2359/The Crown of Succession: Bischof

The Crown of Succession: Bischof
Date of Scene:	25 February 2025
Location:	Ancient Shrine
Synopsis:	The Knight of Trial, Bischof activates, and the heroes (and villain) fight with both her and the Prinzessin to claim the Red Beryl jewel!
Cast of Characters:	Aloisia Stauss, Zephyr Windstar, Sugata Shindo, Sequoia Maybach, Veronica Perenna, Amanda Faust
Tinyplot:	The Crown of Succession
Tinyplot2:	Flameborn Façade

---

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Much like many of the other statues, the latest jewel activation was towards the edges of Tokyo, likely something designed into the older system to avoid too many activating at once. Or just to make the prince/princesses get in some extra exercise or something who knows really, ancient Belka was weird.

This knight stands on the very top of an old shinto shrine, one still regularly visited by tourists, the statue having become the subject of rumors before its activation of the 'mysterious statue that appeared suddenly one day'.

A less passive pose than the others, the mace-bearing statue holds its hands above its head, the mace held up high as if it were already preparing to cast a spell even before it activates. The Knight of Trial, Bishop stands waiting. An aura of darkness seeming to spill off of it subtly, to those magicall inclined. The effects of which have begun to show on the shrine around it, what was likely a once-beautiful garden is wilted and suffering, trees that should have regrown their leaves already still barren, and even the pond seems oddly murky, without any signs of life within it.

But other than this leaking darkness... she still stands silently, the Red Beryl set within the mace shining darkly within that mace held above her head.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "Okay, catching you up on things, we've gotten the Rook piece. I sealed that one, and a couple of weeks ago, we got the Knight piece, that one's been nabbed by Chrono. I hope he's gotten to a purifier since we didn't have one on-hand at the time." that's Zephyr talking to Sequoia. "Once the thing activates, I'll throw up a Barrier. We have no idea what this one'll do. Knight wasn't exactly a chatty one, but according to Rook... these ones'll be much more dangerous than either Pawn or Rook were."

    Wind Dancer turns to look at the statue, taking in the layout of the area and getting a pensive look... "Knight was super-mobile... Rook was a defensive powerhouse with long-range attacks... Pawn was a swarm unit..." she muses. "This one will probably be a pain in the butt."

    She deploys her Device, and spikes the haft on the ground, casting two spells in quick succession. "Telepathy Link."
    < PING > < TELEPATHY. >

    "Barrier Expansion."

    < PING > < BARRIER >

     The first spell sets up a pretty standard Devicer telepathy link for all non-Dark Energy units present to join, and the Barrier begins to expand out in an oil-slick dome that surrounds the entire shrine grounds and a few dozen meters around it too.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Well, the Trial is out of the way again, which Ginga Kingu can appreciate, for the sake of the city, of nothing else. When possible, it's best to keep things from getting out of hand - and a potentially rampaging knight is no joke.

"This one probably won't make so good a sparring partner as the last," he remarks, as the barrier goes up. "Not with that obvious aura of corruption. Still, mace against sword is an interesting proposition..."

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    "Rook piece, got it. ... Knight piece-- that was the one where Aloisia put me into a crater, right? My memory's still a little fuzzy from that one." To her credit, Sequoia Maybach is no longer concussed from that incident thanks to Tuxedo Mask's healing abilities. But that doesn't mean her memory hasn't taken a hit from getting her clock cleaned like she did that time.
    This time... This time it's going to be different.
    "Pawn. I definitely missed that one." She mutters as she pulls out her Device in Standby form, the small shield-shaped charm quickly expanding to a full sized riot shield as her clothes are instantly replaced with the white cloak and black tacticool armor of her Belkan Knight Armor.
    Telepathy is set up. Okay,
    Barrier is up next. Nice.
    Weisser Ritter readies herself as best she can.
    "Alright. I'm about as ready as I'm gonna be. So what's the plan. I play front line tank and you all DPS check this one into the ground?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
After having been kicked out of her hold shop, the fake Sunbreaker had spent a lot of time fuming about the loss. She was having it so good there. And furthermore, they had brought the Phantom Thief with them, and she had been unable to secure her too! A day to forget all around.

She had gotten out of there as fast she could, since they had even managed to get her life insurance out of the way. This is the only life she has now. Better make it count. Fortunately, she has gathered enough energy that their main objective is still possible. But... aaaaaah!

Why is it that she is forced to rely on that Mars now!? She was well on track to do both their parts, and laugh smugly in her face, and now? She has to wait around, hoping that fake Sailor Senshi didn't mess it up somehow! Why does her life has to be so cursed!?

Ok, ok, she can still do this. Maybe get some of the ground work set up in advance. Yes, that will show her. She only needs to find a good enough shrine to prepare for the arrival of their masters, then start setting up the pieces. How hard could it possibly be?

When she arrives at a suitable location, a deep sigh almost exhude her soul. Curses and Maledictions! Not only is there some other dark energy project. She has searched for a shrine for too long to give up now, so she is going to kick this down and reuse what she can.

She pays no mind to the wilted flowers as she approaches the Bishop, burning flame in hand.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's accompanied at least one of the others here.

