2077/The Crown of Succession: Staussfall

The Crown of Succession: Staussfall
Date of Scene:	18 November 2024
Location:	Abandoned Theme Park
Synopsis:	Time-space anomaly signatures have been flashing in and out the past few days, and Aloisia Stauss gets a message from her father, stating that all will be forgiven if she does one last thing for him. On her ship, there was an artifact stashed away. All she has to do is get it. The Crown of Succession. A way to prove, once and for all, who truly deserves to be the head of House Steiner. Tune in for the start of the Crown of Succession TP.
Cast of Characters:	Aloisia Stauss, Koji Silvia, Rashmi Terios, Sugata Shindo, Zephyr Windstar, Sequoia Maybach, Amanda Faust, Molly Skyline

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Aloisia Stauss has posed:
It had been flickering in and out of existence off and on for the past couple of weeks, a fragment of a ship no doubt that several people had picked up on the readings of -- or heard about from others who had. The occasional report of a UFO that was dismissed as someone just seeing something in the clouds, the moment of panic as a plane finds themselves nearly impacting with what looks almost like a flying arrow, only for it to disappear moments before crash.

That was what finally manifested into reality and stabilized, the point of the reinforced raiding ship (Because even their ships have to be melee weapons) pointing straight down, the impressive silver ship that likely once was the spearhead that terrorized many another ship in ancient wars fell, landing in the dirt of the Abandoned Theme Park of Yumegahama.

At the moment of impact, it was almost instantaneous as well, a wave of the barrier spell Gerfangnis Der Magie goes up over that half of ship -- that also had a very conspicuous hole drilled through a segment of it near the cockpit area.

Possibly for the best, no real weapons systems or engines seem to be intact on the ship... unless one counts the spike that was stuck deep into the ground.

Shortly, a message is broadcast to the area on repeat:

<<Alles ist gut, die Annaherung ist sicher.>>

Those who understand Belkan would report that all is /not/ well and that it is /not/ safe to approach and that is more or less a Belkan 'screw you' to anyone who takes down one of their ships and attempts to salvage it. It is likely loaded with lots of angry Belkans ready to fight tooth and nail.

...Well, normally.

Today, however, it is a dead ship, sheared cleanly in half with sparks shooting from the back half of it and likely running off of some emergency power source.

Oddly, the source of the Gerfangnis Der Magie is not immediately visible, though it is pretty obviously not the ship itself.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji's given knowledge of Belkan-anything would be next to nothing without his time and friendship with Hannah, and Hanzo's own system being rebuilt with a health chunk of Belkan knowledge. Which is why when the signal is detected from Yumegahama by his Device, he has to stop to consider... looking at it and remembering the recent fight against the huge witch-monstrosity that decided to just casually step into their dimension.

He almost does the smart thing, almost, and instead just swipes up Hanzo's fold-open smartphone disguise to say, "Set Up."

    << SET UP. >>

His clothes become nothing but a starlight blur then, and around him, twilight-like magic begins to pull in on him, forming into boots, then gloves, a half-jacket over his arms. Finally, the starlight just trails down over his form and vanishes as his body is sheathed in his Barrier jacket, and just as the phone changes shape into a Kunai blade, a last bluish flash of energy happens around his neck, coalescing into the trademark scarf he wears over his things.

Ready to go, he's out into the cold night air of Tokyo and flashes to his silhouette against a clear half-moon, and his scarf and hair fluttering behind him as he crouches on top of a running train, taking him from the central region where Radiant Heart Academy is, and towards the disturbance.

    "Hanzo, keep us stealthed. I don't want anyone else with a Device able to detect us, or any leftover security sensors on... whatever this is. Directed scanning when possible to see if we can locate any salvage. Prioritize anything with Steiner codes or designations. It can't be a coincidence that this happens NOW. But... if Rashmi shows up, give her a ping to let her know I'm here. She'll be cross if we don't."

    << Yes, Master. PHANTOM SHIFT. INITIATING SCANS. >>

The slender form of the ninja-themed Mage vanishes in the night air as he stands atop some of the still-intact amusement park rides, and a shimmer in the night air leaps off of towards the wreckage.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With 'screaming in from orbit, in pieces, possibly on fire' being the traditional way Earth hosts visitors from TSAB space, the moment Nicomachea noted dimensional anomalies in the skies, Rashmi was dreading/waiting for this.

But oh boy, is it always gut-twisting to watch a chunk of fallen starship plunge to earth, and Rashmi immediately notifies as many of her friends as ping active as possible.

<< Weisser, Red, Windstar, I think this is Aloisia's ship. I can't think of any *other* reason for it to be shouting in Space German a-- Oh hey that's a Belkan Barrier. >>

As she banks in to approach one of the faces of the pyramid, Nicomachea gives her a brief mental ping, and a smile touches her face.

<< Hello, Hanzo-kun! >> she says in a private massage. << Did you want to be pulled into the comms net? >>

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Yumegahama is a place that Sugata ends up more often than he'd have thought, but, growing up near a beach means he does enjoy getting back to one, now and again. As such, he's in the area when there's a resounding crash, noisy but not ground-shaking, and soon, it's Ginga Kingu who is pushing through a barrier at an abandoned theme park.

Clad in his military-esque attire and long boots, he's debonair and dashing and honestly curious as to what, exactly, he's going to find. The theme park isn't exactly what anyone would call inviting, but the ship - half a ship? - is even more fascinating.

"So this is what non-Cybody ships look like," he's muttering to himself from his place some twenty feet from the ship. He looks up when Rashmi approaches from the air, looking up. "I don't suppose you know anything about this?"

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    < Chief? Call coming in from Operator Terios. We've apparently got a ship fragment and it put up a Belkan barrier spell on impact. > announces Tenraikaze, after Zephyr clears a group of people passing her on the way back from work. "Coordinates attached?" < Yes. > "Alright, we'll lock up and head out, ping a message back telling her we're inbound." < Already done Chief. Standby Ready. >

    The tall foreigner clicks the lock on her apartment and turns away. She was getting ready for a quiet time, but oh well. Duty calls.

    Once she's out of the complex and a bit closer to the barrier edge, she pulls her Device from its mounting. "Set up!" < SET UP! > Her clothes flash into her Barrier Jacket, and with a skip, she lifts into the air and approaches Rashmi's form, once Tenraikaze locks onto it. <<Wind Dancer on station... any idea what we can expect? Other than Belkan weirdness?>> she pings back over the commline.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    Sequoia Maybach had been... Largely relaxing. Taking it easy; recovering from the chaos and hellish events of Walpurgisnacht. But a call to duty is a call to duty, and when her Device picked up on a ship flickering in and out of existence when had thought to pay it no mind. Until Rashmi pinged her.
    That's all it took to get Sequoia hopping out of her bedroom window and transforming mid-fall, landing in a perfect hero pose that... No one gets to see because no one was around when it happened.
    She didn't then just topple over and flop onto her butt after it happened.
    ANYWAY MOVING ON FROM THAT, Weisser Ritter soon enough joins up with Rashmi as the Barrier goes up.
    "Wait. Aloisia's ship?" She knows Aloisia is a true Belkan born Belkan knight, but...
    It's a wild thought to her that people get their own ships, dang.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, or rather, Puella Magical Rocket Girl Red is roof-leaping her way along below Rashmi when the barrier goes up, having finally gotten her expression of shock and awe off her face from A SPACESHIP FALLING OUT OF THE SKY after it hit. To Rashmi's telepathy she replies, <<"Oh. Great. Uhh, if the barrier is coming from the ship and not a person we can beat up, how do we turn it off and get out of here?">> Amy wonders. <<"Just seems like something we'll probably want to know at some point.">>

    <<"...You don't suppose we'll get an actual chance to explore inside it and see what a real spaceship is like, do you?">>

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Passing through the Gerfangnis Der Magie to enter is a slightly strange feeling, like passing through a non-neutonian fluid that snaps back into place behind you as you enter. It doesn't offer much resistance, but enough to let you know that it's there. Its main purpose there is, of course, not necessarily to trap someone -- though it functions to do that as well, in a way.

No, it's that all Civilians even remotely near the area have been removed from this little reality-warped bubble, as well as, maybe, to reduce the chances of a time-space anomaly to take the ship away again.

As Koji approaches, beyond the subtle sparking and burning of the damaged ships systems and that repeated 'warning', all is ... relatively quiet. ... ... ... As the dust from the crash settles, a form slowly becomes more visible. Familiar to most gathered, as people arrive. A pair of massive shields, and the source of the Gerfangnis der Magie, rather than the ship itself.

It was Aloisia Stauss.

...But she wasn't defiantly facing the group, she was looking up at the remains of her ship.

There was an almost... melancholy to the air around her, one hand raised to rest on the side of the half-ship.

And the side of the ship opens, the dusty visage of Aloisia climbing up into the ship, the alarm cutting out as she does. LIkely because the ship recognized one of its authorized users. It would be possible to follow her into the ship, or possibly enter through the open top...

Weirdly peaceful, for one of these instances. Normally a massive fight over the technology. But no.

