A Game of Gods Season 3: Frontiers

Barry - Wendy's

"Woah, easy there! Hadn't done nothin' wrong yet, heh." quickly replied Barry when he was stopped by the tip of a sheathed blade before it was lowered. Dang, he hadn't noticed how fast she moved.

"Meh. Visiting hospitals doesn't sound like my kind o' jam, so I'mma stay right here. Have fun, everyone!" he waves at the people heading out to the institution to have blue alien lady treated.

Now, what to do...

Nightingale Hospital

As the group continued walking, they would soon come upon the sight of a modern day hospital, with a new building wing constructed at its side. Unlike when Toriel first came here, where there's only the Head Nurse and a skeleton crew to man the whole place(which was still covered in ruins, vines and leftovers of the work of a mad scientist back then), now it actually does look like the part of a respectable medical institution. Flower gardens carefully cultivated for general use by patients can be seen and a few ambulances are parked outside the entrance(closer inspection would yield that all of them came from Gotham), ready to be quickly dispatched all around Akihabara in case of emergencies.

Inside, they would be greeted with the gentle breeze of an air conditioner. The room was pretty much the same as before: sterile environment, potted plants to liven the place a bit, nutritional and health trivia posters plastered on the walls. That said, there were some quality of life changes to it too, such as comfier seats for anyone waiting on the receptionist, an aquarium as additional decor and a jukebox playing ambient classical music nearby(an idea brilliantly concocted by a Gotham employee).

All in all, it appears that it's been a slow day today as well, what with the lack of guests at the seat. Manning the reception desk as usual was Sylvie, greeting the group after warmly seeing someone else at the counter off.◊

"Welcome to Nightingale Hospital~ And my, what a pleasant surprise! It's nice of you to come by and take the time off your busy schedule to come visit us, Miss Satsuki." she smiled before bowing respectfully at one of the Head Nurse's closest allies. "How may I... Oh dear."

It was then her trained eye squared on upon the alien, worry evident on her face as she inspects the woman's apparent condition.

"Is something wrong with your friend here? Does she require immediate care?"

Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Jan 25th 2020 at 8:07:24 PM

Pyrrha, Hospital Escort, Wendy's > Hospital

It was heartening to see so many people willing to offer help to ferry Samusaran to the hospital. Satsuki even mentioned "her men" - impressive, since it looked like they were around the same age. The way she kept talking about "Doctor Nightingale" was rather concerning still, however. "Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem..." On the other hand, Samusaran was partial to her nickname.

As they walked to the hospital, her step matching Krillin's, she couldn't help but turn a little sheepish at the question. "It's my Semblance, actually." Realizing that this probably wasn't any helpful, she elaborated after a moment. "Think of it as a unique power that comes from the soul. I do apologize for making a show out of it... I thought I might be being more secretive..."

Considering that the city was built on ruins, the hospital left Pyrrha pleasantly surprised. It was... just about a proper hospital, and the interior matched the exterior, in a rather homely Argus-y way. "Good morning. We... don't know, exactly." She said to Sylvie, her brow furrowed slightly. "It seems that Miss Samus might not have been human once, and is struggling to figure out the functions of this new body. If that makes sense."

Oh yes, perhaps that would be wise to mention. "...she also dissolves organic matter that she touches. It turns blue, then rots and turns into a kind of sludge that she reabsorbs back." Pyrrha added by way of further explanation.

"Welcome back." He gave Velvet a grin before setting his eyes on the Knightmare. This was probably a bad time to mention he hadn't had a pleasure to actually fight one of the mechs yet, but his lessons with firearms taught him enough to know trying to attack the chaingun from the front would just end in tears. "Plans solid, reactions flexible, huh?" Shigure craned his neck to look at Slash Harkens keeping Knightmare up on the wall.

"How's your throwing arm?" He asked with an idle stretch, his eyes never leaving the length of thick rope stuck in the wall to let Velvet catch on herself.

Unfortunately, no words of wisdom came - and Inosuke Hashibira was never a patient man. "Ah, dammit! That's too much waiting!" Still in his extraordinarily flowery Fubuki's Kimono, he charged forward towards the nearest drow, both Nichirin blades tightly held. Still, these guys were not (to his limited understanding) demons, so it would probably suck killing them. Gonpachiro would give him grief over it and Inosuke liked being a good-ish guy.

Thus, rather than slash into the nearest drow, he decided to smack the offender with hilts instead as his grip switched to reverse; one to the gut and another to the chin for extra certainty.

The battle would begin as the trap was sprung, allowing for a rather chaotic scene to burst out as the two forces clashed with each other. The frog robot would clash against a rapier wielding mook with a ring of steel on steel, though it being a lot smaller and nimbler than expected would eventually allow it to slice off the wrist of the engagement as he overextended, a face of pained dread blooming before the Kero jabbed its point into his temple and sent him off to eternal slumber. Chiaki meanwhile just sort of had a drow sidestep the very easily telegraphed stone toss before a retaliatory bolo was flung her way, save that the weighed ends of the projectile weapon were burred metal balls.

Junko's shots meanwhile startled the cleric as one of the people closest to her got offed after bullet tore through hardened leather armor, embedding itself deeply in the chest and causing a slumped moan of unwanted retirement. The last shot that rang out would indeed hit the cleric, though a spell that had been prepared beforehand tanked that particular round before fizzling out of existence so whatever attack came next would be able to do damage should it hit.