    She's not feeling her best, but... Darkness never sleeps, does it? Veronica's still a (talking) cat, Phantom is evil again, Yokina and Molly's bodies have been taken over, there are still psychos from an alternate future doing terrorism out of revenge against versions of her friends that aren't even *in* this timeline... And she's back down to only a single partial grief seed as backup; getting so many last month was just too good to last.

    The Knight was dealt with quickly. Hopefully the Bishop will be the same, and she can get out of here with only a little magic expenditure before the Prinzessin even shows up.

    Of course it had to be weird. "So... it's already leaking darkness... this is gonna be a much harder fight, isn't it..." she sighs.

    She shrugs to Weisser Ritter, "Sounds like a plan, we'll see if it survives contact with the-- YOU?!"

    Magical Rocket Girl Red stares in surprise at the fake Sunbreaker. "What're you doing here?! Look, if you think you can ally with the Prinzessin... the thing controlling her wants to destroy everything, that includes you and your master!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    After a moment's thought, Amy adds, bowing just slightly, "Also, I'm sorry for asking to take the ring. I thought it was what was cursing Veronica and didn't realize your existence depended on it." Some things are important to be reasonable about, even to your enemies!

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Barrier expansion.

Ping.

Incoming.

As the barrier expands, the statue activates...

Not because of proximity. Not because anyone accidentally strayed too close who happened to have one of the jewels.

It's the unmistakable pulse of Prinzessin Nicht's arrival which causes the activation of the statue, the Statue beginning its speech. However this one feels more... Off than the others.

<I am the wise priestess. I am here to test your purity. Be bathed in the unholy fires of the light to prove your impurity.>

And the knight breaks out of its stony prison, darkness pouring off of it, the temperature of the area rising as she raises that mace high, with Black Fire beginning to spark into life around her. There is no obvious attack yet, perhaps thankfully.

At least from her.

There /IS/ a Prinzessin Nichts flying in at high speed to attempt to stab her though, something which the Bishop deflects with its shield, the two struggling against each other as Darkness clashes with Darkness, the barriered plantlife completely wilting away to ashen ground as the darkness spills out and the heat rises in the area.

Before the heat rises to a dangerous level...

A wave of ice rolls over the ground, ice crystals floating in the air and bringing the temperature back down to an acceptable level. Still hot, but at least it's not so terrible as to knock people out of the fight before they can even truly begin.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "Pawn was the one where you got spiked like an american football in the final seconds." remarks Zephyr.

    She frowns at the other arrivals. There's Amy again... Chrono's on overwatch and reinforcing the Barrier. That's good... who the heck is that person with the fire hand though... Amy seems to know them.

    < PING > < Chief! >

    That's all the warning she gets before Nichts comes crashing in through the Barrier... thankfully it's one designed to keep things IN, rather than OUT, so that pulse of power doesn't shatter the Barrier like an over-ripe grape.

    <<Ritter, Red, I'm open to ideas here...>

    She brandishs her Device, flexing the blades at the head as she hesitates... the two powerful Darkness entities clashing giving her pause.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Open to ideas, the telepathy says? Ginga Kingu has one.

<<Stay out of the way.>>

Unfortunately, those who were at the first fight against the Prinzessin and the second - will have a very good idea of what that means, as the mahoujin in the blue military-inspired uniform raises a hand to the heavens and calls:

"King's Pillar!"

Light gathers at the very top of the barrier, high in the heavens, and blinding, blue-white and intense - and then it crashes to the ground in beam the size of a large forest clearing, intent on razing to the ground everything in it's path, including the two combatants.

The sheer pressure and force are enough to turn stone to dust, to turn trees to splinters.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
The fake Sunbreaker audibly groans when she notices a magical girl approach her, and it is one of those that forced her out of the shop even! Can she have one thing, one at all, go right!? "I have no business with you today, so just scram, I need this thing out of the way", she points to the statue with her free hand.

"Yeah, whatever, that doesn't change the plans. Thanks for the warning though, I will be sure to take care of this zero of a princess", she dismisses Amy's apology.

Sunfaker frowns at Prinzessin Nichts, about to address her before she has to stop as the princess of nothingness starts fighting with the statue then. This... wasn't her project then? Good, then they can deal with this thing and the clone of greed can chase her away later.

"Let me show you what real unholy fire looks like", Sunfaker grins, cruel black flames dancing in front of her. Those flames grow and take the shape of a bear, fiery paws with claws of fire striking at the statue.