Just a single melancholy girl as a possible 'enemy'.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Hanzo just lets out a long sigh, as Rashmi shows up with a small entourage in tow... and then sends back to her <<You may as well lock me into your comms. This is going to b-... wait... >>

His pause? Because Aloisia appears, the alarms stop, and he frowns from his invisible perch.

    <<I'm going in through the top. You're going to intercept her and make her 'see reason' I bet. Maybe for once we can get a step ahead of this stuff.>>

And with that, he uses his Device like a video-game grappling tool, combined with the brief flash of a Boost Shield to throw himself up and over the top of the wreckage, and to land silently in the top sections above where the young Belkan lady has entered, his eyes getting an overlay from Hanzo that starts translating the Belkan he sees into Japanese.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...I know some," Rashmi admits to Sugata, as she comes in for a landing next to the least-familiar Star Diver. "Most of it's a long story, but... Here, let me pull you into the group chat."

    ** Hanzo has entered the chat! **
    ** Ginga Kingu has entered the chat! **

<< The ship belongs to an alien who really doesn't *want* to be our enemy, >> Rashmi speaks out over the telepathic comms net. << Problem is, her 'father' has threatened to kill her mother if she doesn't retrieve something important in there. So that should give you one reason I don't really want this to be a fight. The other reason is she's *really, really good* at defensive magic, and is a pretty amazing fighter. So... >>

And Hanzo simply enters through the top, and Rashmi sighs. << Please let her be the first one to attack. If we can talk her out of a fight, it'll be better for all of us. >>

With that, she lifts off the ground and flies toward the ship, hoping against hope that this time, nobody has to suffer. "Knight Aloisia," she calls once closer to the cockpit hatch. "You knew we'd show up. And you know how this goes is up to you. Talk to us, okay?"

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    < Chief? > asks Tenraikaze, highlighting Aloisia as the Knight appears from the dustcloud. "Huh... Hey, should we follow her maybe?" she asks outloud to those nearby to Rashmi, shouldering her Device with a jaunt to her hips as she 'stands' in mid-air. <<Red? Far as I know, if a Ship is deploying a Barrier... it should have a generator aboard but I think Aloisia's the source, that ship looks less like a ship and more like a wreck.>> she replies to Amy.

    The others appearing get a curious look from those mismatched eyes, an upward nod in greeting given to each in turn. <<Hanzo, was it? Be careful, and call if you need backup.>> she pings back at Koji. <<I've got your back.>> this is directed at Rashmi and Sequoia, the white-haired girl earning a smile from the older aerial mage. When Rashmi moves up, she follows, hanging back and keeping her offensive spellworks at ready, but not active... akin to someone with a gun holding it, but pointing it at the ground.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
The group chat?

Oh. That group chat. Ginga Kingu stiffens a little as the telepathy plays out in his head, but at the explanation, he offers a curt nod, approaching the ship, but at a pace slower than Rashmi - more intending to keep guard and take action if things go wrong.

<<If there's a hostage involved, jumping to action would be reckless. I'll follow your lead, since you're the one with information on this.>>

At the sight of the young woman, an eyebrow raises. He recognizes her, of course - she ran the haunted house. So is her father the that man that was being talked about last time? ...of course he is. Honestly, Sugata has long been of the opinion that parents are a scam. This is doing nothing to change that opinion.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    <<Wait what? Her father what?>>

    Okay first off that's pretty terrible. But then Sequoia flashes back to something Aloisia had said to her...

    'I ... am in such a situation there are likely times I will be fighting against you, Weisser Ritter. I will not apologize, I am doing what I must.'

    Weisser Ritter makes a face.

    <<Cripes, I hope it doesn't come to that tonight...>> She mutters over the telepathic link before flashing Wind Dancer a thumbs up, before she moves to follow Rashmi.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Hey, is that...?" Amy asks as they get closer to the ship and see Aloisia climbing in.

    Rashmi points out not starting a fight, and Amy holds up her empty hands before running after, trying to enter the ship the same way Aloisia did. If the knight stays close enough to talk to, Amy says, "Look. I don't see what you could possibly be getting from the ship that you'd... be willing to hand over to him, that we'd have to fight you over. I just... is it okay if I come inside too and get to look around? I mean, it's a real spaceship. I might never get to see one my whole life!"

    She is not trying to give Aloisia puppy dog eyes, but also: She really does hope that she can see spaceship, because COME ON. IT'S A SPACESHIP!

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Entering through the top finds... what was, at one point, what appears to be living quarters. Pads from the living quarters area along the wall, what passes as 'food' strewn about the half of the living quaters, along with a few smashed things of some form of beverage that did not survive the fall and are instead pooling in the lower parts of the entrance. Dripping through the cracks of the door to the next section of the ship.

In spite of, presumably, Aloisia having lived on this ship for who knows how long, it is completely devoid of any personal affects. No books, no journals, not even any form of datapad or anything. Perhaps they'd been on the other half of that sheared off living quarters...

But it was doubtful.

Very little belkan is visible to translate, save for the door which had a few buttons to open or close the door that were clearly labeled, along with a relatively simple button-based passcode system if it were locked, but it's not presently, so opening it is easy enough.

Alternatively there /is/ a giant hole bored through most of the ship that Koji could go through, but it's likely more dangerous as there are several severed and sparking power cables and a few fires through it that were likely rapidly spreading to the attached rooms.

Rashmi addresses Aloisia, who continues her way into the ship. Walking on small barriers that appear under her feet with each step.

"...You know I have to do this." Aloisia responds softly. Her voice likely barely carrying the distance between them.

Amy speaks up and Aloisia gives a soft chuckle, it's wavering. As if someone on the verge of breaking down. "It is something that could end all of this once and for all. This... war brought to an innocent world that deserves none of it." And he will not have it. But she's afraid to say that aloud. She knows he's watching. Somewhere. She KNOWS. Somehow. Even though he's not on any of her scanners.

In spite of the lack of aggression on either side, there was almost a pressure in the area. An air that makes one's heart beat that little bit faster. Causes that little bit of anxiety. As Aloisia Stauss opens a door, a spark that flares into fire audible as she simply... floats through it, a barrier blinking into existence. It wasn't that she was immune.

It was hot. It hurt.

She continued anyway. Aloisia possibly visible to Hanzo down that corridor now if they'd chosen to open the door, as she turned an immediate right to one of the various doorways, pressing the button on the side of the door to open it.

Moving with purpose.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "We can help you."

    That's Zephyr, finally dropping to the ground, "You don't have to face this alone... whatever's happening, whatever you're fighting... it's something I've learned, since coming here." she continues, finally moving up to follow Aloisia in, keeping a respectful pace behind, not getting too close. "... Together, we're stronger... look at that giant witch for Saints' sake! We fought, and defeated it. Together. All of us."

    Her voice is firm, but her words may not resonate... she keeps a defensive barrier ready, just in case.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Knowing better than to just open a door and leave it as a sign that he's passed through, Hanzo points his open palm towards the waiting door...

    << PHANTOM ZONE. >>

And puts a high-grade illusion over the area he's in, up to the door. With the full control of it, he can go to the door and open it, which is a tricky thing as the first time he presses the button, nothing happens... the second time, the console goes out and then flutters back to life, causing the door to quickly open and shut with so much force it would have cut someone in two. By the 4th try, it's open, but outside of his 'Zone' it still looks like the door is sealed and no sound escapes.

From the inside, he can still see what's happening, and that is Aloisia passing through and acting like she knows exactly where she's going.

Checking his scans, he sends back to Rashmi and company <<Much as I would rather make her back down and raid this wreck... I have an idea. But I need some extra magic from anyone willing to give me a boost. I also need a part of the ship with either enough damage or enough shielding that if Otto has anyone spying on her for... whatever is going on... we can get an honest answer from her.>>

That being said, he closes the door from the other side, and then collapses his Zone, so he can use his near-invisibility and the sound-dampening effects of his illusions to follow along after Aloisia from another direction.

Molly Skyline has posed:
When all this started, Molly had been well on the other side of town, dealing with some minor Youma, the sort that only requires one Mahou to deal with. (Some dark energy got into a trio of gumball machines. Tracking all of them down was the most annoying part once they'd all split off in different directions, firing sticky globs of dark energy all over the place that was really more comical than anything else, but they still had to be dealt with.)

Why does everything have to go down when Molly's already busy?
     The purplenette is burning across town as fast as her wings will take her, until she gets in sight of the ship, or... well what's left of it. Hey, even broken, that thing's cool.

<< Hey, I'm here, >> she broadcasts, to Rashmi and anyone else who might be connected to Rashmi's comms network. << I see two entrances, one of them is on fire, so... obviously I'm going through that one. >>

As Molly gets close, she comes close to landing, but snaps her fingers and disappears into a blur of light, reappearing on the other side of the fire.

<< ALright, I'm in. Where do you all need me? >>

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Knight Aloisia walks into the ship, and Ginga Kingu follows, listening carefully. What? There's no reason not to follow, not if they want to stop whatever she has going on -

And when a wall of fire rises? He pauses, which is a good thing, because another young woman appears on the other side of the fire. <<That was impressive.>>

This is directed towards Star Devil.