Unfortunately this meant that Junko was now having the undivided attention of the corrupted elf in question who didn't really hesitate to make her grievances known before flinging her hand outwards and shrieking a final word of power, changing her transference spell from before into one that had full intent to harm. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen before rather worrying rumbling sounds could be heard even above the din of the battle, as though giant amounts of earth and rocks were grinding and crushing against each other.

What came next would be a giant eruption of undergrowth and terra firma as a man-sized snapping turtle head attempted to bite the area that Junko was standing on with the force of an excavator, the purple toned beast literally chewing through its immediate surroundings before slowly but steadily rising itself from below ground even as dark miasma roiled off it in waves, necrotic energies animating the corpse of terrapin monster the size of an African bull elephant.

Meanwhile magical fire of both varieties that targeted the soul as well as the physical coil from both Toriel and Mokou set aflame three more of the unlucky melee goers as well as a few feet of the surrounding forestry before it fizzled out because of the abundance of moisture. A classically dressed drow wizard raised his hands after coming into visibility, parting the fire that continued to gush out from the Akihabarans about himself before releasing his own counterattack in the form of a blistering blue ray that swept through the surroundings for a few seconds, whatever it hit being encased in a copiously thick layer of misty permafrost as if to detail the ironic counter of those that engaged in fire magicks.

The Vessel meanwhile would succeed in shooting two more drow with its shadow lances before a couple leaves would flutter on down above it. Only a scant second would be afforded for a reaction before a grim faced rider mounted on a giant tiger sized lizard of all things pounced down with the great weight and power of an ambush oriented creature, scuttling about the trunk and branch tops with the adroitness of a gecko despite the sheer bulk and heft. Claw swipes, tail lashes, and the rider repeatedly taking pot shots with their hand crossbow would afford a rather violent attack on its person, doubly so when it could move about the vertical surfaces so easily.

Still, the hectic going-on's (and pure rage that the pointy eared evils were feeling) would allow for Naga to successfully trap the cleric in her earthen prison, at least for now. That lady was giving the evil eye to Naga before making another chant so as to extricate herself out from the barriers. Inosuke ripping and tearing yet another of her body guards (and consequently splashing her with his blood) just made the cleric even more angry so she tossed her whip out at him while the chant continued, turning into a nine headed snake that tried to bite him with fangs that were probably venomous.

Camoa - Bisga Woods (Lost Vessel, Others) ~ Well, Suck

For a brief moment of time, the Lost Vessel's sniping attempts seemed to be working well. At least two of the lesser drow were offed and it was naturally working on more. Of course, that was before the battlefield suddenly got much more chaotic, with massive beasts and strange magic entering the field.

Unfortunately for the Lost Vessel, the drow accounted for it too and wouldn't be so kind as to let it continue sniping from the shadows. It felt some leaves gently drift by. In any other circumstance it might have dismissed it, but given the circumstances it took it as a warning. The hunch proved correct, for it just narrowly avoided getting ripped asunder by the reptilian beast as it dashed away to another branch on a different tree.

Out came its nail as it jumped from branch to branch, trying to keep its distance away from the thrashing claws and tail. It was easier said than done, for the projectiles fired by its rider were equally dangerous and trickier to avoid. More than once a bolt grazed it, putting holes in its cloak that it would have to patch later much to its annoyance. One bolt hit it square in the chest, though thankfully it didn't have enough power behind it to pierce the plate the Lost Vessel was wearing.

With its movements it attempted to lure the beast onto a particularly long branch. If successful, it would jump up and fire a Void Cutter with a horizontal slash at its nail, aimed in such a manner that if it missed the intended target of the rider's chest it would sever the branch and send the two falling down to the forest floor below.

"Thank Mila," Ismene muttered under her breath when Barry decided he had better things to do.

Past that, despite having her offer turned down she rode her chocobo to the hospital anyway. Besides the fact that she wanted to have it with her anyway, in the event that someone couldn't walk anymore something to ride would be nice to have on standby.

Past that, she opted to remain silent for once as the group reached the hospital. After getting off her chocobo she followed the others inside.

"Looks like you've been making good progress with the place," she commented on the hospital's overall state. As Pyrrha had already stated what they were there for she didn't feel the need to repeat it.

Venus - Nightmare's Castle

"Yeeouch, don't get in close when he's doing that garbage!" Venus shook her head. "Salamence, get back in there with a Dragon Claw... on the stones! Meteor shower!"

Salamence nodded and flew up and back in as if she were going in for a bombing run, ramming straight ahead with terrifying force... at the wall above Nightmare, right where it met with the ceiling. Her shoulders and energized claws slammed at the stonework with the full force of her bulk flying at it, showering everything underneath her with a rain of debris as she punched through.

"Bring it down on his head!"

Naga the Serpent - Distraction - Bisga Woods

"Ohohoho, so you think you can make golems?" Naga laughed at the snapping turtles. "That turtle's hardly a child's spell. Nobody knows how to make golems as well as Naga the Serpent!"

She jumped up on top of the wagon, holding her hands out as a large burst of magic energy shot out of them onto the ground below.

"VU... RAYWA!!!!!"

The cart rose all of a sudden, higher and higher into the air until it was nearly a dozen feet in the air. The reason for its sudden ascent was due to the absolutely massive turtle golem Naga had conjured from the very earth. A beast of stone and magic that dwarfed anyone here, it was the size of a bus, its enormous mouth was easily capable of swallowing a man whole and shatter boulders, a mouth which it had no trouble using as it gave out a tremendous roar.

