2555/Nightmare's Heart

Nightmare's Heart
Date of Scene:	22 May 2025
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	Seriss Nyx is back to draining people of their energy; whatever for? Surely she has people who can do that? In any case, Rashmi, Amy, Homura, Sugata, and Ikiko all prove brave enough to try and stop her -- and face her latest horror.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, Madoka Kaname, Rashmi Terios, Sugata Shindo, Amanda Faust, Ikiko Hisakata

---

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Go to sleep, Molly. Stop this futile struggle and leave this body to me."

Seriss is sitting at an outdoor sushi restaurant somewhere in Downtown Tokyo, late in the evening. Ordinarily the place would probably be thinking about closing at the moment; but aside from Seriss, everyone here is passed out as of a couple of minutes ago. Hovering in the air above her is a large, monolithic sarcophagus that's busy drawing in energy from everyone nearby.

While this is going on, Seriss -- clad in a whtie dress with a frilly skirt -- is enjoying a spread of sushi of all different sorts. A piece of salmon roll passes her lips, and she takes the time to chew it slowly, enjoying the flavor.

The monolith screeches something ear-grating, and Seriss nods her head. "Yes, Atropos, we should work on our triangulations. Start looking."

The air seems to bend around Seriss' weird creation; electricity arcs towards it and the lights flicker all around the nearby buildings. A ball of dark energy like a boiling shadow launches upwards, rising up above the buildings and detonating into a shockwave that passes over the city -- a burst that can be felt by Mahou all across the city.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura Akemi is sitting on a bench some few blocks away with Lydian, and the former is spoonfeeding the latter tiny bites of ice cream. Neither of them seem aware that anything is going on until the shockwave passes around them. The feeling shocks the tiny minidoka, but Homura merely closes her eyes as her silky black hair blows around her.

    Lydian clings to Homura, asking, "What was that?"

    Homura stands up, as purple magic creates her henshin around her. "Someone is causing trouble. You should hide in my shield, just to be safe."

    After storing both the artsy minidoka, and her bowl of ice cream, into her magical buckler, Homura Akemi takes to the roof tops, jumping from building to building as she approaches the source of the disturbance.

    Her cold, mysterious, calculating purple eyes narrow as she looks ahead. What timing...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi has been trying really, really, *really hard* to take the advice a good friend gave her; don't burn yourself out, take time for self-care, make sure your batteries are recharged before you jump into the fight.

*So of course* stupid Seriss and her stupid monster had to take a DEMP -- Dark Electro-Magnetic Pulse -- all over downtown. And just as she was getting to the part in her light-novel series where the Rune Princess had to navigate an asteroid belt on star-dragonback to rescue her Prince!

Rashmi is *not* in a cheerful frame of mind as she navigates buildings large and less-large, on her way to the epicenter of that energy pulse, but she's annoyed, not *dumb.*

<< Stupid jerk Seriss is at it again, >> goes her text to anyone on her contacts list that shows active at this time of night. << Backup would be awesome. If you don't know who that is, I'll explain when you get here. >>

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Life is a serendipitous thing. Just yesterday, Amy Faust was telling Sugata (and Elodie) that Seriss Nyx had appeared again, with a monster capable of creating monsters. Tonight, she's attacking once more.

Ginga Kingu arrives shortly after Rashmi sends out her message, skating across the air in that Shadow the Hedgehog air-shoes style he'd mastered for flight.

"Did you have a plan for handling her?" He asks Rashmi, coming within earshot of her position. "Or are we free to blast her creature until she leaves cursing our names?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Yeah! Some of us would like some time to just read some manga! But noooo, some folks have to be jerks! Who takes down someone's ability to read manga? Just because they can't provide anyone a good solution for reading their manga in one place, they send takedown notices to anyone who can? Rude! Oh also the power just went out while Amy is telling her computer to frantically download things before they disappear.

    She grooooans in annoyance, exasperation, and frustration as the UPS goes BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, NEEP and she knows she has to fight Seriss again. A friend is evil, a friend is lost in the future, a friend has been down in the dumps because he misses his wife and daughter and there's nothing she can do to help... Already, one Nightmare almost kept her captured because she was too tired to fight it, and now...

    Well, that's a magical girl's duty.

    << I wish we could be this annoying to them. Imagine if, like, we made a thing that generates monsters that they have to interrupt their plans to fight and it cost us nothing... But nooooo, only they get to do that because we're protecting everyone and they're not protecting anything... >> Amy grumbles as she flies on a rocket across town.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Guess this is what I get for thinking that tonight's patrol was being dull, Cute Wolf Tsukiko thinks to herself with a rueful sigh en route to meet up with Rashmi after reading the text. With the warm weather, the strays she had been taking care of were doing quite well, and her classes weren't going badly, either; heck, outside of the recent dreamscape escapades, things had been relatively quiet for her on the moonlight side of life.

    Welp, time to get back to kicking physical monsters!

The wolfgirl arrives in time to hear Ginga Kingu's question, and nods her own agreement to it. "Anything we need to know before we set a plan into motion?" Tsukiko adds.

Molly Skyline has posed:
With the dark pulse sent out, Seriss just keeps eating her sushi. "It's a pity you can't eat food," she comments to the large, hovering monolith. "Truly. This salmon is to die for. The chef's here know their stuff." She produces her smartphone, and taps away at it while Atropos screeches something horrible up above her.

"Oh yes, certainly, do be prepared. I'm sure the children will be here soon enough and will probably spout their same lines about 'give her back' and whatnot." She sighs, and shakes her head, "Clytermnestra was entertaining but sadly underperformed and did not provide me with any corpses. You are welcome to entertain me yourself, once our opposition arrives." She looks up, and right on cue the Battle Visor hologram imposed on her visions starts tracking incoming hostile targets. "Ahh, there they are. Cygnus, deploy Neutron Wall."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. DEPLOYED >>

A globe of energy snaps into place around Seriss and fades from view, as she hoists the next piece of sushi up in front of herself.