<<For now, we're trying to solve this diplomatically, though Hanzo has made a request for a boost if you're capable. That's not in my powerset.>>

No, his powerset is more the mass destruction type, so...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"What Wind Dancer said," Rashmi confirms, though something is tickling her brain about the way Aloisia is replying. Hanzo's message seals the deal, and Rashmi sighs.

<< I can give you a boost, Hanzo-kun, but I'd need a ping on your exact location if I can't see you. >> "You know we'd help you if you let us, Alo-chan, however we could."

Gesturing for 'her' crew to follow her, she floats into the cockpit, following Aloisia's trail--

And her eyes widen as Molly registers as present, announces herself, then ust *zips on through the fire like a madwoman.*

<< Star Devil this is *Aloisia's ship,* >> she says hurriedly. << Thank you for joining us, but next time try the less-burny door? Anyway... Hanzo-kun needs a chunk of ship with lots of damage on it, and you've got the cutter. Could you please? >>

With the situation rapidly spiraling out of control, the redhead squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, then tries her last gambit.

"Knight Aloisia, on what authority I have as an assistant Enforcer of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, I am *asking you.* Please, stand down and tell us what you intend to do. *Please.*"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    As she sees she's in the crew quarters, Amy... pulls out her phone and records. ACTUAL SPACESHIP.

    One person spaceship. But the living area is completely spartan. Absent decorations. Well... if Amy didn't already know Aloisia was dealing with some messed up shit, she'd wonder things now.

    Amy pans the camera around briefly, then hurries after Aloisia. "Wait, really? Shit, did he ask you to get some kind of superweapon? Aloisia... He's going to keep... threatening your mom. We -- and I don't necessarily mean you, if it helps for you to continue to serve him for now -- need to rescue her, or he will just keep doing it. Is there anything you can tell us that would help against him?"

    Rashmi gets a worried look from Amy. She doesn't think playing the cop card is a good move here.

    She's not sure what is a good move, admittedly.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    Annnnnd Aloisia just powers through the fire.
    "Hey!" Sequoia calls out after her. But too late, she's moving with a purpose, and that... That halts Weisser Ritter. What could it be that Aloisia needs to to to 'end the war brought to this planet'?
    "I get the feeling... This isn't going to have a happy ending." She mutters under her breath as she rushes after Rashmi to follow when indicated.
    Guh she feels so in over her head all over again.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
    There is a very brief hesitation at Wind Dancer's words, words that cut through to her heart. Words that, to most, likely would be an offer that builds hope.

Unfortunately, Dark Energy deepens your worst traits. Your darkest feelings.

So hopeful, kind words cut like a knife instead.

"It is better if I do not involve you." Aloisia says softly.

I don't deserve you.

"This planet doesn't deserve this... this war from another universe."

The door doesn't open immediately. Calm purposefulness flashes away in a moment of rage as she punches the controls to open the door, which slide open.

"Just because you can help..."
"Doesn't mean you should."

Aloisia crawls through the doorway into the room, a storage room full of various smashed boxes, much of it holding nothing of worth. Much of whatever had been there was burned through on Aloisia's trip here. Possibly backup fuel sources and similar, maybe food. A few remnants of from when the ship was a military ship around in the form of some sword-shaped Storage Devices, there was probably some other useful tech that had laid mostly untouched over the time traveling to earth.

And she lifts her device.

Something that Molly would see upon teleporting into the ship through the burning doorway.

An attack or charge, briefly, paused at Rashmi's words, just like with Wind Dancer's.

"...You've already helped me far more than I could ask for." Aloisia responds quietly, her gaze turning towards Unbezwingbare Schwester.

"I don't intend to let this go horribly, if I can avoid it. This world does not deserve any of this. Any of ... all of the nonsense on it." Aloisia says calmly.

Amy's comments, the threats to her mom brought up. Save her. Aloisia gives a soft laugh. "Aaah... if only it were that easy, Faust... if only..."

Sequoia gets a soft chuckle. "It likely will not."



<<STREUSSCHUSS.>>

The device unleashes a scattershot of energy bolts into the boxes. Apparently she decided there was not any time to search through the boxes, instead opting to just... DESTROY them.

...Which reveals a small, ornate, black box. More like a jewelrybox than something that would store a weapon of great power, something that could end a war. Something which Aloisia would walk towards calmly.

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< Uhh... When we get back out, whatever Hanzo wants I'll do my best to cut off, with Knight Aloisia's permission since it's her ship, >> Molly answers to Rashmi, << Just remember I'm an artillery mage, not a salvage expert. It won't be a clean cut. ...Maybe someday when my Mom's taught me welding, it might be better. ...And you know me, I see a burning door, that's the one I gotta go through. >> She pauses, and grins at Ginga Kingu. << Thanks! Relatively new spell for me, I love it. >>

And then Aloisia is busy firing off a scattershot, just as she arrives to see it. "Round shield, deploy," she instructs reflexively.

<< AFFIRMATIVE. DEPLOYED >>

A bubble of energy snaps briefly into view around Molly, then vanishes, as the artillery mage in the devilish barrier jacket shoulders her staff, and moves to stand where she can better see what's going on, once it's apparent that Aloisia is just... trying to loot by combining violence with efficiency. (Molly makes a note to remember that next time for D&D; though smashing chests is a really lousy way to loot most of the time. What if the chest has potions in it?)

"Hey, Aloisia," she says out loud. "Look... We *should* help. And it's not even about that. Personally, I want to help. I think you're a good person who needs help. So... just let us know what we can do, okay?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"This planet doesn't deserve a lot of things, Alo-chan," Rashmi says quietly. "But they're here, and no amount of 'should' can take that back. So, we're involved. And you should know by now that if we *can* help, we *should.* But if there's even a chance it can go badly, we *need* to be prepared for that. That's what backup is *for.*"

<< We're pretty sure her 'father'-- >> and oh boy is it weird hearing the mental quotes around that word on the comms net, because Rashmi Has Opinions About Otto. << --is spying on her. Maybe through her Device. So it's really, really hard to just come out and say it, especially now. Hanzo, if you can put text on a wall in her field of view, that's the best signal I can think of that you're gonna drop a privacy screen, if you can. We can even sell it by having a quick stage-fight if we need to. >>

"You carry the honor of Belka more easily than many could, Alo-chan... Please?"

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "I thought that way for a long time. My mom told me I need to be strong. Strong enough to look out for myself instead of relying on others... I joined the Enforcers to go on missions alone, and look what happened!" pleads Zephyr. "I ended up here... and I learned a valuable lesson." she sighs, a hemisphere of energy appearing as Aloisia fires an attack... but pointlessly, as it isn't directed at her.

    She frowns.

    "You have seven people here... four of which have stated they're willing and able to help you. You didn't have to ask us!"

    Everyone deserves a second chance.

    She shakes her head. "You really don't understand our mindset, do you?" she asks, laughing softly. "It's almost pathological, really. We see someone in trouble, someone hurting... someone needing a friend... an ally. We have to offer our hand to them."

    <<I can antagonize if we're going that way... And, if he is spying on her, which Device is he using?>> she muses over telepathy.

    "I don't know all that much about Belkan philosophy, but Rashmi's right. Give us a chance. One chance, that's all we're asking."

Koji Silvia has posed:
'Right' is about all Koji thinks to himself when from around a corner where he was shadowing Aloisia when she just cuts loose and blows a bunch of boxes up to reveal what looks like the goal.

With the girl's words making it obvious that she's set on her course, Hanzo looks down at his Device and then, due to him being invisible... he just slumps his shoulders. It's hard to be practical when there's a set of eyes that are going to be so cross with him if he kicks off a fight in this wreck.

So instead, he slips into the storage room behind Aloisia and drops his invisibility, checking where everyone else is at the moment, and then points both open palms forward, then shifts his fingers through a few of the mudra poses, ending with fingers pointing up, using the exercise to focus his mind, and then...

    << PHANTOM ZONE. >>

If anyone is watching on the outside, it's a brief sort of interference can happen when you've got a lot of sparks, fires, and unstable magics around you, but for anyone on the inside of his bubble... they are still in the space, with Aloisia, but the box has vanished from physical view for the moment. But a determined and intelligent person might be able to figure out that too.

    "Listen..." He says softly, but out loud, "We have about thirty seconds, maybe a minute if I get some extra magic from someone else. I am blocking any incoming or outgoing magic. Right now, outside it looks like we're still standing off, and I'm using some of what you said to loop this into the kind of thing someone might expect. We're telling you to stop, you're telling us we don't get it. Well... time for us to GET IT. Because I can tell you right now whatever that is... it isn't going back to Otto, and unlike a lot of the others here, I've got no problem putting you on your butt to do it."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"This world has endured more than your war of succession," Ginga Kingu says simply. As someone who was part of the first near-death of the planet for this generation of heroes (even if almost no one here knows about it)... he gets it. "This world has seen war, death, and violence. There is nothing you can bring that will introduce us to suffering we haven't already known."

