1903/A Mollycious Kidnapping

A Mollycious Kidnapping
Date of Scene:	29 August 2024
Location:	Port Warehouses
Synopsis:	Molly is kidnapped by an Aloisia making seemingly-desperate moves. A group comes to stop her, and information is revealed.
Cast of Characters:	Aloisia Stauss, Molly Skyline, Rashmi Terios, Amanda Faust, Hinote Kagari, Koji Silvia, Chrono Harlaown

---

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
--- Several hours ago ---

Aloisia had been out hunting with her Youma to gather those who had magical talent, but not shown much likelihood of awakening to their powers. Or at the very least hadn't encountered their magical macguffin so far as she could tell, yet. Opting to go out of her way to gather people from further away from the center of Tokyo, she'd hoped that she wouldn't encounter anyone she knew, so she could follow Otto's orders without as directly dealing with the people she knew he /truly/ meant.

Each kidnapping had been quick and quiet, and she was out for her last one, having exhausted some of the further out areas, she had gone a bit closer to the center of town. Closer than she really wanted to be.

...An area she really didn't want to be close to, in fact, knowing that Skyline's parents lived nearby. And as if on cue, the REASON she didn't want to be there showed up. And, for some reason, seemingly without her device, no less.

Ugh.
The Sankt Kaisar must truly be punishing her for what she's done.

"...I'm sorry, Skyline."

Is what Molly hears, before she finds herself bound in chains and Aloisia's fist planted into her lower chest area.

Quick. Efficient.

And when Molly didn't arrive back in time... triggering an SoS from Skycrash.

---Current time, underground, warehouse district.---

Having recovered Skyline's device, faint traces of Molly's magic had lead deep into the warehouse district, where they stood outside of a warehouse that housed various construction materials in its massive building. Those with Devices would find themselves subject to the ping of a heavily-masked spell, one that might read akin to magical 'static' rather than an actual spell, but still strange enough to be of note to the more skilled mages. Those WITHOUT devices still likely feel that magical tingle of potential danger, though nothing seems to be following up that tingle.

<INTRUDERS DETECTED.>
"...Faster than expected. Tch, I knew taking Skyline would complicate things."
<DETECTION WAS INEVITABLE ANYWAY>
"I know, I know. I just hoped I'd have more time before... well."
<IT WILL BE OKAY, PRINCESS.>
"...Thanks, Unbezwingbare Schwester."

Aloisia turns in her chair to face the door, giving a soft sigh as she puts a countdown up in the air.

...The amount of time she expected before those on the side of light would arrive. "Let them in."

Outside, a section of the ground opens with a hiss of steam, retracting and allowing for easy entry into a small hidden section under the warehouse.

There's a few rooms, most of them relatively nondescript and likely not in use yet, each room seemingly having space for up to about 6 people to sit, with a chair and various monitoring devices hanging from the ceiling.

Beyond the obvious fact that there are cameras following their movements through the small facility, nothing truly stops them from moving to the final room.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Where they find themselves in a relatively large room, wide and with plenty of space for various different machines which are humming away, giving off the occasional thrum of energy -- no longer masked by the protections in place to reduce likelihood of the location being detected until Aloisia was ready.

Several more of those chairs are in the room, reclined with several people chained to them, each one having a mostly featureless Youma standing next to them, almost as if one took a mannequin and made it flesh. It was easy to tell which people had been in the facility the longest, as the youma were in various degrees of becoming copies of their assigned person. The exception to this is Molly Skyline.

Standing next to her was what looked less like a youma, and more like a humanoid robot with spikes coming out of it, several chains hanging from several parts of its body and its head more mace-like than humanoid, with spikes sticking out of it in every direction, featureless except for brilliant red eyes that were watching those entering into the room intently.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Well. Molly certainly wasn't expecting that.

The purplenette had been out for a shopping trip, and had come home wearing the first summer dress she'd bought in Japan, a plain white, backless garment with a knee-length skirt. And of course, she's stored the rest of her shopping in Starcrash's extra-dimensional space. Along with her cellphone, naturally. She really hadn't been expecting to be abruptly bushwhacked by the Juggernaut Aloisia, and she's not a particularly impressive specimen in close range combat -- especially when not in Henshin.

As she comes to, she's aware that her arms hurt. Well, they would; they're suspended up over her head. Not enough chairs apparently. She's positioned in the middle of a binding circle, sitting on her knees and held up by a chain slung up over the rafters, and trailing down to the Youma that's currently draining her magic to form itself, all spikey and angry looking as it is. Her ankles and knees are chained to the floor, and another chain is around her neck, also held by the Youma.

Well, makes sense that the active Mahou would be more securely held than the other kidnapees.

Molly blinks, and shakes her head. She glances to the Youma beside her, and recoils with a start; which hurts, because there's an IV for fluids and nutrition stuck into her arm, along with little electrodes stuck on for equipment monitoring her heartbeat and whatnot. Just... how long has she been here?!

Molly sucks in her breath, and strains against the chains, just to test them; well, they are made of metal and she's not Supergirl, so that's not going to work, and the pounding in her head suggests that she got punched relatively recently. So that's a good sign.

"Don't suppose you'd mind helping a girl out?" she asks, looking sideways at the Youma. Which, doesn't move. "Okay, guess not," she grumbles, trying to play it cool at least for her own benefit. "I'll just sit here, trussed up like I'm a sacrifice for a sea monster."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Upon receiving the distress signal from Starcrash, Rashmi homes in on the signal immediately. After a moment of hunting, she spots the glint of 'crystal' in the roadside gutter, and stoops to pick up a familiar earring. "...Starcrash?" Are you okay?

    << ALERT: ASSISTANCE REQUIRED >>
    << ALERT: MOLLY SKILINE COMPROMISED BY OBSIDIAN FORCES >>
    << ALERT: STARCRASH SEPERATED FROM MOLLY SKYLINE. LOCATION PROVIDED >>

    Upon hearing that, Rashmi goes pale, and takes to the skies.
As she streaks toward the location, she watches the video playback provided.

...

...Oh that is *not* good. Immediately, she hunts through her contact list...

    * Chrono
    *Hanzo
    * Pulp Noir
    * Puella Red

A mass-text goes out to all four.

    << Molly got taken by Aloisia, the Belkan Knight that was after Hannah! Starcrash got left behind, but I've got him, and he's still got a trace on her signature. *Google-maps view of the portion of Tokyo* Converge on me when you can, I'll be waiting! >>

As they form up by the warehouse, Rashmi looks worried, determined, and not a little bit angry, but takes the advice that Chrono gives with trust and understanding. "Doesn't matter if they know we're coming, but we're gonna want to take out the cameras on our way. Chrono's hung up on something, so, the element of surprise will be a *great* help. Noir... I wish it'd be more fun tracking and investigating, but I think this is gonna be more sneaky-punchy. Still great for monologues. Thanks for coming everybody, by the way... c'mon.

And she does exactly as described, taking out what cameras she can spot and target first, that the others don't. Stealth is... difficult, when you're a flying green-and-gold bumblebee.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Molly is missing and separated from her device?! Who would do such a thing?!

    Amy, having wondered about everything from 'Obsidian' to 'youma or other random monster' to 'had a Witch's labyrinth entrance move over her at the worst time' is relieved to find, after joining the others, that following Skyline's directions leads not to a Witch, but to.

    A warehouse?

    Amy is just levelling a giant recoilless cannon at the door when it opens. "Alright, ready for breach, BACKBLAST CLeoh okay then. Maybe I should try threatening doors into opening more often."

    She copes with the stress of worrying about Norie and then about Molly, with nervous humor.

    "Do we just... walk into the obvious trap?" If that's what they're doing, she observes, "Alright, I'm counting on you Device-users to scan for traps and warped space and stuff, 'cuz I can only sense Witches and strong dark energy."

    And they walk through. Empty rooms with cameras. Which she shoots at with a gyrojet pistol whenever she spots one before Rashmi. "Okay, I guess they haven't had time to install the traps or monsters in their evil lair yet?"

    Finally, they walk into a room where people are just. Literally chained up. Since they can all see eachother there isn't really a chance to surprise, so Amy quips instead, "Damn. I think this may actually be creepier than doing the whole Gideon Graves thing with keeping them in crystals or coffins. ...Wait are the youma turning into them?! How's that even going to work with the veil, people they know won't-- MOLLY!"

    And that's when there's suddenly the Boom Gun on her shoulder, aimed at the robot, but... she rethinks firing it here. And also has a moment to take in the scene a bit more.

    She looks at Aloisia. "Excuse me, are you sacrificing her to summon a demon? I have so many questions about what magical shit is real. But first, let her go. I can totally do the Iron Man thing with all the little homing missiles shooting specific targets, so maybe if you run now you'll get to keep some of your youma and stolen energy!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is solving the mystery of his math homework. Tracy is tapping away at Hinote's phone, when the text comes in.