...and awkwardly flapped its stubby turtle flippers, unable to move itself anywhere. It sure tried to bite anything that came close to its big damned turtle head, though. Just a matter of... waiting for someone to actually get close.

"Oh right...." Naga stared at the massive turtle for a moment, blinking. "Tortoises are the ones that can walk...."

O'Kais, Nightmare Castle

-The battlesuit possesses anti-air point defenses as well?! The first one crashes into his iridium battlesuit before the Shas'O can respond. Alarms and sensors flash in his HUD.-

Multiple system alerts! Pulling back!

-Triggering his jetpacks again, O'Kais flies away, firing plasma beams blindly at the missiles in his wake, his own missile pods continuing to fire at the twisted machine below.-

Killer Croc, Sewers

-Killer Croc turns around as he hears his name being called by a voice. Two men are floating on something huge and crocodile shaped, which he confirms by looking at the part of it hidden underwater. No way for him to beat that thing here and now.-

Tha'ss me. How kin Ah help you gennelmin?

Enterprise - Bisga Battle

The battle had started, and it seemed like things were starting to even out as the Drow began to realize there was a trap being sprung. Everyone else had already gone out and opened fire but Enterprise had held back to observe the situation for the most dangerous targets when she saw that Vessel was being attacked by some gigantic lizard being rode by a drow which seemed like probably the best target.

She pulled back the drawstring of her longbow as three yellow arrows of energy formed, but she didn't let them fly immediately. She could tell LV was trying to lure the monster into some kind of trap, so she waited to she if it would before finally unleashing the arrows, the three energy arrows changing shapes to resemble explosive bombs midflight. Even if they didn't connect they'd likely help knock the monster down to a lower level.

Gespenst - Timeskip

Gespenst had realized something about humans and the other biological life during his time in Akihabara, and that was that when danger came, they seemed to be able to surpass their limitations and become stronger in the heat of the moment than what they had been before, and that through training they could still improve themselves outside of battle. He did not have that ability, so he made a wish he thought would be simple, 'the power to evolve' was what he wished for when he crushed the tablet in his hands.

What ever the tablet did to him at that moment, Gespenst didn't realize as his energy levels spiked and his memory became distorted. The next thing he knew when he 'came back to his senses', he was pinned down by the Nacht and Abend, while Enterprise had an energy arrow pointed in his face saying they had just barely restrained him.

Gespenst - Nightmare's Castle

Gespenst didn't seem deterred by the fire as he got ready to charge through it to reach the wall and charge up it at Nightmare, only to end up collapsing as some of the bullets hit him and his power level dropped to critical, causing him to fall over from the sudden loss of energy. This was probably the worst insult Gespenst felt could be dealt to him, and it infuriated him, to have his energy stolen, but he wouldn't stay lying on the floor as he pushed himself back up.

If his energy levels had dropped to critical, then he'd have to take the limiters off his reactor to replace it quickly, though the last time he tried that it had ended badly it didn't seem like much of a choice at the moment.

"Reactor limits disabled, commencing Phase 2."

His eyes flashed briefly as what looked like green energy began to leak out of the cracks and tears in his armor. For now at least he still had control over himself, so he had to make this count otherwise he'd likely be leaving the castle in pieces. So with that in mind, and no longer fearing the damage he might take, he raced forward through the flames at such speeds that bits of his armor began to sheer off or even melt slightly through a combination of the air friction and flame but he didn't slow down as he approached the wall. Instead he jumped off the ground as he got close enough, using the momentum from his forward charge plus his back boosters to begin running straight up the wall.

Rather than going for a blow on the mecha though, Gespenst was aiming one of the slash harkens, pulling out his two smaller plasma cutter blades and throwing them upwards at the cables that were holding the Knightmare on the wall.

Edited by Bcom on Jan 26th 2020 at 10:57:39 AM

This post was thumped by the Eldritch Flyswatter of Horror

Siluca - Nightmare’s Castle

It seemed that mech could fire missiles like the ones O’Kais and Lady had been using.

Siluca was at least somewhat relieved that she managed to avoid electrocuting her allies with lightning this time, and it actually managed to throw Nightmare back.

While continuing to adjust her position, a second set of missiles soon flared out, and they seemed to be headed her way. It was true she had more distance, but knowing what kind of explosive power those things had, being hit by them would likely be deadly.

Seeing O’Kais trying to shoot the missiles heading towards him down and remembering how easily Nightmare himself was able to swat away the one missile Lady fired, Siluca in her plunge towards the ground began swiping with her wand, flinging two Parry spells at the missiles closest to her to either try and deflect them away or get them to explode prematurely.

Whether or not this did anything, Siluca then swiftly made another cast with her wand, causing a wisp to fume out at its tip and form into a bluish barrier to try and shield herself. By this point, she had released her own control of her broom to focus on her Block spell.

Whichever missile plunged into her barrier first may have slowed slightly. It was enough to prevent the missile from hitting her directly, though whether it was from detonating within the disk-like barrier itself or from hitting the wall/statue/fence behind her, the explosion flung Siluca, possibly into any obstruction behind the mage, before she then fell to the ground, with part of her broom snapping.

