454/All the wrong choices

All the wrong choices
Date of Scene:	18 September 2023
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	Riventon finds some of that magical tech he's always on the look out for. Unfortunately, one small problem stands between him and his new property. Rude.
Cast of Characters:	Chrono Harlaown, Takashi Agera

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Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown was, once again, running scans in one of the local quadrants. This time... it was for a very special reason. Someone mentioned seeing a woman who looked distressingly like his mother near an old fish shop that had closed down next week. He didn't see why she'd be there, but... you never knew.

But he, as far as he could tell, she wasn't. There was no sign of her being there, not even a hint. If she was here, she wasn't now. So now, he was flying over the city in his jacket, rod held in his right hand, his left hand tapping away at a screen nobody else could see. If they could even see him.

Where was she? That... pain was going to linger a bit. He WOULD find her, though. Somehow. Some way. He WOULD. Even if it killed him... somehow.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon is out looking in the beachfront ward of Yumegahama too. But he's not looking for anyone in particular. He's scanning for magic devices again - so the only thing he's really likely to find is trouble, and moreso, he knows it. I mean, it'd be nice to find a peice of the Artha or some magical artifact just laying around, but he fully expects it to be in someone's hands. Doesn't mean it has to stay there.

    His device alerts him to something in the area, and he adjusts the course of his flight to head that way. Riventon knew how devices scanned for incoming magic and had muffled his signature, so he was able to get much closer to Chrono than someone with a device active otherwise would. Riventon ended up on a rooftop just across the street from Chrono, leaning down, about when his device would warn him of a presence.

    "Hey, you. Floating there. You're the one who showed up at the salvage op, right? Yelling about some kind of police thing? STAB? SWAT? I forget which." he asked. "Does that match his signature?" he asks out loud, and his device pings a reply.

    <AFFIRMATIVE.> it chirps in one voice, in Mid-childan, and then gives a brief bit of static before it switches to an entirely different voice, speaking Belkan.<MAGISCHE SIGNALMUSTERUBERINSTIMMUNG.> (Magical Signal Pattern Match.)

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown glanced over when he heard a voice and his device scans alerted him. He glanced over and... then frowned. "What in the hell did you do to that poor device?" he asked. Hearing it in Midchildan was one thing, but the belkan was something else. Then... "What in the HELL did you do to that device?!" he asked once he got a more thourough scan of it. Oh, that... that was disgusting. His face was stern as ever.

"Time space administrative bureau enforcer, Chrono Harlaown, and you are?" Chrono asked. Then, he paused. "My... apologies. Your device is quite... unique." He didn't know what Riventon was, yet. He... Wait. He was at the... "Wait. Are you one of Precia's lackeys?" he asked. That matched what he scanned. There were a lot of dark energy signatures there...

Takashi Agera has posed:
    <UNHOFLICH!> (Rude!), Riventon's device responds. <This Device's Maximums Exceed Yours.>

    "It's really nice when your work can speak for itself." Riventon says, nodding. "And I'm not anyone's lackey." He said, completly ignoring the fact that there was an organizational chart stating exactly who's lackey he was, and who's lackey they were. "But that's alright. We'll file that mistake under the list of things that will likely soon be corrected. My name is Riventon and..." And then he pauses mid-speech and just LOOKS at Chrono for a moment.

    "Wait, wait. An enforcer for some bureau? I don't see how you could enforce anything, kid. Aren't you a little short for an authority figure? You've gotta be what, half my age? I hope you don't make me do things that make me feel bad for you."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a soft sigh. Ah, arrogance. And he gave Riventon that look. That kind of look he'd likely been getting most of his life from authority figures. The look that said 'your disrespect is amusing but I don't truly take you seriously enough to get mad about it.

"I see. So she didn't give you that device?" Chrono asked. "Well then, Riventon. You sought me out. I take it you require my aid with something? Unless Precia sent you to try and take me out?" He then blinked and glanced around. Was that Fate girl here? Well... he already had a few delayed binds setup as it was. He wouldn't fall for the same trick again.

"I am quite young for my age, it's true. But the TSAB does not discriminate based on age. So long as one meets all of the requirements to attain their rank and position, they are more than capable of achieving such." He then paused. "You're... not looking to join, are you?" Oh dear. Once again he glanced to that device. What in the world was DONE to that thing? And was it intelligent? Oof... the poor thing...

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon does NOT like that look. He does NOT like this kid. He's got a decent bit of experience holding his emotions back - but also a lot of experience in letting them go, too. "The hell you say, kid?" he finally says, exasperated. "She didn't give me this device, I built it, runt. I don't rely on other people - or organizations - to do work for me." At least that much is usually true, especially lately. He's had to source so much of his own progress himself.