The bad part is that, for her intent of having a new home base, she wasn't really keeping her attack under control, and flames spread out of its body, threatening to set the shrine on fire. It's in a matter of seconds that Chrono's ice blades swiftly descend to take care of the cursed flames, keeping the shrine safe from them. "Be careful where you get those", Sunbreaker scowls. Keep them away from the statue and her attacks, and they are good.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    "I'm sorry who is that?" Sequoia asks at the sight of 'Sunbreaker'. "I'm sorry, who are you?" She asks very pointedly, waggling a finger.
    Nevertheless she nods. "Oh. Right. That happened at Pawn." Yeah she got her chess pieces mixed up, Sequoia is not a chess player.
    But dang that's a painful way to put--- "Wait I thought you spike volleyballs?"
    Despite the fact that NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE DEBATING THIS because...
    <OFFIZIER! EINGEHEND!> Sequoia's Device announces as soon as it detects that first pulse of the Prinzessin's presence.
    "Shoot-- she's here!"
    Indeed she is here as she clashes with the Bishop and uh...
    "Okay I'll hold off Aloisia..." She says gritting her teeth. "Try to put the Rook-" She starts to say before her Device helpfully corrects her: <BISCHOFF, OFFIZIER.> "--Yes that. WHATEVER."
    "Kingu--" She starts to say.
    And then a freaking magical tac-nuke drops on the Priestess and the Princess.
    ...
    "Yeah. Do that." Sequoia says, shielding her eyes with one gauntlet as the pressure wave washes over her even at a safer distance, causing her cloak to ripple and flutter as she digs her heels into the ground to keep her balance.
    "Alright. Basic plan. If they're still standing after that I'll hold off Aloisia."
    She's set on her course.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh no.

    Amy feels a chill as the Prinzessin flies in -- and ignores all of them to fight the corrupted Bishop.

    Uhh...

    Man she does just wanna drop a huge attack on them but it would cost so much magic. It kind of feels as if her magic doesn't scale efficiently, really; any big attack will take more magic than doing the same amount of damage with a lot of smaller attacks would do over more time. She hasn't got any way to cheese that!

    It still feels like an opportunity lost, though.

    Sugata can make use of it, at least! <<Got it.>> She acknowledges, making sure not to approach the combatants any closer. She does, however, summon a grenade launcher and fire a few incendiaries towards the end of the King's Pillar. To give the Prinzessin something extra to deal with, if she stays there the ground will be on fire!

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Luckily she'd also been partially there already during the formation of the barrier, which likely reduced disruption to it. On the downside she was there during the formation of the barrier, so keeping her /out/ had probably not been an option.

<UNHEILIGES AUFFLACKERN>
Intones the Priestess as she knocks the Prinzessin back post-class, black fire-wreathed darts sent flying towards the princess, fire striking shield and armor and leaving sizzling red marks on the armor that dissipate quickly back to normal, the molten darts tinkling to the ground before melting away to dark energy which once upon a time would likely bless the ground below, but instead soaks it in that uncomfortable darkness. Good thing they were in a barrier to help contain that rapidly spreading corruption.

Kings Pillar!

Both Priestess and Prinzessin immediately turn towards the oncoming blasting zone. Escape was impossible, so both raise their shields to the sky.

<GEFANGNIS DER PYMIDEN.>

Intones the Prinzessin, a black pyramid sparking into life around them, a twisted corruption of Aloisia's signature pyramid barrier, meanwhile alongside it the Priestess intones alongside...

<ZUFLUCHT.>

And what once would have been a holy sanctuary-shaped barrier sparks to life, creating a two-layered high defense barrier inside of the pyramid.

The worst of King's Pillar being deflected by the pyramid shape of the high defense barrier, possibly sending the King's Pillar deflected outward towards those outside of the barriered area!

Eventually it does shatter through that barrier... and then the second... the Prinzessin and Priestess holding their shields up as they're consumed in the blue-white light...

And the pair still stand, both of them smoking somewhat, but otherwise seeming... far less worse for wear than one would expect them to be after taking that.

And both of them were now Looking at Kingu.

<UN-->

The priestess starts to intone-- only for there to be a flaming bear swiping at her, interrupting her cast and causing her to have to defend against it, her mace brought immediately to bear towards the bear with a magical glow around it -- intent to simply swipe through it's head, the magic possibly disrupting its form!

Meanwhile, Prinzessin Nichts is dashing towards Ginga Kingu, shield held ahead of her as a black-red aura surrounds the lance in her hands.

<DURCHDRINGENDE LEERE.>

And the lance is brought to bear, attempting to stab into the center of Ginga Kingu's chest in response, much less massive of an attack compared to his -- but no doubt dangerous should it strike.

Luckily, at least at present, the attacks are more single target. For the moment.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Stay out of the way.

    King's Pillar.

    "Right... Got it." Zephyr also shields herself from the splash of that tactical magic nuke. A shield of lines and runes forming to take that collateral energy wash.

    "Saints, and that's just the wash from the impact." she grunts, skidding back a few paces before the strike subsides... and both targets are still standing. Sequoia runs in without any hesitation... and Zephyr continues to hesitate.

    "What are you waiting for, c'mon they need you!" she chides herself... but she can't seem to make herself move. The sheer power being thrown around... she understands how haunted Chrono must feel... it's insane just how much power some of these mahou have... and the Dark Energy users are even worse!

    < Chief. We can do this. Focus on the Bishop, if we can take it out and seal the gem... the Princess will have nothing. >

    The sound of her Device's voice seems to steel the Wind Dancer, and without a further word, she kips up into a hover, and launches straight for the Bishop, aiming to come around on a flank while the Statue is distracted by the fire-bear.

