View source for 2380/A Lesson In Philosophy

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2025/03/04
|Location=Plot Room 2
|Synopsis=Seriss Nyx is deploying her first experiment, under the watchful eye of Mistress 9; Rashmi, Ahmya, and Amy show up to stop her, naturally, and Rashmi is field testing the improvements to Nicomachea. All in all, it's a great success... for both parties.
|Cast of Characters=25,207,41,107,39
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>Tokyo; middle of the night, right about the time most people are either in bed, thinking about bed, or staying up too late after finishing their homework playing games like Counter Strike. it is, in all respects, a perfectly normal night; a little rain, a little on the cool side. Somewhere a couple of people are arguing over a car accident. At the rooftop restaurant Okujoo Ramen, people are eating and most of them haven't seen the purple-haired girl featured in the 'Have you seen this girl?' poster now replacing one of the movie posters, in the most prominent position. <br> <br> Then, a wail of frustration from the late-night gamers across several districts rises in unison as the power flickers and goes out; and it remains out for several minutes, before patches of town blink-blink back on here and there, a patchwork of electrical function and failure. <br> <br> The heart of it is in the industrial center, where the power is still off; off, but for one disused factory for electrical appliances, where the power is most decidedly... on. Not just on, but shining brilliantly, and crackling with the recent energy of a lightning strike... on an otherwise clear night. <br> <br> Those who are attuned to such things will definitely have felt a shockwave of dark energy, emenating from that precise spot. Something is afoot.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br>Ahmya Karashima was someone who was regularly out late at night, frequently for the regular patrols that many of the Mahou participate in, but also just because she tended to be kept out late by the Occult Club and their extracirricular activities. <br><br>...AKA Ghost Hunting. <br><br>Look they're a bunch of teens what else do you expect from them. <br>Oh also there's dark rituals but those are beside the point and usually actually harmless. <br><br>..Partially because Ahmya is there and if she senses any actual dark magic on accident she 'accidentally' disrupts the ritual. Look we don't need anyone accidentally becoming possessed by a devil or something. <br><br>ANYWAY more importantly when that blackout happens, the 'haunted' hotel that they'd been exploring in the late night with the lights on suddenly had their lights flicker off, and screams. <br><br>And then when they flickered back on, Ahmya Karashima had disappeared. <br>...Because she'd sensed the dark energy emanating from nearby. <br><br>This absolutely isn't going to cause any rumors of Ahmya Karashima secretly being a ghost in addition to being a weird but nice girl. Not at all. <br><br>REGARDLESS, she had snuck off to do her quick henshin into Goldenweb Yorotsuchi so that she could start using her webbing to slingshot herself through the dark night towards the source of that darkness, intent on investigating. <br><br>Definitely isn't going to cause even more confusion to see a girl pulling herself along on golden threads in the middle of the night. <br><br>...Actually it probably won't. Thanks, Veil! <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br><span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">ALERT. MASTER. ALERT.</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span> Nicomachea all but shouts in Rashmi's head. <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SIGNATURE ACTIVATE, TARGET DESIGNATE 'Seriss Nyx.' SIMULATIONS COMPLETE. DIAGNOSTICS GREEN. TESTING PHASE COMPLETE. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE FIELD TRIALS.</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>'Put me in, coach, I'm ready!'<br> <br>Closing her eyes, Rashmi puts a bookmark in the new design book she'd been scribbling notes into, and authorized a quick execution to Active Mode, to facilitate the casting of one (1) Flier Fin, and then back to Standby. Fetching her fluffiest coat to battle the twin chills of early spring and high-speed, Rashmi flies -- *in civvies, no less!* -- toward the epicenter of the blackouts, the appliance factory in the industrial district.<br> <br>On her way there, Rashmi absolutely can't *not* notice the golden spider-mahou, threading her way through the city. "Goldenweb-chan! Oh wow how long has it... Oh. Right. So in case you haven't heard... We're probably going to be fighting a demon riding Molly-chan's body. And she'll have access to the *power* of an artillery mage, to boot. So like... *definitely* be careful, okay?"<br> <br>Of all the people she had to run into on the way, it might turn out to be for the best that it was Ahmya... but oh boy that's a lot of catch-up she's gonna have to play later...<br> <br>And gosh, it really *is* cold up here in civvies, isn't it?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staying up playing games when you shouldn't, huh...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Playing around with a hacking tool, Amy's stumbled on an unexpected, hidden quest, a dungeon inside the main character's mind to unlock memories... Why do they remember these magical things if they're supposedly from Earth? Also, is it actually a hidden quest or did she just sequence break? She was messing around with several variables.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ugh, how is it already so late? Stupid having to be up so early for school... And this growing teenage body that needs more sleep--Although, she wouldn't trade it for anything, really. It's 110% worth any inconveniences that came with it!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy looks at the screen tiredly, and her mind wanders. ''People losing their memories, or getting turned into cats.... I'm incredibly lucky to have gotten a deal as good as I--''<br><br><span class="bold_fg_g bg_n ++ hg">BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sound of the battery backup alarm, again. This time she can hear some distant groaning of people who had their gaming or studying interrupted in nearby rooms. ''Twice in one month? ...I don't like this.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Again, she checks the outage maps, and the news for any explanation.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_g bg_n ++ hg">BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Gah. Sorry, Mio, Pin... I'll shut down the computer and go check it out."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And so once again she flies across Tokyo. Wondering if it's safe to fly a rocket while sleepy. She should have grabbed coffee. But where? The power's out.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At least it's easy to see the ''single suspicious building with its lights on.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy lands a little roughly -- scraping rocket and roof -- on a nearby building, tumbling out onto the roof and tiredly pushing herself up, looking at the lights... and the nearby gathering of mahou. "Rashmi? C-- Yellow Pearl Voice? Uh... um... Spider-girl? Do you girls know what's going on here?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>Outwardly, the only thing suspicious about the factory is that it's the only building nearby that still has lights on. Other people are beginning to notice, too; it's not the only factory around here, but it is the only one that's abandoned, and most such places operate around the clock -- which means that standing around in a few parking lots are groups of pepole all scratching their heads, holding cellphones up to their ears, and wondering why on Earth the place that hasn't seen production in years is suddenly lit up like a Christmas Tree while all the operating factories are opearing on emergency lighting and nothing else. <br> <br> But so far, that's all there is to see. The factory is a place that stands several stories tall, and it's the main building where all the assembly happens (or would happen) that's lit up. <br> <br> Notably... the front doors, the really big ones for letting things like semi-trucks just drive right in, are wide open. It's almost like an invitation. <br> <br> Or maybe somoene just doesn't care about interuptions.