The explosion likely charred whichever part of Siluca was closest to or facing the blast, and the missile’s shrapnel dug into her. Perhaps another one of the missile’s blasts flung the mage again, or perhaps being flung by the previous missile just saved her from being rendered into a pulp by the next.

Siluca was hurting all over. At the moment it was hard to make out everything else going on in the room.

Even while struggling to reflect on everything that was going on, she knew she couldn’t fall here. She needed to be there for her people, and she needed to return back to her home world, to make sure Lord Theo was alright.

But then she realized she would need to leave the people she led here, in Log Horizon. It was true she tried to rule the way she did so that they could stand up to anyone else that might threaten them, but even so she wondered if, by doing so, she would no longer find herself willing or able to return to her own world.

Still, she couldn’t die here.

Siluca struggled to push herself back up, feeling around for her wand and broom, finding the former not too far away. She let out a pained moan, trying to point her wand in the direction she vaguely saw Nightmare while still stumbling on the ground, not likely going to be able to do much without healing.

Junko, Chiaki, Keropoyo - Bisga Drow Hunt

After Keropoyo finished its brief fight, it looked up at the giant lizard that the bugboi was fighting. With the fire and frost/cold spells being flung out, and with one of its primary objectives now being somewhat out of reach, the frog robot retreated a little bit from the main area of the fight, retracting its blades and dodging out of any projectiles or strikes that came its way.

Though Chiaki saw the bola coming, and while she did briefly try to outrun it, the weapon still wrapped around her legs and caused her to tumble over. She tried to struggle out of them, though the likely serrated balls tore a bit into her robes and scratched into her skin.

“Medic down! I need help!” Chiaki said somewhat loudly, though her voice didn’t carry any immediate danger or urgency in spite of her words.

While Chiaki tried to struggle out of the binds, she began to roll on the ground, though her stuffed backpack prevented her from turning over completely. As she did this, the Ultimate Gamer had a strangely relieved and ecstatic open smile, like the bola weights were scratching away a strong itch instead of being painful like they were.

Still, while relatively prone, Chiaki pulled her arms out of her backpack’s straps, and then conjured another stone to try and chuck it at the drow that just knocked her over.

In spite of all the chaos, Keropoyo had somehow managed to hear Chiaki’s voice.

“A friend is in danger!” the frog said aloud with unfitting cheerfulness.

Altering from its previous course of action, Keropoyo turned and began to weave through the trees, trying to stay behind most of the other fighters, to try and reach Chiaki. As it approached that drow, the frog extended its blades again and began to swipe at its adversary, whether said drow was standing at this moment.

After Junko landed her shots, she saw the lead drow saying some stuff. It was a little disappointing she couldn’t kill the leader in one go. Plus with that rock wall going up, it was going to be even harder to land a good shot.

What was that rumbling? Whatever that lady said did something, and it seemed to be coming from below.

With soldier instincts kicking into gear, Junko leaped out of the way as a giant turtle head appeared. During this jump, Junko swiftly stowed the pistol she was holding into her handbag and took out a fragmentation grenade, which she quickly primed and tried to chuck into the giant turtle’s mouth as it was eating the ground she had just vacated. Naga also summoned a giant turtle of her own, but it didn’t look like it was going anywhere.

Wait, something was off about this creature, and it smelled more like a rotting corpse than whatever it was supposed to be. Didn’t Chiaki say something about holy magic being strong against undead stuff in most RPGs?

From the looks of things Chiaki looked kinda busy. Well anyway, maybe this giant turtle would kill the other party members if it got really lucky.

Daud - Quiet Time in the Van

"It does." he agreed with the detective's assessment. "Our job doesn't entail dealing with a major power. Would've done things differently or brought in more backup otherwise."

Setting the Reiko case aside, what transpired here would probably be known sooner or later by everyone else. Worryingly still was how this is going to affect the precarious peace the Akihabarans might've had previously, considering the already shaky relations the Empire had with a certain other major power.

"I just fucking hope this won't escalate into something much worse." He might be reading too much into this, but he can't help to worry all the same.

Unlike the previous chase with the small tank, the trip back to Akihabara is uneventful by comparison; so much so that it appears as if they're reached there in a blink of an eye. Time really does move quickly when not much has happened, huh?

With Eight saying their farewells and went off their own way back into the city, the two then made their way to Akihabara to give their report.

Daud - Akihabara - Summary Report

Back in Akihabara and having made their way to Nash, they then reported everything that had transpired during the investigation to him. That the two had apprehended Reiko and were going back to Akihabara, that the Sakura Empire intervened and rescued her along the way(or to promptly punish the sniper themselves, if the Sakura Empire's intention is to be believed) and that there was a hooded figure, along with the possibility that she has even more allies than initially believed.

The ex-assassin recommends making notices of the sniper being no longer welcomed in Akihabaran lands. If the Empire made good on their promise, that's one less thing to worry about. If not, then let this be a deterrent to her ever coming back and even more deterrent from causing trouble here again.

... Daud knows better than anyone else that this won't fully stop her from sneaking over or remain in incognito if she chose to go that route. Still, limiting her access is better than doing nothing at all.

Whatever decision the Pathfinders reached, he would then inform to the others around that he had other matters to attend to and waved a curt goodbye to the detective and police.