    The blades of her Device lim with purple energy, and begin to boil as they charge for one of her empowered melee strikes.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"The real form of a copy, here to exceed the original and give your new sovereigns their freedom", Sunbreaker announces to Weisser Ritter proudly, not taking her eyes off the statue. There is something to say about the show of power that was going on here from the duo that had just wiped out most of that pillar. Coming here was good just for that. Her masters will appreciate the info.

Meanwhile, the mace was indeed hard to the bear, who gets the upper part of its body pummeled off by the power of the Bishop. "Damn thing just pushed away that attack and still goes after mine", she complains, string of fire rushing from her hand to the two bear halves, putting it back together.

Forming a fireball in her hands, the clone of flames shapes it in a whip, and with a flex of her wrist, she tries to strike at the bishop, the elongating whip's thong trying to wrap itself around the statue's wrist while the bear attempts to bite her.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    Well this is happening. If the Prinzessin was already in the barrier as it was being formed the team's going to have to deal with her, and... To tell the honest truth, Sequoia is not looking forward to that.
    When the light from the King's Pillar dies down and the shimmery silver light of Sequoia's shield spell that she put up to cover herself from it dies with it, there's another problem.
    <<CRAP! Kingu's got aggro!>>
    This dawning realization sets in fast as the Prinzessin dashes right for the mahou shounen.
    For Sequoia-- for Weisser Ritter-- time seems to slow down as she skids her boots and turns to start rushing to Kingu's aid.
    <VESTARKEN SPRUNG.> Her Device intones. In the next instant Weisser Ritter is launched through the air in a long-as-heck and sudden horizontal leap and it's as that lance is drawing dangerously nearer that she slams into it from the side, at full force and full tilt, to smack it off course as she positions herself in front of Kingu.
    "Alright... This time... This time it's gonna be different, princess."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
King's Pillar comes down. King's Pillar gets - largely deflected, the pyramid shape shedding energy from all sides, and Sugata thrusts his arms up over his chest, an X, and the energy - his energy, Samekh's energy - can't knock him down, but it is irritating to see so much of it shunted aside.

It's like attacking Cybodies in Third Phase all over again - no. Not quite as bad as that, he realizes, as the smoking figures come into view.

Ah. They didn't enjoy surviving that, and his hand is flying to his chest, energy flooding the mark of Samekh - "Star Swordo - Diamante!"

The pure white energy sword is drawn from his chest, pulled out and meant to try and deflect the lance barreling for his chest -

And then there's Weisser Ritter, crashing in with her shield, and he can only stare in surprise at being rescued. ...well, only stare for a moment.

"Thank you," he calls, and then - shunts forward in an attempt to stab the knight while her lance is being deflected.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy dives behind whoever's got a shield when the King's Pillar is deflected. That's bullshit! Such bullshit!

    But maybe also kinda on them for forgetting about the Prinzessin's pyramid barriers.

    And well... Okay, Sunfaker's got the bishop busy, but the Prinzessin is going right for Kingu.

    Which is kind of a problem for most of her attacks, honestly. She can't just leave no attacks going on the Prinzessin as Weisser Ritter and Sugata focus on defense, though! If they don't keep the pressure up, the Prinzessin will be free to figure out how to counter defenses...

    It's kind of a piddly attack, given Amy's trying to not blow up friends, but she keeps firing gyrojets, little homing bullets, at the Prinzessin to make her defend more than just Sugata.
    

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
The bear that had disrupted its attack dispatched, the priestess begins to turn to continue its assault on the others -- when a flaming whip wraps around its wrist, halting its movements with a flaming whip as a bear bites at her -- two things that hold it in place for the oncoming Wind Dancer and her empowered melee strike to her! Crack! ... The strike causes the armor that the priestess wears to crack, bits of stone crumbling out of the spot where it was struck at.

<FEGEFEUER.>

The Priestess suddenly pulls on the whip-holding arm to knock it free, possibly sending the clone off balance with the sudden jerk... so that she can lift both arms up into the air and grip the mace in both, the red beryl set in its head glowing with dark energy.

And a small flame appears at the tip of it, growing tighter for a moment.

Devices nearby ping a warning, as the fire suddenly explodes outward into a rolling wave of explosive fire centered on the priestess-- ironically, due to Zephyr's relatively close proximity to the Priestess, mostly sparing her from the attack -- as black flames begin to engulf the area. Luckily there's enough time for shielding attempts with warnings from the Device users.

Also the bear is spared-ish. It probably helps it's made of fire.

Meanwhile, as Prinzessin Nichts is in her high-speed dash towards Ginga Kingu, a familiar figure appears from the side, a certain shield-wielding enemy that had deflected her in the past. And was there to do the same again, knocking her lance off-center to result in it leaving a sizzling hole in the ground, a concerning amount of earth just ... Missing from where the lance impacted.

And as her lance is deflected, a sword is coming towards her to attempt to stab her.

...That almost unnatural movement happens, an audible ~crack~ as her shield moves in a way the human body is not meant to, the shield almost seeming to snap into place to deflect the stab in ways that likely caused injury to the host body -- that Konigsende did not care about --

<WERDEN NICHTS.>

...It's not actually a spell intonation, it's... vague annoyance from the device?