Tracy gasps. "Hinote, there's been a KIDNAPPING! It's Skyline-san!". Hinote Kagari blinks. "Another one?" he asks. How many kidnappings can there be in a short period.

My Own Heart, Unlock!

Pulp Noir leaps out the back window of his room of his family's expensive townhome and makes off towards the location to meet.

Pulp Noir stands next to Rashmi and looks up at the location they're in. He removes his pistol from his trenchcoat as he spins it on a finger.

"Take out cameras, got it. I'm quick, don't worry." he tells Rashmi as he starts moving in behind Amy, who's threatened the door open. And starts shooting cameras with powerful jets of water along the way, moving quickly. He's quick, if nothing else.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Normally, the magical boy known as Hanzo is slow to respond to any call, since a lot of them can go out in an evening, and he's often wrapped up in his own street-level youma-stomping.

But the first read of the text...

    'Belkan'

    'after Hannah'

    Some promises and some debts are never to be ignored, and this one especially is never to be ignored. If not for Hannah, Hanzo would not be functional.

Which is why by the time that Rashmi has arrived, Koji is already there, though not many people could tell with how he lands quietly in the rear. The perks of being one of the few masters of Illusion with the sparkle-side of the streets. It makes for complications when fighting some of the stronger and straight-up boomy youma and baddies, but if you want someone to break into a building?

He's one of the best.

While the group is taking out the cameras, his Phantom Field is actually keeping them obscured from the jump, so that Aloisia can see her cameras going down in the rooms one by one, but there's nothing THERE... and worse... magical senses are being just as muddled by him too. Nearly the same kind of scattering field making it clear that 'someones' are there, but not really 'who'.

Amy's idea on how to handle things once they get to the main room kinda blows things out of the water, and as she speaks up, he just lets the Field go, letting the quartet be seen now from across the way, and allowing those hearty declarations to pass through and be heard.

Instead, he says rather quietly, almost too quietly, "If nobody minds... I think I am going to go make our host's life very miserable."

For at least one person that should be a surprise. The person who normally tries to browbeat caution and is the first to point out tactical teamwork... is just GLARING at Aloisia.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
"Sadly, that thing doesn't really have the ability to talk much, Skyline." Aloisia comments absently as she watches Molly wake up. Should she have had her tranquilized too maybe? Kept her asleep? ...Ugh, but that would put her in too much danger of not waking up over long periods of time.

"Don't worry, you shouldn't be hurt... ... More." Aloisia says, her tone vaguely attempting to be reassuring for Molly. At least as one can be when they literally kidnapped someone. Otto hadn't ordered her specifically HOW to tell the 'earthlings' their place, so she figured, well, chained down and being drained is good enough. Definitely.

As the Mahou make their way through the facility, they take out cameras and sensors as they go, knocking out the indirect views that Aloisia had following them through the facility. It's... almost pitifully simple and easy to do, there's really not much stopping them from continuing through the facility to that final room. No real security. The doors aren't even locked, and...

As the Mahou enter -- and then appear out of stealth in the final room -- Aloisia's gaze sweeps those that arrive. Each face she recognizes seems to make her look more conflicted, a bit of sadness creeping into the edges of her otherwise mostly kept neutral face. At least at first, until she forces that little bit emotion away.

"Truly, the Sankt Kaisar must be punishing me." She mutters under her breath as she stands from that chair.

"They wouldn't be able to tell that they're not their family members, because they'd lack the ability to sense that much of anything was wrong. Luckily, that is not the use I am putting them to." Aloisia responds calmly to Amy, as she steps away from that computer, standing nearby Molly and the Youma. "And no, there are no sacrifices being made here. Such things are wasteful." Aloisia says, the pulse of energy thrumming through the air once more. "I do highly recommend not launching explosives willy-nilly in this room, as the youma are not storing the energy."

Aloisia steps forward further. "And you, of all people, know I do not have that choice."

Another sigh. Another quiet curse of her luck under her breath.

"By order of Count Otto Bismark von Karstein-Steiner." The crackle of magic in the room.

Triangular Belkan-style Magical circles appearing all over the walls and floors. "I am to show you your place."

"KNEEL."

If those who entered the room aren't fast enough, chains would shoot out from the magical circles, attempting to bind everyone in the room and drag them to the ground, to force them to their knees, to do exactly the command.

"I had hoped." Aloisia continues, even as those chains continue to attempt to bind everyone. "That it wouldn't be those I knew that showed. But of course... it's people I know... sure, a couple of you are new to me, but..." A soft sigh.

"I'd rather hoped I wouldn't have to carry out my orders properly."

There was a particularly sad look cast towards Rashmi with that comment.

"I should have listened to my own advice, you know."

"You truly never know who is watching."

She glances towards the Youma. "Focus on securing and forcing targets out of henshin, if successful, separate them from anything that looks like a magical device."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly sighs, letting her muscles deflate as she drops her gaze to the floor in front of her. Might as well conserve her sgrength and wait to be rescued. No doubt Starcrash will have alerted Rashmi, so something will be in progress. Just... the only question is, how long will it take for someone to get here?

"Yeah I figured asking the Youma for help was silly," she admits, "But what else am I gonna do? Wait for it to finish draining me and then devour me or something? I've got no idea what you're planning."

Turns out, Molly doesn't have to wait all that long, really. Rashmi works fast.

The purplenette turns her gaze upwards once more, as the four rescuers arrive, and her expression immediately brightens. "Oh hey! Look who arrived. How long was I out? Anyone know? ...Are my Moms worried?" She looks at everyone in turn; ranging from her best friend to someone she's meeting... literally right now. Definitely seeing her at her best, yes indeed.

"Oh! Yeah, no explosions please, I'm not in Henshin and I can't exactly, like, move."

The Youma behind her, however, can move. It tightes its grip on the chains it holds, that connect it to Molly; and a surge of energy crackles along the links, making the captive Mahou gasp, eyes widdening as her mana is being sucked away down the connection. The Youma's red eyes glow, and its spikes gleam as it steps forwards, moving to stand close enough to Molly that its knees are almost touching her back.

On its right shoulder a metal object emerges from its back, flipping up and over, becoming... a shoulder cannon? Almost like in that predator movie, except it has three barrels; it promptly spins up to a blurring speed and as Aloisia's binding spells are trying to sieze hold of the four heroes it unleashes a hail of magical blasts, spraying into the midst of Rashmi, Amy, Koji, and Hinote. All the while, the Youma just glares in complete silence, resting its free hand on Molly's head as it opens fire.

Koji Silvia has posed:
A second impossible thing happens.

Koji runs his hand along his mask, causing the lower-half face covering to vanish and lets himself be seem. And even as the chains come zipping out... he smiles...

    << SPEED BOOST. >>

    << KINETIC SHIELD. >>

He's a sudden blur of movement now, somehow tracking and evading them, including using a series of small hexagonal shields that break when he touches them, causing him to pinball around the room and even off the ceiling to evade the combination of chains and suppressive fire meant to hem the heroes in, before he can land ten feet from Aloisia and her spike-festooned, cannon-bearing Youmabot.

One of the last chains to try to grab him, he just *LEANS* slightly to one side so it passes him by, and then ducks around and under it as it whips back, moving with the grace of a dancer.

"OH good. You just made it easy on me."

The Smile is Still There.

"As a loyal ally of the true heir of House Steiner, you are charged as a traitor and conspirator to the murderer of Lord and Lady Steiner! In the name of Lady Hannah Emilia-Lina Araki-Steiner the 16th, I declare you have no honor, and are unfit to let the blessing of the Sankt Kaiser fall from your lips."

"You get one chance. Drop your Device and let these people go. Or so help me, I will use you to show that cowardly dog you heel to a taste of what he has in store."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi's mind races as Aloisia talks, turning puzzle pieces and using context to show her where they fit, the picture becoming more and more terribly clear with each word. With a thought, she reaches out mentally to her companions.

<< She's telling the truth, that she doesn't want to do this... But she's stuck. She can't see any way out of this that doesn't involve turning her back on everything she knows. >>

She's about to say more, but the chains shoot out--

--and Rashmi actually *tamps down her instincts* and allows herself to be captured. Chains wrapping around her arms, looping over her neck, forcing her to sink to her knees.

And still she stares up, and the anger gives way to a deep, deep sadness.

"Alo-chan," she says, straining against the Bind, "think! The kind of person who'd make you do this... The kind of person who would *countenance this behavior,* is that really someone who'll rule a just and fair world?" Sagging back, she lets out an explosive sigh, then draws in her breath. "...You're gonna get hit, Alo-chan... You're gonna get hit *hard,* and all you're gonna get for what happens today? Yelled at and maybe punished more by an *unjust, unfit worm of a coward* who won't take those hits himself."

Because, hey, you never know who's listening.

<< The moment I get free I'll cover the civilians, >> she messages to her friends. << Help would be awesome but not required. >>

At which point the youma by Molly begins to drain the poor Devicer, and starts to spin up.

