stop him.
"You might call me a fortune-teller. I know how things will end."
Edited by KiriK on Jun 4th 2024 at 5:25:04 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.""I wouldn't say I made that decision for you.", is Seth's sole response to the first thing YX says to him.
"Oh? Not a lot of people can accurately foretell what's to come. You'll have to convince me, but I'll give you that chance. Enlighten me. What's to come?"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay."The god Thor and his friends have never lost. They may have been defeated in battle once or twice, but in the end, whatever force they went up against broke before they did."
Young Xehanort smirks. "This case is no different. You will come into conflict with Thor and his friends. You will fight, and you will fall before your aim of a world without Navitus is realized. As happened to the Lord of Light, Galeem, whose rays wiped most life from the Arena. As happened to the god Set, on the cusp of spreading his plague of evil through the cosmos. As happened to the very being responsible for bringing Navitus' presence here.
"Whether you are Seth or an imposter, whether your mind has been tainted or not, it doesn't matter. Even if your methods would have been for the best. Your 'righteousness' won't stop theirs."
Edited by KiriK on Jun 4th 2024 at 5:39:30 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Seth listens in silence. Almost an eerie kind of silence. And if Young Xehanort had been the type to get unnerved easily, he definitely would've been right now.
A smirk grows on Seth's face.
"I'll get that regardless of if I succeed or fail here. But that is irrelevant to the current proceedings. You seem to be convinced I'll lose. That's a very risky claim to make."
The shadows around the area start to shudder a bit.
"The mere fact that you're here to make such a claim... either you're very bold, very stupid, or completely unnecessary to Thor's success. Now, whichever one it may be, you've made me a little curious. Why would you go through all the trouble to make that claim, knowing I won't hesitate for a moment to strike?"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Shadows collect around Young Xehanort, creating arcs of darkness at his feet. His own smirk does not recede.
"I merely wanted to test the darkness within you, and see if a dead man could feel fear or regret. Evidently not."
Edited by KiriK on Jun 4th 2024 at 5:50:09 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."A few seconds of silence.
"Are you lying to me?", Seth asks, though sounding more amused than angry.
"Would you really come all this way, confront me despite the risks, even though you aren't involved in this situation... just to sate a tiny bit of curiosity?"
Edited by DevilPsyco on Jun 4th 2024 at 12:56:07 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.

DM Post: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14315151240A21923900&page=15499#comment-387458
Previous Post: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14315151240A21923900&page=15498#comment-387444
Ashes of Nohr
A few hours before the deadline - Astral Sea, Corrin's Castle
Charlian wiped some sweat off of his forehead as he finished his final set of axe forms taught to him by Kaa. It's not going to make a massive difference as he will likely use a replicated aspect in battle later, but he took these lessons anyways because any practice that helps him fight better is valuable. Besides, the Leviathan Axe is a legendary weapon used by Kratos himself, so some practice will ensure that he can at least wield it semi-competently and not disgrace the weapon.
The young man can't help but look at the Merchant again when he strolled in with his shop. As much as he wants to, he simply doesn't have the money. Man, if I had enough funds, I would have a fully functioning Leviathan Axe in my hands... He mused about the possible ways he can use the weapon, but ultimately decided to turn away, only to see Jeridan walk up to him with a wave.
"You lookin' at the shop over there?" Jeridan called out to him from a distance before placing his hands on his waist.
"Yeah, I was hoping to upgrade my weapon, but I don't have any cash other than what's needed to pay my living expenses."
Without any hesitation, Jeridan muttered something into an earpiece before a hotel door opened up, dropping a bag of Gold into his hands. "No worries, I got your back. What do you want to get?"
"What?" Charlian's eyes widened. "No no no," He quickly shook his head at the offer. "I can't possibly take this, I can just buy things later."
"Alrght, I'll just say this once." The red-eyed young man snorted as he started counting the Gold he needs. "These are all the money that I got from the last time I saved the world from Garon in the Arena, and I never got any opportunity to spend them since I spend most of my time traveling to other worlds. Just consider this a gift to my new friend. You owe me nothing for this, okay?"