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br> "Oh! Hi! Yeah, sorry, got busy with, uh. Extracurricular Activities!" Ahmya /definitely/ hadn't gotten distracted collecting a set of insects that looked suspiciously like her mahou friends. At all. Nope. <br><br>"...Wait a demon possessing a body? I thought I was keeping a closer eye upon the dark twilight pact than that to allow such a thing to happen!" Pause. <br><br>"The uh. The dangerous one not the rag-tag group of kind of adorable girls who just want to play magical girl with the real magical gi-- ANYWAY artillery mage and be careful, got it!" <br><br>Hm. So she'll have to make sure to put [Reinforce] on every one of her webs probably. And be ready with her defensive webs. "...I'll try to make sure that things are set up for people to be as safe as possible!" Because really, when your main power is 'binding spells' and 'sword' and it's a demon possessing a body, well. <br><br>...Sword is probably not the best option. <br>...It might still be the best option. <br><br>"Is it susceptible to the light of purification? I know that mine is weaker than most, but perhaps it shall help at least a bit?" Nevermind that it's like shining a flashlight out into the void of darkness. Sure, it's better than nothing but you really wish you had a spotlight or a floodlight handy.<br><br>There is, as Amy starts to come in for a slightly hard landing, rather suddenly a little bit of a golden sling that is spread between the ground and a convenient weathervein that is a little crooked but also a marginally softer landing for Amy Faust. <br><br>"Hi! I don't believe we've met, I am Yorotsuchi of the Golden web, though generally for simplicity's sake I go by Goldenweb Yorotsuchi. I am not your friendly neighborhood Spider-Girl. I don't desire to be sued by Admire or Dosney thank you very much." <br><br>Not that she's entirely sure how'd they'd find her to sue her but american con-sue-merism is legendary. <br><br>Meanwhile there were people starting to gather and wide open dock bay doors. "Well! It looks like we're being invited right in to some form of probably-trap." <br><br>Pause. <br><br>Wait why is Goldenweb Yorotsuchi just straight swinging towards the open dock bay doors? <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>Rashmi, long skirt tugged by the chilly night breeze, casts a bleak, determined look at Coco and Amy as they join, and ask what mimght be happening. "'Seriss Nyx,'" she says, anger glittering in her eyes. "First thing Nicomachea's sensors pick up as he comes out of his sims and it's *her.* So this isn't gonna be a *regular* fight, and Red-chan I'm *so glad* you're here we're gonna need actual stri--GOLDENWEB!"<br> <br>This last, hissed through clenched teeth as the part-time mahou fangirl and full-time chuuni mahou just *rocks on up to the open door.*<br> <br>"Red-chan d'you mind if I catch a ride? I kind of want her to think nothing at all's different."<br> <br>Nevermind that only an *idiot* would walk into a mahou fite in civvies. But, perhaps Seriss thinks Rashmi is that kind of idiot?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;@emit <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy's landing isn't so hard after all! "Woah, thanks Goldenweb Yorotsuchi!" Convenient that she just restated it! She smiles at Ahmya humorously denying any resemblance to Spider-Girl, though. "They literally can't remember we exist, but yeah, you're your own thing! We all are!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rashmi's words trickle through Amy's sleepy brain. Words that wake her up a little. "Wait, it's gonna be that bodystealer bitch again??? How can you tell, something your Device can pick up?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy looks at Rashmi curiously. "Why aren't you transformed...?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once that's explained, though... Amy picks up Rashmi in a princess carry -- "Do you want a copy of your old outfit? Altough it won't have any of the magical properties, so please transform before you actually get hit..." -- and jumps down from the roof and heads towards the building.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Goldenweb says it's probably a trap. "Sure. Let's just walk into the deathknight's lair, why not. Like..." She looks to Rashmi and Ahmya, "Was she giving off that kinda vibe to you, too?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Since Seriss Nyx hasn't actually ''seen'' her fight, upon seeing Ahmya ready a sword, Amy summons a couple of cosplay swords herself. The blades are red and not actually sharp, but maybe it'll surprise Seriss when she switches to her actual weapon and shoots her.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>When the heroes get their first peak -- past an open door with faded letters on it, something about 'loading bay' and 'Tresspassers will be' and 'Subsidiary of Obsidian'. Inside the factory, the space has been completely transformed; much of the factory space has been gutted, to create a single large, relatively open area, surrounded by catwalks at various levels and a gantry crane overhead. <br> <br> Inside the space, is a very similar fusion of the industrial and the arcane, much like there was at the awakening of Seriss Nyx; the walls are festooned with all manner of devices ringed with magical circles, all feeding power cables that lead to what seems like a giant pressure-vessel in the center, currently hissing with steam and crackling with terrifying amounts of energy -- elecricity and dark energy, in equal measure. <br> <br> HIgh up on one of the catwalks stands Seriss; the dark mage is in henshin, standing in a commanding position where she can watch what's going on, and oversee the results of what must have been the work of a few dozen people; none of whom are present now. Her red, bat-like wings are fully extended behind her, and she has the Cygnus Lich in hand, looking down at the pressure vessel with a distinct, satisfied smile.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:39|Mistress 9 (39)}} has posed:'''<br>Mistress 9 was, possibly, missable at first. At the end of the catwalk, sitting on the edges of it... sat Mistress 9. Holding something in her hands... Watching. Not interfering. Not today.<br><br>But monitoring the situation. Watching Seriss...<br><br>Judging her, likely. If they earned her ire... well... Just think of her as the 'secret special boss' in an adventure. The one you really, really don't want to touch except on new game plus. Or if you grinded the heck out of previous fights.<br><br>As it was? For now... she was just watching...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br> Rashmi shouts after her, but Goldenweb Yorotsuchi is already gone! ... ... And landing nearby the door instead of actually just slinging herself inside. <br><br>Look she's going to wait for the others at least. She does pause, though, turning her good eye towards the eye-spider crawling on the side of the building. "Hachi, go peek inside for me please." She says, moving over to a convenient corner to lean against it, letting the semi-stealthed eye-spider creep in through the open doors, sticking to ceilings and walls to remain largely out of sight, and with minimal enough energy that she's probably not seen as a threat. <br><br>Once the other two are down and over towards them, she gives a shrug towards the question. "I don't know, I have never met the devil or her host; I have been busy keeping the Occult Club out of trouble." She says bemusedly. Her own sword is hanging loosly across her back, a slender golden thread crossed over her chest to secure it there as the veil that covers most of her body glistens lightly in the night. <br><br>...She definitely cuts an interesting figure as she leans there, most likely. <br><br>"That sword looks incredibly fragile." Yorotsuchi comments, holding a hand out towards Amy's twin swords. "And ... like props? Here. Let me 'prop' them up for you a bit." She says, sticking some webbing to the swords. To put two runes on them. <br><br>[Endure] <br>[Sharpen] <br><br>The two etched web-runes would create a light edge of golden energy to the two cosplay swords, along with giving them some durability! <br><br>...Which means they'll probably survive being used for a single attack instead of breaking mid-attack or something. <br><br>...Is there a point to the runes? Probably not, no. <br><br>Soon, Hachi returned and relayed what she spotted to Yorotsuchi through some gesturing and sounds that are probably not understood by anyone other than Ahmya. Also don't mind that it's a giant spider with an eyeball for its abdomen. "Huh, neat, multiple levels for lots of swinging around and tactical movements, lots of magitech stuff in there..." She muses out loud in response to Hachi's report. "And there's some sort of pressure vessel that is hissing with steam and crackling with dark energy that I suspect might explode not too long after we enter the area if we disrupt it too much which will no doubt blast us all with dark energy and electricity which might have absolutely terrible consequences!" <br><br>She looks /far/ too excited about this potential outcome, are there sparkles around her?! <br><br>...No that's just that golden silk veil. <br><br>"So anyway the person who I'm guessing is the demon is up on one of the higher catwalks so you're aware and they don't get the jump on us." <br><br>Hachi did, perhaps, see Mistress 9.