"Let tonight's games begin."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura Akemi recognizes Rashmi telepathy and responds, << I heard the broad strokes, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the details. >>

    To Amy, she responds, << Complaining wont change it. Besides, I can promise you they find us annoying. >>

    She eventually lands on a rooftop above the sushi store where Seriss is sitting. Her eyes quietly scan the various bodies -- passed out, not killed -- before eventually locking onto the strange monolithic thing. She doesn't offer any clever quips or heroic justice speech, just a stony stare as she reaches into her shield to pull out a handgun...

    That has Lydian clinging to it. "Is that Seriss?" she asks, looking at the corrupted villain.

    "Don't play with that. Go back into the shield," chides Homura, shoving the minidoka back into her personal hammerspace. "... but yes, I'd assume so."

    There are no earnest pleas from her right now. Just her silent glare and mental analysis.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And people start showing up... in *number,* and some of the tension leaves Rashmi's shoulders. ...Even Madoka's friend?! Oh *that's* lucky, there'll probably be *plenty* of helicopters parked around downtown to throw at the problem! With a thought, she sets up her telepathic comms net, and sighs heavily at Sugata's question. << I *wish* I had a plan, >> she grouses. << If this is like last time, then the creature in the coffin's gonna be able to make its *own* monsters, and Seriss'll respond to any attack on her or the coffin with *overwhelming* force. And she won't be able to shut up. Like, the only thing that keeps me from trying to slap her across the mouth -- aside from the probable death -- is that it's *Molly's* mouth. >>

As the group arrives on the location, Rashmi glares down at the sushi-eating Daimon surrounded by passed-out civilians.

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

"Seriously what are you even doing here?! Your *boss* is gone, *her* boss is gone, you're squatting in a body *nobody wants you in,* why don't you go build a summer home in the Dusk Zone and *stay there?!*"

<< Highlights: My best friend Molly died saving us and a bunch of civilians from the Dusk Zone, Obsidian found her body and installed some Dark creature in it, Molly's mind isn't actually dead and a helpless passenger, and she's doing... *something...* that involves at least three youma, at least one of which can make its own monsters. If *anyone* can learn more about the things in the coffins, I'd love to know. In fact... Nicomachea, your side job tonight is to analyze that coffin as well as you can. >>

The book looses a cheery *PING* into the chat, then starts paying attention to its sensors.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's telepathic response is an exasperated growl. << Well, it's good we're annoying at least... >>

    The rocket lands her on a tall building across the street. Thank goodness for barriers, she doesn't have to worry about breaking the roof if she hit it too hard. << Hey yeah, if all this darkness shit is so great why do you wanna be here so bad, in her body? >>

    Amy wouldn't exactly want to subsist on dark energy either, but she's not the one forcing it into others' lives or taking their lives over with it.

    It's just hovering there. Waiting.

    Well, may as well find out what happens. And thanks to Seriss, she's not even at risk of missed or ricocheted attacks hitting civilians! So she conjures her .59-caliber rocket-propelled-bullet rifle thing and starts shooting the coffin to see what happens. Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!

Sugata Shindo has posed:
<<Sounds like we should provoke some of that overwhelming force and get her talking. Eventually she'll reveal more than she intended.>>

These are ominous words from Ginga Kingu, but the light that gathers, high in the sky, so high above that in other circumstances satellites would be screaming warnings, is a far more ominous tiding.

"King's Pillar!"

Force crushes down, an orbital cannon that may as well be a laser, that may as well be the crushing force of death. It crushes to bits the matter in between it and the ground - or tries too, at least, given that Seriss Nyx, in her barrier, and Atropos, in it's coffin, are in the path of that beam of blue-white light.

As a certain skeleton once pondered, there's no reason not to strike out with your most overwhelming attack first, when you think about it.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
<< So... we have to stop the flow of dark energy and any monsters that get spawned in, without actually targeting the coffin? >> Tsukiko queries, rubbing her forehead. For someone who specializes in dodging and melee fighting, the phrase 'responds to attacks with overwhelming force' is not condusive to picking a point-blank fight.

Well, sometimes the best option to an overwhelming force is to not face it head-on -- and so the wolfgirl starts darting around, keeping her distance from Seriss and Atropos, but also not staying too close to the other mahoujin, keeping an eye out for retaliatory attacks that could possibly be flank-countered, or possibly even opening in their foe's defenses.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"And here are the would-be heroes." Seriss sets down her chopsticks and lifts a cup of green tea, raising it in salute before drinking, as if to toast the first to arrive. "Oh good, you put up one of your barriers, Rashmi. Thank you for that; the sushi at this place is divine, I'd hate to be unable to come back again next week. Don't worry; I made sure nothing overly bad happened to the chefs."

She sips again from the drink, and her gaze settles on Homura and Ikiko, and she nods once to each of them in turn. "Fresh faces! I don't believe we've met; I'm Seriss Nyx, and you two must be friends of Rashmi's. I hope she takes better care of you than she did her last friend."

Seriss pushes her chair back and stands up, and is about to say something else when the loud reports of gunfire interupt her; rocket-propelled bullets slam into the side of Atropos, exploding and blasting little craters into the surface, eliciting an enraged wail from the weird creation.

"Cygnus Lich, extend our shield around Atropos," she instructs, and the globe of energy around her is briefly visible as it expands. "Really, child, is that necessary? We're going t ofight, certainly, but such immature displays; we should at least talk first like civilized people, should we--"

King's Pillar hits.

For a moment, Seriss and her creation vanish inside the pillar of light, even as it is hit and deflects some of the attack out to the sides while absorbing the rest.

<< SHIELD COLLAPSING. BREAKWALL ACTIVATED. WARNING: MANA DRAIN SIGNIFICANT >>

As the light fades and Seriss comes back into view her Barrier Jacket is forming around her, armor plates materializing and slamming into place about her now smoking self. In the air above her, Atropos is also smoking; and in random places scattered across its surface, little protrusions bubble up and pop like boils, revealing a multitude of lizard-like eyes. Eyes that split their attention, glaring variously at Amy and Ginga Kingu.