"...alright." The Replicator can tell from his companion's tone that he is dead serious about this, so he decided against looking the gift horse in its mouth. "I want one Greater and two regular Healing Potions, a Resurrection Scroll, and my Leviathan Axe upgraded three times."
"Sounds good, but I'll toss in the invulnerability scroll and the Vallite Capsules for you too, in case you can't make any Replications for whatever reason. The capsules will let you bypass Garon's invincibility after you use it on your weapon. I still have a good bit from that mission I mentioned. Not that I need them anyways." Jeridan pretty much bought the entire inventory for them both before the two started counting what else they might need, with his friend occasionally making a comment about where the Merchant got all these stuff.
"Say, um, before you go..." Charlian found himself getting more curious about his new buddy's past adventure. "Can you tell me more about that Garon mission? Was he a spider back then?"
"Nope, but he turned into a mountain. Heh, you think I'm joking, right?" The Summoner replied with a grin on his face, before that expression dimmed a little. "Yeah, no. The bastard literally turned himself into a dragon, and then a mountain. Lemme give you a quick summary on what happened..."
After spending roughly an hour sharing his story, Charlian can't help but fanboy a bit about certain details. "So you borrowed Valstrax, threw a Knightmare into Garon while avoiding Starscream's lazer beams to help Enrico Pucci extract Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap from him? And then, you got sucked into a massive hole in the sky where you saw alternate versions of yourself as if you're gazing into Yi Sang's Mirror technology? I know I shouldn't glorify war in any way but god damn that sounds awesome."
"Hey, we're still allowed to appreciate cool things happening, and the alternate world thing was something that just happened during a war. They're both definitely pretty cool. On a side note, I've actually been thinking of incorporating the Mirror tech into a room in the Hotel too, as well as Corridor tech like the Ring used." Jeridan allowed himself to bask in the glory of the past for a brief moment as he recounted his deeds. "But yeah, being in a place where all versions of myself look at each other was a very mystical experience."
"I still think none of that is as impressive as your EGO awakening though. You were able to hold on to your principles and disciplines, even though Garon deserves to be called a monster, more than any other enemy you've encountered in that quest anyways." Charlian's eyes glinted with admiration as he praised his friend. "I think I might've just given into that assumption..."
"Eh, I don't think anyone would blame you." The young man immediately interrupted. "First, it's far less likely you'll make such a mistake anymore, because you've shown yourself to be capable of making accurate judgements and developing prudent approaches to whatever you come across, you just couldn't dispel your self-doubt to work at your best. Second, it was a more significant event for me because I was taught by the organization that took me in to never make hasty judgments or condemnations; it's a lesson that was pretty much drilled into my head. It's a lesson I believe most people should learn, but you shouldn't chastise yourself just because your discipline isn't as honed as mine."
Charlian shook his head. "It's something I'll have to keep in mind if I want to keep helping people wherever I go, because I'll have to consider a lot of things"
"You shouldn't let it occupy all your focus." The Summoner crossed his arms. "You haven't done this for long, right?" His friend shook his head. "Figures. All I can really say is you'll pick up a lot of lessons and values and get a better grip on as you gain more experience, and the upcoming battle is going to be one hell of a start to that. All you need to do for this mission is to maintain your newfound resolve no matter what, and after the mission ends... it's going to be a whole new world for you."
The Replicator's expression made it clear that he took the advice seriously. "I understand, I won't disappoint you." The Replicator paused for a moment, before chuckling. "Sorry, I'm not trying to say that I'm gonna do that for you specifically." He smiled before offering his hand. "Just consider it a promise to a friend."
"...it's settled, then." Jeridan looked at the offered gesture for a second as a smile slowly bloomed on his face. "I'll be watching you with great interest, new friend." Then, he let go of Charlian's hand, took out his phone, and checked the time. "We still have a few hours, let's train for a bit and wrap up our preparations."