Entertainment District - Apartment Room

On his way back to his official home somewhere within the Entertainment District, the man known as Daud began to fall into a familiar habit of being overly cautious. The first was changing his routes everyday he returns back, sometimes using the same road twice or more. Second was to periodically activate his Void Gaze from time to time to see if anyone in particular is actively following him from a distance.

The third, after he ensured that no he wasn't, was when he finally reaches his room and inspected if the it or the door had been tampered in any way. In addition to locks, he'd attached to it alarm systems, tapes and other such precautions along those line. After he was sure that everything was where it should be does he finally sigh and take a nearby seat.

Such was the everyday routine of a man who finds his annoying habit hard to break.

Reaching out for his communication set and relaying to the correct frequencies, he then connects himself to his hidden base of his followers that he'd formed over a month ago.

"Just got back from work." he released a long, tired sigh afterwards. "Long day, but I'll live. Report, did anything happen while I was away?"

What followed was a daily report sent by his Second-In-Command to him, to keep him up to date on the latest happenings of the Frontier. From the Camoans having hired a group of Akihabarans to deal with the Drows, to reports of there being a portal where people are being sent to fight someone called 'Nightmare', to the situation of Gotham being overall better but still remains a hive of villainy. Not much going-ons in the Fire Nation beyond them being focused on accumulating power and while he has heard of there being a potential war looming against Melkia, he hadn't exactly expanded his sphere of contacts into the Wasteland to find out much yet.

The existence of the San Frasokyoans does raise his interest a bit. Perhaps he could get his hand on an inventor the likes of Sokolov to help in his operation. Wishful thinking, considering a genius like him would be hard to come by normally, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"That's all there is to report. And, ermm..."

"Hm?" Just as he was about to turn the comm off and prepare himself to meet up with his mysterious informant, Tian's stutter immediately gained his attention.

"There's... been a slight complication over here, leader. Our hideout has been compromised. He had even specifically brought in gift backets for you, and-"

"Hold on hold on, what do you mean by that? What the hell happened?" Shit, does he have to re-locate now? No, more importantly, who was it that stumbled upon it? Was it one of those freelancers, the Log Horizon District or, worse case scenario, people from the Sakura Empire?

... Wait, gift baskets?

"I, well, ermm... you would have to listen to him to believe it, Daud."

There was the sound of the mic being passed on as Daud awaits with bated breath.

Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Jan 27th 2020 at 3:54:30 AM

"Hello, my fellow spymaster! I've been waiting a while to meet you! I do hope you like the gift basket of goodies I sent on over- it's a choice selection of our best products to help stimulate the mind and keep the senses alert, especially in our line of work aha!" A rather loud and boisterous voice rang out, though it somehow had the air of an intellectual rather than that of a simple idiot who only had volume going for him. It was distinctly upper crust even.

"In any case, you can simply call me Bell. I'm the resident franchise owner behind the profitable brainchild known as BUB'S and I do believe we have a lot to discuss, my friend! I'll be on over in a bit so please sit tight.~" And then a click could be heard as the demon on the other end of the line hung up, no doubt acting on his promise to head on over posthaste.

Bisga — A Supreme Leader and His Tank

Earlier, when Shirakami tried to contact the Occupier tank, there had been a burst of static - it seemed that she could indeed link her radio with the First Order repulsorlift tank's comms.

Meanwhile, both it and Kylo had been remaining in their chosen ambush site: an area where a combination of rising terrain and undergrowth had helped keep the squat, boxy vehicle hidden. SAI poked his head out of the hatch to regard his meditating superior. "Supreme Leader, aren't we going to do something?"

There was a long moment of silence punctuated by the sounds of combat as Kylo continued to nurse the latent heat of his anger. As his eyes opened, he could see the undead tortoise straight ahead. This will be no different than killing the Benathy's so-called "god". "General. Target the beast."

"Shouldn't we warn them first? We don't know if -"

"I want you to blast that thing into atoms. If the others are too slow to react or are foolish enough to get that close, then they wouldn't have survived anyway." Even through the distortion of his mask his voice was layered with menace.

SAI knew better than to press the issue and simply retreated into the tank. He transmitted a quick message to Shirakami. "We're opening fire on that... turtle. What are you targeting?"

Meanwhile, Kylo leapt off of the top of the tank and with surprising grace somersaulted to the ground, lightsaber activating with a plume of cinders. The blade sang as he spun it, striding towards the battlefield. "Your raids end here!" he called out, pointing his lightsaber in the direction of the highest ranking drow.

Almost simultaneously there was a brief metallic groan and then a flash of blue-white from somewhere behind the Supreme Leader. A pair of blue bolts leapt out of the bushes, streaking towards the undead turtle. Meanwhile, Kylo kept advancing, ready to cut down anyone foolish enough to go toe-to-toe with him.

Toriel (Battle of Bisga Woods)

While her fire was not quite as weak to cold as an ordinary one, Toriel still found it prudent to move position, lest she fall victim to the blue ray herself. Upon hearing a cry that one of their medics was down, Toriel scanned the battlefield and saw Chiaki on the ground, limbs trapped together and helpless before one of the drow. Hurrying over to her location, Toriel conjured another flame, first to chase the drow away so the frog creature could chase after it, and then to burn away the cords of the bola. Upon reaching Chiaki, Toriel knelt down and offered her hand to the prone medic.