<< ## TArTARUs jUSTiCE ## >>

Swirling black energy gathers across the surface of the eyes before they discharge in sequence, firing a multitude of blasts at the two Mahou who attacked it. Seriss, meanwhile, is dusting off her shoulder. "That was uncalled for," she states, bemusedly, watching while Atropos unleashes its attack. "But now you have me interested. Atropos, stop playing with your food and give them something interesting to fight."

The beams cease, and Atropos rises higher into the air, seemingly drawing energy into itself.

<< ## dARK MiTOsIS ## >>

It fires a fresh beam, at a point just... in open space in front of it. A writhing mass of energy collets and drops to the ground, slowly forming intself into a humanoid shape, like a creature made entirely of oil; it slowly sits up and rises to its feet, before sprouting wings and rising upwards.

"Ahh..." Seriss muses. "Charybdis. This will be interesting."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    When Seriss makes the quip about Rashmi's last friend, Amy shoots Seriss instead. She knows it won't breach the field. (The rocket-bullets do not explode by default. It's not a bolter.)

    She's honestly surprised Seriss is complaining about attacks against her creation. "What? I thought you wanted a fight." Amy asks, and then

KING'S PILLAR

    Amy smiles upon hearing Cygnus Lich's complaint. She's suddenly holding a shoulder launcher and CRACK! fires an APFSDS round -- that is, a big long metal dart or arrow with entirely too much kinetic energy -- at Seriss, aimed center of mass, and gets blasted by a dark beam for her trouble. "Ow!" She ducks behind the edge of the building.

    And peeks over the edge of the roof again as there's portal nonsense going on.

Yeah no. She fires a couple of rocket-bullets at the oil then stands and flings an incendiary grenade at it -- oil burns, she hopes!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura silently listens to the telepathic rundown that Rashmi gives her, and after all of that responds with a simple, << Understood. Thank you. >>.

    Yeah, that's all she has to offer. Minimal time and effort spent. Brutal mahou efficiency. Others can talk to the thing inhabiting their friends' body. She's here to solve the more immediate problem.

    The barrier goes up. That makes things easier. Homura doesn't have to hold back right now. Seriss addresses her, and Homura responds with a squint. Still no formal introduction from the purple Puella. She watches as attacks are launched, and predictably blocked. Of course it would not be that easy. If others can afford to launch such attacks, then that's good for them, but Homura's not here to waste her Soul Gem on spite.

    The oil monster suddenly forms in front of them, and she flips her hair as her silky locks fly to the left. << Going after the target. >> She opens by firing a few test shots at the oil youma, short bursts of semi-automatic fire from her hand gun. Homura empties all 15 bullets of the full magazine into the monster before putting her gun back into the shield.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
King's Pillar is more than Seriss Nyx was expecting to handle right off the bat, and Ginga Kingu's grin is a vicious thing, split across his face, all teeth and fire, and even the power that's run off - even the blistering wounds that become eyes that fire - aren't enough to dampen his spirits.

<<Ah, I've heard of this. This is when it makes a new monster for us to fight, yes?>>

Faust-san goes on the attack directly at Seriss Nyx - Ginga Kingu thrusts a fist to his chest and calls for his sword, drawing the white energy form forth.

"Star Swordo! Diamante!"

The energy sword is useful, for deflecting those beam attacks at him, and for sending them back - he's all focused in, eyes sharp, sending the attacks back, until that oil like monster is present, at which point he transfers his grip to a one-handed one, and launches the sword like a baseball.

"Star Crash!"

A trail of blue-white energy flows from the hilt, like a comet's tail, as it races towards the new monster.

"Do elaborate on how any of this was called for," he calls to Seriss. "You've got us at a disadvantage."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Shoving Seriss' words out of her head ( a critical life experience to avoid death by trying to just punch a Dark General-class monster without being a Cure ) Rashmi surveils the battlefield. Red, goaded by Kingu, is doing the one thing she said was a bad idea, and Madoka's girl?friend announces her intent to stay on target. ...Which her actions seem to get the *others* on task.

Rashmi needs to buy her dinner as thanks.

    << *BONG!* >> << QUADRA BLAZE -- BOOST UP >>

A quarter of foxfire wisps appear around Rashmi, and streak out to each of her allies. There's a brief rush of feeling, a surge of triumph like oil-soaked paper set ablaze; bright, hot, and brief, much like the golden flames insinuating themselves in her allies' magic. << It'll only last for a moment, >> she calls out. << Just in case fire *isn't* the answer! But if it is, *kick its butt!* >>

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Beams? Beams are... well, they're not as hard to dodge than some other possibilities, but Tsukiko is still very glad she didn't try for a direct attack on the coffin -- well, that, and the blast radii on her allies' attacks.

    Kinda hard to flank-counter, though.

Still, dodging around the battlefield is good for building up speed, and Rashmi's brief gift of fire makes for the perfect opportunity to launch a quick incendiary kick at Charybdis after the other attacks at the oily monster finish up...

...followed by the wolfgirl quickly dashing out of range. Homura's a good shot, and that comet-sword seems pretty on-point (no pun intended), but Tsukiko isn't going to stay in melee when there's that much ranged firepower aimed at her target.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"It's necessary because I say it's necessary."

Seriss watches as Amy's kinetic dart impacts her shield, right in front of her face; like a villain from an action movie watching the hero trying to shoot through bullet proof glass. Still, the shield crackles brightly as it absorbs the assault, and falls. She rests Cygnus Lich against her shoulder, while Atropos backs away, now that the latest horror is forming itself, while under fire no less.

And it truly is under fire. Ginga's assault slams into it, along with Homura's spray of bullets. All of them impact and cause oil to splash off of it in all directions, splattering on the ground; right before Amy's incendiary grenade sets the creature entirely alight. It howls, flailing its arms in the air as it burns; but if it's any indication of what is to come, Seriss' smile doesn't waver. Not even a little bit, even when Tsukiko's firey kick impacts it and kicks a significant chunk of oily monster out into a big splatter across the roadway.

Armor plates materialize in the air around Charybdis and snap into place, mostly covering its back and wings. it opens its mouth, wide, impossibly wide, to scream -- but air isn't coming out. As it shrieks, a sound growing in intensity, air is rushing in. Then the conflagration burning it goes out.

