2017-05-20: Knights in the Nightmare

• Log: Knights in the Nightmare
• Cast: Lady Harken, Talise Gianfair, Tethelle Cirdian, Claude C. Kenny, Ida Everstead-Rey, Layna Manydays, Rena Lanford, Hiro, Jean, Lemina Ausa, Morgan Newkirk, Seraph Ragnell, Lucia, Cecilia Adlehyde, Gwen Whitlock, Cyre H. Lorentz, Siegfried, Sheriff Star, Vash the Stampede
• Where: Adelhyde Castle
• Date: 5/20/2017
• Summary: Siegfried and Lady Harken jump onto the roof of Adelhyde Castle in the midst of the battle.

---

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4iePaeLTOo

The skies above Adlehyde are burning.

The Metal Demon attack focused, at first, on the city. The rush of Metal Beasts is akin to a tactical sledgehammer: the monsters have no intelligence to speak of, only attacking where they are directed, and with little discretion or quarter. This is the backbone of Metal Demon attacks, for the Beasts are able to be created and used with little trouble. But, the bombardment -- directed from the city's outskirts -- has focused on the only fortification in Adlehyde to speak of: the castle walls.

The bombardment has strayed away from where the bulk of their forces have been going, too. The last thing they want is to drop an energy ball into some ancient ARM that explodes and destroys half the city, with them in it.

But, eventually, the bombardment comes to a stop -- whether at a command or because of interference, no one can say. King Justin of Adlehyde frowns, as he walks up to the battlements, and looks out over the city. The old man turns, hand gripping his cane, and shakes his head. "My daughter got as many of them into the castle as possible," he says. "Where are the rest?"

"I don't know, my lord," the knight standing next to him. "We heard that the Yggdrasill has surfaced outside of the city. Some have doubtlessly fled there, but... the city itself is in chaos. Our guards and knights are hard pressed to make their way here, much less have a good judgement of what is happening across the entire city."

"To think... that it's come to this," Justin murmurs.

He falls quiet, as he looks out at the lines of homes and businesses. Some are aflame and smoke rises, in great black billows that make a shudder run down the king's spine. The sight before him was the very one that he sought to avoid, in all of the long years of his reign. His hand goes to his silver, short beard, and he feels the old, injury-stiffened knee ache in pain. But then he pauses, as he catches it. A flash of blue against the sky.

His eyes squint, and then widen, before he raises a finger. "There! Guards, quickly--"

A few raise the gunsmoke rifles they carry, as they stand on the battlements, but it is too late. That rush of dark blue /slams/ into the stone battlements with a terrific crash, and half-a-dozen men go flying every which way in the sweep of a great sword of midnight and gold. Glumzambor swings out wide and fast, sending men scattering backward, and the azure-armored wielder looks up from the crater that his landing has smashed into the battlement.

The visor of Siegfried's helmet is up, revealing a square jaw and eyes that look slate grey -- until one looks right at them, and sees them glint red with a steely shine. The Quarter Knight turns his head, looking around, and then barks out a short, but harsh laugh.

"Where is it?" he shouts. "Where is the Teardrop?"

He is answered by one lone Adlehyde swordsman's charge. The man rushes in, long sword flashing, and a single stroke of Glumzambor sends it flying into the air. Siegfried's other hand grabs the soldier, bodily, and then hurls him screaming down into the city below. When he slams into the roof of a nearby building, it shatters under his weight.

The Quarter Knight looks down at the broken roof, then up. His eyes glint crimson, as he meets King Justin's. "A poorly chosen answer."

OBJECTIVE: Survive against Siegfried and Lady Harken for five rounds! BONUS OBJECTIVE: Keep King Justin from being knocked out before round three.

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

Thus far the battle had been something of a disappointing. At the youngest of the Quarter Knights, Lady Harken had little opportunity to actually test herself in combat. And now that they had finally joined in glorious battle... the foes she had come across were at best disappointing!

Where was the glory she had been seeking? The challenge? Fighting against weaklings was nothing more than pest control! And for a Demon who had been shaped to be war itself... that was simply insulting.

In one moment the battlements are relatively calm - the Metal Demons had fallen back for the time behind, allowing the defenders a brief moment to rest. And then lightning strikes in the form of a steel scythe. Harken launches herself from the ground, leaping from the Metal Demons' lines and streaking towards the upper battlements.

The Demons around her point of departure roar in approval as stone shatters, carved into pieces by the spinning blade of her weapon. Several guards and the section of the wall they are standing on fall backwards into the castle itself, and Harken skids to a stop, her red greaves kicking up a shower of sparks as she comes to a halt right next to Siegfried.

A massive scythe spins around, coming to rest on the smaller Quarter Knight's shoulder as she looks down at the King and his guards. The smile that crosses her face is not a kind one, and as Siegfried finishes his demands his companion raises one hand, her fist clenched. "At least they're showing a bit more spirit than the humans on the walls!" she declares, and then points at the King. "Let's see if they're actually willing to show some spine when their king stands under my blade!"

DC: Siegfried switches forms to Quarter Knight Siegfried!
DC: Lady Harken switches forms to Quarter Knight Lady Harken!

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

EARLIER TODAY

"Run and don't look back," Talise urged Dragon, releasing the horse's reins. The blue dun gelding is carrying an old man and a small boy on his back. Blood streaks down one side of the old man's face, but he's alright, if visibly shaken and more than a little scared. The boy was crying. He's not anymore. Mostly.

Talise pats the horse on the rump and smiles encouragingly. "Go," she urges again. "I'll catch up with you. Just get them out."

The horse gives her a look that somehow conveys an equine sense of worry. Then, with a snort, he's off, galloping through the streets, past rubble and patches of flame, and on out the gate, the fading sound of hoofbeats left behind.

The gentle smile Talise wears gradually melts away. Steel, hard and tempered, replaces it. Drawing Rastaban again, she turns slowly to face what she knows is behind her. Two or three metallic monstrosities. The things Lynnai Albrek only told her stories about.

._.~

NOW

The ruins of Talise's seafarer coat were left behind a long time ago, and her mail shirt has seen better days. Here and there, weapons have broken or mangled some of the links. From a few places, she's bleeding, a trace of it running from a corner of her mouth. Smudges of dirt and soot mar her skin. She'd picked up a simple, heavily-cheekguarded helmet from the palace; it doesn't quite match her gauntlets but it at least makes her look more knightly.

The blade of Rastaban is slick with oily fluid, beading down the weapon's edge like so much rainwater. Every drop is a remnant of the Metal Demons who've stood in her way today - lesser ones, mostly, but she's fought her way through more than a few.

Saved fewer Adlehydeans than she would like. Made it to the castle nevertheless. It may have been the safest place, but that also meant a lot of people would probably be making their last stands there. And she wasn't convinced it could hold out against that bombardment.