...Well, there *is* a better way to keep from getting shot; do as instructed.

So Rashmi goes from kneeling to flat on the floor, tugging at the binding chains in the hopes that the Youma's fire finds them and not her Barrier Jacket.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir leaps into action, he's quick on his feet, if anything and almost seems to slide across the floor, trenchcoat spinning behind him as he evades the rune under him. He flips off the trenchcoat as bullet holes and chains TEAR through it...

And when it falls to the floor..... Pulp Noir isn't there!? Nope. Instead, he's just in his suit, and high in the air in a jump, out of the line of fire, hefting a tommy gun as he starts returning fire down on the youma, not with blasts of water like from his pistols, but an array of powerful light-colored magical blasts like some kind of laser light show.

"Take my Chopper, you chump!" he says as he grips the edge of his fedora.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy quirks an eyebrow at the comment about 1. explosives (as if she can't use kinetic impact/penetration rounds as well) and 2. that the youma aren't storing the energy, as if that matters somehow.

    "You always have a choice." Amy dismisses the weird giant cannon and holds out her hand. "We could take him down together." She offers, as the name is recited.

    I am to show you your place.

    "Ugh, rude." Amy has to be a smartass, and so isn't expecting the sudden chains. At least her costume has knee armor. "Hey! Come on, lady!"

    The first thing that finally actually kind of horrifies Amy is the suggestion that they be separated from their magical devices. "Are you stupid?! You can't separate me from my--" makes it out of her mouth before she shuts up, because she's just realized something else.

    You truly never know who is watching.

    "Oh." Amy gets the insinuation now. She speaks a bit louder. "Otto, you're a dick. Also, you don't have any station here! This is Earth, in the sovereign nation of Japan. If you actually respected the protocols that would demand recognition of the title you claim, so too you must respect that."

    "But that's not really what it's about. You just think you're better than everyone else! I bet you don't actually have any claim to the throne and just say you do because, like, being you should be enough to justify whatever you want."

    Koji challenges Aloisia -- or maybe Otto, if he had the same realization Amy did -- to an official-sounding duel. "See, the thing is that's not gonna work, because Otto's not gonna respect anyone else."

    Amy was content to give talking a chance at first and not reveal all her cards just yet. Or, less charitably, perhaps running her smart mouth takes priority over showing how clever she thinks she is.

    But the youma forces the issue.

    Amy looks... annoyed and conjures a large-barreled pistol. Little missiles shoot out, arc around her, and go for the chain the youma is draining Molly through, airbursting into less-than-pencil-thin lances of heavy plasma aimed to blow little holes in the chain and hopefully weaken it.

    And then the cannon starts firing and she pulls against the chains reflexively, now actually looking afraid again, although more like someone afraid of something really unpleasant than someone afraid of death. "Oh nonononoNONONO!"

    Everyone can see the energy blasts, with no way for Amy to dodge or block, lay into her abdomen, rapid fire blasting away at her bodysuit, and then at her skin, as she grits her teeth.

    Damn. I kind of wish it had hit me with something lethal so I could play dead... I'm gonna have to come up with something else... she thinks to herself.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
"...As I said, you shouldn't be hurt ... more." Aloisia states once more towards Molly. "I..." Pause. No. Don't waste your attention, the girl is secured, she's safe for now, and all of the Youma have strict orders not to drain /too/ much as to put any of their charges in danger. Ideally to treat it more like a slow, trickle drain so they can be taken care of and energy taken from them in the long term -- not that that was much of an option. No, this would have to be abandoned even if she wins here, the location was compromised and the mahou would be looking out for things like this again.

Koji was bouncing around the room, evading chains and suppressing fire. It was impressive, really. A movement style Aloisia made note of as he bounces around. And lands in front of her.

And he states his piece. "The fact that earthlings have been dragged into this affair shows just how out of control this has become." She mutters under her breath, before raising her voice. Coming out ragged, full of barely-contained emotion.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT? YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'VE DONE. WHAT I'VE *HAD TO DO* HASN'T STAINED MY SOUL MORE THAN YOU CAN EVER KNOW?!"

Dark energy rolls off of Aloisia for half a moment, before it is snuffed out. She won't rely on that. She's not /that/ far gone yet. She won't draw upon that thing that will make those burning emotions grow even more out of control.

"You earthlings don't understand. YOU DON'T KNOW what it's like. I'm not like you. I *DON'T* have a choice."

Words spoken as she looks towards the chained down Rashmi, who had let herself be caught.

"I... I really don't have a choice." She says, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. A breath is taken, as those shields are shifted into a defensive stance. But there's an energy to her, a movement, she's all but pacing in place even as she keeps an eye on the group there.

"You know... things... things never made quite sense." Aloisia continues as she paces. "Otto told me. That everything I have... everything I *AM* was because of him. AND THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. Even as daughter to his right-hand man, why would that much money be put into a... a CHILD."

She continues to pace, even as Pulp Noir attacks the Youma.

That was a different focus than her. She decides not to focus on him for now, no, there were bigger targets to focus on. And Aloisia shakes her head, she'd given them too much time to focus, to plan with that talking.

She's being a terrible soldier.

<StreussChuss>

Aloisia doesn't even bother aiming her device like she normally would, the belkan magical circle simply appearing in front of her and spinning in place, unleashing a series of scattered shots of plasma bolts towards Koji and Amy, idividually rather weak, but wide-spread and not necessarily easy to dodge, especially in the relatively limited area of the room.

With one weakness, of course.

...She's actively avoiding those she kidnapped, and Rashmi, who is on the floor.

Meanwhile, Amy's missiles are shot out, arcing around, aiming for the chain the Youma is draining Molly through. And in the moments before the missiles strike...

<RUNDE WAND>

Several magical circles appear along the length of the chain, creating those signature overlaid mixture of magical and physical defense around the length of the chain. Not entirely stopping the attacks, but reducing their immediate impact.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As Rashmi flattens herself away from the fire -- more successfully than not, though a few shots still spang painfully off her Barrier Jacket -- eight golden Barrets resolve into view near the floor around her, but she holds off on firing them after hearing the Device strengthen the bindings holding Amy in place... Until the Belkan begins to raise her voice, and shout out all her anguish and frustrations.

And *that* is when the Barrets strike, two for each chain restricting her arms, and two for each binding Amy to the floor. Ducking her head and scrabbling backward to throw off the last loop, she keeps herself low on the ground, as a seal spreads out from underneath her.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD >>

The room is small, and it gets smaller as a wall of hard golden light stretches out in front of the captives; tuned for minimum reflection and maximum absorption, it will become very, very evident when the victims' life is in peril. Molly stays uncovered, though, and Rashmi is not feeling up to going on the attack just yet. << Watch out, I've fought her before. She'll throw up shields like Hanzo-kun did, and turn you into a pinball all around the room if you're not careful. Also she's *literally* got two Devices, so you need to attack her from as many different sides as you can to overwhelm her defenses. Regular flanking tactics just won't work. >>

Molly Skyline has posed:
The Youma that's holding Molly snaps its gaze onto first Amy, as those missiles come for the chain; and as Aloisia's magic protects it, the monster does likewise with its free arm, absorbing what damage comes through the shields wih its armor plating. It growls, a seething, non-biological sound, all while Pulp Noir's machinegun fire rattles off its armor plating, scoring it but not penetrating. Its own cannon fire goes over Rashmi's head as she lays down, even weakening some of the chains holding her before she breaks free on her own.

"Aloisia, stop," pleads Molly. "Stop this. ...I... If you let all the other girls go, I'll ask my friends to leave and you can drain all my mana if you want. I won't struggle. You can go back to... whoever Otto is and be successful, if you just let *everyone els* go."

As she pleads, the Youma has other ideas; rather than letting up, it tugs hard on the chains. The bonds holding Molly's knees to the floor unclasp as the Youma hauls her to her feet (her ankles are still chained to the floor), pulling her up to stand in front of it, directly in the line of Hinote's machinegun fire. It roars, and a shock of energy flashes down the chain links, making Molly's muscles tense as she cries out.

The Youma's chaingun slows and stops for a second, hissing as it releases a cloud of steam; but then it locks onto Hinote and spins up to speed again. A thin red beam illuminates from the center of it, lighting up a little dot on his chest before it opens fire once more, the coming hail of magic bursts bigger and... more... red looking. Meaner somehow.

The Youma reaches down with its free hand, holding Molly's chin; there's a bright flash of mana being siphoned away again into a closed fist as it relases her. A second cannon emerges from its wrist, and it points this at Amy, letting fly a seperate volley of energy blasts; this, that it keeps on target for a few moments, before shifting to chase Rashmi's retreat, while the shouldercannon goes after Koji.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji Silvia, a.k.a. Hanzo, stands there as the barrage comes in, all but taking it in the teeth.

     << Thanks Rashmi. I'm going do my best to keep her focus on me. Maybe she'll give us what we need to help Hannah, and... >>

It's actually a moment before he adds...