Then it starts to spin.

it whirls around faster and faster, wings up and curled around itself like a shield as it becomes a blur, spinning in place as the wind rushing in towards it intensifies. Already dust and detritis on the ground is getting picked up and carried inwards, starting to form into a barely visible disk around it as it is pulled inwards; there's definitely a pull that all of the heroes can feel, though Seriss herself seems to be unaffected and is just standing there, placidly.

The first window breaks, and then another, as broken glass gets added to everything being sucked inwards. The squeal of tires is heard, as a nearby vehicle rocks and shifts, skipping across the ground while lamposts bow towards the monster as it continues to intensify.

"What will you do?" Seriss inquires, calmly, as what reamains of her sushi is picked up and sucked away. "Don't tell me you've faced anything like this before. Oh, and Cygnus; restore my shield."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. SHIELD DEPLOYED. ALERT. WARNING. >> Cygnus Lich's voice chimes in. << ANCHOR MANA DRAIN SIGNIFICANT. >>

"Thank you, Cygnus. Noted."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura Akemi doesn't clarify her relationship status with Madoka, because nobody asked, but historians will insist that they were Very Close Friends and also They Were Roomates.

    As the fire enhancement from the Page Mage courses through her form, Homura casts a glance in the Devicer's direction. Only a moment, she says? Well...

    Homura's shield clicks and turns, and to those who look closely she seems to flicker in place for a moment. It's a little hard to see that though, because at the same time there's suddenly a swarm of 12 rocket propelled grenades that are currently on fire, flying towards Charybdis and it's mega Kirby mouth.

    The wind picks up, and Homura lowers her stance and braces her legs against the rooftop, holding up her shield to protect her from the stray debris that flies past her and at her.

    Still no quips back, just an angry glare and gritted teeth as she strategizes. Spying the vehicle skipping along the ground, she considers its gasoline tank and--

    Suddenly she's gone. Or rather, she's hiding behind a wall. Also, there's C4 on the vehicle now, and Homura waits for it to get chomped by the monster before she detonates.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (The hell they will! Any future made by these boys and girls is gonna be hella gay!)

    "[Atomos?]" Amy wonders, as the monster sucks in air.

Don't tell me you've faced anything like this before.

    "Uhh, yeah? In multiple Final Fantasy games? Molly would've known that."

    But... it isn't, exactly, the monster that sucks you up and removes you from battle. It's doing weird physics things and evoking the impression of a black hole as it forms an accretion disc around itself.

    There are, of course, a number of ways to depower a black hole, but Amy can't do most of them. However...

    The Puella Magi hefts her launcher and fires rockets from it. Aimed right at Charybdis, until Rashmi's fire runs out.

    She sees Homura conjure a dozen launched RPGs at once, "You can do that too, huh? I wonder if any other Puella Magi have such similar powers..."

    ...After the fire runs out, even if those shots weren't sucked off-traget, her successive shots are as she aims them off-target deliberately, some getting caught up in the accretion disc and most getting deflected around Charybdis to blow up scenery in the barrier.

    And then without warning, when she thinks she has a good enough feel for the trajectory, Amy suddenly switches from explosive rockets to more long metal armor-piercing darts each with a rocket thruster at the base, fired from her launcher at high speed and whipping round Charybdis to hurl into Seriss's shield even faster than Amy was shooting them, stealing energy from Seriss's own monster to hit her with even more kinetic energy.

    Amy is smirking like she's exceedingly pleased with herself for thinking of this.Also, the Kyubey that was watching all this is absolutely not able to hold onto the ground for long, is yanked out from behind the corner of the building he was hiding behind, and gets pulled into the disc, circling with the dust and debris expressionlessly. :3

Sugata Shindo has posed:
The monster lives up to its name - all the attacks they've launched hurt it, leave it burning, at least until it powers up and begins to devour as endlessly as the creature its named for would.

"Rashmi would disagree with me," Sugata calls to Seriss Nyx, "But the worst thing about you would have to be that you're boring."

It is definitely not the worst thing about her.

Charybdis is doing its best impression of a black hole, and Ginga Kingu has zero interest in being a part of that - his sword however, can be resummoned, and with a flex of will, it vanishes into the ether, only to be resummoned from its sheath - that is to say, his chest.

This time, the white energy is alight with flame, as Rashmi's boost goes into effect. The creature has proven it can handle flame, but Sugata can only launch King's Pillar so many times - so rather than sacrifice it now, he takes the sword, and once again, launches it.

Only, this time, flaming, and with a passenger, in the form of a pitch black robotic form encased in a transparent blue-white bubble.

"Star Crash!"

The Miniaturized Cybody as opinions about this, and makes them known, with a grim, dark voice that resounds through their telepathy, carrying with it a sense of weight and dread, of something lurking in wait to devour them whole.

<<I will devour this wretched hovel for the indignity you visit upon me.>>

Inevitably sword and Cybody alike will surely be devoured by Charybdis - exactly as Sugata planned.

<<Just tell us what you sense inside that thing.>>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
For a moment, Rashmi just *stares* at Charybdis, flying backward against the tug of its inhalation as it gathers up dust and pebbles into itself... but notices the pull grow stronger, and stronger yet... And her eyes fly open in recognition, when Nicomachea projects a graph of its increasing pull on her eye.

<< GRAVITY! >> she calls out, flash-stepping to a building, much like Homura does. << It's not breathing in, it's *creating a gravity well, Tsukiko get back! I... um... Kingu what's the cycle time on King's Pillar? Because we need something big and powerful enough to disrupt the mass it's collecting, but actual mass would probably get disrupted before it made contact... >>

And it's audible, the way her brain is working as she's in the middle of talking. An idea begins to bloom in her head, and she glances over her shoulder at Nicomachea.

<< ...You think it'll work? >> she says solely to the book, whi answers with a chime.

    << *BONG!* >> << IT IS NO LESS SOUND A THEORY THAN MANY THAT HAVE WORKED/, MASTER. CONTAINMENT IS A DEFENSE AGAINST WHAT IS INSIDE, GOING OUT. >>

Rashmi nods, and draws in a deep breath. << Forget the drain; we need the maximum amount we can possibly throw, >> she answers, taking the Device in her hands, and slotting a module into its place on the cover.