<br><br>Hachi took one look at Mistress 9 and decided she did not see Mistress 9. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>"...That would actually be fantastic, thanks," Rashmi says in response to Amy's offer, and when she has a satisfactory mockup of a Barrier Jacket in place, she hops out of Amy's arms to creep up to Ahmya's side.<br> <br>Listening to Ahmya's report, Rashmi tries very, very hard to hold in the sigh. "Focus, Goldenweb-chan," she says quietly. "And please, please remember that the person the creature is inhabiting, *by herself,* was the kind of mahou who is difficult for *city infrastructure* to stand up to. Try to stay out of her line of fire accordingly."<br> <br>Drawing in a deep breath, she reaches up to her neck, clasping Nicomachea's charm in hand. "So... go in loud, or fire a dozen rockets at the pod and *then* go in loud?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like props? "They ''are'' props. I can only make certain kinds of weapons. But I guess these count as clothing. Or accessories, at least. I can make that too." Amynods at Rashmi's fake Barrier Jacket as she explains, and watches the enhancing process with interest. "Ooh, neat. Can you do that with blunt and ranged weapons, as well?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They get a spy report from Hachi. "...D'you think it'd be a good idea to just. Blow it up with us outside?" Amy sighs and shakes her head after a moment. "I guess we can't be sure it won't unleash something horrible."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...Can we?" Amy looks curiously at Rashmi. "Has Nichomachea got any idea?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>Seriss Nyx says, "You may as well come inside." <br> <br> Seriss' raised voice carries out of the open doors, and one can almost hear the impatient sigh accompanying it. <br> <br> "Door open, no barrier, nothing to stop you.. obvious dark energy experiment in plain sight... What more do you want, a welcome mat?" <br> <br> Inside, Seriss paces about on the catwalk, suddenly awash with great impatience. The dark mage never once glances over her shoulder, however; she knows full well that Mistress 9 is there, for no purpose other than to evaluate her performance. Inside her mask, her Battle Visor marks the probable positions of three hostile targets outside, and of course, labels them with their names and leaves space for information like trajectories. <br> <br> "Cygnus Lich, let's make sure we don't get unduly ambushed by rambunctious teenagers. Raise a Neutron Shield with a Magnetic Charge." <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; AFFIRMATIVE. DEFENSES DEPLOYED. &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> A globe of energy snaps into place around Seriss, before falling invisible once more; and the mage continues observing, watching the entryway. <br> <br> "You should hurry," she calls out, after another loud hiss from the pressure vessel. "My first creation is about to be born... you're going to miss it!""<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br>"Sounds like I'm the exact kind of person that's good to be fighting her then, usually the ones that can cause massive destruction are also kind of slow!" Yorotsuchi replies cheerfully to Rashmi. "Anyway, let's see..." She starts tapping at her veil in many places, starting to apply several layers of runes to the veil. <br><br>These are more complex than the simple enchantments she'd put on the prop swords. "Blunt is... complicated, I usually just put a 'heavy' rune on them so that they fall harder on impact, another rune might be 'Golden Spikes' to put blessed spikes on it... uhm... ranged weaponry is more complicated, I can technically put runes on the weapon itself but depending on how it functions they might not do much, I could potentially enchant some of the ammunition but that's inefficient unless we do so in advance or I enchant them mid-flight and I'm not /quite/ at that level of enchantment speed since I have to attach webbing to it to impart those enchantments." <br><br>Pause. <br><br>"Firing a dozen rockets and going in loud sounds like the best option though." If you're going to go in loud, you might as well go in ultraloud. <br><br>She continues to apply those layers of runes to her veil, which eventually form a magical circle since she has the time to pre-prepare. <br><br>Aaaand then she just lets it sit there, not activating it. <br><br>And then they're /actually/ invited inside. "Ooh, so it /was/ an invitation. Neat!" <br><br>Aaaand she turns around the corner relatively calmly, weaving web between her hands calmly, those golden strands of silk hanging between her fingers. And then she is shooting anchored bits of web into the catwalk to launch herself through the air, changing trajectories randomly to make sure she's never just going in a straight line for too long... <br><br>shooting little bits of web towards the vessel. <br><br>[Delayed Explosion] <br><br>To put runes on it. <br><br>That are tuned to explode in a chain reaction should they be struck by an attack or another rune explodes nearby. <br><br>...Yeah she's basically, if left to her own devices, trying to make blowing up the pressure chamber easier. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>"You make it sound like we're the *unreasonable ones* for not trusting a *bodysnatching parasite,*" Rashmi hollers as she walks in after Goldenweb, fake Barrier Jacket resplendent as she thinks very, very hard in Amy's direction. &lt;&lt; Don't actually blow it up til I've got the Barrier up, please? &gt;&gt;<br> <br>Which she already would have up, if she'd just... henshin, aldready! But, no, not yet.<br> <br>"Let me guess... it's an energy-draining youma? And you are so much worse than ninety percent of the *thousands and thousands of people* at Obsidian, and made this one from an actual person? Well guess what, I'm not impressed, that's still only barely more competent than any third vending machine in the city could manage."<br> <br>Amy might understand the reason for Rashmi's malice... but this is *well* outside of what AHmya might expect out of the sweet-hearted redhead.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ah damn, they were spotted. And this isn't an energy-gathering machine, but a latest creation?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Given this is someone with the resources and magitech to take over and reshape Molly's body and Starcrash... Amy doesn't think their 'creation' will be a run-of-the-mill youma.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Good luck." Amy says quietly, before they step in.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, they're not blowing it up ''yet''... so Amy steps in, and looks up and around for Seriss Nyx, frowning upon once again seeing Molly's form twisted so, not just worn by someone else but worn and ''altered'' like a dress that wasn't to their taste.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Why don't you just start monologuing already, if this creation of yours is so great?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>"Great?" Seriss shrugs her shoulders from high up on the catwalk. "Who said anything about it being great? This is a first test, little one. A trial run. You know, like when you whip something up out of paper mache and popsicle sticks, just to get proof of concept before you go working really ''hard'' on the real thing." <br> <br> The woman clad in golden armor pauses as there's a loud ''PffHhsssssssss'' as steam escapes the pressure vessel; followed by the breaking of a seal somewhere within it, as the top of it shifts a quarter-turn to the left. There's a sound like liquid churning, and a foul-smelling black ichor bubbles out of it, spewing into a growing pool around it on the floor. Steam continues to rise from the liquid, as something within the vessel shifts around, almost like it is trying to get out. <br> <br> "Only three of you, today? Pity, I had hoped for more. Nevermind. But, just in case you decide to do anything rash; Cygnus Lich. Charge Stellar Barrage; Dark Shift, homing barrets. Lock all three targets. Eighty barrets per target." <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> "You should calm yourself, Rashmi sweetheart. Going into combat without a clear head isn't a good idea. Besides, I doubt sweet little Molly would want you getting yourself killed this early in the game." <br> <br> Seriss leaps off the catwalk, and her wings beat as she descends a full story, landing on a different platform on the opposite side of the warehouse. "You really should consider what you ''can'' accomplish against what you ''want''. Maybe you might ''want'' to face me directly, but ''can'' you? I doubt it." She gestures towards the pressure vessel. "Besides; there is your teacher, today." She turns to watch, as the pressure vessel's lid rotates another quarter turn, belching more of the black ichor, and then another quarter, and another, until finally it falls off to one side; steam continues to billow, but visible inside it in silhouette is... a humanoid figure. More or less. It is as mishappen and ugly as it is enormous, easily taking up two stories sitting down. <br> <br> "Arise, Socrates," calls out Seriss. "Your sparring partners have arrived." <br> <br> The mage pauses, quirking ther corners of her red lips upwards. "Destroy them."