"Up you get, it's not safe to be idle." Toriel's words soon were proven correct, as giant beasts began emerging from the ground, though fortunately one of them seemed to belong to Miss Naga. However, that was not the thing that worried Toriel most at this moment; that honor went to one of their allies. Even if he was on their side, the man with the glowing saber gave Toriel an unsettling feeling that made her worry of the drow pale in comparison.

Dark Samus (Hospital)

As the others talked around her, Dark Samus's eyes wandered as she took in the interior of where they were at. Her attention drawn to the aquarium, she shambled over to it and peered into the tank, watching the fish...and to anyone who might happen to glance over, they might notice that:

A) The normally docile fish were all scrambling to get as far away from Dark Samus as possible, and...

B) The reflection of the glass showed that Dark Samus had a predatory look in her eyes, as if she was contemplating raiding the contents of said aquarium.

Pig How Swords Work, Bisga

Oh. The guy just ran into Inosuke's swords. Well, no skin off his back, but that sure made the lady knife-ear angry - exactly what he was counting on. "That's what I'm talkin' bout! Bring that shit, lady!" Howling with glee, the porcine problem went in swords blazing, keeping low to the ground and swinging his blades to both avoid the bites and to cut down any errant head that came to close? Nine-headed snakes? He ate those for breakfast.

So it was only natural that one would clip him in the shoulder and another around his waist, snake teeth leaving flesh wounds - not that he was the kind to stop from such inconsequential things. He threw himself forward, having enough of awareness at the moment to recognize the lady was probably more important than the other goons around this place. Thus, he took a page from esteemed gladiators of the West and went in for a full body-tackle, intending to Spear the elf lady and bowl her over.

Oh... uh... "Samus...? I don't think these should be eaten..." She cautioned the blue woman as she saw her looking towards the fish in the aquarium with obvious hunger. A single apple might not have been enough to sate her craving, but everyone present was too worried about her condition at a time. They would have to fix her a proper burger set later.

Satsuki - Hospital

As the group entered the hospital foyer, an armed man and a woman could be seen standing guard just inside, dressed in modern all-weather clothes and Hospitalier armbands. They spotted Satsuki and saluted, which the swordswoman returned, before she gave the receptionist a nod and led the group up to the counter.

"Sylvie. I wish it were a social visit. However..." She stepped aside to allow Samus in closer, keeping an eye on the woman as Pyrrha explained.

"She doesn't appear to be violent." Satsuki added, raising one eyebrow slightly as she watched Samus menace the aquarium.

"... Hungry, perhaps, bu not violent. Is Dr. Nightingale here today?"

—

Yue - From Gotham to Aki to Home

Yue had made her report to Nash along with Daud, her contribution a meticulous action report that she had somehow managed to finish during the ride home - mostly by dictating around a handkerchief to a fairy summon equipped with a pen.

Her goodbyes to Daud had been equally brief, the mage-detective summoning her staff and taking to the air as soon as she had clear sky. Minutes later, she was swooping in through the open ceiling of her second-story herb garden, causing the caretaker fairies to squeak and take cover under the sage.

She should really be checking on those herbs... and the reaction she had going in her alembic, and those potion orders she'd taken on the side. Food would probably also be a thing that needed making at some point.

But god, it had been a hell of a morning. Week. Month. All the energy Yue could muster was spent on shedding her bloodied shirt, pulling on a fresh one, and flopping back onto her cot. One last motion placed her hat over her face, and then the only sound in the detective's office was her soft snoring.

Architect - Streets of Gotham

With the situation at hand seemingly resoled, Reiko working her way over to the pair, and Chocco and Vanilla coming back to there senses... The swarm of drones flew off into the sky to make there way back to the land carrier.

"Well, now that that's taken care of I guess it time to go? Before they come back with bigger guns", Architect called out while also calling for there vehicle to return to them... It did not exactly have interior space, so the ride would consist of sitting on the roof but it was at least quicker then walking.

"Either way, we do need to talk on our trip back, and I am not sure your going to like what we have to say..."

Edited by Imca on Jan 28th 2020 at 1:55:11 AM

Daud - Entertainment District Apartment

"... And off he goes. Looks like you've got an eccentric one on you."

"..."

"... Daud?"

"... Hah."

For a moment, it felt as if another fatigue-induced groan was on its way. Then, as if having already given up and not give a damn anymore, he simply chuckled and laughed it off.

"Fine, let's see what he has to say! Man's gotta be worth something, alright, if he has already discovered the heart of our operation."

"I take that to mean there's no need for us to abandon our current set-up?"

"Negative. If we can work out a deal, we'll be set out for a long while." The ex-assassin ponders for a moment. "... Til' then, keep a tight lid. And cover off whatever exits he used, I don't want us dealing with another compromise."

"Aye, boss."

That done and turning the comms off, Daud is now off preparing a table and couple of free seats for his guest.

Nightingale Hospital - Good thing the nurse isn't here

"A...ahaha..." Sylvie laughed nervously at both Phyrha's explanation and at the patient's antics involving the aquarium. "It's a good thing that you've brought her to us, then."

To Satsuki who inquired about the nurse, the receptionist shook her head. "I'm afraid Miss Nightingale is out on official business at the moment. Something about expanding our services to the nearby land called 'Pravda'." she sighed. "... Though honestly, given the situation, I can't imagine what she'll do should she hear about this."