His voice is calm. He approaches through the fire, a flick of magic lifted, a fraction of King's Counter to keep him safe and his henshin crisp and neat.

"You don't need to condescend to us about the purify of our planet, or fret over the need to keep your problems to yourself. We humans are very good at making other people's problems our own."

And he casts a pointed glance around the ship.

"You might as well speak. You can hardly expect those here who call you a friend to back off now."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    MAGITECH SWORDS?! Amy is absolutely looking at them, planning to take some for examination if she possibly can.

    Aloisia says it's a war from another planet, it's not their business, they're not involved. Amy frowns a bit, and reminds her: "I am involved. I don't know where Hannah went, but when she gets back, if she still wants me... That's a future I can imagine, after all of this is done."

    And ALOISIA BLOWS UP ALL THE COOL MAGITECH and Amy winces. Of course. It's probably space SOP to keep the Earthlings from such tech, but... damn.

    "Is that... you're here for the black box? There's something in the ship's flight recorder that makes that big of a difference to Otto? Why?" Amy is puzzled at this mystery.

    Yeah, it's unusually ornate and more like a jewelry box, but... magitech stuff is just like that, some times! Why wouldn't the ship's black box look like that?

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    'It likely will not.'

    Weisser Ritter frowns deeply.
    Then Aloisia busts open a BUNCH of crates rather than bothering to search them. That sure makes it easier for her to FIND what she wants.
    But that's when Sequoia slams the base of her shield into the floor at her feet with a resounding CLANK.
    Rashmi brings up the honor of Belka. Sequoia moves to capitalize on that.

    "Show me." She says.

    "I'm new to this. I know nothing. But you... You're a natural born Belkan. You'd know more about the honor of Belka more than anyone here, right? Belka's a warrior culture isn't it? Well no warrior should have to stand alone. Even if I can't fight with you or at your side, there's no shame in leaning on another person for help. A phalanx is made up of more than *one* shield, Aloisia."

    Ah yes. True words spoken from a pacifist.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
    Luckily, the Streuschuss was not aimed at Molly, or any person, and didn't particularly ricochet thankfully. The point about smashing chests that might have potions in it /is/ kind of obviously there. There were some now-destroyed ration remains in the now-even-more-destroyed boxes.

I think you're a good person who needs help. "... I am a criminal, Starchaser." Aloisia says softly.

Aloisia continues towards that jewelrybox.

Aloisia is mostly silent as Rashmi talks, until the comment of her carrying the honor of Belka. "...I carry no honor, criminals have none. That was lost the moment I broke into someone else's ship to steal their fuel." Is Aloisia's soft response to Rashmi.

It's not that Aloisia isn't listening to the various people talking around her. Each word had its impact, and much of it was like another dagger.

"...No, I do somewhat understand your mindset." A former defender of Tungeturm. If things were reversed, she knows she'd try to do the exact same thing. Try to support them. Try to help them, if they were possible to be.

This world has endured more than your war of succession. "It has. And it has endured. I know. But I do not ... this planet doesn't /deserve/ this." Condescend... aagh. She didn't mean to condescend.

And possibly the most involved person is speaking up too. "...She really shouldn't be in this either. The Countess... she's far too young to be in a war for succession... she should still have the rest of her childhood to enjoy time with her parents, play, be a snobby noble or whatever..." Not that that was her fault. Not that she could change the past. Luckily, though, most of that magitech wasn't destroyed! Even Storage Devices were sturdy enough to take a few hits and be fine.

...Aloisia didn't stop her slow movement towards that box.

Even as reality is shifted and Koji begins to speak.

"..." She gives a soft sigh. "You are correct. That's not going back to Count Steiner." Aloisia states simply. As she leans down to pick up that box.

SLAM.

Sequoia demands that she show her the honor of Belka.

"..." Aloisia looks towards her, slowly pulling off one of her gloves. Maybe a sign of a proper duel?

"...I hate locks like this." Is her, possibly confusing, response.

And Aloisia Stauss presses her thumb against a thumbpad on the box, wincing as she's stabbed by something inside, and the top of the box clicks open, revealing...

An ornate crown with five gemstones set into a gold base. Which Aloisia grabs in both of her hands, discarding the box.

And she begins to pull on it with both hands, the metal cutting into her ungloved hand.

Straining. The sound of metal creaking... and ...

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Crack.

Shatter.

In her hands, the Crown shatters, the five gemstones floating into the air.

<<THE RITUAL OF SUCCESSION HAS BEEN INITIATED. CHALLENGER. STATE YOUR CLAIM.>>

"W...what? I don't... claim anything..."

<<ANSWER ACCEPTED. PRINCESS OF NOTHING. PREPARE TO START.>>

"...T... f.... FUCKING ANCIENT BELKA. OF COURSE BREAKING THE CROWN WAS THE WAY TO ACTIVATE THE DAMN THING AND I PLAYED INTO HIS FUCKING HANDS AGH!!!"

A black energy begins to surround Aloisia, not entirely of her own source as the crown begins to reform around her head, the gemstones circling around her and glowing with a dark energy, everything about this...

...Screaming corruption.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Hanzo blinks at the unexpected turn of events... and then just exhales a deep breath...

"Well, this IS the most Belkan thing I've seen since being scouted. Sorry, Princess to be... you picked up the crown. Now either you fight for your right for it... or you get buried under the weight of duty."

As he lets go of the Phantom Zone a second time, thankfully not using up as much reserve as he thought, he adds to the group, "We should get outside and get ready for a fight. This has video game boss battle written all over it."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"There's a saying that's been running around our Internet, Alo-chan," Rashmi says gently. "'If you see someone stealing food... No, you didn't.' Crimes of desperation *should* be forgiven if no true harm came by them. And any charges of piracy will just have to wait for a court that can *determine* what the answer is. Ju--"

Aloisia opens the box, and reveals a crown. "...Alo-chan wait..."

She holds the crown, and begins to squeeze. "Alo-chan, what--"

-- RITE OF SUCCESSION INITIATE --

"ALO-CHAN!"

And the corruption begins, and Rashmi is pulling everyone else backwards.

<< HANZO'S RIGHT, LET'S GO LET'S GO. STAR DEVIL *GET BEHIND WEISSER RITTER.* Kingu-san, a hole to the outside would be very much appreciated so we're not fighting in cramped and burning corridors. >>

Why yes, she's being polite to Ginga Kingu. She's *seen* what he's capable of, and she is not a Star Driver. You ask *nicely.*

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "... Shit."

    With that eloquent return spoken, Zephyr hops back. < Chief! > "I KNOW! Power the offensive grid and stabilize the defense matrix, you're fluctuating again." < Understood. Powering offensive grid. Barret, online. Empower, online. Buster system... not responsing. Beginning diagnostics. >

    <<Don't have to tell me twice. Weisser! Back off, we need to regroup.>> she barks through the commlink, even as she's already backing out of the ship. <<This is gonna be tough. That's a fully trained Belkan Knight, empowered by an Ancient Belkan artefact... saying she's going to be a tough nut to crack is probably an understatement.>>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly starts to say something, once it becomes apparent that Aloisia is going to break the crown, but bits her lip; afterall, if Aloisia has decided that breaking it is the best course of action, then... really, who is she to protest? All in all it might not be that bad of an idea.

oh but they the ritual of succession begings for Aloisia to become the princess of nothing, okay nevermind it was a terrible idea.

"Uhm, Starcrash, charge..." She watches what's happening with Aloisia. How does she help with this? "I dunno, Stellar Pulse, thirty barrets, just in case.

<< ARMED. JUST IN CASE >>

Molly squints at her staff; where did that deadpan sass come from? "Uhm, right, sounds..." She summons battle visor, and a holographic display pops up in front of her face, labelling everyone present as friendly with a name, and things like velocity and trajectory. ...Well, except Aloisia, who gets a yellow 'Unknown'.

<< Alright I'm going, let's... >> she pauses, and manouvers herself behind the tough person who obviously has the biggest hit point pool. << Yeah let's go outside, that'd be great. I like being at range. >>

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Shit indeed. As that aura of corruption rises, Ginga Kingu raises a hand to the ceiling - over there. About ten feet away from them.

"King's Pillar."

Form above and approximately ten feet behind the group, a pillar of light crashes through the ship, crushing through with such force that a circle with a five foot circumference is formed not just in the ceiling of the ship, but the floor of it too, straight to the bare earth beneath the crashed vessel. Open air whistles through the hole, carried in by that force.

<<An exit. Let's make space.>>

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    That gloves sure comes off slowly...
    "Uh."
    Oh crap, did Sequoia accidentally call out Aloisia in some ancient Belkan ritual of single combat?
    Crap crap crap she sure hopes she just didn't!
    But then the true Belkan Knight says something confusing about locks- opens the box and... That sure is a crown.
    And then the crown *breaks*.
    And needless to say Weisser Ritter is not prepared for what happens next.
    "Uh. Is it supposed to do that?"
    Apparently. In Ancient Belka. It is very much supposed to do that.
     No sooner than Star Devil gets behind her, Sequoia picks her shield back up.
    <Offizier bereiten sich auf einen Kampf vor!> Her shield says.
    That's Belkan for 'Get ready for a fight!'
    Quickly mentally running through her list of defensive spells, Weisser Ritter braces one foot back.
    "Go." She says once Kingu opens up that exit for them all. "I'll cover you all, get going, I'll be through last!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy gives Rashmi another frown as Aloisia goes on about how she's an honorless criminal. As if to say, see? Playing the cop card was the wrong call!