Followed by the actual spell..

<FELD DES NICHTS.>

Ah it's not attacking. It's defending itself from the oncoming wave of dark fire by using its defensive spell. Though... it's... tighter? More focused?

...Probably to keep Kingu and Weisser Ritter from riding on its defenses.

And as the fire washes over the area, she would burst out of said fire, briefly sans shield... with a glowing fist.

Aimed for Weisser Ritter's face.

Yeah Konigsende might have taken being deflected again personally.

Veeeeee~~boom! A few little homing mini-rockets come flying in, exploding on the Prinzessin's form post-attack... leaving little cracks and holes in her armor which slowly start to close themselves back up upon taking damage.

<PLATZEN>

The little homing bullets get several scattershots of dark energy launched back at her.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    < Chief! >

    That's all the warning Zephyr gets, as the Bishop makes a fire tornado, with her and the statue at the eye.

    There's nothing she can do for the others, save to alert them via telepathy to find cover or put up defenses.

    <<Shield up or get behind something. Bishop's doing something big.>>

    Message sent, she drops to land, curling as she barely manages to stay in that nullzone where the flame is only scorchingly hot, not actually setting her on fire.

    "Drive Ignition. Gear Second." she intones.

    < PING > < TEMPEST DRIVE IGNITION. GEAR SECOND. STORM MODE. >

    The battleax becomes a hand-ax, and three Bits spall off of it. "Area formation, Barret Volley. Tempest Barret, Typhoon Shift."

    Her mismatched eyes lock onto the Bishop, sparing a glance for where Sunfaker and the fire-bear might have ended up, before she locks in.

    < PING > < AREA FORMATION SET. TEMPEST BARRET TYPHOON SHIFT. >

    Motes of purple light form around the bits, and the Mage herself, then start lancing down from all sides in short-lived pulses as the spheres elongate like miniature Buster beams, lashing at the Bishop's frame with all the power she can muster.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    "I gotchu." Is Weisser Ritter's reply to Kingu. "Let's hold her off so the others can deal with the Queen."
    <BISCHOFF.>> Her Device corrects.
    "Yeah that."
    Her inability to tell chess pieces apart aside, the young Belkan Knight raises her shield, several layered shimmering shields of light forming up to protect her and Kingu and Amy from the roiling flames of darkness as best she can.
    But indeed, she managed to deflect that lance, and golden eyes dip to where it lays embedded in the smoldering earth. Sequoia can't help but wince internally when that unnatural movement happens and something clearly breaks to get that shield in place, but she has to force it from her mind because the dark princess is on a crash course towards her, arm reeled back for one hell of a haymaker.
    Weisser Ritter clenches her jaw.
    This will not be pleasant but... She does not raise her shield nor does she call upon any shield spells.
    She looks down at her Device, the stalwart shield in her arms. She puts her faith in her Device as much as she puts her faith in her allies and friends here to back her up.

    <<I'll hold her. You punch.>>

    That's the only warning anyone gets over the telepathic line as Sequoia braces for impact. Now. One might think she's going to raise her defenses sometime... Soon... Maybe at the last second?
    Nah dawg.
    Sequoia eats that fist like a bowl of cheerios.
    There's a low grunt of pain as the girl's head jerks violently from the impact of the blow, the sheer force causing her to skid back as Prinzessin's momentum carries her into the strike and...
    Okay why is she smiling?

    "My turn."

    That's the only warning the Princess of Nothing gets as a Belkan spell circle forms beneath Sequoia's feet.
    <UNZERBRECHLICHES GEFANGNIS!> Her Device announces as countless lenths of chains formed from white light snap up to try and entomb the Prinzessin in magical bind spells.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Watching the enemy struggle to hold on makes Sunbreaker smiles cruelly, holding onto the whip and forming the intense heat in her hands, what has turned out to be the setup for several spears, ready to flung en masse against the Bishop, and finally rid this place of that ugly statue once and for all.

And then come the counter of the moving trial, her arm drawn back forcefully causing the fake Sunbreaker to snap into the air, losing the hold on the whip and on the spear she had been forming, which dissolve like they had never been there.

Sent crashing against a wall, blurs of white fill the clone's vision, a pained groan briefly coming out of her mouth as she slides to the ground. "Ok, then", she drags herself up let's see how you like this", Sunfaker looks at the Bishop with desire to her scatter till not even dust remains.

Commanding at the fire bear, it goes back to her and the flames grow hotter and larger, losing the shape of the bear to become a shining sphere of dark fire as wide as twice the height of a person and almost as tall.

The fake creature born of flames gives it a kick, uncaring of the damage it would give to the shrine well before the Bishop, but a rain of ice swords intevene to cut into the sphere repeatedly before it reaches the building. Chrono's intervention stops the careless attack from severely damaging the shrine, and each of the pieces of the sphere dissipates.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
What's happening with the others registers with Sugata - only a fool completely shuts off his attention in a battlefield - but he's got to focus on the Prinzessin, who is fully out to kill the both of them. He's trusting defense to Weisser Ritter, because she's earned that trust through her proven strength. She is a defensive wall, and he knows what those are like - he grew beside Wako, after all.