She coughed a few times, having already envisioned the possibility of the Head Nurse quarantining the whole hospital and patient until further notice. Among other things. "In any case, we have plenty of Intensive Care Units that we reserved for emergencies along with our best healers and doctors working on the clock. If nothing else, we can check up on your friend's vitals, see if there's anything we can learn and determine if special care is needed for her during her stay in the Frontiers. If you could all please follow me."

Should the group chose to do so, they'll be lead to the upper floor where said unit is located. Along the way, medics and personnel of all kinds could be seen wandering around and working in tandem; from the modern-day surgeons to the fantastical priests and water benders.

Upon reaching the floor, Dark Samus would then be gently guided towards the room where a few men and women were already awaiting her there in different garbs awaited her, along with all sorts of specialized equipment. From there, various biological scans and such would be made on her person while the more magical practitioners would try their best to do so in more esoteric ways; all the while trying to ensure that the patient remains as comfortable as she could so as to avoid agitating her during testing.

The rest of the group, on the other hand(should they choose to stay), were instructed to remain outside until further testing is done and a conclusion has been made as Sylvie waits for the data report made by the senior medics.

Starscream's Goons - Gotham Sewers

The two men turned around to see Killer Croc greeting. They might have been scared in other circumstances, but riding a gigantic robot alligator did wonder for their confidence. So Runabout cheerfully addressed the monstrous criminal. "Greetings, Sir Croc. As you might have been informed, the Joker's gang was recently reorganized into the Decepticon Gang under our most glorious leader Starscream. Our current objective is to obtain complete domination over our dear city's underworld. To this end, we seek to cordially invite you to pledge allegiance to Starscream."

The other goon eagerly backed up his buddy. "Yeah, or you get crushed by the allicon!"

"I couldn't have put it better myself, Runamuck! Though there is no need to be alarmed, my good sir. A monetary tribute from each of your illegally obtained benefits would be more than enough to clarify where your loyalty lies. So, what do you say?"

Once again, Mikazuki reacted quickly after Nightmare planted himself on a wall. The Gundam moved towards the fire wall, moving erratically with the help of his thrusters to dodge the incoming energy bullets. He followed Gespenst's example in just rushing through the flames. Several parts of Barbato's outer armor melted away, but Mika would be fine as long as the base frame was intact. So he just activated his back truster and charged towards Nightmare's Knightmare to try to crush its cockpit with his mace.

Scrooge followed the group to the hospital. The duck let out a sigh of relief when heard the head doctor wasn't here. When Samus was taken away to the operation room, he turned toward Krillin. "So, lad, ye want to wait for her here or do ye still want to go to Gotham?"

Akibahara, Hospital: Moving On

Krillin didn't answer Pyrrha, and not just because the trip to the hospital turned out to be quite short. The Huntress could easily spot the contemplative frown on the cop's face, as if he wanted to say something but knew it either wouldn't make sense or it wouldn't matter. At some point during the walk, he must've decided to put a pin in the issue for now, and focus on getting Samus some medical attention. This too, Pyrrha could easily spot; the frown withered away, and a smile sprouted in its place.

The others handled most of the talking, so Krillin took a back seat to the issue at hand. His contributions amounted to shooting Satsuki a surprised stare as the guards saluted the young lady, and a few nervous hums at Samus' apparent craving for sushi. As the newest patient was taken away for testing and the duck suggested heading for Gotham, Krillin crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

He had a decision to make.

"I'm a little worried about Samus' condition, but Gotham seems like it needs a lot of help right now."

He was more than a bit concerned about this Dr. Nightingale, but at the same time there were more reliable people around here who might be able to keep this "sickly" patient out of sight—that's what he hoped anyway, judging by how the woman with the sword held some clear authority around here.

So he opened his eyes and turned to Satsuki:

"Aside from Dr. Nightingale, you're in charge around here, right? Think you can have someone call me if the tests find anything dangerous?"

Chun-Li, Nightingale Hospital

"Given the way she looked at the fish, I would suggest we send some more food over to her," Chun-Li suggested to Sylvie. "At least for now, it's probably in Akihabara's security interest to make sure she is well-fed."

"We'll order the largest meal Wendy's has and deliver it over to her to eat," Chun-Li stated to Sylvie. "Is that alright?"

Dark Samus (Hospital)

Fortunately for the fish, Dark Samus was prompted to follow the rest of the group, which erased the smile from her face, but she complied and followed after them anyway.

As she ascended the hospital and saw more and more others, and got herded into a room filled with others staring at her, Dark Samus met them with the same vacant facial expressions as she had wore before. Other than that, there was only one other noteworthy reaction...and that was from the Geiger counters and other machines dedicated to detecting radiation, which had started to freak the hell out as soon as she stepped foot inside the room.

Satsuki - Hospital

After helping to escort Samus to the examination room, Satsuki turned towards Krillin and nodded.

"I'll ask the staff to send word once the tests are complete. I'm not in charge of the hospital itself, but my unit works closely with the medics here."

"I command the Akihabara Hospitaliers." She explained, folding her hands on top of her sword hilt and turning to direct her words towards Pyrrha as well. "We began as the armed wing of the humanitarian mission to Gotham, and though our focus has widened in the weeks since we still maintain a presence there. If you are serious about helping the city get back on its feet, I'll show you there myself."

As if to show that the resident coffee tycoon was indeed sincere in meeting the spymaster posthaste, motes of golden light began to converge before his very eyes before etching out a wide and perfect circle on the flooring before drawing angular lines that showed a pronged star. Flashing stronger and thrumming with power, a devilishly handsome figure merrily stepped out from the depths of the summoning circle with a spring in his step and a glint in his eyes.