    Oh hey, the magic swords are OK! Hell yes. Following Aloisia, Amy picks up some...

    Hannah shouldn't be in this? "Then the same goes for you. I know that tone, I do it too. You don't have to sacrifice yourself, you deserve a life too..."

    The privacy barrier goes up. Amy quirks an eyebrow at Aloisia's gesture. And then... The crown. "Oh come on, if having the crown was what was important, why would he need to kill Hannah to win?" But Aloisia has already thought far further than Amy, or perhaps along some other path entirely. Either way, it's gone, and... Belka happens. "Wha, what is it?! What's the ritual of success--"

    The words die in her throat.

    It is immediately obvious why a royal family would have a crown that magically sticks to heirs' heads and uses corruptive magic. "GET IT OFF HER!" Amy swings the flat of one of the sword devices at the gems, trying to knock them out of orbit around her. "LET HER GO! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"

    She looks at Koji in alarm as he proposes retreating. And then is grabbed by Rashmi and dragged off, Amy trying to pull away from her, flailing with the swords still in her hands. "No! It's gonna take her over! Ancient lich, using the crown to take new bodies! We gotta stop it!"

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     <<EXAMINING CHALLENGER. ROYAL WEAPON NOT DETECTED. INFERIOR WEAPON DETECTED. DAMAGE DETECTED.>>

<<RECTIFYING.>>

Red energy edged with darkness begins to infuse into the two devices that make up Doppelwand.

A sound that likely has never been heard rings through the area.

The mechanical voice of Unbezwingbare Schwester begins to SCREAM.

As she is erased.

<<PROGRAM: LANCE OF DESTINY. INSTALL.>>

And devoured, along with a good portion of the ship around them, to reform the twin devices, once regal, into pitch black shields with red accents.

Aloisia's hands go to her head as she joins in the screaming, the edges of her eyes starting to turn black, which slowly sinks into the center of her eyes. A golden ring piercing through the darkness moments later, as Aloisia's arms drop to her sides, her Barrier Jacket replaced with black armor, as her skin goes ashen white.

What had previously been a mechanical voice ringing out gets replaced with a much more sinister voice from a time long past.

"May the house of Steiner fall to its own princess."

The mechanical voice of the Succession sparks up again.

<<DEFEEAT YOUR RIVALS. CLEAR THE TRIALS. CLAIM VICTORY. PROVE YOUR STRENGTH. AS A PRINCESS OF GLORIOUS BELKA.>>

One of the gemstones is struck by Amy Faust, knocked out of the orbit! ... And then all five of them shoot out of the hole graciously provided by Ginga Kingu, shooting off into the distance, where, though they don't know it just yet, they have affixed to five different statues around Tokyo.

Unfortunately, Amy just performed an aggressive action towards Prinzessin Nichts.

And that makes her the first, most immediate target.

And moments later, Amy suddenly would find herself face to face with a lance.

Heading straight for her head.

Luckily there are others likely ready to defend her.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Need space, need space... need speed...

    Zephyr gratefully shoots out through the brand new hole provided by the Orbital Laser Cannon person. She shoots off, and starts flying in tight circles around the perimeter of the Barrier, picking up speed with each moment she's moving.

    Her flight spell spins more and more rapidly, until it becomes a blur of purple, a silently howling ring around her ankles.

    When Aloisia emerges from the wrecked ship, Wind Dancer turns, shooting down at her at full speed, bringing her axe-like Device to bear with a kiai. < HOWLING SABER! > Tenraikaze's voice announces, almost flatly in the wake of Alo's own Device screaming as it's overtaken. The blades of the axe come alive with scintilating mana, and she aims center-mass on the corrupted Knight, slamming in with all the speed, and all the concentrated mana output she can put into the Empowered melee strike that she can muster.

Koji Silvia has posed:
It's moments like these that Koji forgets that he's trying to hide just who and what he can be, his instincts just go and his mind follows.

One maximum Boost Shield later, throwing himself up high and clear of the ship and of the being that Aloisia has become, commands immediately come from him, <<Two people on long-range crossfire. Break the ship, use the debris as cover for us. Ginga... Kingu... right? Whatever you did to make a hole, do it again, right on her. Rashmi, we need a Time-Space barrier right now before the damage can spread to outside the pa->>

And then there's a lance going right for Amy's head, but he knows there's already a defense expert, so he lets faith do the dirty work as he focuses back on the fight, <<Right now we contain her here in the park, until we can get a Barrier locked in. Hit her until she runs dry, and maybe we find a weakness in whatever this is, and something we can exploit.>>

For him, Hanzo checks his own mana levels with a glance at a HUD-style gauge rather than asking, and as Wind Dancer crashes into the new foe he says, "Disruptor Blades."

    << DISRUPTOR BLADES. >>

A half-dozen white-blue magic knives fly from a circle over his open palm at the being inhabiting Aloe's body now, the energy attack less harmful physically then they are meant to glitch Devicer's magic... not an easy or even immediate feat with something this old or powerful.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly turns once she's out of the ship, keeping careful to stay behind Weisser; Rashmi's right as usual, and herself going to the front lines in this fight is a particularly poor idea.

<< WARNING: THREAT EVALUATION HIGH >> offers Starcrash, immediately on cue.

"Got it," Molly mumbles, watching as Aloisia exits the ship. Or... is that even still Aloisia? It doesn't look like it. It doesn't talk like her. And it certainly isn't behaving like her. << Rashmi-chan, this uhh... We need you to tell us how to deal with this! We'll hold it off! >> Molly unshoulders Starcrash, and levels it at Prinzessin Nichts; the Princess of Nothing. "Fire!" she commans.

And fire she does, unleashing a stream of thirty glowing barrets, all aimed in Aloisia's direction; they're really meant for suppression more than anything else. It isn't really an attack meant to do a great amount of damage, but rather to put the Prinzessin off balance and make her take extra time before her next attack. Well, assuming she doesn't just eat it and ignore it, anyway.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"If any of us had purification magic, we would have used it by now," Ginga Kingu snaps, voice harsh, and he grabs Amy by the arm, his fingers easily circling her left bicep, and drags her through the hole by the arm -

Luckily before that lance can try and make it through a shield to strike her skull.

Outside of the ship, in the abandoned theme park, Ginga Kingu puts Amy down and continues, "She's something else now, and Wako-chan isn't here to contain her. The best we can do is put up a fight, and given that I doubt we want to kill her, that means learn what we can before retreating. Can you be trusted to not run in half-cocked and desperate to save an enemy?"

Once is a potential aberration. Twice is a potential pattern.

And with the threat coming, Ginga Kingu makes his own choice clear, slamming a fist to his chest and then unsheathing a sword of pure white energy.

<<If I do that again, I'll risk dropping my henshin. It's not something I can rapid fire without cost. I've got other options.>>

"Star Swordo - Diamante! Star Crash!"

Rather than lunge at the enemy, he hurls the energy sword, which launches towards the Prinzessin at high speed, trailing white-blue energy.

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    "I am PRETTY SURE this isn't Fury of the Undead Lord, Red!" Weisser Ritter says to Amy, over her shoulder, as--...
    But before she can comment any further, Aloisia is overtaken, her Devices altered and...
    She's lunging for Amy!
    Golden eyes widen, and for Sequoia Maybach, time seems to slow to a crawl as her adrenaline spikes.
    She doesn't think about it.
    She doesn't have the *time* to think about it.
    Weisser Ritter just *moves*.
    One step. Two- three- a leap--
    In the next split second, she's there, interposed between Amy and the newly transformed Prinzessin Nichts as that lance lunges.
    And as that lance moves to spear the Puella Magi, the Belkan pacifist raises her riot shield Device.
    <PANZERHINDERNIS!> Schutzschild declares, raising a magical barrier in the face of that attack.

    . o O ( I am a wall...!) Sequoia thinks to herself, over and over again in a mantra.

She strains to maintain that shield as the lance makes her defenses visibly crack like glass-- hairline fractures spreading across the magical shield at first- they widen- they spread- they threaten to shatter as the point of that lance starts to visibly pierce through her defense!
    IT should- in theory- buy enough time to get Amy away from the blow meant to strike her down, before Weisser Ritter grunts, sweat beading on her brow as her magical shield SHATTERS like glass and she twists her arm, using her actual physical shield-- not to absorb the shock and brunt of the blow, but at the last second she SWINGS it outwards to deflect the attack.
    She staggers from the impact anyway, arm completely numb from the blow, a gouge scored visibly into her Device from the point of the lance scraping across it.
    "Cripes...!" She huffs, stumbling and neatly-- but to her credit-- NOT- falling on her backside afterwards.