He still grimaces at the unnatural movement that allows the block, and though he doesn't understand the Prinzessin, he's the kind of man who's earned being told off enough that he shoots back -

"You first."

Without even understanding the Belkan language.

That wave of fire and dark energy is coming closer - he should do something about that.

[ansi(#00ffff,"King's Counter!")]

And the blue-white energy forms a square before himself, Ritter, and yes, the Prinzessin, reflecting the dark wave of fire back towards the Priestess and Sunfaker.

And when Weisser Ritter binds the Prinzessin, he moves in to start striking at her, energy blade hammering towards joints and perceived points of weakness in the armor.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy winces as the Prinzessin goes as far as damaging her body -- no, Aloisia's body -- to fight. Amy tried that against Beryl, it was a BAD PLAN. Who knows how much of Aloisia it burns for power to regenerate the damage. Unlike Amy, the entity controlling Aloisia doesn't have to care...

    Anyway, dark energy scattershots come at her. Amy barely has time to react to the first hitting her, but then a cloud of smoke explodes around her so that the Prinzessin can't see that rather than dodging she's dropped to the ground so the followup shots sail over her.

    That was interesting though. Amy thought that overwhelming extreme single attacks were needed to do damage. She might be able to develop better attacks to use against the Prinzessin -- when she's not in melee with Amy's friends, anyway!

    Then her mind processes Wind Dancer's warning and she scrambles to her feet, running out of the smoke AWAY from the bishop as flame engulfs the area. "Dammit!"

    At least the Prinzessin just punched the White Knight away from herself. Opportunity! Amy doesn't have time to think up something customized to the situation, so she grabs a previously-studied weapon from memory, HEIAP warheads, and sticks them on missiles the size of magic markers fired from some kinda oversized scifi pistols so she can dual-wield them. She fires them guns akimbo while running to get back behind the tanks. Whatever, she doesn't have to be accurate, magic can make them home!

    Admittedly, these are anti-materiel rounds meant to fire through the wall of a light vehicle and then explode burning awfulness all over the inside, so this isn't actually QUITE the right use case, but Amy's pretty sure it will nonetheless be awful.

    Although a moment afterward, as she steps behind White Knight, she wonders if somewhere in there Aloisia is going to be able to feel all the burning. Um. Yikes.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
DRIVE IGNITION!

Bits swarm around the priestess, sending lancing blasts of energy from all angles, the priestess deflecting and blocking against what she can with her shield, occasional barriers popping up here and there -- but the swarm of bits continuous firing pattern allows it to get around the worst of those defenses before eventually the Priestess opts for the most direct form of defense.

Bringing that mace in a quick underhand stroke towards Zephyr, attempting to strike her in an upward strike that will hopefully break the mage's focus as those attacks continue to lance in! Luckily it wasn't imbued with any magic, so the worst of it is likely mitigated by the barrier jacket, but the strength between the knight's blow is no joke regardless. More cracks are showing in the statue's form from the attacks though, and in the wake of that wave of fire another wave of ice washes over the battlefield to cool things off once more, bringing the temperature, once more, back down to more reasonable levels.

Chrono might be muttering about belkans off in the distance.

Really, damaging the shrine was probably less of an issue than protecting Zephyr from getting caught in the crossfire of the attack, the shrine was in a barrier so would be fine... probably. Unless the barrier got destroyed. Then all bets are off, really.

Meanwhile, that punch strikes true... and ... ... then a prison of chains wrap around Prinzessin Nichts. Pulling her down towars the ground, almost on one knee, the other one planted firmly into the ground to keep her from going fully down to one knee. Perhaps some minor amount of pride keeping her from kneeling there. Who knows, considering that blank gaze that didn't bely any emotion.

Aloisia would probably be proud if she could see any of this.
...Also probably tell her to use her darn shield since you can shield AND bind but that's beside the point.

Meanwhile the energy blade was hammering towards joints, points of weakness in the armor, causing damage from stab after stab... and then small warcrimes are being launched into her form, piercing shots that penetrate armor and unleash burning awfulness.

Crack.

Crack.

<GENUG.>

Pings Konigsende.

The telltale heartbeat-pulse of Aloisia's body being drained pulses through the area. As Prinzessin Nichts slowly pushes herself into a standing position, those chains straining and struggling against her as that dark energy eats away at the chains.

Until they snap.

And Prinzessin Nichts is...

Gone, turned away from the three that were harassing her as she refocuses on her objective:

The jewel.

<SPLITTERPUNKT>

Black and red energy gathers at the tip of the lance as she rockets towards the distracted and damaged Priestess.

And stabbing through the center of her back.
She doesn't even do her final line, instead. Just. Shattering.

And she reaches to attempt to claim the red beryl... but of course...

Dashing away and leaving one's back open is not exactly the wisest course of action.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh right. They're not trying to defeat the Prinzessin here.

    Just to beat her to the jewel.

    As Amy sees the Prinzessin turn away to fly towards the jewel, Amy telepathically warns the Galactic King and White Knight: << DUCK! >>

    Because, screw fancy complicated ammo or fancy magic, she needs to use her original plan for dealing with the Prinzessin: Knocking her away and buying them a couple more seconds to act.