    "I sought you out because you were standing out in the middle of Tokyo using magic like you don't have a care in the world. Because I was out looking for magic and here you are, a beacon in the night." he says. "So this STAB you're part of - that means you're an offworlder, right? Cool. So you must have some offworlder tech and all. You can pass that to me along with your device." he says, holding his hand out. Like this is a rational and expected thing.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown blinked a few times and stared at him. "You... built it? Yourself?" And then he was silent for a few moments, a hand moving up to his chin... then waving a hand dismissively. "One second... huh. Wow. In that case..." The next words likely WEREN'T what Riventon was expecting. "Very impressive work. A bit crude, but I doubt I could have... no. I very much doubt I could have done better myself, considering the tools available. You're from this world, aren't you?" he asked. And yet another thing to add to his report. "I guess it's true, this world really is filled with exceptional people."

He didn't seem offended by his comments, letting them brush off him. "And you're not wrong, I do rely on a lot of other people. Very few of us are an island unto ourselves."

However, then his eyes flickered back to Riventon and that smile turned serious. "Ah. The T-S-A-B. Time-space-administration-bureau. It's okay, it can take some people a while to get the order right." Oh. OH. He thought Riventon couldn't REMEMBER TSAB, not he was saying it wrong. "If STAB is easier for you to remember, I understand and will know what you mean." And he said it with such... seriousness. No harshness. No insults. Just try, soldierly tone.

"... Are you trying to... get me to surrender? Or... no. Are you trying to mug me? Please understand that such an attempt would be ill-advised as I would not hesitate to use magical and physical force should it come to such."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon actually slowly gets more and more annoyed. "I could remember your organizations name, I just choose not to because, just like you, it is completly and utterly irrelevant. It's a question of caring, not of capability." he adds. And then he floats, perhaps ill-advisedly, much closer to Chrono. His feet at the same height as Chrono's, but absolutely not his head.

    "I'm not trying to mug you but I suppose that's what it's going to turn into if you keep making the stupid decisions." Riventon says. "Or just a beat-down. The correct move here is to surrender, yes. I don't generally make a habit out of flinging ten-year-olds into buildings but it's starting to feel like maybe I should." he notes.

    "So yeah, that's the situation, at least. Give me your Device and any other technological relics you may be carrying and we both walk away, otherwise, I'm gonna start developing bad habits."

    <Don't Be Stupid, KIND> (Kid) his device adds.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod. "I see. So there's no talking you out of this? Very well, as you wish," Chrono said. Oh, he was going to just give in like that? He held up his device... and a barrier formed around them. Trapping them both within it. Oh. So that was what he meant.

            <Stinger Snipe!>

The blue orb was FAST! Not only that, the spell was cast possibly faster than he was used to seeing, the orb zooming through the air straight at HIM. Worse was... it looked like a small, thin orb. But if he got hit by it he'd quickly learn that, no, it was powerful. That 'rapid little orb' of his could punch through youma on its own.

"You do not appear to be under the influence of an outside source like some of the creatures I've met. so I will give you one final chance. Surrender and I will not be forced to use full destructive force. Continue aggression of any kind and I will respond accordingly. If you consent to these terms, thrown down your weapon."

The orb, at least, had pulled back. A single warning shot, but the orb stuck around... and he was seeding the area with delayed binds.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Chrono wasn't the only one who had gone about seeding the area with spells and traps, though. The two of them had, in some ways, annoyingly similar tactics. The little blue orb shot through the air much faster than Riventon would have otherwise expected, and moved in before the barrier Riventon put up was ready, so he took what LOOKED like a glancing blow but showed the power of the shot given that Riventon practically spun in place on one leg to move with the impact. It cut the shoulder of his Barrier Jacket and left a visibly angry red mark on the skin beneath. Riventon looked down at it in almost disbelief, and then looked back up at Chrono, the blue orb returned to its master. "Well. The yappy dog has some bite to go with its bark." Riventon says, rolling his shoulder a bit. "Axion, can you compensate for his increased speed?" he asked the gauntlet on his hand.

    <No Problem.> Of course, it was Riventon's device. It wasn't going to claim anything but its own superiority, at least in this moment. Especially out loud. Riventon held out his gauntlet-covered hand and a circular orb of Dark Energy started to collect in it. As well as magical glyphs underneath him and arund his arm. <SCHATTENSCHLAG!> (Shadow Strike!) Riventon and his device called out at the same time, sending several swooping horizontal blasts of Dark Energy out of the gauntlet and at Chrono.

