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Post by Uberwulf X on Nov 14, 2022 18:49:06 GMT
Metzli's arms opened as the ice around her cracked and shattered, and by the time her arms were down she was donning Iron Maiden with the clone having disappeared. However, her attempt to move forward was initially stymied with a need to dodge, which she did so quite clumsily, with any spikes Resonance missed scraping noisily against the armor about her midsection. The subsequent lurching of the ship would make her drop to her knees, but it was better than her rear.
"Damn it," she grumbled as she the source of Demandred's physical resistance showed up. Against her better judgment, she reached out to Mike with her left hand. Once she felt a tether to his shadow, she yanked to the side, aiming to throw him into the Big Eye.
"I'm... actually glad to hear you say that," he responded with a surprised blink to Yuki.
Damien was able to keep his balance by remaining in a squat, and placed a hand on Yuki to make sure she was steady in her work; she was seated so he didn't worry too much about her being rocked. He did, however, go to his communicator.
"Aidan, I'd laser these guys if I knew Demandred had to pause to deal with Chaos Poisoning, but is there any reason for me to not go do the same with the weapon or the Eye laser thing in here?"
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Post by Kyt on Nov 15, 2022 1:19:30 GMT
Yuki seemed to hold herself stable enough throughout the shaking, although most of that was likely due to Damien's hold on her. She otherwise didn't react though, eyes glazed over as she worked internally.
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Post by Kokinyu on Nov 15, 2022 21:27:10 GMT
Grenadine's lip curled back into a snarl at the sudden realization. Demandred's power was... truly something else. Not a true emulation of alchemy but a copycat manifestation. Still, he seemed to be straining- if the mental gymnastics were even a tenth of what they should have been, inflicting that on Demandred might have been a boon
Keep moving, keep shifting. She went to move as the ship shuddered, sending her tumbling- but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She wasn't the fastest Raider, but she could move on her feet and it was seldom she lost her footing. She fell back and kept an eye out for an opening.
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Kapp was sent tumbling backward as the ship rocked, briefly making eye contact with Mei just long enough to let her know 'we got this' with a nod and a defiant grin. She went high, and and he followed suit- with a blast of ice directed toward the floor, Kapp was sent spiraling upward on a pillar of frozen rime.
The glass floor with its thrusting spikes shattered through the base, but he saw it coming. Leaping, bounding from one platform, he sailed over Demandred's head and thrust his palm downward to keep the pressure on the kingpin. He landed some meters away, tumbling into a crouch. "If we can't turn it off, how do we blow it up?!"
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Post by Kokinyu on Nov 15, 2022 21:32:13 GMT
A wave of spikes crashed into Mike's side, causing an almost imperceptible ripple across his ankles, calf, and left flank. He barely lurched as the impact glass cracked and shattered around him. "Nnnmh. That'll do." He then braced and went to jump.
Only to find his feet... wouldn't leave the floor. He looked about and tried again- it was as though he was glued. Confusion animated the dog's face- the normally nonplussed canine far too old to be surprised by bullshit. His gaze found Metzli and he began to squint. "Oh come the fuck o-"
WHUD. Nearly three hundred pounds of rock hard muscle and bone was slammed into Big Eye as Metzli lashed the dog across the battlefield like a cudgel. That same imperceptible ripple ran along the canine's form before he was sent rebounding some feet meters from Big Eye and toward the ground. He growled as he rolled back onto his front and again made his way to his feet, taking a stance like a sprinter about to bolt.
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Post by Aidan on Nov 17, 2022 0:56:14 GMT
The Big Eye seemed to find a target. It whirled loudly, smoking, prepared to unleash another blast - and then a bulldog slammed into the damaged Eye, cracking the lens.
There was a small explosion of energy that blew Mike away, casting him into the metal gantry stairwell where he fell to the ground and rose once more. The Eye, meanwhile, was a smoking ruin, sparking uselessly, made fully inoperable.
Demandred, meanwhile, rose within his defensive circle, keeping one arm up to shelter himself as Kapp sailed up and over, blasting him and forcing him back down to his knees. Coated in rimefrost, Demandred gathered the frozen energy around him and slammed it into the ground once more, rising up on his own pillar of ice to get a vantage on the battle.
Droplets of sweat were frozen on his fur. He rubbed his nose with the back of one hand, smearing a trail of blood across it, but he did not seem to notice.
“If you could only see what I see,” he said, rising to his feet. “This world belongs to metas - we are connected to it in ways you can scarcely comprehend. We can shape with our will alone - we are the true children of Mobius. Its power is ours to command - is mine to command!”