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>"*First of all,*" Rashmi shouts back, "you keep my friend's name *out of your mouth UNTIL AND UNLESS* you are willing to give her body back to her!" ...Maybe Seriss has a point of Rashmi's anger getting the better of her but, damn it all, Molly is *right there* and poor Starcrash is being made to threaten them all with a hell of a lot of pain, and possibly death.<br> <br>But the vessel is beginning to open, and Rashmi can't help but glance at the runes laid in webbing. And black goop and ugliness are filling the center of the factory, and perhaps it's about as close to time to begin field tests as it'll ever get. Drawing in a deep breath, she holds up her Device's charm.<br> <br>"Nicomachea Exia!" Rashmi called, holding the tiny charm of her Device's standby mode aloft.<br> <br><span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>"SET UP!"<br> <br><span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">COMMAND INPUT EXECUTE.</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>She released the charm, and the golden light of her mana signature enveloped her, an instricate Midchildan spell-seal revolving in place below her. As she drifted down to place one foot on the seal, her clothing glowed like sunshine, then burst away to reveal a smooth black and white bodysuit covering her from neck to feet. Her upraised hand came down, the little sunburst charm hovering centimeters above her palm, and wide sheets of magic began to crisscross her body. When they tightened, the magic shattered away to reveal armor plating and brightly colored fabric.<br> <br>First, a yellow-trimmed green vest, in a vaguely military-official cut. Then a belt, segmented black bands arcing over her hips, golden plates covering the sides, to plug into a five-sided, golden metal housing with a red crystal emitter set within. From under the belt, a black thigh-length skirt fell down, and under the plates, gold-trimmed green tassets extended, then beneath those a long, green pleated overskirt, hemmed in white ruffles.<br> <br>Rashmi's hand came up to her chest, as if in prayer, and with a flash of light a pentagonal emitter housing rested atop the vest's lapels, and sleek armored pauldrons that could almost be epaulets assembled themselves onto her shoulders, white ducting extending to connect to the emitter. Over her arms, large gold-and-green vambraces chunked into place, the upper side flaring out well over her hand to give the impression of belled sleeves, and thick white armored boots materialized over her feet, the knee-guard curving out and up.<br> <br>With a gesture, she set Nicomachea's charm to spinning around its center, the crystal somehow growing in size, and the starburst casing to match, until both were large enough to obscure Rashmi's face. Machinery of incomprehensible purpose snaked outward and down, until a pair of cylindrical modules clamped down on either end, their upper third clear as glass and glowing golden with stored mana. A wide green plate comes down to clamp over the bulk of the Device's cover, leaving only a pair of perforated venting strips, and a pair of armored, latching covers extend from the other side of the cylinders. On the other side of the plate bearing Nicomachea's crystal, fluttering pages materialize, and on the larger of the two wings, a series of bookmark-shaped, long thumbdrives slot into pockets made to house them. The whole assembly closes and latches into place, the book now a large armored folio, that Rashmi reaches out and hugs to her chest.<br> <br><span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">EXIA MODE. SET UP.</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br> <br>And *immediately,* before the battle can begin, Nicomachea's new folio-style Active Mode chimes.<br> <br><span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">TIME-SPACE BARRIER</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>Over the Device forms a staticky, yellow-black ball of energy that explodes outwards, shifting the factory and every magical being within it, dimentionally, half a step to the left. With this new version of the Barrier brought more in line with Rashmi's own dimensional tuning, reality takes on a closer tinge to her own mana signature; pale-gold, like a world lit by bright arc-sodium light.<br> <br>"...Fine," she says. "Let's see who's got the more effective Method."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br> Goldenweb Yorotsuchi actually pauses momentarily when Rashmi talks about the creation. Damn. Rashmi goin' for the no-chill route with those lines. <br><br>"I'm a little impressed! But yeah if it's just a youma that's pretty milktoast of you." <br>Yorotsuchi chimes in helpfully.<br><br>Don't mind her, just setting up more runes scattered around the battlefield while she's being left to her own devices doot doot oh hey charging a stellar barrage. <br><br>&lt;&lt;I know you said to wait but -- Oh good the barrier is up! &gt;&gt; <br><br>As that magic starts to charge, Goldenweb Yorotsuchi would take no time in lifting her hand to snap her fingers. <br><br>Triggering a tiny rune between them to send a fast, tiny bolt of energy into one of those goldenweb runes. <br><br>And lightly Blessed explosions would begin to rock all around the pressure chamber, shaped to shoot their explosions inward towards the center of the chamber, rather than explode outward -- though they would anyway simply due to the reflective nature of metal, most likely, but likely reducing overall collateral damage to others in the area, as a small blessing! <br><br>Nicomachea Exia. Nice. Once again, Ahmya is pausing momentarily for Rashmi. Mostly because, well, admiring the new transformation. <br><br>On the downside, since she initiated the combat and shot the pressurized chamber early that probably means there's 80 barrets flying her way. <br><br>... Yeah she's going to have to do a lot of creative dodging shortly oh gosh. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy opens her mouth and nods along with Rashmi on that first point. "Yeah. You are in ''no'' position to speak about what she would want."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And THEN Seriss Nyx unveils, painfully slowly, her latest monstrosity. Amy wants to just blow it up, but there's no barrier yet...!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Damn, it's big. A giant zombie...?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rashmi debuts her new henshin. It is cool! Amy ooohs appreciatively...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then as soon as the barrier's up she fires.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She doesn't ''need'' to aim her launcher at this distance, against something so big. She raises one hand, still gripping the sword with her thumb and extending her fingers to guide to foregrip of the recoilless rifle that's suddenly there, CRACK! as Goldenweb's explosions go off, Amy shoots a high explosive shell at the monster! CRACK! Out shoots an incendiary shell, airbursting into a spray of burning-hot powder!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She... doesn't have anything witty to say about the monster, because she can't actually ''see'' it yet.