     <<And her. Hannah would be angry if she missed the chance to scout. >>

But even as he does, small hexagonal shields appear, weak but angles so that instead of just soaking the damage, they break and send the bolts off in safe directions... but not all of them.

    His upper right arm...

    His left hip...

    Two on the left calf...

    A final one goes right by his right cheek, leaving a combination burn and cut in it's wake...

But he seems to be just willing to show his refinement in economy of power in reply to her half-hearted-seeming assault.

As the strike-points on his Barrier Jacket sizzle and smoke in places from the plasma-fire, and he swipes at the beginnings of a fire on his leg, he replies, "That's your excuse?"

Not even yelling, he's in a calm speaking voice, "Because dear Uncle Otto told you so?"

Running his finger along the burn-cut on his cheek, some of the blackening comes off on his finger as he looks at it for a moment, and then swipes it away with his thumb.

"You had your chance."

Now his hand comes up, and a Midchildian Circle appears in front of it, and then another around it, and a third around it, the circles beginning to rotate in small and odd spurts as he points his hand towards Aloisia, "Otto. I hope you're watching this... this was the gift Hannah gave me. And as for you... you need to shut up and grow up. You're the same tired old thing Obsidian and their lackeys keeps throwing at us. They think they can kill all their problems with little girls who're told if they beat us they'll get the love they think they deserve. If you had enough honor to have common sense, you'd see you're just another victim. Like the people you've kidnapped."

    << ATTUNING. >>

    << DISRUPTOR - DEFENSE BREAKER. >>

Dark blue, nearly blacklight purple energy suddenly crackles on Aloisia's defensive shields, her walls, and even on her Knight Armor. It's as if a plague of magical ants was suddenly there, nipping at bits and carrying them away, or the magical equivalent of an acid...

This kind of work obviously takes concentration to perform as he grips his wrist with his off-hand, and the click-spinning of the tri-layer spell system seems to increase, as if it is cracking some kind of safe, or attuning to a specific kind of magic.

But that shoulder cannon is aiming in on him and as it spins up he takes a deep breath and just TAKES IT.

As shots shred his Barrier Jacket in hot slashes he continues to glare and work his magic on the Knight. He's not going to last long...

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir lands on a side of the youma. He spins around to aim his weapon at the youma and keep firing away as he suddenly notices that gun return to his direction and he has a big red dot on his chest.

"Well. That's gonna be a bank shot to dodge." he says to himself as he hefts the tommy gun up again. "Okay you big lummox. Put the girl down!" he commands as he's fired upon.

He manages to avoid some shots through pure speed and a little luck, but some get through and it hurts, causing staggering in his fire as he keeps it up as his suit burns, letting the smell of burning fabric waft from him as he grits his teeth.

He's being careful not to hit Molly in the process. Considering how close the two are.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy mouths a rude word as the plasma jets are blocked. This is going to be more of a problem.

    And then Aloisia says some stuff. "Wait, you're his right-hand man's daughter?! I thought you were from some nowhere mining colony! So what, now you reveal that you were experimented on as a kid to turn you into a magical supersoldier?"

    The scattershots hit her. She's still chained! "Oh come on! I can't move!"

    Then, shocked realization flashes across Amy's face. "...Oh wait shit are you like... mind-controlled? Or he's controlling your body or something? You literally don't have a choice. Damn! what the hell is with villains these days?! First they take everything from La Crima, now you too?!"

    Amy sighs. "Like, what was your plan here? You have us chained up--" she pulls at her chains to demonstrate and realizes Rashmi just broke them. She blinks.

    And the youma uses Molly as a human shield against magical attacks. Amy looks shocked. If it had done that against Amy, Molly would probably be dead.

    Amy rises to her feet, pulling the grief seed from her belt pouch and clutching it and glaring at Aloisia. "Counter-offer. You tell your youma to let her go and you leave with nothing. And then I will stop doing this."

    While Koji lays on the armor debuffs, Amy fires a tandem-charge warhead like modern tank-killers, in an attempt to break through multiple layers of Belkan defenses.

    And then she manifests multiple launch tubes, a dozen split between each arm and atop her shoulders, starting to look more like a mecha musume or a kantai musume as she fires all of them at once. The directional explosions don't really hurt anyone else, but are kind of starting to heat up the part of the room near Aloisia.

    And she'll keep doing it however many times is needed or until the situation changes; she's sure hoping that her soul gem and what's left of the grief seed she got the other day will hold out long enough for her to complete her bluff of being a limitless magical Terminator. (Six times before she has to stop and use the grief seed. Then a couple more. How many will it take?

    Godoka, she hopes Aloisia doesn't call this bluff...

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown was late. Of course he was late. He had been dealing with another incident of, admittedly, less pressing concern than a bunch of kidnappings.

But Rashmi was there and had some allies with her, Koji, Pulp Noir and even Amy. So he had time.

However, the moment he touched down, he did a quick scan and...

Magical signatures. Cameras were disabled, covered in water. Pulp's work, it seemed. Good. He started walking forward, his staff clenched in his hand. As he made his way into the building a small pink, blue and white bird landed on his shoulder. "Assist them with the civilians," he told the bird as he started walking towards the others. He then paused when he realized it... went... down...

Huh...

Interesting.

He paced back and forth a few times, before sending a small request from Rashmi. Then...

There would be a thumping from above... moments before a part of the roof above would kind of... explode? Sort of?

A hole blown through it, before a very strange, very large, very blue bird came *hurtling* out from the scattering dirt and concrete, having been thrown by Chrono. The bird would attempt to land by the civilians and then form a barrier of ice over the civilians, attempting to shield them from both the falling debris...

And from the rain of blue energy swords that rained down on the youma near them. There was no mercy, no kindness to the strike. The shots taken were designed for one thing and one thing only. Eliminate all threats to the civilians. Luckily, the ones holding them were just youma and not people, but if Aloisia had been amongst them, well... He wouldn't have hesitated to strike her, either.

Unfortunately, it remained to be seen how effective the sneak attack actually was.

The Enforcer dropped down through the cloud a moment later, arms up, falling and taking a measure of the area. Rashmi and Ami, chained. Molly, held prisoner. Fenix, trying to shield the civilians. Koji, engaging with Aloisia. Pulp Noir, facing off against the youma. The youma? Well... hopefully there were less of them now.

He turned his gaze fully to Aloisia, the dirt flowing back behind him.

<< Aloisia, I will give you one chance, so think on it long and hard. We're on Earth now. There are two ways for us to deal with this situation. Are you intending to be a belkan style threat that requires TSAB intervention? Or are you going to be an earth threat that requires the earth style intervention? I hope you are fully aware on how the TSAB responds in hostage situations. >>

A second message, sent only to Rashmi, would go as well. << Rashmi, do you need my assistance to break through? It-- wait... >>

A third message was sent to Koji. << *Dodge!* >>

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Bong! Solar Shield! ... When Rashmi frees herself and puts up defenses for the captives, Aloisia would likely feel a moderate sense of relief if she wasn't focused on other things at the moment.

Like those words coming from nearby, from the girl she'd had bound to the ground and was being used to power the Youma. "You don't understand, Skyline... I can't go back successful like that. He doesn't want your energy. What he wants is..." She trails off.

That's your excuse? Because Dear Uncle Otto told you so?

"No, it's more than that. It's MORE than that... I don't have a choice, because..." You had your chance.

If you had enough honor to have common sense...

Disruptor.

The magic begins to crackle on Aloisia's defensive shields, her Wall Spells, and even her armor, beginning to chew away at it.

"..."

And as that happens, Aloisia is immediately moving towards Koji, her Knight Armor and Walls briefly...

<SPULEN.>

Purging their mana, an explosion of energy shooting out for just a moment only to rebuild themselves to shake that magic, as a rapidly rebuilding gauntleted fist is launched towards Koji's face.

<FREYJA'S GRUSS.>

And the moment before impact, if Koji isn't out of the way, there would be an explosive energy, aimed straight for his face.

"I'm not a fool! I KNOW! Without him, there's..."

Aloisia's fist pulls back, clearly intent to follow up that initial punch with another follow-up attack.

And then.. Amy comments.

"I'm... not being mind controlled. But... you're not wrong that everything has been taken from me. But not by him." She says, her voice going quiet, cold, almost distant. "No... it was taken by the royal family... I doubt my father survived, and my mother... heh... wife of the military leader of Count Otto's coup..."

Multiple launch tubes are manifest, and launched towards Aloisia. Launching. Launching. Launching. Launching. Drawing her attention, and her shields, since her Wall spells might be compromised by Koji's spells... she is catching them... directly on her Devices, using the more armored sections to catch the worst of the blasts, and only moments before striking, the shields give off a glow of a Wall spell to minimize the blow.

And then... two things happen simultaneously.