    Of course he knew that a telegraphed attack would at best impact shields, but it was the second part he was interested in. Riventon's seeded attacks took shape as well, during this - his barret-like homing attacks, the youma shadows with the gleaming claws, jumping out to come at Chrono from all sides as well. Or at least, that was the intent. Likely, the binds Chrono laid and the humanoid barrets would cancel each other out, wasting both party's attempts to control the battlefield early...

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown narrowed his eyes on the man. An intelligent device, not just one with an audible program. He hadn't been entirely sure, but this confirmed it. He was having it do things for him. Offloading the job. Chrono just stared at him, standing in stark contrast to the quips that Riventon made. Entirely serious...

He held out his left hand, forming a barrier when the strike came at him. The dark energy glancing off it and dispersing around. Dark energy channeled through the device. He... hadn't known if devices could even do that. HOW was his? could his own? No. He didn't want to consider that. That could be the same as strapping a lost logia to his device.

Then suddenly the shadowy creatures. He flicked his wrist and the orb took off. Shattering one. Two... Then one triggered one of his binds. It died a moment later.

Within a few moments, binds had been dispersed, the humanoid barrets were gone and even the sniper had dispersed. Chrono was laying more traps across the battlefield, however... just like Riventon likely was.

It seemed the two even had a similiar approach. Turn the battlefield to their liking. And even if he suffered a severe height disadvantage, he didn't possess one in power.

Worse, he was staring at Riventon. Analyzing him closely. Trying to figure out... what he did. Was he a ranged combatent, or martial? Compensate for speed...

He made a plan, then. It might even seem reckless. But he was going to try. Dashing in close, he raced at the man, triggering a few of Riventon's traps... only for them to be snagged in his own binds. Then holding up his device, Riventon might expect another sniper shot. A rapid, deadly orb.

            <Blaze Cannon!>

Instead, it was a close range, incredibly powerful and rapid artillery strike, an explosion of flame coming from the device, aiming to pierce through his 'speed calibrated' shields.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Riventon's youma barrets - and Chrono who might be the first person who can really recognize they aren't summons but incredibly stylized projectile attacks - and Chrono's binds cause a little bit of a flickering series of magical effects in Chrono's blue and Riventon's purple-blue. The close range attack is of course, shielded by Riventon's Device's Defensor, a circular barrier that the flare from Chrono's device impacts, but which quickly starts to crack, break, shatter. The brilliant light from the Blaze Cannon and obscures Riventon and the effects of the shot for a few moments, until it reveals Riventon still standing behind - defended by a second barrier. "Panzerhindernis." Riventon says from beneath his mask, as a triangular Belkan magic circle is beneath his feet.

    "Excellent flexibility, though." he says. "Switching to something like that to take advantage of my adjustments. The problem is, you're not dealing with someone who you can overcome. Because Axion's shield gave me enough time to put up my own behind it."

    <WIR SIND EIN TEAM.> (We Are A Team) Riventon's device adds. "Your device is pretty quiet, though. Cat got it's tongue?" he asks. "Or maybe it just doesn't like you as much as mine."

    "But if we're going to move this fight up close... That works for me too!" <DIREKTE LEITUNG!> (DIRECT CONDUIT) his device calls out as his hand glows with that sickly but somehowhow bright purple-black dark Energy and he's now rushing the very limited distance towards Chrono, the energy glowing off his hand as he rushes toward Chrono. He's not blasting him. He's just moving in and trying to grab him with that hand glowing with dark power, while his barret youma appear across his zig-zagging line of attack - clearing a path of Chrono's binds for Riventon to get in close.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown didn't smile or cringe. He just stared. A second shield, fascinating. The other man was dangerous, certainly. But he used his device to channel some power, but seemed to have power of his own. Weaker, individually, perhaps. But still powerful. A mix of belkan and midchildan.

And the lack of awareness of just how strange a system it was. He was quickly starting to get a feel for the man. Focusing on one system would be wiser, developing it, honing it, rather than two incomplete systems. But this Riventon seemed to be a greedy, selfish sort. The kind who wanted everything.

'Cat got its tongue'? Ahhhhh. Right. Now that he thought about it, all of the device users he'd met wielded intelligent devices. It made sense. Many here didn't have experience with magic like he did. An intelligent device could help to hone and develop their powers. Raise their capabilities. It was amusing... he wondered if Riventon looked down on him for wielding a 'mere' storage device. It would be foolish, as with all things... there were pros and cons to using such. In this case, speed.