    << *BONG!* >> << SAFETY LOCKS DISENGAGED. >>

<< Okay... let's do it. >>

Bracing herself against the corner of the building, she pops her head out to get a look at the target... and almost immediately has to supplement her backward flying with strain on her arms, to keep herself from injury. Even still, a magical seal spreads out beneath her.

<< *BONG!* >> << BURST INDEX: SOLAR BLADE -- GLACE SHIFT >>

A full dozen Barrets materialize in a vertical circle, elongating into bright, golden longswords... which are then instantly *covered* in jagged, golden ice. In defiance of physics, all twelve rotate on the spot in a frankly mesmerizing pattern, orient themselves at precisely calibrated locations on the creature, then launch, assisted by the gravity well and given plenty of maneuvering ability to stay on target, as Rashmi woozes back against the wall, dizzy from the mana drain.

The swords, themselves, are configured as shield-breakers, built primarily to disrupt defensive energies they come into contact with. The modification template laid over it, has each sword programmed to shatter into a vicious spray of ice shards once they pierce the defense they target, searingly-cold shrapnel that then clings and hampers movement.

But the Burst Index laid atop all of that means that there is a very specific kinetic payload appended to the spell; when the swords shatter, not only will they be throwing gluey ice, but they also burst in the *physical* sense, kicking like a speeding truck at point-blank range.

The *hope* is that after car and -- DID HE JUST THROW SAMEKH AT IT?! -- have had their effect, Rashmi's attack will tear apart the creature's ability to *contain* the effect... likely resulting in explosive decompression.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Tsukiko isn't quite sure what Charybdis is trying to do, but she's pretty confident that trying to melee past it -- even at her top non-boosted speed -- would be a bad idea. Still, trying to maintain speed is usually a good option for the wolfgirl, so she starts running in the opposite direction of the vacuum effect, mostly to keep her legs moving.

The sudden sight of Homura ducked behind a wall, especially with a worried hunch about what the youma might be doing, reminds Tsukiko that explosions are kiiinda hard to dodge, so she veers over towards a nearby wall, ready to dive behind it in case of explosion.

And while she didn't see the bomb planted on the car, she would very much agree that causing Charybdis to explode on their terms would probably be better than letting it explode on its terms.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Explosive attacks go off around and 'in' Charybdis; the shockwaves disrupt the growing accretion disk, and the creature's spinning slows, giving respite from the intense inward pull. Seriss' lips turn downwards at the corners as she watches what is happening, but what she was about to say is forstalled by Amy's assault slingshotting around the gravity monster, crashing hard into her shield. The first two rounds are absorbed, making her shield glow with the impacts. The third crashes through it, and the fourth ricochets off her shoulder, nearly taking the entire armor plate with it, while the rest of Amy's projectiles get thrown just slightly off couse by Charybdis' dip in strength.

Still, it's enough.

Seriss' eyes narrow, and she glares back and forth between Amy and Sugata. "Cygnus, restore my shield."

<< NEUTRON WALL DEPLOYED >>

"Insolence," she continues, "Will get you noticed. Boring, you say? Well we can't have that. Cygnus, charge Buster Barrage, Dark Shift, one per target. Lock targets." She watches as little cross-hairs next to each of her foes pop up, indicating the target locks.

<< WARNING: MANA USAGE HIGH. MANA RESERVES BELOW FORTY PERCENT. >>

"Noted. Fire and recharge attack." As she gives the command to fire, a small collection of large, unstable orbs of dark energy form in an orbit around her and then fire, rocketing after each of the Mahou fighting her and Charybdis; all of them set to home in and explode with considerable force.

Charybdis, meanwhile, is slowed by Rashmi's ice to the point that it becomes non-blurry enough to make out its form. And, it is bulging grotequely; but just when it seems like it is about to burst it... flexes, somehow, and shatters the ice holding it back.

The spinning and howling returns with a vengeance. The pull increases; chunks of the ground start getting ripped up to form a growing crater underneath of it, while Homura's explosive-laden cars are pulled in one by one, exploding as they go. All the remaining glass inside the barrer gives way, the air filling with crystal shards that join the growing disk, making it shine and sparkle blindingly to the yes.

<< ALERT. WARNING. ALERT >> Cygnus Lich interjects with growing insistance. << MANA DRAIN INTESNIFYING. RESERVES APPROACHING CRITICAL DEPLETION >>

"Noted," replies Seriss, watching her creation work with satisfaction writ clear on her face. "That was a beautiful attempt, children. You almost had it. But you didn't. How very unfortunate."

Seriss turns her gaze towards Tsukiko, and she raises an eyebrow. "Cygnu, make a note of this one. Her abilities are not being particularly well tested by the current foe. ...We shall have to come up with something more appropriate next time we see her."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    (Homura Akemi is in fact, like many mahou, hella gay and it's not ambiguous. To be clear.)

    As she presses against the wall she's hiding behind, peeking around the corner, her hair whips around her shoulder. She watches as the exploding cars go off, and the monster starts to destabilize thanks to hers and others' attacks.

    The monster isn't stopping, and it's getting blindingly bright, and all of a sudden there's a dark blast coming at her.

    She stops time, walks away from the dark barret, and resumes.

    Then immediately stops it again because it turned to follow her. In frozen, time, she sighs and says, "Okay, we're playing this game now."

    Those in the normal flow of time will notice Homura fading in and out, glitching out of existence and appearing elsewhere, all the meanwhile guiding Seriss's attack towards the gravitational well, until hopefully it gets close enough that it can no longer escape.

    ... and in case that wasn't enough, Homura throws an ammo crate of grenades into the singularity, before completely vanishing.

    Well, almost. She's hiding inside the building now. If she needs to, she'll stop time and pull everyone out.