First, Aloisia realized the Youma pulled Molly in front of itself and uses her as a SHIELD against Pulp Noir's attacks. Something which pulls Aloisia's gaze at that, her attention pulled FULLY from Koji and towards that Youma. "Chain Caretaker Cyborg. Your orders were to--" THUMP. Thump. BOOM! Energy swords stabbing down towards the various Youma, destroying the more ... generic ones almost instantly. "..."

Harlaown was there. Of COURSE Harlaown was there. And giving her two options. "..." Aloisia changes positions, her devices shifting wordlessly. Well, Aloisia was wordless at least.

<TREIBER>
<MODE>

She doesn't respond to him immediately, though, instead her gaze shifting back to that cyborg. "Your orders. Are to *NOT* harm your charge. Using them as a SHIELD counts."

And then she turns her gaze back towards Chrono. "Harlaown. Your interference in the Belkan matters between the Count and Countess has been absolutely unacceptable. The TSAB has no place in these INTERNAL disputes. That you, that these earthlings, that anyone other than the Count and Countess were involved is frankly ridiculous." Aloisia says, as the soft sound of charging energy begins to grow. "...The fact it was still ongoing by the time *I* arrived is just as ridiculous." She adds, her tone becoming more muttered.

She's... still standing, even after all of that from Amy? Though her Knight Armor is a little damaged, she seemed ... not necessarily much worse for wear.

In fact, her energy seemed to be charging MORE.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
"Hey... Terios... I think I just realized something."

"...Wanna hear a sad joke?"

...She's not attacking anymore, beyond that counterattack to Koji.

...In fact, she looks hesitant to speak.

...As if afraid to speak whatever she was thinking into reality.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Shrugging off the broken chains, Rashmi springs to her feet, for a moment a *beatific* smile on her face as Chrono drops into the fight. << ...That was *incredibly cool,* I hope you know, >> she sends in a private message to Chrono, as another half-dozen Barrets resolve around her. When the order is clarified to the youma, Rashmi takes *that* moment to strike.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BLADE >>

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR STINGER >>

Three of the barrets extend into shield-piercing swords, and the other three bulge faintly, and gleam as their payload is modified, then all six attacks sweep outward, to come at the youma draining Molly from every angle that is not the Molly-covered front. The Blades are designed to pierce defensive spells, but the Stingers... Their entire job is *endurance,* keeping cohesion to loop back and strike again, and again, and again, as if the youma was a lightbulb, and the Barrets were moths. Moths that could punch like a heavyweight boxer.

The assault will keep up, until the barrets themselves are destroyed, or the Youma is.

"...I can think of a lot of sad jokes right about now," Rashmi says, in earnest answer to Aloisia. "The biggest one being 'that you don't have a choice.' Because Red-chan's right, you *could* have a place with us. You don't *have* to be a soldier, and you *definitely* don't have to serve a coward like YOU, OTTO."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy does pause the assault, when Aloisia seems dissatisfied with her Youma taking such actions. She dismisses the launch tubes and touches the grief seed to her soul gem (more than half-corrupted; even afterwards, it's still more than a quarter corrupted.)

    That was more than I spent trying to take down Otto... she thinks to herself. but Molly was in immediate danger. Easy come, easy go...

    Externally, Amy continues glaring until the order is given to stop using Molly as a shield.

    Then, she allows herself a sigh, and softens her expression somewhat. "Neither you nor Hannah should suffer any more for your parents' war. You have suffered enough, and you're right that it can't be undone, and I can't imagine what you've been through. But let it end here. Else by the time either of you achieves victory, you will both only have suffered far more."

    "The path to Otto's victory is paved in blood and pain. Please. I know you have a good heart, as you showed today. You need not answer now. But if I had shot the monster instead of Noir, Molly would be dead and nothing any of us could do would bring her back."

    "Today, everyone who entered this room leaves alive. Please learn from this close call, Otto's priorities and what working with him brings." She places her hands together in a prayer-like gesture. "I am begging you. Next time, anyone could be unlucky. Let the suffering end here."

    Amy blinks and looks at Rashmi, then back at Aloisia. "Right, sorry, I thought that was a given: Yeah, you're welcome to have a place with us. Even retire if you wish. You don't have to work for Otto, we'll work something out."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji hears the voice being the << Dodge >>, and when that tone comes from that Enforcer of the TSAB, and advises you to personally to get out of the way... you do as you're told.

Turning himself just enough, he resolves the half-mask back in place, and almost puts himself cheek-first into Aloisia's armored fist, but instead, his hands over above and below where his sternum is, and between them forms another one of those little shields he likes so much, in comparison to a normal Midchildian Round Shield.

Catching one of the last shots being thrown out by the Chain Caretaker, there's a flash, as a low-yield Kinetic Shield bursts and hits his body like an airbag to throw him clear as quickly as possible. It might seem like he wasn't ready for it, but as he arches, he throws his hand out, and Hanzo flies from it, the rope-Kunai catching on the roof and yanking him up and away from the barrages, "Sorry... looks like I'm tagged out! But something you should let sit in your head, little girl. Parents...

"Can be wrong.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Aloisia, I--"

Molly is cut off as the Caretaker stops firing with its wrist-cannon, and puts its hand between her shoulders, whereupon it pushes down firmly. Chains come up out of the binding circle to sieze hold of the entirely unarmored girl, pulling her back down to a kneel. It stands there with two of Chrono's swords sticking out of its side, flickering before disappearing; it growls, tugging on the chains and drawing another shock of mana out of Molly, making the girl scream and struggle against her chains.

"Aloisia, please! Let them *go*. I mean it, you can have... everything I've got, there's... there's no need for this! I'm a *Mahou*, I'm worth more than all of them put together in terms of m-mana, and I know you'll let me go in the end, I'll just... let you--"

The Youma opens fire with its shoulder cannon, a split-second after the laser pointer paints Chrono as the latest threat to enter the combat. It's wrist cannon sweeps the room in front of it, in the meantime, laying down fire across the entire room; not particularly well aimed, and none of it meant for the other kidnapping targets, but nevertheless there's a little something there for everyone. It's eyes glow, and it turns its attention -- and the wrist-cannon -- in Pulp Noir's direction soon enough, maintaining fire against Chrono while letting the investigator have some personal quality time as well.

And then Rashmi's attacks land, hammering at the Youma's armor and smashing away, denting and damaging armor plating. It roars, a ghastly, synthetic sound, like metal being torn apart as it turns its gaze on the yellow-clad mage. It's eyes flare, as it tugs on the chains, pulling Molly back up off the ground.

The Caretaker's abdomen distends, forming into a bubble that gets thin enough to become transparent, and then it opens; chains lash out of it, seizing Molly's limbs and torso, pulling her up into it before the bubble closes around her.

"What?! I-- NO!!" she screams, thrashing to no avail. Ignoring the barrets pummeling it for the moment, even as they continue to hammer away at its metal carapace, it keeps its gaze on Rashmi. There's a bright glow inside the bubble as it starts draining Molly of mana in a sustained fashion, while it turns both its weapons on Rashmi, and simply... opens fire, the blasts of energy increasing steadily in size and strength.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir gets fired on by wrist cannons now. He frowns and drops the tommy gun and starts running through the chaos, towards the youma, watching as the youma sucks Molly up. He grabs the brim of his hat, as he takes more hits from the wrist cannon as he quickly leaps into the air and--

Whips his hat off and shoves it onto the face of the youma, trying to obscure it's vision.
    he whips around and from within his suit's jacket, he produces a big revolver, a .44 Magnum, that he fires off strong, large magical blasts at his shoulder guns, hopefully while he can get in good shots while it's dealing with the hat.

He looks ragged though. He can't put up with this much longer.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown narrowed his eyes on Aloisia. And then... she would receive...

Paperwork.

Chrono sent her *paperwork*.

<< As per the alliance of... >> Oh dear heavens. << As listed on the treaty of... >> Oh, he was going to be a while. << ... sealing the end of the war and... >> Yada yada... << The TSAB's duty to aid in disputes such as these, especially when they include outside innocents. It is our duty to promote peace between dimensional worlds. A bloody coup orchestrated by a disgruntled noble is not a mere 'internal dispute' that the TSAB can turn a blind eye to. It has already cost the lives of countless innocents and it is never ridiculous to interfere in a pointless war. As matters stand, pending an appeal, Count Otto's claim to the throne has been *denied*. Even were he to find a way off this planet, even were Hannah to die, his hold of the throne would *never* exist. >>

He held out his right hand, forming a midchildian shield which flickered from the repeated blasts. Well, the other youma seemed to be dealt with and Fenix's ice barrier over them seemed to be working. So that was positive. That meant there was just freing Molly to go. The shield finally came down and he dropped from the sky, landing on the ground before dashing forward at the youma. Apparently having a similiar idea that Pulp Noir did, coming from the other direction.

<< Otto has already taken countless lives in his quest for authority and power he is unworthy of. Don't offer your own for him to throw away. >>

The blasts from the youma glanced across his arms and shoulders as he raced towards it, but he did his best to get in close... and drive his staff forward, the tip to the bubble and...