            <Stinger Snipe!>

This time, three small balls appeared. Only a fraction slower, then snapped out. Zipping through the air, blue light clashing with the dark barrets, streaks of both filtering through the air. His eyes locked on Riventon...

The man was so close, his youma tripping a bind, and he moved past it...

Then the youma was gone.

An instant later, a new bind. Blue magic coiled out, around him. Impossible. Riventon had set it off, a second? His hand JUST out of reach of Chrono's face. The boy was looking at him, not even flinching... Then his staff lifted up...

Before crashing down on his skull.

            <Break Impulse!>

It likely didn't feel like much... until it erupted. It was incredibly short ranged and delayed. But it was the kind of attack meant to sacrifice speed and range for raw destructive ability. To shatter through defenses and send the boy crashing to the ground...

            <Stinger Blade!>

Ten swords of magic would appear around him, spinning in place once... then aiming at him. "Stand down, Riventon. Final warning..."

And if he didn't heed it... Riventon would learn something else about the small boy. Despite the small size, he wasn't like a lot of the others. Because the blades would descend. Each one aimed for a vital area... except two. Aiming for the core of his device. There was no hesitence, no pleas to just surrender, no mercy. It was a final warning... one that, if not taken, the TSAB enforcer responded with final, lethal force.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Riventon's plan goes awry, and at some point he finds himself wondering why lately, everyone goes for his head. Must be jealous of his prodigious intellect. That is the thought that runs through his head as his body aches in every direction after the Break Impulse.

    There's something in the way Chrono moves, in the way he puts spells off, the speed at which they dump out - that last bind, as well. Riventon doesn't like admitting it, but Chrono is absolutely able to fill the field with his garbage faster than Riventon can fill it with his. That's an assured problem. This and other things were rolling through Riventon's head as Chrono gave him his last warning. He wasn't thinking about surrender, just about the battle, and how he could turn things to his advantage. Thinking about the next battle. Which meant, somewhere in his head, he'd accepted that he'd actually been outfought, outplayed today. It's probably impressive on some level that after all of that, Riventon manages to stand back up. And laugh. Laugh like a madman, truly. "Oh man, I am going to make your life hell, little munchkin. Tokyo's not big enough for you to hide -" and he gets cut off.

    By the streak of almost a dozen blue swords, flying down from the sky and slicing into Riventon's body. Each and every sword precisely targeted for some area, each strike likely lethal on its own, but every single blade lands.

    And remains stuck in Riventon. And Riventon's Device. And from what should be wounds, instead, an inky, black liquid drips for just a moment... before the entire construct detonates in a shower of inky, liquid dark energy, including likely forcing Chrono to shield himself from the Dark Energy fragmentation.

    Near a corner of the barrier, Riventon - the real one - leans up against a wall clutching his head. And Riventon realizes that, given the force with which those blades were magically hurled, and their targets - Chrono wasn't aiming for nonlethal here. He couldn't be sure, but he'd guessed Chrono had told his device to go for lethal strikes. And absolutely would have destroyed his device as well. He was incredibly, incredibly serious here. To Riventon, it represented an escalation, just like Naru's kidnapping had. The gloves, metaphorically, were off. He was going to make good on his promise, and find this kid in Tokyo, out of henshin, and teach him a lesson or twenty. Or maybe get someone else to.

    As for lessons, sometimes Riventon can learn one too and he decides to escape the battle on his own. At least the barrier was not enough to prevent his escape, as he takes a back step into the wall - into the Dusk Zone - and leaves Chrono alone... for now. He'll get the ping of Riventon's energy off to the side before he leaves. And as for Riventon? This battle will be studied in incredibly close detail.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown let out a sigh, watching the man. It was... a shame. He didn't want to respond as such... but that was his duty. This Riventon was a threat who refused to acknowledge and accept his defeat. It didn't bring him joy to end a life and he would likely be apologetic for it later... but it was his duty. His--

And there was an alert. Dark energy on the edge of the barrier. Then the 'Riventon' turned to black liquid. He gave a soft sigh and ended the barrier, glancing around. It seemed this Riventon was pretty strong. Fast, too. Or perhaps he, like Chrono, had experienced 'defeat' enough times that he also always put up defenses now.

This wasn't going to be the last time he encountered Riventon and Axiom. It was going to be... an experience. Another stressor on the pile, he supposed. One he'd deal with later.

... Who knew? Maybe Riventon had learned his lesson and would, next time, just leave rather than fight... Yeah, Chrono knew THAT was unlikely.