Her fears are confirmed. Not far away, further down the battlements, the King emerges - Justin, she remembers his name is. And then two Metal Demons who look rather more serious than the goons she's confronted down below dive in and hurl someone over the ramparts.

Instantly she breaks into a sprint. With a quick glance she tries to take stock of what she's dealing with - one with a sword, one with a gigantic sickle. Both are problems, but they aren't guns. They're problems she can deal with.

"Hey!" she shouts almost as soon as she's within earshot. "I've got an answer for you, big guy!"

Then she lunges. Hoping surprise will play a bit of a role here, she attempts to parry aside Siegfried's blade with a sudden skill move, all in the hope of getting inside his guard - and then she focuses for a second.

Magic flows through her gauntlets, her strength doubling, tripling, as she takes a hand off her sword and attempts to punch Siegfried in the chest as hard as she can - and it's a punch with the full strength of the Ogre Power Gauntlets behind it, on top of her own momentum hurtling into him.

She's trying to mega-punch him off the ramparts, even if she has to go over the edge with him.

"RUN," she shouts back at the King.

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Siegfried with This Is A Bad Idea!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's This Is A Bad Idea for 49 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian has had... let's say an eventful time during the invasion. But that's a story for another day.

What is clear that, at the moment, she has reached Adlehyde Palace on her search for Cecilia or some other people who she thinks might be good to join up with. She has defeated, destroyed, or simply eluded quite a few lesser Metal Demons to get here, but she has not yet run into one of the greatest ones.

That's about to change.

Tethelle is not on the walls - yet - when Siegfried and Harken leap up to them. She is at the base, on the outside. They actually go over her head, showering her with stone dust from the combined landing of Siegfried and Harken, and Tethelle doesn't even stop to think about what she's doing. Those are Metal Demons. She has obligations. Until she knows the truth of her mission, her obligation is to fight them.

And so, beneath Siegfried and Harken, there is a soft sound. A 'tink': metal on stone, muffled. And then another, slightly louder - and a third, louder yet.

Tethelle pulls herself up onto the battlement behind the Metal Demons. If they can climb up that way, so can she; she will ask for forgiveness later. With two of the Metal Demon lords right there, it's doubtful any of the Adlehydeian guards even saw her pull herself up. Her great sword is slung over her back, as she had no way to carry it while she climbed.

For an instant, though - because as soon as she reaches the top, Tethelle draws it. Shifting into a different stance as she sees someone charge the Metal Demon - Talise? - Tethelle swings, a two-handed horizontal blow, in the same movement she almost glides aside in. She doesn't want to be hit by Siegfried if he's thrown into her, after all.

"Demon," she growls, eyes flicking from Siegfried to Harken. In some ways, they look almost human - more so than the beasts she fought earlier. In others... "Have you not done enough?"

GS: Tethelle Cirdian has attacked Siegfried with Steps of Ara Solatu!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried critically Guards a hit from Tethelle Cirdian's Steps of Ara Solatu for 16 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude C. Kenny has had a long seven or eight hours. He spent half of that time in house-to-house fighting across the city looking for a friend who, as it turns out, was not even in the city to begin with. He spent about fifteen minutes getting dunked on by Zed, who as it turns out was indeed the Macho Man. He spent the next several hours bleeding slowly on a hill, until the friend he spent all that time looking for found him first and then dumped approximately a metric butt-ton of healing into him. Following a brief interlude in which he consumed one large pot of mushroom soup, Claude spent the next fifteen minutes running back toward the city, then up onto the walls, then hopping from roof to roof until he reached the Keep.

For a guy who basically had his entire ass dislocated by Zed less than five hours ago, he is moving absurdly well. Pretty much as well as he usually does. Far beyond the point to which Crest Sorcery would be able to restore him. Which is... strange until you consider who healed him.

Both the sinclair-hilted broadsword and Everstead-Rey repeater Claude favours are lying in pieces somewhere along the burning streets of Adlehyde, and both the speed of his run (and the burdens he carried along the way) prevented him from picking up another one along the way. By the time he reaches the outer wall of the Keep, and drops off the things he was carrying, he is badly in need of a weapon. He arrives too late to save the soldier Siegfried throws down, but he can honour the man's sacrifice.

Claude C. Kenny leaps into the air above the Waurter Knights, his right hand extended to catch the spinning longsword out of the air. He bobbles it, grabs it on the second try, then shifts into a two-handed grip as he begins to fall downward, driving the blade beneath his feet. "ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--oh wait that's not him"

Lady Harken: victim of really, really mistaken identity

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

            Ida has lost track of time. At some point, after she collapsed behind a barricade, everything just turned into a blur of violence and fire, interspersed with moments of dread, horrifying clarity. Her mother taught her that focus was essential in a combat zone, especially one teeming with hordes of ravenous beasts--horrible things would happen, and she had to keep a firm hand on her own emotions at all times. Her station in society provides further reinforcement for that. It wouldn't do for a noblewoman to have a nervous breakdown in public, no matter what happens. Stiff upper lip, and all.

            Nevertheless, alternating between adrenaline-spiked focus, emotional numbness, rage, anger, and a dozen other states of mind has taken its toll. It's shown on her body, too. Her shirt and jacket have been sliced open; and are mixed with bandages--lots of which are stained crimson. There's more than a little silver there, too. Her face is reddened, and there are dark circles under her eyes. She does not look well at all.

            It's testament to how the past day has gone that her first reaction on sighting the blur is a study in contrasts. Part of her goes, Target sighted. Moving to engage. while another part of her goes no and the rest of her just of sits there, in numb silence. The castle. They broke through, at last.

            Ida glances at the other Drifter sharing her sniper nest--she figures him a veteran of Aveh-Kislev, or maybe Celesti. "Ark," she says, "May I borrow your grapple for a moment? There are some rude individuals attempting to visit the King without making a proper appointment first."

            Ark smiles. "Didn't figure you Galadians for black-humor," he says. He unbuckles something from his belt. "Bring it back in one piece, or don't come back at all."

            There's the soft 'pthk' of something burying itself in the stone a few yards down from where King Justin is minutes away from being murdered, if that. A soft rustling noise, not unlike the rattle of a snake you can't yet see, hisses through the air, easily lost in the din. A hand grips the battlement, and then another--and Ida Everstead-Rey hauls herself onto the battlement, some sort of odd pneumatic grapple assembly belted around her waist--it's held in place by a lot of leather strips, but does not seem to interfere with her draw. This is crucial.