            << Subzero Impulse! >>

And, if the blow hit... it'd send a wave of ice and frost over the body of the youma. An attempt to flash freeze the youma for a moment...

To solidify it, hopefully, before the blasts of the others hit it. And, hopefully, allow them to shatter it like cheap glass.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
"...Hah... it's not even that... it's even worse... hahaha... Terios... Terios..." Aloisia says, watching the attacks to the Youma, piercing it, attacking it from every angle. "Without Otto..." No, that's not relevant, that's beside the point, that's not the thought you just had, Stauss.

Stauss.

"I don't have anything... at all... I have absolutely nothing."

...Not that you deserve that hope, Stauss.

"...But it's even worse, Terios..." Others talk. Amy's words. Kind, caring, reaching out for a good heart in her. Pointing out Molly would be dead if Amy had shot the Youma.

The one that had shot disintegrating magic into Aloisia's magic backs off. Stating that parents can be wrong.

"...Skyline... his order... show them their place... it's... that's an order to kill the interfering parties. ...The mana doesn't matter..." The Youma begins to pull Molly into it. Unleashing sustained fire. Unleashing attacks on Chrono. On Rashmi. Generally towards the room. It wasn't supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be ended quickly. Nobody was supposed to suffer. "I never wanted things to be like this... I just wanted to defend my little home colony... keep everyone safe..."

Paperwork is sent to Aloisia. Paperwork she recognizes and remembers. And he speaks to the bloody coup. Cost the lives of countless innocents.

...A bloody coup she was involved in, now.

As matters stand, pending appeal, the Count's claims to the throne have been denied.

"Count Otto... I know he didn't really want this either... he just wanted to bring House Steiner out of the stagnation is was falling under, under the yoke of the TSAB. The fear of another Belkan uprising from such a large fragment remaining... it kept that family locked from doing much... they refused every single thing he tried to suggest... forced into it... forced to take drastic action..." She says, muttering more under her breath to herself.

"Terios... ... Harlaown... I'm... pretty sure... that I'm not even a Stauss... because it doesn't make sense any other way..."

"...I think..."

"Count Otto is my father."

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
And then, one of the surviving screens behind Aloisia flicks on, the soft sound of clapping ringing out in the room as Otto speaks.

"Congratulations, Stauss."

"In one respect, you have managed to simultaneously disappoint me and make me proud. Do tell me, Stauss. What is the point of you revealing this information in front of the literal biggest threat at the moment? Hm? The one claiming that everything we have fought for has come to naught?"

Aloisia opens her mouth to start talking, Otto lifts her hand towards her to silence her. "Don't bother trying to give any excuses, Stauss. I know there was no point. That you were just, as always, failing to even consider the consequences of your actions. Like when you let my dear niece live before." He sighs softly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Truly, Aloisia, you disappoint me. But that's fine. I know that you'll do better."

<AUFLADEN 10%.>

Aloisia looks at her device in a panic. "Wait, I didn't tell you to--"

"By orders of the True King, Doppelwand, enter overcharge mode. Disable all overheat and overcharge safeties. Activate Pyramide Enfall. Do not let them escape."

"Do not stop until they are dead."

"And Aloisia? ...Though I know you can't stop this even if you wanted to. Let me just remind you of the stakes if you /do/ somehow stop this."

And on the screen, an image of a woman holding a much younger Aloisia's hand is shown.

"You. Will. Never. See her. Again."

Count Otto gives a soft sigh. "*AND* I'm out 10,000 yen for that bet. Assistant, make sure to wire 10,000 yen to Joker." The screen cuts out.

And... Aloisia?

Begins to speak softly. "Haha... I'm a Steiner... I'm a Steiner..."

"HahahahHAHAHAHAhaaaaa..."

<AUFLADEN 50%.>

Aloisia's laughter gradually becomes more unstable, as her devices continue to charge. The entire room is encased in a massive cerulean barrier, as Aloisia steps towards the Youma. "...You're annoying me." She says suddenly, her voice cold as that frozen Youma suddenly has a spike jammed through the center of its chest from behind, shattering it and drawing all of the energy it had absorbed...

Into Doppelwand.

<AUFLADEN, 100.>

"Cancel charge."

<ZUGRIFF VERWEIGERT.>

"Deactivate Pyramide Enfall."

<ZUGRIFF VERWEIGERT.>

Frustration starts to leak into Aloisia's voice. "Doppelwand, Standby Mode."

<ZUGRIFF VERWEIGERT.>

<AUFLADEN 110%.>

"...Hahaha..."

"...No wonder I hated myself so much... I'm a Steiner... and now...? Now I can't even stop this... hahahahahaha..."

<AUFLADEN 115%.>

"...See? ...This is why I don't have a choice..."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    That was a kill order. "And you thought it would turn out differently? You thought you would save us from him?" Amy answers.

    I just wanted to defend my home colony and keep everyone safe. "I dunno if the TSAB will do that, but Otto sure won't. Hannah might be able to order it, though."

    Count Otto is my father.

    The screens come on. "YOU!" Amy shouts, pointing, because seriously, what else is she gonna do?!

    And then he orders them all dead. Fuck. "YOU! ME! MANO A MANO! I'm the Princess's consort, that gives me standing!" She has no idea if that's true. "FIGHT ME! To the death!" Amy points at the screens and shouts over the rest, trying to get the demand through. Buy time, buy something. That last bit might have been a little too obviously trying to bait Otto into fighting her and her Witch, but she's kind of rushed!

    And then they have a new problem.

    Amy strides up to Aloisia and holds out her hand in a 'give me that' gesture. "I'll throw everything into destroying it. If it's not enough... I'll try to shape space so that it's far away from you. I'm sure together, all of you can beat me."

    Plans form and turn into words and come out of her mouth. There's no time to feel, that might mess it up. If someone else has a better idea... well, they'll surely put it into action in the next few seconds anyway and interrupt her.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Caretaker has Molly trapped in its... storage compartment? And it is draining her mana continuously, making its captive scream and thrash against the tiny prison she's been crammed into, surrounded by metal and bound up still in chains. All the while the beast keeps firing, relentlessly, the cannonfire glowing hotter and stronger and brighter as it siphons more and more mana from Molly, laying harder and faster into her reserrves.

Reserves that are anything but limitless.

As Chrono's attacks lay into the Caretaker, freezing it, its cannons slow for a moment; but only a moment, as they heat up. The barrels glow orange then red then white hot as they resume spinning, firing indiscriminately and with no particular target in mind. They shift from focusing Chrono, to Koji and Hinote simultaneously, to Amy and Chrono, to a focus on Rashmi, and then back to Hinote, then to Koji and Rashmi...

But it is frozen, and brittle. And it certainly doesn't expect the killing blow to come from Aloisia. Its guns keep firing without target as it looks down in shock at the spike protruding from its chest. And then, they stop firing, winding down to stillness; the abdominal compartment breaks, as armor plates fall off of it, landing in a haphazard mess around it. Its internals dissolve, becoming a mess of sticky fluids, draining and dissolving into smoke, all while its stored mana flashes into Aloisia. In the middle of it all, Molly falls onto the ground, landing in a heap; broken chains trail from her neck, wrists, and ankles, and for a moment she just lays there.

Barefoot, in a backless white summer dress.

"Aloisia," she gasps. "...Aloisia. Please. Stop this. *Please*."

The purple-haired girl pulls herself across the floor, and reaches up to put her hand on the knight's knee. "*Please*, Aloisia. Your name doesn't define you. That man doesn't define you. You can choose. Your choices are what make you, and now, right now, right here... you can choose. You can choose to be a hero. Everyone here has some way to survive... except me, and those other girls. You can *save us*. Right now. And that would define you as much as anything."

Molly turns a very drained, very tired eye upwards, looking up at Aloisia. "Only question... that matters," she gasps. "Who you *were* doesn't matter. Who do you *want to be?*"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD >>

    << SOLAR SHIELD >>

    << SOLAR SHIELD -- GLACE SHIFT >>

The sheer weight of fire that the youma is laying down on her is, literally, *eating* through Rashmi's shields, but the next one comes up quickly enough that only one or two shots get through. With Pulp Noir looking as ragged as he is, Rashmi slides in front of him, to cover them both with the best defenses she can manage. At the last, the shield isn't a disc, but a shallow, spiky cone of golden ice, much more difficult to chew through.

Long enough to give the both of them a breather.

But then Aloisia drops the bomb of truth, and despite the effort and grim desperation on Rashmi's face, the redhead... looks *crushed* by the revelation.

Otto isn't spared a glance. Otto isn't *worth her time* right at this moment.

But what he says does penetrate. Worse, the way he says it, like all of this is just a bad, boring TV show. Not lives on the line and hearts being shattered. Not real fear and pain and aguish.

And, oh, that is *infuriating* right at this moment.