"Hello there, my friend! I come bearing the human concept of the basket of gifting!" Holding up a large assortment of tastefully done coffee and coffee accessories in a handwoven straw basket with clear plastic wrapping and a gold felt ribbon tying everything together, the devil then put it on the tabletop before giving a hand clasped to chest 30 degree angle bow. "I am indeed the one that wanted to talk business with you. I do hope I haven't made you wait too long.~"

As the fight continued, various actions would happen in the span of time that could accurately be summed up as close enough to be considered simultaneous. The tension between the Vessel and the lizard rider reached a peak point when it scrabbled at the branch that the bug had intended to lure it to the limb which was then cut. Strong muscles bunched and bounded off the falling thing, the mount almost making it to succor on the trunk of the enormous tree it was leaping at before Enterprise sniped at it with explosive arrows which... well, resulted in chunks of flesh raining down to no one's surprise.

Giving both Naga and Inosuke a very bland look of overall disgust at their bungling (the pig themed boy even more so because he was attempting to tackle her with the thick earthen cage railings in between them), the cleric took a few steps back before thrusting her hands out and barking out yet another order. By the time Inosuke actually managed to break through for stabbity, eight cubes of compressed fire could be seen dancing at the top of the woman's fingertips...

Which she then threw forward with viciousness in her expression. Every single one of the things would have the explosive equivalent of an incendiary grenade on contact with anything it hit, half of them hurtling towards the demon slayer and the other half aimed at Naga for both showboating and being a conspicuous enemy spellcasting target.

Speaking of grenades, the explosive that Junko had tossed and the turtle had eaten managed to blow a good half of its head off with a muffled bang which did the rather gross thing of having splintered skull and brain matter splattering around the area. The thing managed to hang on long enough to activate a spell in which it launched a couple of man sized boulders high up in the air in a steep parabolic arc before the heavy things began to descend in the surrounding area, a crude but still ultimately dangerous swan song before the rest of itself was blown up by SAI and his Star Wars tiered tank for more ludicrous terrapin giblets.

For Ben Swolo himself, he faced off with the Drow Wizard who had froze the swathes of land earlier with the arcane scholar in question sneering at the Dark Side user... before throwing out what could only be described as an industrial firehose spurting of grease of all things from his finger tips to coat the surrounding area as well to try to hit Kylo himself with the spell. Needless to say, things were going to get pretty slick and greasy pretty soon. Which was probably a bad thing in general when your weapon of choice was ignited plasma.

Akihabara, Hospital: As I Often Say in Battleworld...

"H-Humanitarian mission?" blinked Krillin. "I thought this was a city, not a war zone. Things are that bad?"

He didn't need an answer; going by what everyone was saying, the need for outside aid was all but obvious. Still, hearing the words "humanitarian mission" gave the issue some real weight in the officer's mind. It turned the subject away from bank robbers and thugs, and focused on the innocent people getting hurt.

"Yeah, you can count on us. I'm ready to go whenever you are, but uh..."

Krillin glanced around at everyone who had escorted Samus here: Pyrrha, Ismene, Miss Satsuki, the duck^note who, consciously or not, had yet to share his name, Chun-Li, and himself. Not counting the Pathfinders' CO, since she mentioned needing to stay in town, Krillin turned to Satsuki with a nervous grin.

"You have a car or something to get us there? Not sure how many of you can take the airborne route aside from our feathered friend, here."

Edited by TheodoreHastings on Jan 30th 2020 at 2:57:55 AM

Pyrrha, Duty Calls, Nightingale Hospital

"Please take care of her." Pyrrha said with a nod. Sylvie seemed to have a head on her shoulders, at the very least. "I'd appreciate if you called me as well. I... well, I do have a Scroll, but I'm not sure if I can calibrate it for long-distance communication..." She gestured slightly as she presented the item in question, what seemed to be a smartphone thinner than a sheet of paper, seemingly made only of two plastic halves and a hard light screen between them.

"I suppose I will be tagging alongside Mr. Krillin for the time being, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem." So Gotham was in need of a humanitarian mission? It seemed things really weren't in a good shape there. "And yes, I'd like to help however I can." While this meant having to go to Gotham with limited ammunition, she could still get by with the sword and the javelin. Or, failing that, give someone a one-two.

Mr. Krillin raised a valid point, but raising it again did nothing to the situation, so for now Pyrrha resorted to remaining at the ready.

"...what." Oh. Did he make a mistake? Surely not! The only thing Inosuke Hashibira made were opportunities for further attack! As he jumped back when he saw fire dance on drow lady's fingertips, he quickly assessed the situation. Probably best not to get hit by those, but... "Oi, Bara! Ya just box the witch in, I'll do the heavy liftin'!" Satisfied with this suggestion for teamwork, Inosuke did the only rational thing left.

...that being dashing in and powersliding right towards the drow witch, bending his torso backwards to avoid the projectiles and then lurching forward with enough momentum to... "Second Fang: Rip and Tear!" throw two simultaneous slashes with his swords in an X-shaped pattern, right across the witch's body. Here was hoping it would be a flesh wound. Or that they could grab another drow for clearance if it wasn't.

...well, Inosuke kind of hoped she would just back up now that she could. Don't make it too boring, you know?