    ... but only if she needs to.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When her brain stops spinning, Rashmi casts an eye on the analysis performed by her Device, and nods. Not a *decisive* result, but--OH GOD A SERISS BLAST.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD >>

Large globes of energy *usually* being an explosive configuration, Rashmi takes a moment to tune her shield for kickback... then deactivated her flight spell on mark a moment before impact, removing all ability to brace herself against the defense. While this has the drawback of knocking her *hard* away from the blast, and into a concrete wall across the street... it has the *benefit* of knocking her away from the worst of the blast.

...Better bruised kidneys than a dark-scorched everything...? Maybe...?

But she's not out yet. None of them are.

<< Okay you guys, here's the plan. I'm about to give you all another boost, *hit it with as much as you possibly can* while you have it. Quantity *is* quality. Ready? >>

    << *BONG!* >> << QUADRA GLACE -- BOOST UP >>

While the *fire* boost carried with it blazing triumph, the emotional support that comes with *this* one is practically Homura-flavored; quiet patience. The perfect shot will come, and it will bring with it the deadly chill of deepest Hokkaido winter.

...THen she casts a glance at Tsukiko, and grins to herself, deciding to give the little mahouwolf a little extra kick.

    << *BONG!* >> << ACCEL -- BOOST UP >>

<< GO! >>

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
The brief lull in Charybdis's vortex gives Tsukiko time to get close to her normal top speed, allowing her to turn to face the youma (and its controllers) once more. Speed that is very useful for playing 'keep away' with the incoming dark orbs, even if they're presistent enough to keep hounding her.

Rashmi's frost boost and 'everything you got' tactic gets a nod, and the wolfgirl starts cornering more sharply, knowing that even with her speed, there's likely only going to be a brief window of opportunity to launch a Silver Wolf Tackle before Charybdis gets utterly bombarded with Large Attacks, so she'd better be ready when it's time to--

    GO!

Tsukiko launch-steps into a Silver Wolf Tackle, the Accel connecting right as she turns into a silvery blur of light. The frost turns into opposing helixes trying to keep up in her wake, and she finds herself easily outpacing the homing dark orb as she goes much faster (and further!) than she usually does for a Silver Wolf Tackle!

The wolfgirl finally skids to a halt, several blocks away. << I'm okay! >> she sends on the telepathic comms. << That was just... wow. Not used to going that fast. >>

    A brief pause. << Not quite as winded after that as I usually am, either, >> she adds with a hint of surprise.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy doesn't break the shield in one shot. She keeps trying. She grins when she breaks it, and takes off the shoulderplate.

    (The fifth shot misses, and Amy goes back to firing rockets that explode the barrier's copies of the scenery while she recalibrates.)

    Amy fakes a confident grin when Seriss says she will be noticed. All that and she's only now below forty percent? Damn, Seriss really is trying to conserve mana...

    But now I know who wins in an endurance match, if I can get an advantage like this again... Amy thinks to herself, revelling in sight of a future victory. Not today, but it's an important piece that can be used to stop Nyx once and for all, sometime in the future.

    Of course, first she has to survive Seriss's retaliation. Those dark beams are dangerous... Instead, she gets some kind of dark orb. Amy rocket-jumps away from one just before it slams into the rooftop and explodes. Now she knows they explode, which helps her to time future dodges, or blow them up.

    Charybdis's effect on gravity is only a slight issue as she keeps her distance, and she can use her own powers to overcome the ways it throws her off. Things are. Looking up.

    She can't help letting out a small, happy laugh as she flies through the air -- to Seriss, it no doubt sounds like she's being cackled at.

    Also Kyubey gets asploded by Homura's shenanigans.

    She knows he'll be back, of course.


    Right before the gravity increases and Amy finds herself struggling. She's not in immediate danger of getting sucked in -- a pillar of flame transforms her to flight armor and she can still beat the gravity with thrust, but using the jets on her armor is burning through soul gem. She'll outlast Seriss, she's sure, but still, she'd rather not keep doing that.

    But that's not her only problem as glass rains sideways on her, cuts appearing across her upper arms and her belly where her costume doesn't protect against that, before she reorients herself to fly like superman (but with arms crossed protectively in front of her) rather than upright, and then a wash of pink sparkles repairs her outfit and she's regenerated the wounds enough to stop the bleeding.

    Ugh. Getting caught out cost her some soul gem. Not a lot, but that could've been firing some artillery attacks or regenerating a bigger wound.

    As everything's pulled in, Amy's rocket she rode in on also scrapes along the top of the building and starts tumbling towards Charybdis, then ignites and slingshots around to where Amy can grab on, and it pulls her away from Charybdis...

    As Amy's trying to aim more slingshot attacks at Seriss, Rashmi calls for an attack on Charybdis, and Amy internally sighs. Right. Not today, but they will get her.

    << You got it. Give me ten or fifteen seconds. >> Amy flies against gravity, eventually getting behind another building. Oh, she thought about firing another Communal Blazer, and then realized that was a dumb waste when she could use the monster against itself.

    A few seconds later, the rocket, without Amy, speeds in towards Charybdis, and she warns << Oh right, get back! >> as it only goes faster from the gravity, even as it spins and wobbles and sprays out a mist of leaking fuel to the sides from the tanks that are now stuck to it.

    Also the bright red nosecone has been replaced by an inverted-bowl tip, reminiscent of a giant wadcutter slug, or an IED. Seriss might notice but has little time to put together the meaning of what is about to happen.

    Homura absolutely knows what is about to happen and has all the time in the world to react to it.

    The cloud of leaking fuel expands as the whole mess falls inward. Several feet across by impact, and then

                                   B O O M                                    

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Some hypothetical ultra-slo-mo cam could catch the order of events, as the about-to-impact explosive device goes off:

    As Amy did to the dragon but smaller this time, that inverted bowl is violently reshaped into a large bullet-shaped penetrator going several times the speed of sound faster than it was already going, which honestly makes the speed it was falling in at a rounding error as far as its effects on Charybdis are concerned.

    That explosion also touches off the fuel-air bomb consisting of the big cloud of aerosolized fuel, which makes for a very big boom that Amy probably should have thought about the results of; maybe Homura gave everyone else earplugs at least.