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>At Rashmi's outburst, Seriss just smiles, holding up her left hand in a fist, "That's the spirit! Get angry, dear child. Rage, snarl, smash everything you can, cry until you fall asleep, and perhaps when all this is over? You might just be fit to be my servant." <br> <br> Seriss takes off form her position, flying to land on a different catwalk; and perhaps it was lucky or perhaps she times it really well, but she manages to be airborn right about when Ahmya's series of explosions are triggered. <br> <br> Socrates, is not so lucky. The creation howls loudly enough to hurt one's ears; black ichor splashes outwards, and the clouds of steam get cleared by the blasts. Revealed in full is the true horror; a massive being with a skeleton made as much from giant bones as pieces of metal that look like they might once have been I-beams, with a body made seemingly out of crude oil and putty stretched over it, that seems to be constantly sloughing off and rebuilding itself. It slams one massive hand down on the ground, dragging itself out of the vessel; as Amy's shell lands and blasts a chunk of it away, it roars again, seemingly struggling to find its footing while the second shel lands; and it scorches, but perhaps it is of too... liquid a state, to truly burn. <br> <br> As it shakes off the blast, it rights itself, still trying to stand. And then it reaches behind itself, grabbing hold of the lid of the pressure vessel -- large enough to fit an oversized, American pickup truck in -- and hurls it with force, straight up at Ahmya. Barely a second later it tears the bottom half loose of its moorings, and repeats the feat, sending it Amy's direction with enough force to send it through the wall and out across the parking lot, like its compatriot. <br> <br> "Careful now, you'll bring the roof down," Seriss observes. "Oh, Rashmi sweetheart, your new costume is excellent. I can't ''wait'' to see what it can do. ...I do believe Molly had high hopes for you. Socrates; be a peach and help Rashmi stress-test her new Barrier Jacket." <br> <br> As she speaks, alighting on a catwalk and pointing the business end of her bident downwards at the heroes, Socrates finall finds his footing and rises to its full height, smashing several of the raised platforms out of the way in the process. It throws its arms up and howls; and its flesh continues to melt and reform, constantly exposing and recovering the skeleton. As this continues, it exposes a large, metal tube inside its mouth, where one would expect things like teeth and a jawbone to be; its eyes flash red, the tube glows with heat, and it unleashes a powerful beam of superheated energy, unleashed in Rashmi's direction. It struggles, at first, to get the beam on target, and it blasts holes in the walls and reduces cars on the other side to slag, before it finally manages to zero in on its intended victim. <br> <br> Seriss, meanwhile, hasn't yet fired; she's content it seems to simply watch the Mahou and her creation.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>When Seriss suggests Rashmi might be fit to *serve* her, it agtually brings Rashmi to a halt, for a moment, and the Devicer just... *stares* at the Daimon, with a face very suggestive of having smelled something foul. Shaking her head, she backpedals as Socrates starts winging pieces of the pod at her compatriots.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">FLIER FIN</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>Dragonfly wings of golden light unfurl from Rashmi's ankles, and she takes to the air as well, flitting here and there among the structure and machinery, as Nicomachea sets up a telepathic communications net. &lt;&lt; ...Okay so fire's not gonna work... Goldenweb, d'you have anything for freezing? Because if not, I can help out with that... but it's a one-shot-per-boost kind of deal-- oop. &gt;&gt;<br> <br>It's about then, that the monster reveals the firehose of thermal destruction it has in place of a mouth, and for that first little while, Rashmi does her very best to *keep* its targeting awful, never staying on one place, never letting the beam get too close to her friends... And right before it snaps onto her position, she stretches out a hand.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SOLAR SHIELD -- GLACE SHIFT</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>A slightly domed circle of golden magic forms in the air ahead of her, then with a screeching *CRACK!* becomes an irregular, spined cone of gold-colored, crystalline ice; while the beam may be more coherent than most fire attacks, the principle is the same; counter and diffuse the magic, to make it all the esier to defend against.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br>"...Huh I might actually be able to enchant those." Yorotsuchi comments at the sight of the incendiary shell. "Not... particularly more effectively than that bu--" <br><br>Oh hey there was a lid flying at her now. As it flies at her, she does what any person who doesn't want to die would do: She immediately shoots a golden web to launch herself out of the way of that giant massive segment of heavy metal that absolutely would squish her like a spider if it hit her. <br><br>On the upside, she is not smashed by a lid. <br><br>On the downside that thing is really strong so it /does/ go faster than she can properly get out of the way, sending her spinning out to the side and briefly left dangling from her own webbing. Which then dissipates into golden motes of light. <br><br>As it grabs another segment. And Goldenweb Yorotsuchi moves immediately into action. Charging beam, and massive chunk of metal shot at the two of her friends? <br><br>Nah. <br><br>Not today. She sends two runes shot out towards the two: <br>[Reinforce] <br><br>Their natural defenses increased, as a golden web is shot out towards both of her friends, one to attempt to help pull Amy out of the way of the thrown segment of metal, and the other to help Rashmi get out of the way of the superheated beam of light. <br><br>And then finally, she opts to, rather than fling one of her own, much generally lesser strength attacks against the sludge monster... <br><br> "<span style="color:xterm180">Blessing of the Golden Web! Activate!</span>" <br><br>And a golden pulse of light is shot down the length of those silken strands to further enhance her two allies -- this time with a magical blessing that would share her purification powers with the two, along with a general energy boost! <br><br> ... ... The purification powers are still very mild though. <br><br>"This seems more like a creature out of comic books. The... sludge? Something or other? Whatever." She swings her sword forward again, this time getting ready to defend herself from further attacks. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Shut up." Amy tells Seriss at her taunting.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Good news! It's ''not'' a giant skeleton or bonestrider! Bad news! It's still a horrible necrotech monstrosity! It is... ''unsettling.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy transforms to her own super mode and leaps towards Goldenweb's threads to be pulled well clear of the improvised projectile, the sheer ''size'' of it might have made leaping over it on her own risky..<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She doesn't want to think about how much magic that would've cost to heal.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(If she's crushed to a pulp, ''CAN'' she heal from that, even with a full soul gem? She doesn't want to find out. Godoka forbid it crack her soul gem...)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy sheaths the swords on her back in midair. There is simply no time to mess around with weapons she's not proficient with, after all.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bring the roof down? "We really don't care. And neither do you, it seems." Amy answers as she lands. "And ''shut up'' about Molly!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She fires some 8.4cm slugs -- Crack! Crack! Crack! -- just to see how the sludgy 'flesh' and bone-and-metal bones react.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She has no idea how to ''kill'' this thing. It feels unnervingly like a boss battle that she's stumbled into by sequence breaking, underleveled and without whatever techniques she needs to actually hurt it...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps she may not have figured out how to ''hurt'' it, but, that beam attack? She switches to a grenade launcher, airbursting clouds of smoke around Socrates's head! This might further aid Rashmi's plan to decohere the beam, but Amy's first concern is making it so the monster can't ''see'' to clearly aim at Rashmi whether the beam itself is effected or not!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Maybe it's got a focus somewhere? Or maybe we can gum up that cannon?