            Are those--? Ida thinks. They look so human. Just like Kalve and Zed and Riesenlied, and probably others, too. Ida chokes down the thought. In a flash, both of her revolvers are in her hands, and a look of spearpoint focus is in her eyes. "Drop it," Ida says. She thinks she managed to sound threatening. "And step away from him, or die." One gun is pointed at Siegfried, and the other at Harken. Others rush in. Ida pulls one trigger, and sends a slug screaming at the red-armored Demon. It's almost reflexive.

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Lady Harken with Revolver Shot!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Lady Harken with Down Plus Stab Equals Downstab!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Down Plus Stab Equals Downstab for 83 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Revolver Shot for 40 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

It had taken awhile, but Layna had finally reconvened with her crew. They met at Adlehyde Castle, where refugees were currently being held.

"Captain! Good to see you safe and sound!" A tall, thin man with a cutlass at his side said. Standing next to him was a short, stern-faced woman with a large boarding axe hefted over one shoulder.

"Roche, Dahlia. How's the crew? I see some missing faces." Layna asks, a little concerned.

"We had a few injuries. They're resting now, but nothing severe. But really, those monsters...they're like nothing I've ever seen before!" Roche, the tall one, said.

Layna frowns.

"Yeah, I know. Enough of that-"

Before she can get anything further out, the castle is suddenly rocked by something colliding with it.

Layna curses.

"Keep an eye on the civilians, buckos! I'll go deal with this personally!" She shouts and departs.

When she gets to the source, she finds a pair of intimidating armored figures menacing an important-looking fellow. A king, maybe?

And what's more...friends! Familiar friends!

"Aye, what's this? Started a rumble and didn't invite Captain Manydays?" She laughs.

Incidentally, she had yet to hear about the rumors and histories surrounding the demons before her. That didn't stop her from drawing her bladed gauntlets from their sheaths at her back and charging forward, attempting to follow Talise's lead - though this one to the one with the scythe.

GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Lady Harken with Here I Am Me Hearties!!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Here I Am Me Hearties! for 71 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Rena hasn't had nearly as long a day as Claude had, but... well, now that she's getting a little more into the loop than she was before all this crap went down, he's more than a little displeased about it. Especially the whole 'killing children, women, and the elderly without mercy' thing. And so, after reuniting with Claude, and basically dumping her entire MP pool into him. She's back into the fray.

Because this fool wanted to come back. She can't just leave him to go alone. They're a team! So as Claude hops from roof to roof, Rena is not too far behind, matching his movements worryingly well, until one realizes that Rena is indeed a martial artist herself. They never did find him another weapon, but it looks like that issue will sort itself out on itss own.

Especially as Claude leaps into the air and grabs that spinning sword.

Well, weapon conundrum solved.

Rena resists the urge to snort despite the gravity of the situation, and leaps on over to follow after her companion. "Claude, be careful!" She calls out to him, thrusting her hands out and channeling preemptive bout of healing to the young man. This should help take the edge off any counter attacks.

GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Relief!
GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action.
GS: Rena Lanford heals Claude C. Kenny! He gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

There's no grand reason why the Vile Fiends are present in the Adlehyde castle. When the destruction started, they were just a few among many drifters that sought to help the civilians out- but with the ways out of the city cut off, their only route was inward, towards the most fortified place.

It's one of those times where you feel helpless to stop it. So you just try to do what you can.

But what they've done has them already battered and exhausted- the sights of devastation, the bodies, seared into his memories. Even a skirmish against the far superior Metal Demon forces had taken all they'd had to even reach the castle- and give them a brief reprieve. Brief mostly because- the battlements just exploded above them shaking the barricaded room they'd gathered in, "Don't tell me they're sieging the castle from above..." He says fearfully, dread settling in at the idea that a whole army had arrived.

An act which caused Ruby to look like she's panicking from her spot on his shoulder. "What!? Isn't this supposed to be the safest place in the city!?" "Right now it might be the opposite..."

He says as he surveys the people they've evacuated, before looking at Jean, Lemina- Lucia. His eyes linger on her for a moment, before he closes them, crossing his arms. "I don't think there's any way out for us. Our best option is to get up there and help beat them back. It's the best way to help these people if we can delay them even for a little while." "How are we going to delay an army Hiro!?" "I... don't know Ruby. We just have to try. Jean. Lemina. Lucia. What do you think? You all with me?"

He opens his eyes, gives Ragnell this tiny smile- at least, the spot where he thinks Ragnell is- it's still hard to see her. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to lend us a hand here? We could sure use one."

Hightailing it up the stairwell to the battlements that was still intact, he all but leapt up three stairs at a time- until he emerged at the top, the dust from the initial explosion hadn't even settled. It was pretty easy to grasp what was going on. Though 'army' had changed to two individuals with the power of an army. His heart may sink a bit at that fact. "Only... two of them."

But that didn't matter, as he set his jaw. Notched sword sliding out of his scabbard, he sprinted towards the armored Quarter Knight, past the fallen King- following up on Talise's punch and Tethelle's heavy blow to try to press in and follow up on that by with a series of diagonal feints to try to test the guard of that wicked spear. "Maybe I don't know what you're here for..."

He doesn't really expect to penetrate armor that thick- so instead he follows up to try to ring a pommel strike against his armor- and push his weight into it to try to shove Siegfriend further back towards the edge of the battlements. "...but I do know that nothing gives you the right to destroy the lives of so many people! Jean now!"

Swiftly he ducks out of the way and side-steps, acting in tandem with his martial artist companion to help give her the opening she needs.

GS: Hiro has attacked Siegfried with Basic Attack Command!
GS: Hiro has completed his action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Hiro's Basic Attack Command for 59 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Jean can't quite get the ruined warzone of the city out of her mind, even closing her eyes. Bodies left fallen around, strange creatures roaming... Some of them dead, too. It's a serious destruction. Strangely enough it doesn't stop her acting, doesn't keep her still or prevent her from doing what she needs or even wants to do. It's just... There, a constant background for her heart at the moment that twists on occasion. It aches, but... Not all the time.

She has things that she has to do. Things she's been doing, in fact; she's put on smiles and energy for the people she and her friens have been rescuing about the city, and just as the firing stops above, she's downstairs. Her hands are at her sides, but she looks both serious and concerned. "Safety is relative." The screams echo in her ears, even though it's quiet here. She ignores them. "There has to be some source to this, but what can we do against an army...?" Jean says that and looks around at the other Fiends, shaking her head. "...You're right. If we can help even one more person through this..." She lets out a breath, and looks up, meeting Hiro's eyes, looking at Lemina, watching Lucia. "I'm with you." A pause, "Lemina, try to stay behind me, all right?"

It was tiring; it was exhausting, where they were. The rattling of the castle made her close her eyes, not even startled but more like it squeezes a little more out of her. She doesn't look very recovered from any of what's happened, but she starts for the stairs.