    It took absolutely EVERYTHING she had to freaking stop that, what the hell!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Lost Logia!" Rashmi shouts back at Amy. "Molly and/or I *maybe* can seal it away, but we'd still have to *violence it into exhaustion first.* It's like the Jewel Seeds!"

And oh god she has never heard a Device *scream* like that it is a sound that will haunt her nightmares and on the way out she just *hugs* Nicomachea, then nods to Hanzo.

    << *BONG!* >> << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

The green-black, staticky bubble of magic forms, expands well past the boundaries of the original Belkan Barrier, and *she is being asked how to deal with this when Amy's face almost got lanced--*

    << MASTER >>

Rashmi blinks. Nicomachea rarely initiates mental conversations anymore... not since she'd started to get the hang of all of this.

    << ENFORCER DESIGNATE 'Chrono' HAS TRAINED YOU TO HIS FULLEST ABILITY. I HAVE TAUGHT YOU MUCH OF MAGIC. YOU HAVE DEVELOPED STILL MORE. THIS IS A DIRE PROBLEM TO SOLVE. MASTER WILL SOVE IT. >>

Rashmi closes her eyes and smiles briefly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Thank you, Nico-kun," she murmurs, then opens her eyes.

<< Thank you, Kingu-san, that's perfect, >> she says through the comms net, chivvying as many people as she can through the new hole. << Star Devil, keep your distance, stick to homing spells to minimize friendly fire. Hanzo, keep her off-balance. I want her doubting her eyes if at all possible, maybe her ears too. Wind Dancer, don't stay still long enough for her to track you, but *be careful* she's more devious with defense magic than I could ever be. Before you'd risk becoming the pinball in her zone of control, now...? I don't know. Red, stay opposite Star Devil, attack from a distance on either side. Kingu-san... this is gonna be real work, and I've never seen you do *real* work before. Let's see what you've got. If we can beat her, we can take care of the gems. Weisser Ritter? You're gonna be her match, Wind Dancer and Ginga Kingu will need your shield the most. We can do this guys. I believe in all of you.>>

<< Go. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The lance is THIS close as Amy's yanked out of the way. Then she's set down and given a talking-to. "Yeah, I hear it now. Do you have a plan to get away? The barrier, remember?" Amy tosses the sword devices -- one from her right hand, two in her left -- into an abandoned game stand for later retrieval.

    "You heard the crown." A pillar of fire brings Amy to her second-stage henshin. "It's a challenge. While she's focused on me..."

    Amy shakes her head. "Find us a way to get out of here, and away from her."

    Amy nods to Rashmi, and then she turns towards the ship and watches, missile racks appearing all over her-- and when Aloisia next shows herself, firing dozens of mini-missiles, which arc and robotech around to come at her from all different angles. Amy expects there to be a counter. So she'll expose what it is so they can know about it.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     A magically empowered axe strike comes in, and the black shield almost seems to snap into place as Wind Dancer approaches, the knight contorting almost unnaturally. The soft ~beat~ of a heart vaguely audible now that she was in close range with the Princess of Nothing. The shield releasing a PULSE of dark energy in response, reflecting the force of the impact back towards Wind Dancer.

The gaze from her is completely empty and passive, her lips a line of ... nothingness. As if she were, as her name implies, Nothing.

Disruptor blades come in towards the corrupted knight, the shield turned to defend her against the worst of the incoming blades, though after the first one impacts, another wave of magic is unleashed to reflect the rest away from the corrupted knight.

And as more attacks come streaming in from Star Devil and Ginga Kingu...

<<FELD DES NICHTS.>>

...A disruptive pulse shoots out from Prinzessin Nichts, and the magic of most of the incoming attacks are erased, weaker spells simply disappearing, though a weaker form of Star Crash does manage to make it through to the Princess of Nothing, striking against her armor.

Even as through that, her own attack had been deflected to the ground by another armored form, stopped and turned. The Princess of Nothing seems to regard Weisser Ritter for a moment. But she did not attack.

...So she is not immediately targeted.

It's a similar reason that Rashmi is not immediately targeted either, seemingly she was possibly ... reactive. At least for the moment.

Unfortunately, reactiveness means that as those missiles shoot at the princess of nothing from every angle, leaving her covered in an explosion...

<<LOSCHBUSTER.>>

As the smoke clears, a thin line of magic shoots out from the tip of the lance in the Princess of Nothing's hand, a thin beam of black with a red center shoots straight towards Amy.

...Unlike most busters, rather than simply shooting out, it is sustained, and rapidly swept through the opponents at distance. Attempting to slice through each of her opponents in turn.

Koji Silvia has posed:
In a rare moment, Hanzo almost loses his Barrier Jacket when that wave hits, for a few precious beats between seconds going from the ninja guise to the glasses-wearing boy in a track and field uniform from Radiant Heart. Falling almost to the ground, his form kicks back in to full, the native physical boosts from it allowing him to flip and land in the classic 'superhero pose'.

But it still knocked the wind out of him, even as a passive attack.

There is, however, that intense red-black beam, which is not something he expected from Belkan Magic. Theirs is a physical art, and their fighters prefer to get up close. So it takes a moment to register before he immediately throws invisibility up and from where he WAS crouched comes a cry of "INCOMING!"

    << SPELLCHAFF. >>

In the air around Prinzessin Nichts, puff like explosions, like fireworks suddenly appear and fill the air with scintillating lights, ones that are specifically meant to confuse spell targeting and magical senses, to hopefully buy some one the precious extra they need as he bolts in under cover of his cloak towards the ship, trying to keep the crash and the park rubble between himself and that attack.

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< Right! >> Molly takes note of which way Amy goes and then leaps up into the sky, making a rapid retreat to put distance between her and Prinzessin Nichts. As she's getting her space, the artillery mage instructs "Starcrash, charge Eclipse Barrets. Forty barrets, overcharge by fifty per cent, make them homing. Lock on target Prinzessin Nichts." And, the little tag beside Aloisia changes to read just that; and the text turns to red, with a little >:| emoji beside it. Everyone else's tag decreases in size, to reduce visual clutter, but their highlights remain so Molly can keep track of friendlies.

<< ARMED. WARNING: MANA USAGE HIGH >>

Molly shifts her grip on her staff, and studies her battle display for just a moment. "Fire!" A stream of barrets, encompassing the freezing cold of outer space and glowing a brilliant blue, marking them as overcharged and highly unstable, pour forth from Starcrash and rocket off towards Prinzessin Nichts, all following a slightly different trajectory to try to make them harder to evade or shoot down.

And then the Prinzessin is attacking. That intense red-black beam, starting but not ending with Amy as its target.

<< WARNING: THREAT EXCEEDS AVAILABLE DEFENSES >>

Starcrash broadcasts the alert to Molly and all of her listening allies. That means this is bad. "Crap."

Star Devil turns and dashes off, looking to put distance between herself and -- No, not distance. She needs something to break the line of sight. She angles down, rushing as hard as she can to put a building between her and the beam. She looks over her shoulder, and snaps her fingers, the trigget to cast Neutrino Rush; and she vanishes in a blur of light, reappearing on the other side of the beam. That's a trick that only works once but it gives her just enough time to--

Almost make it, as the beam slices through her shield in an instant and across the back of her Barrier Jacket, fully blasting off half the plates on her back, making her Flier Fin blink-blink out, and leaving her skidding on her face across the ground as she gets behind the building.

<< ...I'm okay, >> she gasps.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Wind Dancer is knocked away. All the impact she tried to push into the Knight... pushed straight back at her. She tumbles in the air, uncontrolled.

    After a few moments, she manages to redirect her momentum, then crows. "Storm Mode! Shift up!" < DRIVE IGNITION! STORM MODE. GEAR SECOND! > The axe shifts into its alternate form, and three turbine fan-like Bits begin orbiting the Mage. They then move into a formation in front, linking with purple beams, as she holds one hand forward. "KITE SHIELD!" < KITE SHIELD EMPOWER! > agrees the Device, the spell seal appearing and becoming thicker, as the Bits cycle more power into it.

    The Buster beam rakes across her defensive field... and it spiderwebs with cracks, bleed-through causing her glove to begin degrading as she holds her position until the beam passes by. < Chief. Buster system is still not responding. I am unable to locate the issue. > "Right... Focus Barret, like Mom taught us." < IMPULSE BARRET BORASCO SHIFT! > Instead of multiple spheres appearing, four appear. One at each Bit, and one at the tip of the Device itself. She aims, and braces. The spheres compress, shrinking from softball to marble sized, then fire off like rifle bullets with corresponding reports. "Everything we have, compressed to within an inch of its life... lets see you erase these." she says.

    <<This isn't a fight we can win. My Buster systems are offline, and we're taking a lot more damage than she is... we should back off, and figure out how to disable the crown.>> she transmit to the telepathy call.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
A disruptive pulse of energy tries to erase the Star Crash, but Diamante doesn't disappear, and the attack strikes through, causing the sword to disappear -

But Ginga Kingu can feel its shining spirit in his soul and as Rashmi calls that she's never seen him do real work, a grin cuts across his mouth. There's a battle hunger there, a joy in the fight that comes from getting to cut loose, and for all that there's a hostage here, there is the point too - the barrier won't let them go without a fight. And the enemy won't either.