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>The heat beam hits Rashmi's shield, and it's going to be a serious strain, but Rashmi's shield will hold, and hold just barely long enough for the beam to dissipate. Socrates howls its outrage that this little red-headed bug has survived him, as it drops to all fours to recover after the strain of that attack, shaking its head until its skull is exposed before the gooey, oily flesh covers it once more. <br> <br> "Oh look, still alive. Well done," Seriss calls down from above. "Try harder, Socrates. You haven't killed any of them yet. They're going to destroy ''you'' at this rate, wouldn't that be a shame." <br> <br> A terrible shame indeed. Socrates roars; hard enough that ichor, flesh, and even teeth somehow lost inside the sloughing mass of tissues go flying as it rears back up to full height. For lack of any more parts of pressure vessel, it smashes its hands into the ground, and undertakes a great struggle to dig something up. As it works, Amy's impressive shells slam into it, exploding and blasting flesh all over the place; it staggers away from what it is working on, only to regain its footing and look up to open its maw, pointing a superheated beam in Amy's direction. Once again it struggles to get the beam on target, and parts of the factory start to collapse around the battle as it tries to turn Amy into a radiation scorch-mark on the ground. <br> <br> Thankfully, the blast isn't as long as the one levelled in Rashmi's direction; Socrates inally finishes ripping an I-Beam up out of the floor, with a significant amount of concrete still hanging off of one end. No sooner does it have this weapon than it leaps up into the air, swinging it like a club with surprising speed and agility for something that was so ponderous a moment early, first trying to bat Ahmya out of the air and then as it comes back down, bringing the weapon down overhead to try and hammer Rashmi from above with it. As it lands, it staggers; something in its kip cracks, and it goes back down on one knee. <br> <br> "Cygnus Lich, note the deficiencies inherent to test mock-up one," she instructs. "I project that the Mahou will win in four minutes..." <br> <br> The mage purses her lips, and hmms. "Let's make it more interesting. Fire." <br> <br> Seriss levels her staff downwards, and a series of shining barets charged with dark energy issue forth, swarms of them targeted towards each of the three combatants arrayed against her and her creation, as she leaves her position and flies upwards to stand on the gantry, under a section of ceiling that looks less likely to collapse.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br> Okay everyone got out okay, that's important! <br><br>Well okay, relatively okay. The world was spinning a little for the one-eyed mahou. She glances around quietly at the state of the building, and then the monster itself. Hum. How to handle the current situation... The fire beam launched again, which causes Ahmya to take defensive maneuvers just to avoid being smacked as collateral damage. And then... then... it pulls an I-beam out of the ground. <br><br>"Making weapons out of the concrete is cheating!" She calls out. <br><br>Somewhere, Melona sneezes. <br><br>Also there is an I-beam swinging towards her, which she hops on a catwalk to let it take the brunt of the swing instead of herself, "Oh, hey, mysterious lady in the corner just watching ominously I'm going to pretend you don't exist because you give off an aura of Nope." She comments towards the Mistress 9 she happened to notice at that moment. <br><br>Why did Hachi not tell her about that sooner? <br>Wait, no, nevermind, she knows and is more than fine with that option. <br><br>Speaking of Hachi, as those barrets are sent launching towards her, Hachi warns her of the oncoming danger. ...She's glad the mysterious lady in the corner is just watching three attackers would be even harder to handle. <br><br>As there is now a barrage of shots coming towards her, forcing her to take EVEN MORE evasive maneuvers, dodging around the remaining catwalks, letting them take a lot of the attacks -- as well as a few cheeky attempts to use Seriss Nyx as a defense against her own attack -- and as the remaining bolts come flying in towards her, she creates a dome of webbing to mostly protect herself from the attacks. By the end of it, parts of her veil have holes in it and there are holes in her dress. Tch. Well that's unfortunate. <br><br>Let's see. Attack options, attack options. She doesn't really want to go into melee with that, and her attack spells are... questionable. <br><br>Wait. Glace shift. Ice. &lt;&lt;Oh yeah i do have ice that's probably a smart idea huh?&gt;&gt; <br><br>She grabs one of the magatama from the edge of her veil, lifting it as it glows blue... and then shoots several runes onto the ground around Socrates. <br><br>[Freeze] <br><br>...Less of an attack, and more a rapidly spreading icy zone created by the impromptu magical ... uh... not quite circle. <br><br>But it would probably make it more solid. Which means it's easier to hurt than 'constantly melty gross mess' probably? Maybe? <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>&lt;&lt; Thanks! &gt;&gt; Rashmi calls into the telepathic conversation, for being the one getting charged up is a *novel* experience! But then the beam is firing again, and pointed vaguely in Amy's direction...<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">ACCEL -- BOOST UP</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>THe best defense against terrible tracking is to be too fast for the tracking to succeed, so naturally, this is how Rashmi answers this threat on Amy's life... then the crunch of concrete pulls ehr attention back to the monster and-- &lt;&lt; ...Oh *dear.* &gt;&gt;<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SOLAR FLASH</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>If Rashmi is to be like unto a stubbornly unswattable fly, then this spell won't help anything; in the space between heartbeats, Rashmi seems to be converted directly to energy and blipped across the intervening space between Where She Was, and Ten Meters In That Direction, placing her much further inside and to the left of the monster's arc of swing.<br> <br>And the moment Seriss mutters about making it more interesting, Rashmi feels she knows what's coming; already she's digging for one of the bookmarks secured to Nicomachea's cover, slotting it in place to rest over the pages of the book as she comes to rest nearer her allies.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">AREA INDEX: SOLAR SHIELD</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>The 'bookmark' glows, and what expands to cover all three mahou is a *much* larger Shield than she'd ever been able to raise before; a smooth dome of energy twenty meters in diameter, reinforced by Ahmya's purifying support... Perhaps it won't be able to hold up to a *long* sustained assauly by Seriss, but it will certainly hold up better than anything she could have managed before.<br> <br> Still... two hundred Barrets is way more than she could counter on her best day, and while this is, magically speaking, a *good* day...<br> <br>It still brutally winnows away the amount of shots she has to evade, and if she gets clipped by a few, and takes a square hit in the back with one that forced a clipped, pained scream out of her...<br> <br>*You* play Missile Defense on Ultra-Nightmare mode.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With boosted speed ''and'' smoke in Socrates's face, Amy can dodge the heat beam easily; the barrets are a bit more trouble, and Amy has to burn a little bit of soul gem on flight, thrusters in her 'armor' kicking in as she zips around the rapidly-falling-apart factory. But between flight, smoke, flares, and chaff (do flares and chaff ''work'' on barrets' tracking? Does smoke?) ''and'' the speed-up from Ahmya ''and'' Rashmi's barrier, she manages to avoid all of the ones aimed at her! Unfortunately, her friend still takes a hit. "RASHMI!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy shouts to her, but there's no ''time'' -- Ahmya is trying to freeze the beast from the bottom up ''now'', and Amy, landing on the nearest catwalk, is suddenly holding the ten-foot-long, 105mm artillery cannon--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'''BANG!'''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She fires, a massive muzzle flare flashing out the back as out the front comes a solid iron cannonball at somewhere over half a kilometer per second, aimed at Socrates's hopefully-frozen leg -- she's hoping to shatter it with impact rather than explosion.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She dismisses the giant cannon an instant after firing, to stay mobile.