    To that end, Amy's guns are gone as she's got the giant artillery tube on her shoulder-- BOOM! --firing nearly 7kg of dense lead cannonball at half a kilometer a second at the Prinzessin's back.

    << GO! >> Amy follows up her warning as soon as she's fired, to let them know they're not in the line of fire anymore.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    < ARMOUR SKIN > Tenraikaze announces, reinforcing that Barrier Jacket with a field effect to absorb the unpowered strike.

    The impact does knock the mage back a few paces, digging up the ground under her heels... but those bits continue to circlestrafe like they were playing a bullet-hell game... right up until Nichts comes in and shatters the statue, and tries to grab the gemstone.

    < PING > < ISOLATION SPHERE. >

    A tiny Barrier forms around the dislodged Beryl stone, suddenly lurching towards Zephyr as she refocusses those Bits onto the Prinzessin, their lancing bolts aiming to dissuade pursuit.

    "Seal it!" cries Zephyr, wincing at the throbbing ache in her chest from the blow she took.

    < PING > < SCAN COMPLETE. RED BERYL #98136. REGISTERED. SEALING. >

    The gem, and sphere pulse, shrink and slip into Zephyr's Device, as she backpedals and jumps into the air.

    <<I've got the gem, scatter!>> she transmits, looking to see if anyone needs help escaping.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
With her anger reaching her peak, the clone of fire feels like she is about to turn her power against the blue-haired soldier that is thwarting her efforts again and again, that she is starting to see red just as much as she is burning.

Prinzessin Nichts showing her her back came just at the right moment to give her another target to the wild sentiments that call for chaos and ruin. "Got this for you, princess zero", she grins, spears of fire cutting through the air towards the princess' vulnerable spot.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Ah. Right.

Their goal isn't just to defeat the enemies - and Ginga Kingu is not restricted to just the ground. As the Prinzessin lunges for the Priestess and pierces her through, Ginga Kingu launches himself into the air, blue-white energy blazing from his feet as he soars above Amy's enormous cannonball and then hurls his sword at the Prinzessin's hand, intending to stop her from grasping the Red Beryl -

"Star Crash!"

The energy sword flies for the Prinzessin, trailing blue-white energy.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Her fingers get mere centimeters away from the jewel, close enough she nearly touches it -- only for a barrier to flash into life, her fingers bouncing off of it... and a sword stabbing through her hand to keep her hand even further away from her prize. And then it is sealed away inside of Wind Dancer's device.

And moments latter an artillery tube fires at her. A dense lead cannonball striking the center of Prinzessin Nicht's back and sending her stumbling forward as a ~crunch~ is audible through the area of crumpling armor. That is rapidly followed up with by spears of fire that stab into her, sizzling in her body.

She seems to hang there limply for a moment, her arms falling down to her side and head lolling forward.
Perhaps in shock of the jewel being literally snatched from between her fingers. Perhaps in shock from the sheer level of damage that was being shot towards her at the moment.

And then, though the gravity does not change, it feels as if it does. As the sheer pressure of her energy is unleashed as her head lifts to the sky.

The first active noise that Prinzessin Nichts herself has made.
And it is a /scream/. A scream full of rage. Of frustration. Of pain.
And glowing yellow eyes turn towards the one who attacked her last.

Weapons are forgotten as she leaps towards the Sunbreaker of Greed, hand outstretched towards her face to attempt to grab her.

At the last moment, from above, a swarm of glowing swords fall down on her.
Stabbing into her.
And she shoots off into the sky.
Chasing the source of the attack.
...And the shrine is left in unnerving peace in the wake of the intense battle.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy winces when she sees everyone's attacks hit the Prinzessin. They're really doing a number on her today! She wishes she had recordings so she knew what was different this time-- wait, don't Devicers have that sort of thing? Or at least, the Devices can help analyze? She makes a mental note to talk to them about that.

    They sealed the gem. Hooray! But the Prinzessin turns... on Sunfaker.

    Sunfaker was an ally, today -- someone who helped, she won't abandon! She changes her weapon back to a gyrojet and starts to aim, but the swords are already driving her off.

    Driving her off.

    They... made the Prinzessin Nichts leave?!

    "Holy shit. We actually drove her off... That was amazing, everyone..."

    But how much more of Aloisia did that cursed Device spend...? Amy wonders. She does not say it out loud.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Hm," Ginga Kingu says, watching Chrono lead the Prinzessin Nichts off. "He's faster than her, he'll manage."

He looks at the others - Weisser Ritter and Zephyr both down, Faust looking worried - and digs out his cellphone.

"I'm calling a ride for us. Faust, as the one conscious, do you want to pick the 'post fight snack'?"

What? He's got money and space, and they've got two worn out allies. Food generally helps people.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
There is sadistic satisfaction in the fake Sunbreaker when she watches Prinzessin Nichts get hit by the rain of fire and then fall into that scream of rage. She wishes she had brought one of those recording devices with her. At least a phone. This would have been priceless, all the more so when she could have rubbed it in the other clone's face.