He needs to do some real work. And he's ready for it.

But when the attack comes - the slicing, erasing beam that wants to kill them all, as much as he would love to rush forward, dodge, and press the attack -

Instead he steps up beside the Shield Maiden, the one who isn't his Shield Maiden, but who fought to give them a moment to retreat and make space. He puts a hand to her shoulder, as the others continue the fight, saying through the telepathic bond, <<I'm going to give you access to more energy than you may have felt before. I'm directing it your way - make sure you put it to good use.>>

This is a warning.

It's necessary, too. Ginga Kingu has never shared the enormous well of energy within him - it's not something they do, it's not something that's done, but as Takuto has proven again and again, there is nothing they can't do. So he focuses, gripping Weisser Ritter's shoulder tightly, and as he does, a bubble appears beside him, a foot and a half in wide, with a miniature robot inside, it's arms crossed over it's chest disdainfully.

And then Weisser Ritter will feel it - a well of energy that pours into her like a river being condensed into a single hose, as he pours the power of the King Driver, the power that would have consumed the world for nothing more than fuel to continue a never-ending voyage, directly into her.

The energy is bracing, scouring, like grabbing a block of ice with your bare hands, the underlying hint that it would take as much as it would give if there was the chance, but for now it is giving and giving and giving and giving, for her to not only block, but return these strikes.

"King's Counter!"

A square of energy opens before them, and then siphons directly into Weisser Ritter's shields, imbuing them with the power to reflect an enemy's attack back.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Huh. No defense except tanking it. How tough is she?

    The Nothing-Buster comes in but Amy is, well, a magical rocket girl and can dodge pretty fast right now.

    There's a very loud BANG as Amy materializes an artillery cannon and fires a solid 105mm iron ball out of one end and smoke and fire like a huge muzzle flash out of the other, then dismisses her weapon and keeps flying evasively, trying to just. Hit Aloisia hard. She is clearly tough, after all, Amy's pretty sure she won't accidentally kill her or anything like that.

    Aloisia... at least, corrupted by the crown as she is, has no such compunctions. Amy now sees the destruction wrought by the attack she dodged, and sees Star Devil go down. "Molly!" Oh thank gods she's okay...

    Zephyr wants out. <<"If you got a way out, let us know! I don't have any barrier stuff! ...Fudge, do none of us have a way out?!">> Amy feels a chill at that thought. If they're all trapped here together... That will get very bad.

    For multiple reasons.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << TERA BARRET -- BOOST UP >>

As Amy and Molly split off, Rashmi's eyes flick around the field. The disrupting spell was short-range, and she doesn't seem to be focusing her ire on anyone who hasn't moved against her... Better to support the ones on offense, and for right now that means boosting the artillerists. A trio of foxfire-like orbs of golden energy wisp into being, then streak out to Amy, Molly, and Hanzo.

Then the buster-beam makes an appearance, and Rashmi shoots directly up into the air and maneuvers to keep away from the beam's trajectory... And gasps as it grounds Molly in one strike. << Star Devil *are you sure?* And... Yeah, Wind Dancer, I'm thinking I agree with you. Kingu-san, you said if you use that attack again, it'll knock you out as a combatant, right? Well... Belkan Barriers are designed to be gone *into,* not come *out* of, so the only way we're getting out unless she decides to drop it, is by pointing overwhelming firepower at the walls. I can carry you and defend you afterward, if it's what you decide to do. >>

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    <<It took everything I had just to stop that one attack.>> Sequoia replies over the mental link. <<I wouldn't call myself her match *yet* but... I'll be their shield, you count on me.>> Is her answer to Rashmi's tactics while she physically huffs and pants. Sweat rolls down her brow as she quickly wipes it away with her sleeve.
    "It'll be fine... We've got this, right, Schutzschild? You good to go?"
    <JA!> Her shield replies, faithful and stalwart.
    That's when she realizes something...
    "... She... She didn't attack me...?"
    <<She didn't attack me- or Rashmi- I think she's just reacting to anyone that's attacking her! ... We can probably use this to our advantage!>> Weisser Ritter says over the telepathic link.
    Still, it's so... Disconcerting to see Aloisia so devoid of expression. But there's no time think about it too much with that next incoming attack.
    In the next instant there is a King behind her, his hand on her shoulder.
    <<... Right, got it.>> She has been sufficiently warned.
    Then the energy pours into her.
    IT doesn't flow- it's POURED; that incredible wellspring of power surges into her body and she grits her teeth from the near shock of it as she tries to contain it.
    <OFFIZIER!> Her Device blurts. <MACHT UBERWALTIGEND!>
    This energy- this power- it's overwhelming. She immediately pours that energy given to her from Ginga Kingu into her Device, her shield raising multiple layered defenses in an instant, seven petals of white light forming up in front of her as that deadly ray of light lances at her and Ginga Kingu and...

    <RHO AIAS!!!> Schutzschild declares defiantly in the face of that Buster spell--...

    The instant that ray of magic hits her shield, the seven petals of light EXPLODE outwards in a brilliant flare that bounces that intense destructive ray back at its caster.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Puff like explosions appear around the Princess of Nothing, a distraction and disrupting spell that causes her targetting to be distracted, that beam of energy becoming slightly more erratic in its movements as it continues that swipe. Tracking after Star Devil somewhat less accurately as it cuts through that building, and luckily... just misses doing anything more serious to her.

Further distracting her aim is the incoming barrage of homing Eclipse Barrets, as the Princess of Nothing enters a defensive stance that hides most of her body behind the shield, passive yellow eyes tracking the movements of her enemies as best as they can as the shield is moved to deflect the worst of them, others striking her armor in places, dealing damage as she continued to focus that beam.

On the upside, that beam seems to have taken most of her magical focus, at least for the moment, so no more of those pulses are shooting out.

And more barrets are shooting towards her, four focused spheres launching and striking into the shield of the Princess of Nothing, three deflected, but one penetrating through the shield to strike her shoulder, stabbing into it. And yet she still holds firm.

As the magic of the ray is ended, the last of its effects shooting outwards, two things were happening at almost the same time.

A massive sphere of iron was being launched at her, which she was prepared to meet with her lance, and also...

Her own Buster was being shot at her, the massive iron sphere ending up right in front of that buster at just the right time that it begins to turn a red-hot color as the buster burrows into it.

And impacts the Princess of Nothing, just before the buster cuts through it and into the armor, slicing the top of that shield off where it had been cut, and slicing into the Princess of Nothing as well...

... ... And the piece of shield falls off, landing on the ground. A red hot line across the top of her armor, as she falls to one knee, at least for the moment.

And then there is another pulse, the sound of a heart beating, as several black tendrils slide from the shield device, stabbing INTO the Princess of Nothing, red sparks of energy growing visible as the shield is regenerated.

And there is a rotation in the center of the corrupted Lance of Destiny. And a Ka-CHUNK.

A sudden burst of power fills the lance.

And the Princess of Nothing stands.

<<HERZSTOPPER>>

The lance begins to glow with that same red-centered black energy as she starts to dash towards Weissritter.

In the background, though, there was a creaking sound, as the now-heavily-damaged ship begins to fall.

And crashes down atop the Princess of Nothing.

... Giving them precious moments to figure out their next course of action, as the metal of that ship begins to glow from the lance piercing through it.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Safely behind something which was cut in half by that beam but only just over his head, Hanzo feels the energy from Rashmi's boost flow into him and it gives him that little bit of focus he needs, <<Rashmi. We're not winning this fight. I think I just saw this... whatever it is... this trap... draining her. If we keep this going, we could kill her and Otto wins. We stay and she gets us, Otto wins. We pull back, analyze what we have, and see if we can figure out how to beat her... and then him. Get them to kick that barrier down so we can get out, and grab me on the way. I'll cover you all.>>

With that, he comes out of cover, does 6 of the 6 Kuji-kiri Mudra to help him get his mind in order...

Rin...

Kyo...

Sha...

Kai...

Retsu...

And as his hands spread on 'Jin' he says for the third time this fight, "Phantom Zone."

    << PHANTOM ZONE. Warning Master. Reverses low. 15 seconds before spell failure. >>

But for now, he has a small bubble he tries to lock Prinzessin Nichts inside of, one where she sees targets all over the place... they keep moving, keep flashing in and out. Dozens of Star Devils, A Squad of Wind Dancers, Enough Ginga Kingus to rule Europe, and enough Amys to tinge the sky red...

Molly Skyline has posed:
<< Yeah... Yeah. I'm good. >> Molly's voice sounds... not tired; pained. Like she's just taken a big hit and her barrier jacket didn't entirely suck it up. Well, by what it looked like happened, that's pretty accurate, as she picks herself up off the floor. She shakes her head, and forces herself to stand up straight, in spite of the pain lancing through her back and limbs, and the throbbing in her head.