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;&lt; Rashmi, are you alright? &gt;&gt;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>Seriss watches her barrets fly off, and -- mostly -- slam into Rashmi's shield. And most of them get absorbed by said shield; but a few get through, and cause a suitable amount of pain and misery to their targets. Her lips quirk upwards at the corners once more; so she has adversaries who can play the game. So much the better. If her adversaries couldn't even resist a small spell this would be boring. <br> <br> "Socrates, you're losing. Please kill one of them at least." The dark mage rests her free hand on the fram of the gantry crane beside her, while resting the butt of Cygnus Lich's haft on the metal plating beneath her feet, as she watches the battle going on beneath her. "Cygnus, charge Stellar Buster. Lock target: Amy. Dark Shift. Hold fire for my command." <br> <br> Socrates is getting frozen, and its liquidy flesh starts to gum up and harden around its joints. For a moment, it just stands there, unable to decide what to do. And then it just lumbers orwards anyway, shattering its own flesh and dropping frozen ichor crystals all around it, as it swings its I-Beam at Ahmya, rushing her with another burst of speed; it carries the blow around and tries to catch Rashmi with it as well, while she's still off-guard after absorbing all of the barrets (hopefully off guard, at least). <br> <br> As it collapses to its knees and howls, before it can rise again Amy's 105mm artillery shell hits it; there's an explosion kicking up dust and oil, and as the debris fades, Socrates is left without a leg. It snarls, dripping foul liquids from its mouth as it raises a hand, to swipe ineffectively in Amy's direction. <br> <br> "Well done, child," Seriss comments. An entire wall of the factory crumbles, bricks and beams and all the rest coming down in a heavy, drawn out crash; Seriss just stands on top of the gantry, watching it all happen. "Well, she comments as it comes to a finish. <br> <br> "One good turn deserves another, as they say; let's see what you make of this. Fire." <br> <br> The dark mage levels her staff at Amy, and lets fly a sizzlingly unstable beam of dark energy, and where it hits it lets off a powerful explosion, blasting bits of catwalk and, possible, Amy as well. <br> <br> "Cygnus Lich, deploy Vulcan Active Defense. Standby Breakwall." <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; AFFIRMATIVE. DEPLOYED. &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> A red orb surrounded by circles of arcane runes appears, hovering above and behind Seriss' head; but for the moment, it doesn't seem needed. She watches below, as Socrates struggles to rise, realizes it doesn't have two legs anymore, and then just... peels its lips back and fires a heat beam, sweeping it back and forth between Rashmi and Ahmya, while its flesh sizzles and burns away around it where it fires.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>&lt;&lt; Been better, &gt;&gt; comes Rashmi's tight response, as she thuds against a wall to catch her breath for a moment, before pushing off to keep moving. &lt;&lt; But I've been a lot worse, too. Hey Goldenweb, how's about we help Red-chan put this monster out in the cold? &gt;&gt;<br> <br>Another 'bookmark' is selected and slotted, and her Device chimes in response.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">GLACE INDEX: BARRET -- BOOST UP</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>What would normally be a wisp of golden foxfire, now seems to gain a chunky core of crystalline ice, before it streaks toward Amy.<br> 5rWhen it impacts, it carries with it a stange mix of emotional sidebands; the boundless energy that accompanies a Boost Spell, and the cool, sure knowledge that they *will* overcome this; they've come this far, have they not?<br> <br>But Seriss speaks to what once was Starcrash in a terrifyingly familiar cadence, and--<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SOLAR FLASH</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>--Rashmi streaks to interpose herself between the blast and Amy--<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SOLAR SHIELD -- RED SHIFT</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>And a sizzlingly unstable shield snaps into existence in front of the beam, and the following debris, that collapses the *moment* something contacts it...<br> <br>...And subsequently explodes with pure force in the exact opposite direction; Mid-Childan shields usually devote a portion of their magic to kicking back against the force that impacted them. This shield is little more than a soap-bubble skin containing *nothing but* that kind of kickback, all of it thrown back in Seriss' direction.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br>Charge Stellar Buster. Buster, isn't that those big spells? Ugh. This is seriously cheating!!! And there was another swing of that beam towards her, too! And it's fast! She's not as able to get away from this one, having well. Used most of the catwalks already, so instead, once again, she ends up dodging mostly to the side, taking it on her blind side where she slightly misjudges where it's going to strike, sending her spinning through the air and hitting one of the walls with a sharp exhale and ghkh! "Ow. This thing is huge." She mutters. <br><br>Goldenweb Yorotsuchi gives a soft exhale as she hears Rashmi scream. "I really would much rather not have to fight, you know." She muses out loud. "It would be much better to just be able to appreciate the grotesque things that you have created, perhaps to even figure out a way that we could live in some form of peace." Continues the slow speech of Goldenweb Yorotsuchi. <br><br>"I mean, two story tall giant skeleton monster? That's pretty cool. And your whole thing? Who doesn't like a badass demoness. I mean, less so when they're taking over your friend's body and puppetting it like some sort of grotesque play, but really." Goldenweb Yorotsuchi reaches for the string she hadn't been touching much yet; the one holding the large Odachi that had been hanging from her back this whole time. <br><br>"But truly, I can't condone any of what you're doing." &lt;&lt;Sounds good, Rashmi. I shall bless her shortly.&gt;&gt;<br><br>She reaches to pull that magical circle off of her veil, a few holes on it that she fixes (and alters slightly) mid-swing.<br><br>[Delayed Blast]<br>[Freeze]<br>[Blessed]<br>[Greater Enhance]<br><br>Goldenweb Yorotsuchi swings next to Amy, reaching to place a hand on her rocket launcher, touching it and leaving behind that array of runes on the rocket launcher, increasing the blast radius, power, and assisting in the icy blessings on the weapon, as well as adding some of that purifying energy again... even if it's still basically The Purification At Home. <br><br>"<span style="color:xterm180">Blessing of the Sub-Zero Lotus</span>" <br><br>The explosions might look like lotus flowers. <br>...Mostly they'll just look like explosions. <br><br> Meanwhile, as a moderate distraction and to help ensure that the massive thing couldn't disrupt the attack, Goldenweb Yorotsuchi stops above Socrates, reaching both hands to grab onto her Odachi. <br><br>[Heavy]<br><br>And with the large, heavy sword, she attempts to sacrifice herself to disarm the creature! <br><br>...Sacrifice her cleanliness that is. <br><br>This is disgusting. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;&lt; Which one is Stellar Buster?! &gt;&gt; Amy wonders. "You really think this monster will actually ''kill'' one of us?" She snarks, feeling confident as it's now down a leg. "But then, you thought it'd take us four minutes to beat it too... you're ''really bad'' at estimating things...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well done? "Shut up. Talk to me with respect, or not at--" Amy starts to rebuke her, but then realizes: "How OLD are you?! You have been alive ''WEEKS! YOU'RE'' the child here!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She feels confidence and energy surge into her, and Ahmya's power... which goes ''somewhere'' inside her, apparently, when she dismisses the giant cannon because it's too heavy to dodge with.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stellar Buster fires.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rashmi's shield ''bounces'' it, and Amy's eyes go wide as the matter it hits ''explodes''... If that'd hit her...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;&lt; Thank you... &gt;&gt; The telepathic words come across, breathless.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But Amy takes a breath, still feeling her allies' power channeled inside her. "''Molly Skyline'' had ''proper'' taste in fine Earth culture. If you had, you might've heard this one:"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She holds her right hand out in front of her. "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She clenches a fist. "Its burning grip tells me to defeat you!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She swings her arm: "TAKE THIS! My love, my anger, and all of my sorrow!