Jean starts up the stairs, stepping quickly, her strides taking her as fast as Hiro with taking them three steps at a time, until like many others she bursts out onto the scene to see what's here. Rubble and armor await her, and Jean's eyes widen as she sees the huge weapons these largest two carry, and then spots who is obviously the King of this place. Lady Harken's words, too, echo for her.

Strength is about crushing your enemies into the dust.

The dancer's eyes flash and she shakes her head. "No," she insists, "I..." She sets her teeth. There's a few moments here where she hesitates, looking between the two of them. This kind of battle...

She's already moving before she finishes deciding, and Hiro calls out. They've praticed this more than once. "This isn't strength!" she calls, and ducks in as Hiro sidesteps, starting from below with her razor fans to twist and slash and cut upward about Siegried.

Mid-jump she says, "Lemina, get ready!" Land, roll out of the way, "Now!"

GS: Jean has attacked Siegfried with Razor Dance!
GS: Jean has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Jean's Razor Dance for 73 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

Operating in a warzone is not Lemina's strong suit by a mile. She's usually the one blowing things up, not slowing or stopping the encroaching doom. She's not handling it really great, if we're being honest; she's the slowest of the Fiends by a fair bit, and even having significantly improved on that front lately, she's still barely keeping up with her friends. Occasionally she flash-freezes some fire, which is neat.

"Are we sure we can't leave?" Lemina asks of Hiro, despite showing no actual intention of leaving. "Then again -- if they're already here at the castle, we're... kinda mega-screwed on that front..." She lets out a sigh.

After a moment, she adds, "... yeah, you know I'm with you." That's all the argument that she can make right now; there's something awful happening and that's really all the motivation Lemina needs, despite what she says. She nods to Jean, saying, "I'm with you. C'mon, Lucia -- let's get going."

---

Ultimately, she follows along behind Jean up the stairs, her bow in hand. At least until they get where they're going, she feels like it's a better choice than her usual flavor of magic -- more precise and less... on fire. This place could generally use less fire and death and infinity.

She pales a little as she sees Harken and Siegfried -- but despite her growing fear, she sticks close to her friends... with a very worried glance toward the King.

Nodding to Hiro as he gives the signal to attack, Lemina nocks an arrow and waits for the right moment. It's do or die time!

Despite the fact that people are closing to melee, the right moment comes, and Jean signals it; the mage spots an opening and lets her arrow fly for Siegfried's midsection with a, "Gotcha!"

GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Siegfried with Mystic Bow!
GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Morgan had been busy ever since the attack. Orginising what diggers her could in defense of the Guildhouse. Trying to escort refugees outside the chaos of the city gates. Crossing back though the city to try to meet up with a few friends. Which is what puts him near the walls of the castle.

Which is why he sees the metor like arrival of the force of distruction that is the Quarter Knight. Now the fox is torn. On one hand that fella and his friends up there look like they can take on the entire army by themselves.

On the other hand...there is a plan that this is intrupting...

One ear twitches slightly as he casts his eyes up to the battlements. No. He can't interfere he shouldn't let this slow him down. That just wouldn't be right. He has bigger things to do...

And then there is a scream. Whillhelm is flung from the battlements and crashes to the ground in the ruins of a building.

"Hell with this," The Digger growls as he raises his arm. Brillint blue-white power erupts from it as it creates an anchor point on the top of the battlements and expands into a latticework of energy. A ladder right up there.

One that Morgan takes at a run, two at a time even.

As he leaps the top of the battlements his ARM is already shifting again. The energy flaring to bright light as a tri-barreled canon appears attached to his glowing gauntlet. He isn't even trying to hide it anymore.

The roar of gunfire cuts though the chaos of battle as he hammers rounds into the Quarter Knight.

"Thought y'all might could use some help up here."

The drawl sounds more like he was commenting like a broken cart rather than the hell that has befellen the city.

GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Siegfried with Ace High!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed its action.
GS: CRITICAL! Siegfried guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Mystic Bow for 81 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Last night, right around sunset, Ragnell had managed to track down the Vile Fiends for battle--but not her own, though that may come to pass at some point. Winning herself a favor from Ruby by making a well-placed bet, she's stuck around with the group, and when they'd as one decided to head *towards* Adlehyde when the Metal Fiends's attack began, she packed up and left with them with no more explanation for her presence than a tip of the hat and a "Lookin' forward to fightin' with y'all." The Malevolence that still radiates from Lucia like she's a rod of pure plutonium is decidedly (extremely) uncomfortable, but Ragnell's had experience with steeling herself against these things. To look at her now, you'd barely guess at the waves of nauseating power lapping at her senses like a vast night ocean on a small, deserted island. But then, she's following the Vile Fiends into a warzone, and war has always been a rich source of Malevolence. If she can't shield her heart and soul against this much, there's no way she'd be able to do what she needs to do.

And there's much that needs doing here indeed.

Ragnell had initially been sympathetic towards the Metal Demons; they had, after all, been wiped out centuries ago, and her main exposure to them up until now has been Zed, whom she likes. She is somewhat less sympathetic after seeing the rather indiscriminate nature of their attacks. Though she's no fan of humans either, it's no skin off her nose to help the Vile Fiends get civilians, particularly children, to safety, ultimately following them to the castle. But then the castle, too, is under attack--no surprise there.

"If you wanna get chopped into meat cubes on the way out, be my guest," she drawls at Lemina, asking if there's no way they can't just leave. When Hiro asks for her help, though... "Well, hell," she says, tipping her hat up with the barrel of one of her guns. She smirks, briefly, at Jean's comment that safety is relative, and nods agreement. "I followed y'all this far. May as well go all the way."

And so she races up to the battlements along with her strange companions, taking up the rear due to her specialty in ranged combat. "'Only' two?" she says dryly to Hiro when they reach the top and spot Siegfried and Harken, opposing the King and his men. Her eyes narrow as she takes in the Quarter Knights. They... don't look like foes to be trifled with. But then, there's no way she can back off now. Besides: it's as Jean says; strength is about more than just raw power.

Hiro initiates an attack; Jean follows up; Lemina is called upon to go next, and Lucia will no doubt finish the combination assault on Siegfried. Ragnell isn't part of the group, is more a guest than anything else, and so the pair of electric bullets she fires at Siegfried have no particular rhyme or rhythm compared to anyone else's attack... but that might help serve as a distraction, if nothing else. As she circles the rampart behind the Vile Fiends, she takes a brief moment to assess the battleground. There's several familiar faces here--Morgan, Talise, and Ida, for example--and several more unfamiliar faces. She glances in particular at Claude, who she doesn't recognize but based on his screaming has a mutual acquaintance with her, and Rena, who follows him in with a wave of healing. Smart girl. She wonders, momentarily, where Zed is in all this chaos.

GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Siegfried with Twin Bullet!
GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Seraph Ragnell's Twin Bullet for 59 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lucia has posed.

This is the way the world ends:

The Lord of Calamity is holding a baby.

Her eyes are huge with fear, or is it awe? They're huge, regardless, like gaping holes in her stony face. Garbed in crimson normally, the fire in the sky has transformed her hair to violet, stained her skin from impossible cloud-white to an equally impossible tawny red-gold. She is flecked in actual blood, too, from run-ins on the streets of Adelhyde.

The ball of swaddling in her hands is reasonably quiet, though it may be from sheer exhaustion. It has been a very long day.

---

EARLIER

"Hiro, we seem to be running towards the danger."

---

"Hiro, Gwen gave us that warning for a very good reason, I'm sure."

---

"Hiro, I understand that you are worried for these people, but if we are randomly slain in this disaster, everyone on both worlds will surely perish."

---

"Hiro--" A baby is put in her arms. "--what is the noise this tiny human is making?" Rising panic. "...how do I make it stop?"

---

NOW

"Ruby," Lucia says, instantly and for all time disqualifying herself from motherhood, "Please take the... baby."

The word still tastes unfamiliar on her tongue, though this is her second encounter with an infant human. She lets go of the child with more reluctance in her fingertips than she expected, but... well, it needs to be anywhere but here right now.

So does she, but as Hiro, Jean and Lemina plunge into danger, she discovers more reluctance in her feet than she expected, too. And a terrible pain in her chest.

And another feeling, too, as she looks over Siegfried and Harken and the older man they're threatening. Maybe more than one, even.

'--the Teardrop--'

Make that four feelings total. Suddenly the young woman hardly seems dazed and confused at all. A rooftop wind blows her hair dramatically back, across her shoulders and over her ruffling cloak, and claims her hat entirely -- it disappears into the chaos of this horrible, horrible day, ne'er to be seen again.

"Who are you, you who would covet the Teardrop?" she calls across the gap, challengingly. It's the most like her original self Hiro has ever seen her since the first time they met -- or maybe the last time she confronted Leo. "You who would work such darkness in its name? I, Lucia of the Blue Star, demand to know!"

GS: Lucia has attacked Siegfried with In The Name Of The Blue Star!
GS: Lucia has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Lucia's In The Name Of The Blue Star for 0 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde, Princess Royal of the Kingdom of Adlehyde, Heir Apparent to same, Fully Accredited Crest Sorceress, Anointed Shaman of the Guardians, Innocent One, tried to fight off an army by herself and largely came up short. Her dear friend Bart and two of his gaggle of cohorts came to her rescue, and together they managed to fail upwards into the castle. Where she was swiftly taken aside by a kind new friend and given a chance to heal, and something resembling a chance to grieve. Or possibly just break.

She was warned. They told her this would happen. But what made it happen. The Guardians said the Tomb would open, and a harbinger would appear. There wasn't a harbinger of this! They just came! Or is this just a shadow of what they can really do!? Anguish and fear and rage bursting in her mind, she ultimately slept when her emotions exhausted her body beyond its limits; perhaps the only kind of sleep anyone's getting right now.

So it's a few seconds after the whole castle rattles under two impacts that the Princess stumbles out of her chambers, haphazardly tucking herself into the overlayer of her dress. "What's going on!?" she yells, and a guard down the hall, scared out of his wits, stares up. "The roof," he croaks.

Cecilia's already gone.

* * *

"Father!" Cecilia calls, the long-haired blonde rushing out onto the roof with her staff in hand. She's only one among many 'Drifters' who bolt upward as the war arrives; and as others dash in, Cecilia surveys the scene, and hovers nearer the King. "...Father," she breathes; not quite a whisper so much as it's like her voice won't rise any higher. "Are...are these...?"

Adelhyde's royal family has done more work than most on maintaining the legends, after all. She steadies herself and raises her staff, the earth at her feet rising up to blast at Siegfried; like the others, trying to force him back.

GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has attacked Siegfried with Break!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried critically Guards a hit from Morgan Newkirk's Ace High for 17 hit points!
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Cecilia Adlehyde's Break for 44 hit points!
GS: Siegfried enters CONDITION GREEN!!

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

While Morgan comes in like a big damn hero, there's the someone else tumbling in soon after him- the ruffled, bruisedscratchedwounded but otherwise fine super courier, Gwen Whitlock, here to deliver... well, something. Safety? A possible rescue? Some ARM power? Possibly large amounts of confusion, due to the rolled up sleeve, baring the full evidence of her metal ARM. There's no hiding it now; she needs her most powerful (and really only weapon, aside from a spare knife) weapon at the ready.

She's almost done stuffing a round of bullets into an opening at the bend of her arm, shutting it closed. As Morgan makes his grand entrance, Gwen's also firing, trying to hold back the two rather intimidating Metal Demons.

Suddenly the giant metal puma with several layers of teeth seems a much nicer beast to tangle with. "We gotta give our all here, Morgan," she murmurs next to him. "That's the king over there. If he goes down, the spirit of the people of Adlehyde may just follow."

GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Siegfried with Coil Shot!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

The worst has come to pass. The metal demons are on the march, the greatest among them have emerged to deal a fatal blow to the kingdom of Adlehyde, and it seems the only thing standing in their way is a squadron of intrepid heroes and also a whole bunch of random drifters and homeless people with a little too much power under their belts.

Speaking of which.

A figure ascends Adlehyde castle. He does not take the stairs. It looks almost as if he's floated all this way on... A balloon. An enormous balloon loosed into the sky and filled to the brim with enough hot air to fill exactly one of Zed's lungs.

The balloon comes unfurled. A Man In A White Cloak lands on the rooftop.

"I thought these were all just legends," Cyre mutters, his hand wrapping tight around his medium. "That's fine. It just means we need to send you all back to the history books."

He takes in a deep breath. Two Cyre-sized lungfuls of air.

And then...

He roars.

A shockwave of raw, concussive force barrels out from the hollow of his chest, surging downrange and right into... Lady Harken. He can feel it-- the rage of the Guardians, burning in his blood. This is what he was meant to do by coming here...!

(Possibly to die, but the Guardians can be jerks like that)

GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has attacked Lady Harken with Howling Gale!
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Cyre H. Lorentz's Howling Gale for 68 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Siegfried guards a hit from Gwen Whitlock's Coil Shot for 72 hit points!
GS: Jam! Statuses applied to Siegfried!

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

Hmph, it figures that the feisty ones would tend to go after Siegfried first. But Harken believed that the castle would have some worthy opponents, and it seems that she was correct. Perhaps today would not be a complete waste after all.