    Amy, leaning out from behind a building looking down an alley at her handiwork, grins as the explosion is reflected in her helmet visor.

    Explosions can be very satisfying.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"It's only insolent if the person we're speaking to deserves our respect to begin with," Ginga Kingu is unrepentant. He is also pulling that sword from his chest once more - the sword that Charybdis devoured - even as Samekh appears once more at his side, fists clenched and scowling monstrously, despite the fact that his faceplate isn't capable of making expressions.

<<You obtained nothing from that which couldn't have been learned by that wretched computer!>>

Sorry, Nicomachea, you're catching strays.

"This is true," Ginga Kingu acknowledges. "But you're getting that I don't like you."

And in the end, that's really all it comes down to. Seriss Nyx's device is helpfully calling out that her power is decreasing, and Rashmi has called for the strongest quantity of power that they can manage -

And that coffin still exists, Seriss Nyx is still an irritant, and the others can handle the monster.

"King's Pillar."

Once again, the heavens open and the death of all things pours out - still centered more on Seriss Nyx and her coffin, but certainly with overlap to strike Charybdis - once Tsukkiko is safe, of course.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Charybdis intensifies.

The pull of the Singularity Youma grows stronger and stronger still; the fronts of buildigns, in their entirity, get stripped away and added to the swirling mass around the monster, all getting sucked into the shrieking, spinning void of annihilation. The glass and debries swirling around it speeds up to the point that it ignites, glowing brightly in a wheel of destruction and growing wide enough that it starts cutting a channel through what remains of the buildings around it, causing even more devestation.

but the ice attacks aren't over. Rashmi has everyone boosted; especially Tsukiko. As the explosives and the ice get poured into Charybdis, it falters, and energy crackles all over it. Struggling, it tries to regain speed, to maintain the growth of the gravity effect, but its run into the problem so many other entitites experience. Grow or die. Ikiko's charge surrounds it with ice that falls inwards, pelting it from all directions and slowing it down bit by bit.

After the shock of Amy's fuel air bomb devestates the immediate surroundings and disrupts its spinning even further, it simply can't maintain the effect and it goes from an inescapably ravenous void to an explosion, releasing its accretion disk and all its consumed matter in a violent detonation. The remains of the nearest buildigns are bowed outwards by the last, and even Seriss' shield is pushed to its limit.

A limit that is further tested by a King's Pillar coming down from orbit. Once again, she and Atropos are hidden by the intense light, and for a moment, one might actually wonder if one or both of them have just been outright destroyed.

<< BREAKWALL DEPLOYED >>

The voice of Cygnus Lich, so similar to Starcrash, heard from within the blast.

<< ## TARTARus JUsTIcE ## >>

As the King's Pillar is fading a torrent of dark beams come flying out of the re-appearing Atropos, targetting all of the Mahou present, seemingly at random; most of it goes towards Sugata, but everyone gets their share.

<< MANA RESERVES: CRITICAL DEPLETION >>

"Noted," Seriss replies to Cygnus' assessment, while the aftershocks of all the resent attacks and the detonation of Charybdis are still echoing. "Activate Phoenix Funeral Protocl."

Scattered around the battlefield, seemingly at random, little motes of light flare to life, and then rush in towards Seriss; they all converge on her, making her glow brightly for a moment as they merge with her and fade.

<< MANA RESERVES RESTORED TO EIGHTY PERCENT >>

"That will do. Deploy Neutron Wall." As the energy globe snaps into place around her, she looks bck over her shoulder at Atropos, who is still firing. "That's enough of that. No need to be rude."

As Atropos ceases firing, Seriss turns her gaze back to the heroes, and flashes a grin. "You did well against Charybdis. I will definitely be pouring over this combat data later."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura's grenades turned into frost grenades at the last minute, and the barrage seems to have destroyed the youma, but Seriss is naturally still in play.

    Even worse, it seems like she got a second health bar. How many times can she do that?

    There's also the fact that the youma is exploding and Homura does not want to be around for that. She can just timestop away, but everyone else might need little help.

    To those who can't get away in time, who trip on something, or seem to have some kind of trouble fleeing the explosion, there might be times when the world seems to stand completely still for you. Was that a hand on your back? Clearly not, because when you look behind you no one's there, and do you really have a lot of time to waste looking? Either way, it's a weird few moments.

    After the dust settles, Homura stands on a distant ruined building overlooking the destruction. Yikes. "Well... I'm glad Madoka wasn't here."

    Lydian's voice calls out from within her shield. "Is it safe to come out now?"

    Homura's purple eyes go up to Seriss, who looks like she's ready to go another round. "No."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
A torrent of beams comes, retaliation visited once more - Sugata took the attack head on previously, all the better to ensure his choices could have the outcomes he wanted, but now there's no need for that - now he has no intention of giving Seriss Nyx the satisfaction. Her mana has dropped to critical levels -

"King's Counter!"

A square wall of light appears in front of Ginga Kingu and anyone close to him. Normally, it would counter whatever struck it - sending it flying back in retaliation. Credit to Seriss Nyx - her attack is powerful enough that instead, the wall breaks: dispelling the force she used, but leaving Ginga Kingu unable to retaliate. He grimaces, blowing a strand of hair out of his face, and makes for his Star Sword, ready to carry on the fight -

"Are you pretending to be a scientist about all of this? Is that how you pretend your efforts have merit?"

Disbelief.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And once again, the Ginga Kingu prompts a *serious* retaliation... but it's good to know that Seriss *can* be depleted, and that information is valuable enough to file away as Rashmi darts around the wall she'd cratered into, seeking refuge in infrastructure.

Now how could she set up a situation that allows Kristallritter, Ginga Kingu, Ginga Bishonen, Rocket Red... Hm. Maybe Nanoha, if she has time... A roster to fill out later, but *definitely* worth figuring out the most savage beat-down imaginable.

<< It's all a stupid game to her and I hate her, >> Rashmi growls over the comms net. << One of these days I'm gonna get as many purifiers as I can find and then ask Wako to keep her in a hamster ball while they all go to work. >>

...Okay so this is *definitely* personal for her... And she *bristles* as the Daimon in question *congratulates* them.