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy leaps off the catwalk, towards the monster's head, with her hand out in a finger-fun gesture. "SHINING FINGEEEEEEE--"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just before she hits there is an explosion, big enough to fling Amy back into the wall... But that's not where all the power ''really'' went, that's just the ''side'' effect: Pointing in line with where her finger was is a massive, glowing orange freezing purifying 'finger' of magic power concentrated into ridiculously high-energy physics that treats even strong hard materials like water, aimed to pierce through the monster's massive skull in an instant and then explode out into spalling across one side of the factory in a shower of burning metal!<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:25|Seriss Nyx (25)}} has posed:'''<br>Molly could not easily hand handled the force of her own Stellar Buster getting thrown back in her face; none of her own shields could have handled that, and her barrier jacket would have been in rough shape, certainly. <br> <br> Seriss Nyx is not Molly. <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; NEUTRON SHIELD AT FORTY PERCENT STRENGTH &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> Seriss acknowledges the report from Cygnus Lich with a nod of her head, as she hovers in the air above the burning wreck of the gantry crane. "Interesting," she comments, bemusedly. "Re-energize shield." <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; AFFIRMATIVE. DEFENSES REINFORCED &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> Energy crackles around the globe surrounding Seriss for a moment, before it is invisible once again. Meanwhile, down below, Amy is working up to do a number on Socrates. The monster opens its mouth to fire, and its ill-aimed beam blasts away at all three of the Mahou, right up until Amy's attack hits it. The explosion does its job, blasting the creatur's skull (such as it is) into a smoldering ruin. Even so, with no head, it swings its club at Amy once, twice, three times, and then hurls it up into the air at Ahmya. <br> <br> And then, it sinks down to the floor, collapsing with a mighty crash; and there it lays, with its oily flesh dripping off the now permanently exposed skeleton. Such as it is. <br> <br> "Cygnus Lich, note the time; initial test successfully completed. No Mahou fatalities." She arches an eyebrow behind her mask. "Valuable combat information logged. Withdraw and prepare for the next test." Seriss looks around herself, at the mess of what's left of the factory and her creation. "Charge Magnetar Beam, maximum attraction at impact point, twenty second duration." <br> <br> <span style="color:#E81717">&lt;&lt; ARMED &gt;&gt;</span> <br> <br> "Fire." <br> <br> Seriss aims her staff downwards, and fires a shining blue beam at the corpse of Socrates. Immediately when it hits, the monster crumples; ichor is sprayed out all over the place as its skeleton folds in on itself, crushing like a handful of paperclips. Nearby I-Beams are pulled in, along with pieces of catwalk, machines off the wall, and both halves of the pressure vessel, all of it crumpling together to form a tightly compacted metal ball of... junk. <br> <br> "WelL! That was exciting, wasn't it? A pity Socrates didn't kill any of you, but there's always next time, and I think we all learned ''so much''. I can't wait to get back to my lab." <br> <br> The dark mage flexes her wings and beats them to gain altitude, flying out of the top of the building. As she rises, she rolls over onto her back, angling towards Obsidian Tower as she twists around, righting herself and streaking off at high speed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:207|Ahmya Karashima (207)}} has posed:'''<br> There is a problem with coming down to attempt to disarm something as it's doing its death throes and flailing around. <br><br>...You are right in range of its death throes and flailing around. As Yorotsuchi's odachi comes down, rather than disarming the flailing beast... <br><br>... She gets knocked flying, hitting a wall again with another "Khgh!" <br><br>She's going to need to learn some easier barrier spells. That don't involve making web domes. <br><br>....They're not fast enough. <br><br>On the upside, not long after, the giant beast is defeated! <br><br>...And Dark Phoenix starts to fly away. <br><br>"Yeah. Yeah... run away. I-- ow -- I'd have come for you next. Yeah!" <br><br>Thank goodness for the durability henshins give Mahou. Otherwise she'd probably be more broken bone than person at this point. <br><br>She does swing a hand up at Dark Phoenix as they fly off, shooting a few balls of webbing at her half-heartedly. <br><br>...They would do literally nothing beyond be sticky even if they do hit, and just disintegrate on their own after a while, but until they do would be darn near impossible to get off. <br><br>...But also they're not exactly a barrier-penetrating attack, unless it somehow reacted to threats rather than all attacks. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy steels herself as the fire beam sweeps across her while she's vulnerable, but she completes her attack--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then she's falling from where she hit the wall, thrusters slowing her descent so she lands okay -- and now, free to move, she finds herself frantically dodging that giant club -- nimbly leaping aside the first two swings, before the lag from operating with pain off allllllmost gets her hit by the third swing, the boosts piled onto her making it miss by ''centimeters'', the wind from being ''close'' to the swing knocking her off-balance and making her stumble as she lands.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;&lt; Magnetar beam? Let's not find out what that does, RUN! &gt;&gt; Amy urges the others, flying out the front door, or the hole made by the reactor vessel, whichever is closer.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy does not get ''time'' to examine the damage done to her until they're safe, but uh. Her bodysuit is burned through on parts of the right leg and belly, with exposed skin red and blistered, and the front of her skirt is blackened tatters. That. Looks really painful! The last several inches of parts of her hair are blackened or burned away, too...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy looks down at herself and ''winces''. "I don't suppose either of you can heal?" She looks at them with an awkward grimace. "I don't want to trouble Mamoru more than I have to..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She doesn't say: But I don't want to spend energy on regeneration either, as she reaches for her belt pouch -- the front of the belt is destroyed too, but it seems the pouches are either stuck to her costume or got caught on super mode's skirt armor -- and pulls out a grief seed, holding it to her one-fifth-depleted soul gem and cleansing it of corruption before returning the grief seed to its pouch, and pink sparkles wash over her costume, restoring it to non-super mode in pristine condition.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:41|Rashmi Terios (41)}} has posed:'''<br>'Magnetar Beam' does indeed not sound like anything anyone wants to be at ground zero of, and she's close behind her friends as they flee the compacting of the evidence... which... will not be there when the Barrier falls away; a Barrier it's all too easy to simply *leave.* Mid-Childan Barriers were never designed for trapping, only civil defense.<br> <br>All three of them looks fairly scuffed, but Ahmya and Amy have *definitely come off worse, so as exhausted and shaking with rage and adrenalin as she is... Rashmi also has paid very close attention to Chrono's training, and always -- *always* -- keeps enough back for this.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:#ffff5f">&lt;&lt; *BONG!* &gt;&gt;</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&lt;&lt;</span> <span style="color:#ffff5f">SOLAR HEAL</span> <span style="color:#ffffff">&gt;&gt;</span><br> <br>A magic circle spreads out beneath the three of them, projecting warmth and light and soothing tender skin and bruised bones. It'll never be enough to erase the aches of a fight entirely, but it'll be enough to hold them together until they can get to Mamoru. They just... need to reverse-sunbathe for a few minutes, first.<br> <br>And through it all, Rashmi is staring off in the direction Seriss flew to. The field test was, by any metric, a smashing success, and Nicomachea Exia has truly come into reality, by *her hand alone.*<br> <br>But, oh, she would gladly trade every moment of that hard work, all the accomplishment, for just... a half hour at the Game Crown.<br> <br>With her best friend.<br> <br>
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