A lot of those feelings turn to panic as that anger and dark fury turns to her, and she scrambles to put up a shield, bracing for the impact, with flames swaying to the direction of the wind, just mere seconds before the face she sees through the moving flames gets ever closer.

There is a lot of relief when the other dark energy user runs off in the distance after the irritating ice shortie. With that worry for a moment, she doesn't have to see how things would have ended and ia free to dismiss the shield. She... probably should have stopped and thought. No, the sparkles now know she would be here and she needs a different place, one with with no known hero around.

She is quick to run away as well, not stopping for anything before any of them get any ideas.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Fake Sunbreaker actually gets a wave! She helped, and so for today is given respect as the original was. Buuuut then she's running off, and Amy has to admit: Others may well be less forgiving -- as with Amy's friends' attitudes towards the original.

    The several-hundred-pound tube hits the ground with a CLANG before turning into pink sparkles as Sugata comes to her and asks what to do for a post-fight snack.

    She looks around at the state of her allies: Tuckered out, it seems. She considers, holding a finger to her chin.

    "...So I know we're in Japan and it's not as much of a big deal here, but what about sushi? It's not like it's any less delicious just 'cuz it's common here."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"American-style sushi isn't very similar to actual sushi," he warns her, but then says - "Still, it's nutritious, and I think we'll all need that. Do you have a favorite, or shall I ask Tiger to give us a recommendation?"

He's absolutely going for it. Sushi for the fight crew is a guarantee.

"...by the way, who was that fake Sunbreaker? It can't have been the real deal, she didn't insult me."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I've been in Japan for years. Sometimes..." Amy de-henshins, and looks at her hand, "Something that's nice and a wonderful treat is still pretty great, years later." She smiles.

    "I'll take the reccomendation. Who's Tiger?" She shifts the shirt under her open coat to be the one with the chibi cartoon tiger saying 'nyo' on it, to emphasize the question.

    She slips her hands into her coat pockets. It's cold out. "...One of Princess of Sarek's enemies -- we already recovered the artifact she had so Veronica can talk again, if we can get the other one from the fake Sailor Mars she should become human again. Fake Mars said she might work with us, I'm not sure about trusting this one, but she helped us today, so." Amy shrugs.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Sugata inclines his head in a nod, taking her word for it. As long as Faust-san is comfortable with the options - he's seen American sushi online, and it's fascinating and not at all traditional - then he doesn't mind that being the choice of snack.

"Tiger Sugatame is one of my maids," he says blandly, knowing that if Wako was here she would elbow him but not deny it. "Jaguara Yamasugata is the other; they're usually nearby when I'm about."

The two were more than just maids, after all, but the friends tasked with killing him if he ever went off the correct path and showed a sign that he would use Samekh's power for evil. It's easy to pick out his name in their surnames.

"Tiger was with me before I got the call; she's probably restless waiting for me." Not that he's in a particular hurry, texting her as he is to send the car.

"She does have a recommendation for this area; one of everything sound satisfying, or should we go for two?"

He remembers the Princess of Sarek from a few brief encounters, and wonders at her apparently losing her ability to speak, and her human form.

"The enemy of my enemy can be a momentary friend - but you're wise not to trust her just yet. Still, she could have done worse. Her bite isn't as bad as the original's bark."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "...Did you say one of your maids?" Amy sounds shocked. She holds a hand to the side of her head. "I really am living in an anime now..."

    AND they're 'usually nearby when he's about' which means they're probably trained ninja bodyguards, too.

    'One of--' she mouths after he says that, slightly shocked but not nearly so much as by the probably-ninja maids. "Are we gonna be able to eat that much?" Amy looks at the others. "...I defer to your judgement, I'm not used to ordering for big groups."

    She looks in the direction Sunfaker went. "You say that, but... I get the impression most of our allies had a rather worse impression of Sunbreaker."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"I did," he says, with only the faintest hint of a smile. "And it's always been normal to me. Aren't anime meant to be filled with fantastical situations?"

He's trolling her but with the truth - it's the best kind of trolling, honestly. Sure, Tiger is a friend - but she's a servant and a knife at his back, first. Just like he is friend, but young master and threat to monitor, first. They really are trained ninja bodyguards.

"I'm inviting Wako and Takuto, so we'll have enough people. The point is to be able to try anything we'd like, without having to worry about missing out. I believe they call it eating the menu?"

He's seen it on Viewtube.

"And perhaps, but though I encountered her rarely, she certainly had spirit. She threatened to kill me once, for harming her beloved."

He is clearly impressed.

"This fake could do worse in borrowing a name."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's always been normal to me. Aren't anime meant to be filled with fantastical situations?

    =_= Amy suspects trolling.

    "...I guess everyone has different standards. For some, having had a PC in the house since I was two, a small home network before I was ten, and enough to have people over for Quake deathmatches in high school would've sounded like something out of fiction, I guess."

    "Not to mention. Y'know. Life now." She points with her thumb at the shirt.

    "...Sure. We can eat the menu."

    Amy simply nods at his evaluation of the original Sunbreaker, not having much more to say.