Maybe she really isn't okay and needs to see a doctor. Oh well, that's a problem for later.

"Starcrash. Charge--" she stops, as Rashmi's Tera Barret reaches her, and suffuses her with increased strength. Oh, that's good. Yes, that will do nicely. "Starcrash... charge Stellar Convergance. Overch-- No." She sighs, and shakes her head. "Rapid charge. Hold fire when ready."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. RAPID CHARGE INEFFICIENT, MANA USE WILL BE INCREASED >>

"Yeah I figured." Molly stretches, and tilts her head from one side to the other, making her vertebrae pop. At least she's still got the building between her and Prinzessin Nicht. Damnit woman, you should'a named yourself the princess of fluffy bunnies or something.

<< Ginga Kingu, I'll be firing my most powerful spell. It's going to take a moment to charge; just fire on the barrier wherever is convenient, I'll see it and hit the same spot. >> She pauses, watching the little progress bar on her battle visor rapidly filling up. << My Flier Fin is down, I'm low on mana, and I *hurt*, I might need help escaping. >>

<< STELLAR CONVERGENCE CHARGED >>

Molly sucks in her breath, waiting for Ginga to fire; and when he does, she whispers, "Fire." She points Starcrash, and a large orb of freezing cold manifests and fire, unleashing a huge beam at the barrier that pushes her backwards, forcing her to brace her feet as she slides across the ground. Fiften solar orbs, glowing a brilliant orange all blink blink-blink into being around her, adopting a flat, planetary-style orbit; as the cold beam tapers off they form up in a pair of half-circles to either side of her and fire, all as one at the same spot. They sustain for several seconds, eventually tapering off; and Molly drops to one knee, as the vents on her barrier jacket and Starcrash open up, billowing clouds of glittering, purple steam.

<< HEAT DISSIPATION COMPROMISED. FUTHER SPELLS INADVISABLE FOR FOUR MINUTES >>

<< ...Yeah I'm gonna need a pick up. >>

Sugata Shindo has posed:
<<You handled that well,>> Ginga Kingu tells Weisser Ritter, sincere respect in his mental voice in the aftermath of her reflected spell. He knows full well how much power he has, contained within him, and how much it takes to use it; wielding this very strength once sent him into a coma from which he thought he'd never wake.

That she can withstand the force of that channeling speaks well of her future.

<<You're going to be her match, when your training is complete. Are you dedicated to the shield only?>>

Yes, he's always of the mind to recruit for Kendo Club, so what? A part of his mind is always on the fight, on progress, on teaching, training, growing.

Their reflection buys time, enough for what Weisser Ritter says to be made clear - their opponent wasn't attacking her before, because she wasn't a combatant, but now -

There's a pulse of energy. Black tendrils stab into the girl being wielded by the corrupt crown, and she rises, energy glowing in her lance, aiming for his ally, and he just told her that she could be a match. He won't dishonor her by leaping into the fray, not when he has a more important job -

<<Good plan, but if this barrier is as powerful as it sounds, we need to hit it from the outside as well, don't we?>> Yes, but they aren't outside of the barrier - <<Prepare yourselves. I'll mark it from the outside.>>

An ominous warning, as he tips his head back. Samekh, trapped in his bubble, stares at the bearer of his Mark, eyes intent. He doesn't speak, knowing that spite alone might make his Mark-bearer quit.

And then - as he speaks the words -

"King's Pillar!

The light doesn't crash on them, not immediately. The previous strike had come from above but from within the barrier. As he had warned them, this one comes from outside of it, power crashing down in the real world, to fall upon the barrier imprisoning them like the fist of a cruel god, an angry king come to seek vengeance. Star Devil will strike from within the barrier - Ginga Kingu will strike from the outside.

To those inside the barrier, the size of the attack is visibly immense - the one that aided their escape was a narrow beam compared to this - it's thirty meters wide and pushing down, bright as the sun.

When it fades, Ginga Kingu wavers as his henshin fades away in blue and gold sparkles, breathing ragged.

"Takuto and Wako are going to blow up my phone," he hisses, before sinking to one knee.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Two words flash through Zephyr's mind. Cartridge System.
    She has just enough time to start getting terrified of what the possesse Knight is about to do next, when wreckage falls and traps her. <<Right, now or never, blow us a hole in this thing and lets get out of here. Anyone needing a ride, shout, I can carry at least one with me.>> she says, dismissing her Device's alternate form, and the Device itself into Standby as she diverts power into motion spellwork. She hears Molly calling for a pick-up, diverts her path and drops down.

    In a fluid motion, she scoops up Star Devil, and princess-carries her out through the gap made by others in the Barrier wall. <<I've got Star Devil. Get clear, we'll regroup and strategize once we're out of the danger zone.>>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Holy crap, reflecting the erasure beam thing was really effective!

    And then the armor regenerates. The crown is using Aloisia as the power source.

    "You don't deserve to have to deal with magic like this, either." Amy says, too quietly for anyone to hear, as she glances down at the gem currently in her left vambrace. Roiling black corruption like smoke fills a fifth of it already, and is slowly but visibly growing as she burns her SOUL to fly.

    Rashmi knows something about getting out of here. And half of a half of a ship crashes on the Prinzessin Nichts, buying them time. <<"Just tell me where to shoot!">> Amy calls through the telepathy.

    She flies down to the booth she was near before, and emerges in her regular henshin but with two of the sword-devices sheathed across her back, and one sideways behind her back, on straps temporarily added to her costume. She's not abandoning priceless alien technology unless she has to!

    When she's given the target coordinates and timing, she conjures and fires the giant cannon again, a 105mm HEAT round to help pierce the barrier just before the GIANT MAGIC BEAMS hit -- and once she sees a way out after they've all blasted it, she's glancing over to confirm someone grabbed Star Devil and then booking it!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Sometimes it's kind of terrifying, the scale of power that those around her have access to. Or the kinds of things Hazo can just *fake* into being. But everything is a tradeoff. And as the mind-splintering noise from both King's Pillar and Stellar Convergence fade, and the memory of the blankness of their opponent's eyes spur Rashmi into action. With as much dignity as she can allow, she loops Sugata's arm around her shoulders and behind her neck, one of her arms around his waist.

<< When we regroup, I'll patch up who needs patchin' up but we *really* should call Tuxedo Kamen for proper heals. Hanzo, Weisser Ritter, >> she says as she starts flying toward the breach, encasing herself and Sugata in a bubble of golden light, << Are you two gonna be all right under your own power? >>

Sequoia Maybach has posed:
    Though the buster spell is reflected, when Sequoia's shield spell, Rho Aias, comes to an end, the girl practically collapses to her knees, panting. That power was... Incredible. Almost more than she could possibly handlel she barely managed to wrangle it even with the King's warning. Breathless, brow soaked in sweat, she leans hard on her shield, the Belkan Device opening several ports and hissing violently as it bleeds off the magical heat from that spell.
    <<Th... Thanks.>> She says to Kingu. Just being given a *taste* of that power has her reeling.
    <<Shield only, yeah. ... I'm a wall. I protect.>> She answers him. The sword is not the pacifist way; it is not her way but...

    'You're going to be her match, when your training is complete.'

    Those words of encouragement are more than enough to further steel the silver-haired girl's will, resolve, and course.
    It's probably for the best that the ship crashes on Aloisia for now. It gives the team a chance to escape; to regroup, to figure out their next step.
    Because uh.
    In that moment...
    In that instant where the Princess of Nothing was coming at her with an attack named HEARTSTOPPER...
    Sequoia Maybach was fairly certain that no level of defense she could have raised would have done a thing to stop it.
    Sequoia Maybach was sure that, in that moment, she would freaking die.
    Thankfully that does not come as the King's Pillar descends, brilliant and bright as the sun.
    <<I'm... I'm okay.>> She answers Rashmi.
    With Sugata on his knees, now, it's AS Rashmi comes to grab him that Weisser Ritter slings her shield onto her back and helps Rashmi from Sugata's other side so they can all bail out the shattered barrier.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Just to be safe on their escape, there was also an illusion cast over the princess of nothing, enemies appearing from all sides from corridors that were not there before in the ship, whatever was left of the ship in the barrier being torn apart from a now-fighting Princess of Nothing, occasional blasts and lances of short-range energy shooting out from the wreckage now.

As Star Devil charges their attack, waiting for their chance to strike, a chance which is shown shortly as the massive wall of energy shoots down from the sky to strike the barrier, causing it to strain, to start cracking... and then piercing through the center of it.

A cold beam launched by the Star Devil, striking at the same time as the massive cannon strikes the inside of the barrier, creating a small hole that allows for the rest of King's Pillar to reduce an area of the abandoned theme park to rubble and dust as the barrier itself shatters into the brilliant blue energy of the girl who had just been corrupted.

...Good thing there were two layers of barrier right now because otherwise that might be a problem.

And for a moment, all is quiet, those motes of slowly blinking out cyan mana disappearing as the dust settles.

...Even the Princess of Nothing, as the illusions fade, falls quiet.

As the last motes of mana wink out, and everyone escapes the scene of the crime.

All there is.

Is nothing.