"That's much better," she states in amusement as the first of the Drifters in the area throw themselves at her. Claude comes leaping over the ranks of the Adelhyde soldiers, and Harken takes the hit head on, the weapon slamming into her crimson armor before screaming aside. The Red Valkyrie takes a step back from the force of the blow, before spinning her scythe around and deflecting the bullet that Ida launches her way.

There was one thing that bothered her, however - and that was being mistaken for THAT MAN of all people. "Really, you thought I was *ZED*?" she demands of Claude. "Your sword form is interesting, but I don't think that I'm going to be able to forgive someone who mistakes me for THAT fool!" The scythe comes around in a fast arc, as Harken aims to deliver a pair of quick blows to the blonde haired stranger's chest. No, she wasn't going to kill this one first. She wanted him to suffer for THAT mistunderstanding.

But it seems like someone else is trying to help out, and Harken pauses as the healing spell hits Claude. Well, that makes things... interesting. The Metal Demon turns, and rushes straight towards Rena. She brings her scythe around, not aiming to actually strike the blue haired girl but simply to try and knock her backwards and off her feet. "Oh ho, so the fool has his own personal healer as well?" she asks, looking down at Rena for a moment. The Valkryie tilts her head to the side for a moment, and then smiles wickedly and looks back over her should at Claude, raising her weapon in a single salute... or perhaps in threat, as she has the weapon pointed at Rena.

The strange pirate who follows up Claude's rush receives a more interested smile, as Harken steps into her attack, taking the full brunt of her charge. The gauntlets slam into her, and the Valkryie grins as she is pushed back a step. "Much better. SO much better!" she declares, spinning her scythe around and launching a blow straight into Layna's side. The scythe cuts through the air, making an almost audibly sharp sound as she tries to lay open her opponent with that single wicked move.

It seems the commander is getting far more attention than she was at this point. Harken looks at the wild melee surrounding Siegfried at this point, and an expression of disgust crosses her face. "Are they... IGNORING ME?" she asks. Barely half the number who were challenging the other Quarter Knight. "This is INSULTING." Harken looks around for a moment... and then her eyes fall on King Justin, as his guards move to protect him.

And the Quarter Knight smiles.

Unlikle Siegfried, Harken doesn't do a lot of fighting from range. Instead she moves *blindingly* fast, and the first person in the line of her charge is Ida. "Don't think those primitive ARMs are going to save you!" the Quarter Knight roars, and she brings her scythe down next to her waist. And then... she blurs, her form shimmering for a moment as Harken employs her technique. A shining, glittering arc leaves a line of light across the room, and suddenly Harken is *behind* Ida.

The cut comes immediately afterwards.

But a burst of force slams into Harken, pushing her to the side for a moment. She staggers, and then looks up as a strange hooded man stands before her. "Oh, that wasn't too bad, but I'm afraid I'm going to need MORE THAN THAT!" she shouts. She dives forward, lashing out with her weapon as she aims to sweep Cyre aside... and then barrels into the guards surrounding King Justice.

There is a splash of blood as the first guard goes down, and then Harken releases her weapon - which continues on its arc, moving as if it had a will of its own to cut down another guard. She leaps up, grabbing onto the helmets of the last two in her way and driving them headlong into the floor... just before her scythe whirls back and slams into her hand.

And then... the King. Harken walks lazily across the carpet towards the King, looking at him for a long moment. "I don't personally approve of striking down the lame," she comments, but the flash in the Metal Demon's eyes show that she is not entirely sincere about that comment. "But really, I came here for a BATTLE. And they all seem to be focused on Siegfried. So... allow me to persuade you to tell me where the Teardrop is in his place." The scythe comes up, reflecting the torchlight for a moment... and Harken holds the attack for a moment, almost as if daring someone to get in her way!

But only a moment, and the blade comes whistling down towards King Justin's chest.

Not to kill, no. She wants this to HURT.

GS: Lady Harken has attacked Lady Harken with Lethal Momentum!
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Lethal Momentum for 0 hit points!
GS: Hyper and Quick! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Azrael - Spinning Slash!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Rena Lanford with Bull Rush!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Layna Manydays with Fast Draw - Slash Rave!
GS: That attack doesn't exist. [Fast Draw -Speed Fang]
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Azrael - Spinning Slash!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Sheriff Star with Azrael - Reaper Slice!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Fast Draw - Speed Fang!
GS: Lady Harken has completed her action.
GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Reaper Slice for 101 hit points!
GS: Layna Manydays takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Slash Rave for 117 hit points!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Speed Fang for 80 hit points!
GS: Claude C. Kenny guards a hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Spinning Slash for 66 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

Talise comes hurtling in at Siegfried like a missile, and before he can even form a response to Lady Harken, the Quarter Knight is surprised to be punched. Her strength is mighty -- and he budges all of a couple of feet, turning to look down at her. His eyes gleam, red reflected in them, and then he moves faster than he should. His hand reaches out, grabs her arm by the elbow before she can even pull back, and then he slams her with the force of a train into the side of a battlement.

She may be able to kick off of it. She may make it so she bounces off in a controlled way. She doesn't, however, evade his grasp quite yet -- because he swings her hard, and throws her into Tethelle just as her slash slams into Glumzambor's thick blade.

"I see the humans come," Siegfried says. "So be it! Then know this. Know that there will be no quarter given. Know that your time on Filgaia is at an end, and that I claim what is mine by right of the only goddess there is!"

His words are shouted, even as Hiro charges. The pommel of his sword slams into Siegfried's great plate armor. There is a hollow ring -- and then another as he turns, and swings the arm not holding Glumzambor to meet Jean's rush, and the razor-sharp fans bite into that alien steel with a shower of sparks.

His teeth are bared in a wolf-like grin, and they too reflect with a hint of metal in them. And then Lemina looses her arrow. It slams through the armor, incredibly, and lodges into it. The knight grunts -- but there isn't the howl of pain one might expect.

And then he sees the woman in red. His eyes narrow -- and Siegfried laughs. "You," he says. "The one that my subordinates spoke of. The Destroyer. I am Siegfried, master and commander of the Quarter Knights, lord of the Metal Demons of Hyades upon Filgaia! This world, squandered by humankind, is mine!"

He grips Glumzambor with both hands, then swings the Dark Spear down, plunging the point of the huge blade into the ground.

The golden eye in the blade blinks and shudders, before great lances of white, yellow, green, blue, and grey light sweep and arch out. They scar the ground, arcs of the stuff slashing through battlements and whipping towards Jean, Hiro, Lemina, and Lucia in turn -- and make the air nearby shudder and shimmer in an unreal way. The energy burns to the touch, without even a hint of sorcerous power.