"DUSK ZONE! SUMMER HOME!" is all she replies, too annoyed to put together a coherent retort.

<< ...Everyone okay? >>

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
As she had figured, dodging an explosion is a bit hard for a wolfgirl to do; fortunately, the distance-squared law is now more in her favor, thanks to the added distance from the Accel-enhanced Silver Wolf Tackle, and while the shockwave is strong, at this range it's mostly wind.

The retalitory beams fired by Atropos are more focused, and thus not particularly weakened by range, but between the significantly increased distance and the speed boost helping to make up for leg exhaustion, Tsukiko is able to scramble out of the way of them with some effort.

Still, her top speed is definitely down, and even at a tactical jog it'll take some time to truly get back into the fight, so Tsukiko strides forward cautiously, ready to dive for cover while still heading back towards her friends and allies. Because no matter if the fight is over or not, it's better to not be scattered all over the place when there's been a threat in the area.

<< Well enough, >> the wolfgirl replies over the comms net. << Nothing that a good meal and a long nap can't fix. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The explosion probably even made ice afterwards, but it's hard to tell in the chaos. And then something weird happens to Charybdis, and

    Amy feels like someone shoved her backwards, just in time to notice the building about to fall on her and rocketjump out of the way!

    She stares in disbelief as Seriss refills her MP bar.

    ...How many times can she do that? Once, maybe twice, Amy's sure with preparation and the right situation they can still' take her down, but... << What even was that? And yeah, I'm okay. I mean. Aside from things generally kinda sucking lately. >>

    To Kingu, she notes, << Yeah, that's kind of her thing. Necromancer monster-creator scientist. ...I think, with Dark Energy, it doesn't take much to feel any use of it is justified... you just... want to use it and show off how clever you are, you know? >> She remembers thinking about how she could totally heal Mamoru with dark energy, theoretically, while they were on the ship (more like replace his medical problems with exciting, new medical problems) and only didn't try because she could see a chance that the side-effects would make Mamoru and Usagi-chan really mad at her, whereas looking back now it is clearly an absolutely terrible idea for too many reasons to enumerate, several of which she was even aware of when she thought it was almost a good idea.

    << That stuff is nuts. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss glances over her shoulder at Atropos as the weird coffin screeches at her.

"Unnecessary. We got what we came for. Retreat for now."

The monolith glows purple, getting fuzzy around the edges until it abruptly vanishes. Seriss remains standing where she is, watching the team of heroes recover at the destruction of Charybdis, and nods her head approvingly.

"Like I said," she explains to them, "I got what I came for; there is really no need for me to fight you any further. At least, not today." She tilts her head, making the vertebrae in her neck crack audibly.

"Cygnus, it is time to depart."

Now it is Seriss' turn to glow purple, and she starts walking towards the heroes as she does; and then, just like Atropos, she vanishes, leaving nothing but a purle after-image where she had been standing.

And then, within the confines of the barrier, it is silent. The enemies have been destroyed or withdrawn; and aside from the sounds of crumbling rubble, it is silent and very still, compared for a few moments previous.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Well, Seriss is gone, and the barrier means that there wont be any lasting damage after, so Homura waits for a moment or two for a follow-up surprise attack that never comes. Once she thinks its safe, she looks down at her Soul Gem. It's at... what, 60% dark? 70%? Whatever. She could absolutely use another Grief Seed.

    After clean her own soul, she looks around at the rest of the ruined landscape and responds. << I'm fine. >>

    Lydian pops out of her shield and says, "Okay, but she's gone for real now, right?"

    Homura frowns, gives up on trying to keep the minidoka under control, and just starts fingerpetting her hair.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
<<She definitely has the attitude of someone desperate to prove how clever she is,>> Ginga Kingu grimaces, but she's gone, and he's not the sort of man to strike at someone's back as they retreat. Instead, with the enemy gone, he faces his allies, glancing around at the destroyed city block within the barrier. <<I suppose that's one way for an enemy to console themselves. Say it was all according to plan.>>

Maybe it was according to her plan, as she claims. Maybe it wasn't. Truthfully, it doesn't matter. What matters is that she's gone, and when the barrier drops there may still be dozens of people collapsed and drained by her efforts.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The great thing about flight is, one doesn't have to be seen limping. Drifting out from her damaged sanctuary, Rashmi gives the others a shaky smile. << Thanks a lot, everyone... That was *really* good work, and it's the most I've seen her hurt yet. That... actually really means a lot to me, and I hope to see you guys next time. >>

As Lydian pops out of Homura's shield, Rashmi's smile turns bright. "Oh *hi,* Lydian! Yeah she's gone for real... Oh!" At that, she turns to Homura, and bows. "By the way, it's good to finally meet you properly. I'm Rashmi."

*Hopefully* the introduction gets returns, but, if not? It's still good to see Madoka's girlfriend, and learn more about how she fights. One can't best support what one doesn't know, after all!

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Tsukiko finally catches up with the others, having sped up her pace once Seriss and entourage were gone. "Is she usually like this?" the wolfgirl asks Rashmi, nodding towards where Seriss had been. "Especially that bit about 'more appropriate testing'...?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura watches as Rashmi turns her attention to her. She barely moves or even flinches as her hair blows lightly in the wind. Well, 'barely moves' aside from the fingerpetting.

    "All that time in Crystal Tokyo and we didn't really get a chance to talk, did we?"

    Hands clasp behind her back, as she shifts weight to one leg and tilts her head to the side. "Homura Akemi. Madoka-chan speaks kindly of you, Rashmi Terios." She runs a hand through her bangs to keep them out of her face. "Of course, that's her nature."

    She remains mysterious about how she fights, but she's polite at least.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's own soul gem is about a quarter dark. It's swiftly cleansed with one of the grief seed Madoka gave her.

    As Rashmi flies out, Amy walks out and waves up to her. <<Uh, I blew up my rocket, so can I ride home with you?>> And then she remembers Sugata will probably just, like, call a limo. << Or you. >>

    "Yeah. She's always like this." Amy agrees.

    "Oh, hi Lydian! You were here?"