That is exactly what the two would do until they leave for the clouds. The two ritual-bearers would enter the plane together and embark on the final and most important battle of this operation as comrades and equals, with the Crimson Summoner bracing himself for another battle to save the world and the Azure Artist obtaining a better understanding of what he must face in both the near and far future.
Present time - Moonrise Crypt, Sky
Jeridan has to admit, using the technicality that cloud is pretty much made of water is a clever way to exploit dimensional traveling through water, something that impressed him greatly. However, that delightful feeling was soon dashed by two things, with the first being Joseph Joestar of all people not only piloting the plane, but also being a very lame one. He's not impressed by the broadcast, but he's not angry either. This whole mission is, at a glance, something that only complete nutcases would take on. Zombies, an immortal warlord, Demented Spirits... it may be too much for Joseph Joestar at his current age.
The robobrain's comment about hell made him snort out of amusement.
"I can tell you right now that you’re likely not going to heaven after your death, so I very much anticipate the day you become one of us. There is no way I will let a quality stud like you escape my grasp."
What the Prince of Greed told him that day is deeply engrained into his memories. The Summoner already knows that he's going to hell for not only killing, but also pursuing his desire to embrace the future with so much fervor and determination. One can say that it's a form of sinful Pride, where he pursues what he believes is right as he goes on more adventures.
However, he has come to terms with this. After all, Visionary Hotel is formed on his willingness to continue moving towards the future, even if it will bring him great suffering.
Not even the promise of hell will stop him now.
The second thing that didn't particularly impress him is the rave music blasting in the Moonrise Crypt's courtyard. "... what the fuck is this?" The red-eyed young man can hear it all the way up in the sky. "Wait, those lyrics... You can't be fucking serious right now."
"Oh my god, it's that song." Charlian facepalmed when he realized that this is a massive One Piece reference. "It's a good song and this version is pretty well-written when you consider the context of this mission, but..."
Given how they're celebrating Corrin erasing his own memories, both ritual-bearers can't help but feel that this song is in pretty bad taste. "Tsh... Azura ragged on you for 'stealing' other people's powers in our last fight, but now she turns around and pull this shit."
"I guess, but to be fair, this could just be Kenjaku fucking around." The Replicator attempted to rationalize the clusterfuck happening in the courtyard with a slightly confused expression while tapping his foot to the rhythm, until he saw Jeridan noticing the movement. "Sorry, I'll stop-"
"No, it's okay." The Summoner shook his head after huffing out a laugh. "You're right about it being a well-written song, it's fine to enjoy quality content. I actually like it." True to his words, he started nodding along to the music himself. "Both because it's a bop, and because its morbidity encourages me to fight harder to rescue Corrin."
"You know, speaking of that..." For the first time in a little while, Charlian started acting a little apprehensive again, his lips twisting into a small grimace. "Is it a bad thing that it made me feel... 'pumped up' for the upcoming battle? It feels a little wrong to enjoy the thrill in this kind of dangerous situation, and in a mission where we have to rescue someone no less."
"I believe you mentioned that, in your lesson with Bravern, you would let yourself to be enthusiastic. Just think of this as a part of that; it's okay to enjoy a fight as long as it doesn't hinder you from doing what needs to be done." Jeridan can't help but grin at the idea of being able to use his accumulated strength and knowledge in a challenging mission. "For nerds with so much creative freedom like us, it's in our soul to experiment with different powers and duke it out in a epic fight, and embracing it without letting it overwhelm us will help us fight better."
"So, you don't need to hold yourself back." His crimson eyes gazed into his friend's azure ones once again. Instead of the connection they feel as fellow ritual-bearers, they now feel the understanding they have with each other as two of the biggest nerds in this entire group.
With a growing grin, Charlian bumped Jeridan on his right shoulder with his left, before offering a high five that the latter eagerly returned with his own enthusiastic grin.
"Then let's knock this out of the park."
"Hell yeah!"
Charlian
Replicated Objects:
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Acquired Item(s):
Jeridan
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Edited by cyzja922 on Jun 4th 2024 at 4:20:58 AM