Ragnell's shots slam into his back a moment later. Sparks fly, when they hit -- and Siegfried stumbles, once, before he turns. His left arm lets go of the Dark Spear, and he turns to aim directly at Ragnell. Perhaps other Metal Demons cannot see Seraphim.

He is not other Metal Demons.

A compartment in the demon knight's forearm lifts, and then a smooth barrel appears -- before a pulse of shuddering white and blue light explodes out of it, hurtling towards the lightning Seraph. He turns, a moment later, as Morgan fires. The round punches into the armor, but doesn't rip through.

Siegfried grips his sword, then, and leaps -- away from all those who charged after him. His cape flutters after, before he comes down at Morgan. Glumzambor sweeps back--

--and then sweeps forward in a terrifying flash of red as he tries to slash through the Digger's midsection. The shot from Gwen's armor slams into his back, a moment later, and he stumbles forward, before whipping around. The arm cannon is still raised -- and he fires, a bolt loosing right for the Drifter as she comes around.

The earth comes screaming at him, then, and smashes into his leg, only to break against the armor. The knight turns, eyes locked on Cecilia -- and then onto Justin.

He narrows his eyes as he sees the king. "Cecilia!" Justin calls, looking back at her. He had started to run at Talise's insistence, but the sight of his daughter changes things. He turns, to face Siegfried, and puts himself between his child and this monster.

And the other monster comes in. Harken swings in close -- and the scythe slashes into the King's chest. His blue uniform is no guard -- and his sword isn't drawn in time. He stumbles backward, blood flowing.

Siegfried lifts his arm, uncaring that Harken struck the king. The ion cannon fires, a pulse hurtling right for Justin's midsection. "Fool," Siegfried spits.

GS: Siegfried has attacked Talise Gianfair with Shocking Grasp!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Talise Toss!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Hiro with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Jean with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lemina Ausa with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lucia with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Ion Pulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Ion Pulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Nemesis Cleave!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Sheriff Star with Ion Pulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Siegfried with Overcharge Protocol!
GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Siegfried takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Overcharge Protocol for 0 hit points!
GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Siegfried!
GS: Talise Gianfair guards a hit from Siegfried's Shocking Grasp for 64 hit points!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian guards a hit from Siegfried's Talise Toss for 70 hit points!
GS: Rena Lanford takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Bull Rush for 97 hit points!
GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a glancing hit from Siegfried's Ion Pulse for 67 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Nemesis Cleave for 26 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Lucia takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 193 hit points!
GS: Jean takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 112 hit points!
GS: Hiro critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 23 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Ion Pulse for 28 hit points!
GS: Lucia has activated a Force Action!
GS: Lucia has activated a Force Action!
GS: Lucia has activated a Force Action!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz takes a glancing hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Spinning Slash for 61 hit points!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Azrael - Spinning Slash!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Spinning Slash for 116 hit points!
GS: Lemina Ausa critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 24 hit points!
GS: Lucia has activated a Force Action!
GS: Lucia has activated a Force Action!
GS: Siegfried has canceled their attack on Sheriff Star.
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lucia with Ion Pulse!
GS: Lucia takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Ion Pulse for 148 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"...wait, I thought Zed was in charge of the Metal Demons," Claude C. Kenny says, sounding honestly confused about what is going on here. You mean his guess that there were Metal Demon nobility was right, but Zed isn't one of them? HOW CAN THIS BEEEEEE--

Harken's scythe swings around and Claude blurs into motion, bringing his borrowed guardsman's blade up in a horizontal guard, deflecting the first strike up and away from his head. He backsteps to catch the second, but the sheer power of the Quarter Knight's blows carries him off-balance, leaving him wide open for the next strike...which he turns into, taking it on his upper arm, the armored weave of his Federation uniform jacket hardening against the cut, though the impact sends pain shooting deep into his shoulder and torso. Fortunately, Rena's healing takes the ache away... though the elf girl herself seems to be targeted by the fiendish Harken. And threatened with more.

Claude forces himself to smile - can't show her he's concerned. "I'm not worried about Rena - she can take care of herself," he says, as confidently as he can manage. "Besides, I fought Zed earlier today, and I've got to say... he hits harder than you, lady." Having just taunted his second raid boss of the day, Claude C. Kenny back pedals quickly, snapping his sword across his body, sending a scything vacuum blade whistling toward Lady Harken. "Come on, then! Let's see what the big damn deal is all about! AIR SLASH!" he roars, firing another, trying to pull Harken away like the good offtank he is.

GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Lady Harken with Air Slash!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.

DC: MISS! Lady Harken completely evades Air Slash from Claude C. Kenny!

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle follows through with her strike before returning to a defensive position, still gliding to the side -

Scratch that. That's what she was going to do, but she ends up having Talise thrown at her instead.

Teth withstands the impact instead, switching her sword to a one-handed grip for a moment as she almost seems to catch Talise. Which works well enough, except somewhere along the way she manages to get smashed in the face with Talise's helmet; that combined with the sheer impact of being smashed with an entire other person sends her staggering back a step or two, though thankfully along the battlement rather than off the edge.

Releasing Talise, she doesn't give her a grin - Tethelle is a little busy to be her usual fun-loving self right now. "You all right?" she asks instead, before returning to her two-handed grip on her sword, barely waiting for a response before she's off again. There's a lot more Drifters throwing themselves into battle than she expected; this is by far the largest fight Tethelle has ever been in, and probably the most confused, too.

Time to clear that up a little.

She tightens her grip. "Metal Demon," she says, before raising her voice. "Quarter Knight Siegfried!"

Tethelle takes a breath, then points the blade toward Siegfried. "I am Tethelle Cirdian of the western Baskar! You do not know me, but I am a Zoa Priestess, student of the Way of the Sword, Priestess of Equites! Leave the King alone. I will be your challenger!"

This is probably a bad idea. But Tethelle has done so well against the lesser Metal Demons that she considers it worth a shot. Her style, ancient and archaic, is designed to fight Metal Demons.

As Tethelle tightens her grip on her sword, it begins to glow. Tethelle is indeed a Shaman. This is a martial technique rather than a spell requiring a Medium, an imbuement of chi... but it feels similar, somehow. A blade, held by one touched by the Guardians, used to fight Metal Demons with a technique created in war against them...

Tethelle takes one step forward, then another. She shifts through two or three positions so swiftly and smoothly it's hard to tell where one ends and one begins, the blade leaving a faint contrail behind it - before with a last slash, she attempts to cut into Siegfried, the energy building on the sword exploding outward!