As he spoke, he swept his arms out, the air crackling with electricity. His eyes glowed as he flung his hands out, casting a cascade of electricity down around him, toward Kapp, Metzli, and Resonance…
Elyas pushed himself away from the pylon with a grunt. “Get back and get ready!” He shouted, moving up to the jagged glass surrounding the base Demandred’s icey pedestal. As Demandred gathered power to unleash on the Raiders, Elyas let out a shout and pushed his aura outwards, flexing his power to its fullest extent.
Metzli, being the nearest, felt it first - the connection to her shadow abruptly ceasing, leaving her momentarily reeling, as though a tight robe around her chest had abruptly gone slack. Her Stand would not be able to manifest within Elyas bubble - the very nature of the world refused to accept the change its present required.
Kapp felt it next - his connection to the world around him dulling abruptly, like he had been blinded in an eye he never realized he had. Resonance felt the brush of the aura against her, a sense of the world stillness in front of her, brushing against her senses.
And Demandred…
Demandred rocked on his plinth, catching his balance as the electricity around him abruptly vanished. His lips twisted into a snarl, the dead-eyed, impassive wolf suddenly displaying a ferocious anger.
“No,” he growled, “no, you will not take this from me!”
He threw his hands towered Elyas, and the air around them both began to shimmer and warp…
“Take out the Eye!” Aidan shouted to Damien. “It’s one last thing to-” a small explosion, Mike bouncing through the air. “...Well, nevermind.”
Aidan slammed his hand into the keypad and gave it another jolt of electricity. The doors jerked opened about a foot and seized, refusing to open any further.
“Gods damnit!” Aidan cursed, moving to the gap and trying to muscle the doors wider. “I need a hand!”
The back of his neck prickled as something happened behind and below him. He could hear Demandred snarling, but did not spare him a glanced as he focused on the doors.
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Post by Uberwulf X on Nov 17, 2022 1:09:45 GMT
((Reaction))
"Holy crap... good job, Moonbeam," Damien nervously chuckled. "Remind me not to make you mad again."
"Don't worry, I'll just stick to punching you." By her expression, even Metzli was surprised by how well that worked. "I don't want to break your spine, y'know?"
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Post by Resonance on Nov 18, 2022 18:44:45 GMT
Reson felt it... Elyas's aura sliding over her, pushing through her. This was the moment she was waiting for. Her fur fluffed as a shiver went down her spine. This is why Tom and Ling insisted they learn weapon skills. She'd regained her balance, letting the circlets of Light fall away from her spear in the aura. With a jump into a lunge, her spear flicked out at Demandred's arm closest to her. She was still a Raider, she woudln't go for a killing blow unless there was no other option. But cutting off a limb... well, she was pretty sure Yuki's power would have a hard time healing that, if Demandred was able to copy it. And such dramatic blood loss would typically bring someone down quickly.
Mei caught Kapp's eye, relief flooding over her knowing that the bullet wound wasn't slowing him down. Up in the shadows, she saw Yuki healing herself by Damien, and a second wave hit her. She thought she'd toughened up since then, but the thought of any of the others being hurt so badly twisted her gut. But there was no time to think about that now. Elyas had made his move, and she could no longer use her abilities to join that fight. However... Mike was right there. She swiftly moved to be directly above him, then dropped down, using her tail as an anchor in the ceiling, and enveloped him in her wings, wrapping him in an envelope of suffocating darkness.
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Post by Uberwulf X on Nov 22, 2022 20:10:54 GMT
Metzli was actually thrilled at the idea of throwing herself at Mike, but Demandred was right there. She took a sprinting stance not to him, but instead to his boss, before she took off as hard and fast as she could. She was also fully aware of Elyas expanding his aura; it was something she always had on her mind when he was around, so his exclamation of warning was welcome-- she wouldn't use her shadow to propel herself even further and instead used the power of her own body to meet Demandred's back, seeking to pounce from behind in the middle of whatever the hell he was about to do, and bite down on the shoulder opposite the one her Stand had attacked.
Damien wanted to attack Demandred, but knew Elyas would counter his abilities. He also didn't want to have Mike show back up and put Yuki in danger so he instead dropped in a squat. "I'm going to help Aidan; stay in the shadows. If the plane tilts or something I'll be right up to get you, don't worry."
With that he first ran across the railing and skid next to Aidan, wordlessly jamming his hand into the slit and pumping blood into his muscles to help work the doors open.
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Post by Kyt on Nov 28, 2022 9:50:58 GMT
Yuki didn't respond, still with that glazed over look as Damien left.
A few moments later she shivered, blinking. "Ok, I think-" She blinked more, frowning in alarm as she realized she was alone. She scrambled to make sure she was covered and not immediately under attack. Hissing some not-so-nice words in Lhunran under her breath, she scanned the area, taking in the change in the fight. She spotted Damien helping Aidan and let out a sigh.