"MOLLY!" Rashmi shouts, and once she has the girl's attention, tosses a very familiar earring to her. Then, she looks up to the Belkan field covering the hole in the ceiling, and takes a long, deep breath.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BLADE >>

    << SOLAR BLADE >>

    << SOLAR BLADE >>

A full dozen swords, Barrets purpose-built to break shields, are summoned by fours, and as one, all twelve swing up... and *launch.* And *grind* against the forcefield.

"Alo-chan," Rashmi says, as she does her best to dig for them an escape route, "Molly's right. You can *choose* to be whatever you want, here. *Nothing* holds you anywhere. Not blood, not duty, not anything. You could be a *hero* if you wanted, and we'd help."

*CRASH!* The field gives way, the swords digging a hole *just* large enough for a person to fit.

"But first you'd *better* survive."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Angry Koji gets put away so that the more familiar Tactical Hanzo can come back to play.

He's probably the one Rashmi wanted for this, but when it comes to old friends and old hurts, the strangest things can trigger the worst impulses.

He lands and one Speed Boost later he's running by and leaning down to scoop up Molly off the ground and over his shoulder, mumbling out as he gives her time to catch the earring, "Not the best way to meet."

He almost knocks the breath out of her as a Kinetic Shield appears one step away from him and he mid-air catches onto Hinote, hauling him away from his now-done fight with the Caretaker, and somehow even manages to snag his hat on the way.

One over each shoulder, he lands heavily next to Rashmi and puts the down next to her, panting just a little as he smiles, flips Hinote's fedora around and lands it back on Pulp Noir's head, "Can't let you lose that."

But then he turns on the problem, and how Rashmi is handling it. "Okay, different plan, but I can work with it..."

Aiming his knife towards Aloisia and her rampantly growing power burn, he takes a breath and mutters out, "Disruptor."

And He throws the rope-kunai, aiming right for her heart... for where her Linker Core will be...

    << DISRUPTOR. >>

Using the knowledge already gleaned from attacking her shields and walls, her Knight Cloth, the blade stops short of piercing, attempting to just touch... and to send a single strong pulse of power through her system to the Devices, since they pull power from her, and maybe buy her a critical second of control to do something good.

As the blade retracts to his wrist, he falls on his butt next to Molly, and says, "It's all I had left... let's hope it works... let's hope she understands..."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir has his hat saved. "Thanks, Hanzo-kun." he says. Is that a blush. That's a blush. He shakes it off though as revelations are made, nows not the time for boycrushes.

He doesn't fully understands. But he thinks he does. So he addresses Count Otto.

"OHHHH, GO CLIMB UP YOUR THUMB." yells Pulp Noir at Count Otto. He looks to Aloisia. "Don't listen to his grift, kid. You can do it." he says as he turns his gun up towards where Rashmi is firing Solar Blades and starts firing magical blasts up at the same spots. Not a barrier breaker, but might be able to help weaken it.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown sighed and shook his head. "I will admit I have not been privy to all that was going on with your home. But all treaties, all records I have access to show it another colony with trade agreements with the TSAB. Peace is not stagnation. Peace is a *goal*. The TSAB didn't *own* your colony. It made *deals* with your colony," Chrono said, his tone calm and firm.

And then... then Otto. He let out a soft sigh and his gaze softened, just a little bit. Even as Count Otto did the unthinkable. His gaze hardened a little. He was her father? That... that he refused. He may have been a gene donor, but he was *not* her father. But Aloisia tried to disable it. Even as Otto did all he could. As the youma fell and Molly tried to move to Aloisia's side, Chrono sighed.

"And in every way, the cowardly usurper manages to show he is nothing more than a disappointment. He'll be stopped, just like all the rest. As for you?" he said, turning to Aloisia... he smiled. "I'm glad to see you have proceeded to be anything but a disappointment." He then looked up, a hand moving under his chin. "Fenix, take down the ice barrier. It won't help us in this case. Sigh. Now would be the perfect time to have a Nanoha..."

They'll need to... Oh. Oh wow.

He glanced to Rashmi. Oh. That was his girl. And he was a little surprised. Well, there were six civilians to go. Could they get them all out of here...

Maybe? Maybe not? He couldn't take the risk... He sighed and then, his gaze went a little regretful.

"... I'm sorry," he whispered.

            <<Stinger Snipe!>>

And two blue orbs would appear, before launching straight at Aloisia. He couldn't take the risk they might blow. If she ran, she still might damage quite a few things... Hurt people. And there was no telling how destructive they might be...

But the blows weren't going for her, as both veered...

The powerful balls of magic... attempting to shatter and destroy her devices.

He hoped that Hannah would be able to fix it, but well... the device was renegade, at this point. And it had to be stopped.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
Amy simply gets a laugh from Otto that seems to echo in the room, even after the screen clicks off. "I... I don't... I wasn't..." What was her plan? Capture them? Show them their place by having them drained for ... however long in this facility? Draw even more sparkles?

<AUFLADEN 120%.>

"And then what? Huh? AND THEN WHAT? You're defeated! And then... MORE blood has been spilled in the name of House Steiner... THEN WHAT?!"

Aloisia slaps the hand away, turning wild eyes on Amy. "..."

Eyes that quickly lose their spark. "...No... it's fine. I'm sure you can get out of here." She points at the door, the cerulean energy blocking it. "Pyramide Enfall is overcharged right now, but I'm sure you can break through it. Chrono just arrived, he's basically fresh. I've taken..." She glances down at her rapidly starting to disintegrate Knight Armor.

"..." Please stop this. Please. Aloisia lowers her hand down to take Molly's hand and pull her up to her feet. "Don't look at me like that. I'm the scary knight who beat you and left you on the floor, remember?"

"And ... I've been locked out of my device. I can't stop this."

<AFLADEN 125.>

<WARNUNG. HITZENIVEAU KRITISCH.>
<OVERRIDE AKTIVIERT. WARNUNG IGNORIEREN.>

"A...aaaaa...."

Unbezwingbare Schwester begins to glow. "N... no... stop it."

<AFLADEN 130%.>

"..." Rashmi's words. She can choose to be whatever she wants to be here. Nothing binds her.

Aloisia shifts, stabbing the base of both of her devices into the ground. Arcs of plasma starting to come off of the twin shields.

"Everyone who entered this room leaves alive..."

She didn't enter the room, she was already in it.

"...I have... mixed feelings about being called not a disappointment by you, Harlaown."

"...You know... I always wondered why I was born... why I was trained the way I was... way more than was necessary for defending a small outpost from wild beasts..."
"He always called me his 'backup plan'..."
"..."
"But my name... is Aloisia Stauss."
"I'm ... not a pawn."

<AFLADEN 135%.>

A blade is launched towards her.

...Aloisia doesn't dodge, allowing it to strike. And causing enough disruption that as that grinding is done, those bullets impacting the top of the pyramid and... all around them...

The cerulean barrier shatters, motes of energy falling around them.

And Aloisia speaks softly. "Doppelwand. Pyramide Enfall."

<Ja,Prinzessin.>

"...Thank you, unbezwingbare schwester."

Aloisia moves as far into the corner of the room as she can get away from everything else. Civilian, magical, devices. And then...

...Two things happen in quick succession, nearly at the same time.

Stinger Snipe!

The two orbs appear, launching towards Aloisia. Right as the Pyramide Enfall begins to form between her and the wall. One slips through, striking the left device.

And the cry that comes out is blood curdling, "NO!!!!!"

<KRITISCHER SCHADEN FESTGESTELLT. STARTEN. PLASMABOLZEN.>

As the left device is shattered, beginning to fall into motes of magic to the ground, the other device begins to charge, and Aloisia aims it straight into the ground.

...And for a moment, the world goes white, as arcs of plasma and electricity explode, straining the Pyramide Enfall in the corner of the room. Trying to push past, most of the energy drawn from it save for a few errant bolts of electricity shoot out in random directions, and...
An already-compromised roof begins to creak from the damage...

...And in the wake of that explosion.

CRASH.

Where Aloisia Stauss once was, there is only rubble.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly catches the earing thrown to her; Starcrash, her device. Her mana is close to being entirely drained, given how hard the Caretaker ramped up its ravaging of her reserves, but nonetheless... shes reunited with her device, as Aloisia pulls her up to her feet, and then Koji pulls her away. Once she's clear, she returns the blue-jewelled earring to her right earlobe, and breaths a sigh of relief once she has it back.

Now might be a good time to Henshin, by virtually any standard. But she does not. Instead, as Aloisia is busy walling herself off away from everyone else, she lets herself be seen, gently pulling herself free of Koji's grasp and walking across the floor, slowly approaching the Knight's shield that she's put up, with her devices and herself inside of it.

She doesn't Henshin, because she doesn't need it.

"Aloisia," she calls to her, through the pyramid-shield and over the sound of her charging -- and in some cases, exploding -- devices. "Aloisia-san, you did it. You're a *hero* now. And I know you can do it. I know you're strong enough to save everyone, so... I trust you."