There was too much going on to expect any stability right now. She'd still gotten the opportunity to heal up. Her shoulder still pulled, but it wouldn't be the hindrance it had been.
She took the moment to assess, waiting for the best moment to jump back in.
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Post by Kokinyu on Nov 30, 2022 21:01:48 GMT
Kapp staggered backward as Elyas' aura extended beyond himself, leaving him numb and... thawing. He staggered back, disoriented by the sudden change. Once he clocked just what was happening- the dampening effect from Elyas, the battle of wills, he began searching the ground for something, anything, that could be utilized. Demandred would be vulnerable.
He looked to his hands. Claws.. old fashioned, but reliable. Quietly, he remarked, "Shit. Shit. Alright. Okay." And then shouted to Elyas, bracing himself, ready to pounce into this inevitable dogpile, "Alright!"
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Grenadine swayed on her feet a little. This whole ordeal had been intense, and now something was happening in the center of the fray. Chaos was being thrown about, a battle of wills, a contest of chaotic manipulation. She shook the haze and crouched- the buzzbomber was still sparking nearby.
She clapped her hands and dove her left palm into the bot's scrapped guts. Momentarily the materials liquified before traveling up along her prosthetic. She grit her teeth and furrowed her brows under the strain as she reshaped the material into something familiar- a rail along the wrist, coiled steel along the interior, with a set of guides along the length. Once the crackling power settled, she took a moment to draw along a sort of handle, priming the newly crafted bolt-launcher affixed to her prosthetic, a newly formed bolt resting in the chamber.
Just like old times. "On your mark." She rasped.
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Post by Kokinyu on Nov 30, 2022 21:07:14 GMT
Mike rose from the wreckage of the steel catwalk and palmed his head looking for his now displaced cap. Grunting, he glanced to the side, seeing- no, feeling Elyas do something. "Oh son of a bitch..."
For the first time Mike looked... Flapped. There was the littlest snarl in his lip, the slightest expression of concern in his eyes. He then turned his attention toward the stairs, grasping the remnants of the handrail in preparation to leap.
And was accosted by a pandajin with malicious intent. "Whu- Hey now kid, I-" His voice was smothered by the black wings. It wasn't a hammer strike, a bullet impact, or a slug to the face, but a wave of blinding black. He braced and fought against Mei as she wrapped him up, grappling for purchase on her form in an attempt to shake or throw her off.
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Post by Aidan on Dec 3, 2022 23:57:16 GMT
There was a flare of red light through the observation windows in the floor as lava began geysering up around the laser drilling down into Sanctuary. The ship juddered again, followed by a pulse of power that ran down through the energy beam and crashed through the bubbling pool below…
Unseen by the Raiders, far below them, lay Sanctuary - the home of the Twilight Crystal. The jewel sat on a dais in the center of a ring of pillars, with streams and gardens making up an outer circle, arranged in a fashion similar to Tolaria’s own geometry. The chamber’s walls were crystalline in structure, glittering in an array of shifting colors, and motes of light floated and flitted throughout. Directly above the chamber, at the height of the crystal dome, one could see a pool of lava - the bottom of Mount Infinity’s caldera.
In the center of that pool was a wide, blinding light, displacing the lava, cracking the crystalline dome, melting the fine structures… and finally punching through.
Crystal shattered and rained down upon Sanctuary as the beam of energy slammed down onto the dais in the center of Sanctuary. The stone pillars were obliterated, the finely carved mosaic of the Element Island engraved on the dais melting and shattering. The Twilight Crystal remained in the center of the blast, the plinth upon which it rested demolished, the Crystal itself untouched by the mobian-made weapon.
A pulse swept down through the beam, emitters shifting and rotating until a hollow space emerged in the center of the ongoing blast. In the base of the Argus ship, a new lens was opened - this one creating a disruption in the flow of chaos between the ship in the crystal, reaching out to pull upon the Crystal, to draw its power back up into the ship’s rapidly depleting batteries, recharging them - supercharging them - for the next stage of Demandred’s plan.
Aidan struggled with the door until Damien came up beside him and grabbed hold of one side. The two exchanged a brief glance and Aidan nodded, shifting his efforts to one door while Damien focused on the other. Damien was much stronger than Aidan, but as the dhampyr wrenched his door open, it made it easier for Aidan to force his side open.
Beyond the open doors was the command deck of the ship. A short gantry led to a command center that looked down under a sunken series of workstations, tended by a handful of Egg Pawns in the gray colors of Argus. Standing at the common center, her hands stretched out over the keyboards, forearms split open to allow several concealed manipulator arms, was Nexus - Argus’ technopath and Demandred’s right hand, a red fox with a body that had been mostly replaced by machines.
Behind Nexus stood a young woman dressed in a black, gothic gown of black lace, complete with ribbons and bows. She held a staff fashioned in the likeness of a snake in one hand, and as the two Raiders forced the doors open, she turned her red eyes over to regard them, her eyes glinting in the light of the control room, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Anastasia Darkholme.
“Good morning, Guardian. I don’t believe you have clearance for this area,” she said, the eyes of her serpentine staff glowing.
The air between Demandred and Elyas twisted and warped, shimmering with multicolored ribbon of lights as they both exerted control over the chaos of reality itself - one trying to stabilize it into unresponsiveness, the other trying to excite it into deadly action. Elyas’ feet slid on the decking, a trickle of blood sliding from his nose. Demandred crouched, a capillary in his eye bursting to paint his vision red.
And then the Raiders struck.
Reason’s blade flashed out, but the effort of keeping Elyas’ power at bay made his reactions sluggish. Her blade came down toward his wrist, and he trusted in Mike’s indestructible meta-ability to keep him safe.
A meta-ability caught in the confluence of chaos-dampening powers.
Resona’s blade cleaved cleanly through Demandred’s wrist and the wolf roared with pain, flinching backwards as his concentration broke. The mirage-like effects abruptly vanished as Elyas stepped forward, the full force of his power slamming down upon everyone around him. A split second later, Metzli slammed into him from behind, knocking him from his perched and down into the outward-facing ring of glass spikes, which shattered under their combined weight, the magic that shaped them long since dissipated.
Demandred let out a grunt of pain as he was pinned against the broken glass, reeling from the loss of his left hand and his abrupt disconnection from chaos.
“This ends now,” Aidan said, releasing the door but hesitating before stepping into the command area. He remembered the power of that staff - the ability to dominate the minds of the people she turned it against. It had been the reason why they had failed to stop the opening of the Hellgate that led to the appearance of the Shadow King on Tolaria.
“Demandred’s mad. Forcing people to become metas won’t change the traumas he’s endured, or excuse everything he’s done.
Elyas staggered as Demandred’s resistance collapsed and the Raiders pounced. “Metzli, get his arms behind him!” he called out, maintaining his focus on keeping his aura up at full strength, unwilling to risk weakening it.
He moved one hand to the back of his belt and tugged free a pair of cuffs linked by a stout cord and tossed it toward Kapp. “Bind him with the dampener cuffs! Mei, if you can bring that bulldog close we can knock him out while he’s dampened!”
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Post by Resonance on Dec 4, 2022 16:52:44 GMT
With Demandred's power now fully dampened, Reson swiftly side stepped to stand by his head, grateful for Metzli tackling and pinning him. She quickly struck the back of his head with the butt end of her spear, in an attempt to knock him unconscious. And hell, if he had a nasty concussion from it, she wouldn't be sorry.
Mei wrestled with Mike but she had the advantage that her Shadow form was only solid when she wanted it to be. When he managed to grab a hold of something, he maintained purchase only while her real body twisted out of the way, then the Shadows disolved in his grasp. Upon hearing Elyas's shout, Mei coiled her Shadow tail around Mike. Piercing yellow eyes appeared from the Shadow mass, then long arms and claws that found purchase in the flooring. With a heave, and added strength of her Shadows, the mass was vaulted towards Elays's aura, splitting from her Shadow Form as it did so. The Shadows wrapping around Mike began to dissipate as soon as they were no longer connected to Mei, and the fully vanished the moment they were in Elyas's sphere of influence. Mei stood, still fully encased in Shadow.
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Post by Uberwulf X on Dec 5, 2022 22:54:51 GMT
Metzli nodded to Elyas' command, leaning aside only enough to let Resonance stun him. She otherwise put her full weight on Demandred's body, a knee across the length of his back, as she went to draw his arms behind him. Her hands were always on him too-- first pinning his shoulders to the ground to help prevent him from twisting, then on his forearms to allow Kapp to cuff him.
Damien paused as Aidan did, frowning. "Wh--rude, I'm here too..."
He looked between Nexus, Aidan, and Anastasia, before pursing his lips and leaning over to Aidan to whisper.
"I don't want to turn around and fight you because of her weapon, but I've kinda got a lot of Chaos stored and can probably just glass this room from here. Should probably get Nexus out though."
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Post by Kyt on Dec 9, 2022 18:57:53 GMT
Yuki blinked, a fierce grin overtaking her at seeing Demandred just get dogpiled by everyone. She was a bit perturbed by his hand getting sliced off....but the Raiders would be able to take care of that later.
With the others all focused on Demandred, she shifted over to where Aidan and Damien were staring in at the room they just opened. They were looking at something, so she circled to the side rather than behind him, keeping herself out of view of whatever might be inside.
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