Foolish? Perhaps. But she stands outside the shield, throwing up her arm to protect her eyes as the room goes impossibly bright; an errant bolt of energy just misses her, and she staggers back a step, in time to not get crushed by falling building.

But then, there's... no immediate sign of her.

"Aloisia?!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
"We don't have time to look. The building supports are going to go at any moment. If this place caves in, it'll take all of these people with it."

Hanzo sounding a little cold and flat as he makes a call right then and there, and pushes up off the ground towards the nearest victim of this kidnapping. All fancy magic is forgone as he takes his Device's blade, stabs it into a chain, and then twist-flicks to break it. Kicking the still-unmoving Youma away, he turns to pass that person towards Hinote, "Can you get her out? We need to move as many as we can as fast as possible."

He goes to the next and does it again before yelling to Molly, "If you've got the strength to stand, you've got the strength to drag or carry. You can worry about being exhausted or dead later!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It's a compliment!" Rashmi shouts, as Aloisia speaks of mixed feelings at Chrono's words.

But then there's no time for talk, as the world goes white, forcing Rashmi to turn away... And then the room starts to shake, rubble falls, and Molly yells.

And Hanzo kicks into Maximum the Hanzo.

"He's right," she says to Chrono, and glances about the room at the converged mahou... and nods to herself.

    << *BONG!* >> << FLIER FIN >>

It... feels sort of weird, if you're not used to it. Golden, dragonfly-shaped wings of pure light unfurl from Pulp Noir's ankles, and gravity seems to have its attention... elsewhere. "Just think of it like jumping, only you don't stop until you want to."

With that, she takes her place in the rescue chain, looking over her shoulder at Molly. "Hanzo's right, Molly-chan. Alo-chan is the most likely out of *everyone here* to survive that. We have to get the others out first. *Have to.*"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    And then more blood has been spilled. "It's fine. I knew magical battles might be lethal when I signed up. I've got no life after them." Tears start to well in Amy's eyes, her throat constricts. The soul gem on her wrist is less than a third corrupted, but the rest is dim. It's usually not a healthy mindset, to put two self-sacrificial plans into action one after the other. "You can still have a chance! Give it to me, before--!"

    A lot happens. The hole in the field. Molly tells Aloisia to sacrifice herself(?!?!?!) And... she does, and there's no more time, and Amy feels sluggish... should she fly away?

    Why bother? What's the point?

    But even now she can manage the simple action of hitting the deck as soon as she sees the spell start to go off.

    ...After some time, the sounds of destruction have stopped. People are talking, but...

    ...The thing behind masks, the thing looking out from behind red eyes, that calls itself Amanda, that had to detach itself from pain, detach itself from caring about what it was about to do for the greater good, finds that all-consuming mission invalidated and is left with nothing to take its place.

    Dimly, there's the vague thought that clearing the rubble to search for Aloisia is something to consider, but... It seems like such a bother. And so hard. And for what.

    Well, okay. Seeing others attempt it, starting with Koji... makes it feel guilty for not helping.

    Amy pushes herself to a standing position and plods over to the rubble, considering the problem. She tests if mahou strength can move a large piece. Considers how to destroy the rubble safely. I lack expertise in demolitions. Ask someone else? "Hey." She says dully. "Does anyone know how to blow away the rubble without killing her, if I provide the explosives."

    Rashmi offers an alternative objective. Amy turns and cocks her head. "Why." As in how are the civilians in more immediate danger than Aloisia.

    Her SOUL remains dim but isn't getting worse, she may just. Need a bit after that.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir has more to say, but Count Otto is off. And Aloe is making her decision and there's a flash of light and Noir has to draw his fedora's brim down as he closes his eyes. He grimaces as he looks up and frowns. He moves to help, but.....

There's not even time for his idiom usually on such grim matters. There's more pressing concerns suddenly. Innocent people that need saving. He nods to Hanzo. "Yes. Here." he says, scooping the girl and looking up. He gets ready to try a leap, before Rashmi's words stop him.

He huhs. "Okay then..!" Hop, Step, Jump!

And off he goes, up through the hole.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly shakes her head, clearing the ringing in her ears.

Koji is right. Rashmi is right. She takes a deep breath, and shifts into her Henshin, surrounding her body with a fresh barrier jacket in place of her summer dress.

<< WARNING: MANA RESERVES AT FOUR PERCENT >>

"That'll do," Molly whispers. The now fully armored Molly, clutching her staff, takes a deep breath and her translucent, purple wings sprout from her back. She rushes to grab the nearest of the civillian victims, scooping her up in her arms and making a dash straight for the nearest hole in the wall, now focused entirely on getting this one person out and to safety.

Rashmi is right. Aloisia is the most likely of anyone to be fine. Afterall, she's... well she's just tough, and hopefully she *will* be okay.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown couldn't help but be proud of Aloisia for that. She was strong. She wasn't letting him control her. But... But she still had to be stopped. And that had to take priority. But they did it. They managed to get her free enough...

And hopefully dampen the blow, break the device, but... he only managed to hit one of them. He'd missed. She was...

No, there was no time for that. Fenix... Fenix had gone into her human form and was hauling one of the people over her back. Ahhhh, Chrono knew there was a reason to bring her. Koji and Hinote had two more. That was three.

Molly and Rashmi. That was four and five.

One left. He sighed... "Amy," he said, motioning towards the last, the sixth, remaining. "Get them out of here. I'm fresh, civilians have to take priority. I can't do anything while they're *here*."

Then a message to Rashmi. << Try to contact Nanoha. I may require a pinpoint, incredibly powerful, tunnel shortly. >>

And then he ran towards the pile of rubble. Well...

If he was under that and in no henshin, she was likely dead. If he was going to clear it? He had to do it all at once.

            <<Blaze Cannon!>>

Before dashing forward, a swirling vortex of destruction and fire erupting out, hopefully to scatter the rubble, and... He hoped to find Aloisia. Because this? This was going to be *so incredibly stupid.* If he found her... To lunge down at her, and...

            <<Subzero Tomb!>>

Trap *both* of them in ice even as more of the place would fall down around them.

And pray this wasn't justgoing to become a *thing* with him. It was TWICE already.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "...Are you actually trained in this?" Amy wonders, but if Chrono says so, fine. New objective identified. Search and rescue says the civilians need to be out of the area in order to recover Aloisia.

    She's still kinda slow about it until urged to hurry.

    Lifts up the last Civilian and walks with them to the exit.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
One by one, the civilians are saved, luckily there's plenty of time, and then... there was..

Blaze Cannon.

A blazing light in that corner, uncovering -- briefly -- an at the very least unconscious Aloisia. And then freezing into place.

...And things begin to shift, rather suddenly.

And a loud SPLASH is audible. And the rest of that underground room begins to collapse in the wake.

...Man the construction workers are going to have a /weird/ time fixing this one.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Red-chan," Rashmi says gently, "Because she's going to be all right. Eventually. She's literally tougher than all five of us together. But these people, they're not, so we hel--"

As Chrono gives his directive, her head snaps around, eyes widening.

The rubble is blasted away, and the air -- and Chrono, and probably Aloisia -- freeze in place.

...And tumble into nothingness, and.... splash?

There is silence, for a moment. Then there is the feeling of RIGHTEOUS FURY washing out from Rashmi. "How could-- He jus-- That litt-- AAAAAAAUGH!"

Taking the last civilian in hand, she flies up after Amy, muttering dire imprecations and furious hope all the way.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Are you trained in this?" Amy repeats to Rashmi, this time with some inflection! Maybe that's a sign of improvement.

    She's not flying though. If asked she says she can't spend magic for long-distance flight. Which isn't strictly true, she could summon a big rocket to carry them, but she's not sure that's actually necessary right now and also if they're being so careful with the civilians that's probably a bad idea.

    Things collapse and splash. Chrono will be alright. She repeats that thought out loud for Rashmi.

    Blink. "Flight spell." She looks pointedly at Rashmi's Device, then down at her feet.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly gets her civillian to safety, drops her off where she can wake up on her own time, and then just... finds somewhere to sit down. The purple-haired mage rests with her back against a chimeny and her legs dangling over the edge of a roof, and leans her head back, closing her eyes.

That. Hurt.

<< MANA RESERVES AT TWO PERCENT >>

"Yeah yeah I know," she sighs, shaking her head without opening her eyes.

<< INSUFFICIENT FOR FLIGHT HOME >>

"OKAY I'LL WALK," Molly declares, throwing her hands up in the air and letting them slap the roof to either side of her on the way down. She sits there, eyes closed, resting; until she puts her hand up to the jewel on her earing.

"Retrieve Boom Boom Lemon," she instructs, getting herself a bottle of soda out of her storage.

It's still cold, of course. She holds it against her forehead, then her neck, before finally opening it and drinking a third of it in one gulp, after which she sighs, resting, entirely oblivious to what's going on inside the warehouse. But, it's not like there's anything she can do about it anyway.