GS: Tethelle Cirdian has attacked Siegfried with Burst Strike!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Claude. Talise. Layna. Gwen. Hiro. The part of Ida's brain that can process things like that at the moment recognizes them, but it grants her little happiness. Her eyes widen visibly as Harken just kind of swats the bullet away like a bothersome insect. "Claude!" she cries, a moment later, but Harken's rushing him the instant her words leave her mouth. No, she thinks. No. She's already seen more than enough death.

Ida tries to follow Harken's body language, but she's too fast--and she was almost able to keep up with Claude and Zed when she saw them sparring all those weeks ago. She flips her guns around to block as Harken rebounds off Layna, but by the time Ida's got them up to block, Harken is... behind her.

A line of red blooms on the side of Ida's coat, which just now decides it's been cut. There's no lingering force--just quick, clean, and deadly. Ida bites her cheek to keep from screaming in pain.

"COWARDS!" Ida roars, her voice suddenly erupting from her lungs. COWARDS, THE LOT OF YOU!" Something blazes in her eyes. The air around her grows a little still, as her inner reserve of chi starts to flare like a flame in her chest. Crawl back to Valmar in tears!" Is Ida purposefully trying to keep Harken on her, despite the wound she's already been dealt? It seems that way--everything about her seems subtly threatening. She twists her offhand revolver into a spin, tosses it into the air, and grips the other gun's hammer. Six shots leave the revolver's barrel in the span of less than a second, the recoil offset by chi, will, and good old-fashioned muscle power.

Ida's other gun falls, and she snatches it back.

GS: Siegfried takes a solid hit from Tethelle Cirdian's Burst Strike for 86 hit points!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Lady Harken with Fan the Hammer!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

You know what hurts in a real and undeniable way?

Getting a scythe right to the chest.

Cyre hisses a curse, fading away from the blow when Harken's scythe suddenly seems to gain an extra foot of reach-- or maybe that's just an animation error!? The scythe hews into his torso, spilling a great streak of crimson across the rooftop. He growls, groping at the gash carved across his chest.

But, in a world of negative rainbows and an orgiastic typhoon of ultraviolence, a little flesh wound like this is relatively insignificant by comparison.

And so he endures.

"More than that, you say?" Cyre mutters in reply as Siegfried's ion cannon flashes somewhere not too far away and perhaps uncomfortably close. "Well."

He focuses, taking in another breath, feeling the sting in the wound across his chest and the rhythm of blood against the hollow of his heart. "Come," he whispers, "I give myself to you."

The winds howl. Greater than before. More tremendous than even mere moments ago. Creeping, tendrils climb their way down his arms, up his neck, across his face. Ritual tattoos.

They burn white hot.

"Hear my prayers," Cyre roars, his hood comes undone. "Come and make your fury known! FENGALON!"

GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Natural Infusion - Fengalon!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has completed his action.
GS: Lady Harken enters CONDITION GREEN!!

DC: MISS! Lady Harken completely evades Fan the Hammer from Ida Everstead-Rey!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

There is so much going on here, Rena can't even keep track. Okay, that's a lie. Siegfried is being handled. Or well, 'handled', by the others, which means... She should focus on Claude's target and- oh god armor lady is coming directly for her. Remember the basics of CQC and DOOOOOOOOODGE-

Nope. Rena gets gut checked. "AUGH!" And she goes flyyying a short way, then hits the ground on her back, coughing and curling up, one hand on her belly. Oh god why, it hurts. Of course, it's not the *worst* thing she's ever had to get hit by thus far, but still!

A scythe is pointed her way, and the blue haired elf looks up, glaring at Harken. Tsk. Claude is worried, but he decides to show bravado instead, speaking of his confidence in her, and how Zed hit harder. ...Provocation, then. Wonderful. Good plan. Rena waits.... waits... waits for the perfect chance. Looking like a damsel in distress all the while.

But then she smirks.

Nothing is said, because to speak is to give away the element of surprise. Instead, Rena tucks forward into a roll, then a handstand, spinning out with twin kicks to the torso before swerving into a sweep kick in an attempt to trip up the armored lady knight!

GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Lady Harken with Triple Kick!
GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Rena Lanford's Triple Kick for 36 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lucia has posed.

Lucia's eyes flash as Lady Harken assaults the apparent bearer of the Teardrop (or, at least a key to that information) -- but she doesn't look away from Siegfried. His pronouncement echos between her ears, rolls straight down into her bones.

His beam of light, on the other hand, goes straight through her. Her lips part, and no more defiance comes out. Her eyes were huge before but they were beautiful, filled with emotion -- now they're ugly with raw and primal pain, as though there's no room left for anything else.

And yet -- and yet -- as he turns on the King, the King already bleeding, she's moving, her face set with unheard-of ferocity. She's there, redder than usual, redness left in her wake, in fact. She's there and she takes the second strike straight to the gut.

Her little feet promptly leave the ground.

She goes blasting backwards and slams directly into Justin; they both go down in a tumble, and wind up with Lucia on top, her arms spread wide. She'd be a human shield, now, if she were human. Instead she's a human's shield. And a literal shield, one wrought of near-blinding white-green light wholly unrecognizable by most sorceries forms... beneath her. Between them. One final layer of defense.

There's the hinge of a question in her eyes, as though she's a little befuddled by her own instinctive action. Why did she do this? Not two hours ago she had expressed concern to Hiro that their random death would doom all of existence.

"You will not have the Teardrop," she gasps out, her voice always a lovely soprano but currently about an octave higher than usual due to blood loss. "You -- will -- not."

You will not have this world.

Given a situation like this, she can always rationalize her own behavior away as being all about her mission.

GS: Lucia has attacked Sheriff Star with Magic Shield!
GS: Lucia has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna jumps back to avoid the retaliatory swing, but she underestimates the reach of her opponent's weapon - never before has she encountered a polearm like that. The blade cuts through the side of her coat, staining the blue with red. But...

Layna is still on her feet, and a grin is wide on her face.

"Aye, aye, that's good! You've bloodied me coat! You're a cut above the rest, I see!" With that, Layna hunkers down into a proper fighting stance.

She glances towards Claude for a second. What was he talking about? She doesn't have time to ponder this, as Ida's voice - surprisingly loud, good for her - warns her of an impending attack.

In response Layna leaps around quickly, attempting to avoid getting caught in Ida's line of fire while also pincering Lady Harken.

"And now I'll punch things up a bit, aye?" She brings both bladed gauntlets forward, then quickly brings them back for defense.

GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Lady Harken with Bash and Buckle!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Lucia's Magic Shield for 0 hit points!
GS: Shield! Statuses applied to Sheriff Star!
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Bash and Buckle for 77 hit points!
GS: Layna Manydays takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz takes a solid hit from Cyre H. Lorentz's Natural Infusion - Fengalon for 0 hit points!
GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Cyre H. Lorentz!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

All hell breaks loose on the battlements.

Bright magic and tracer rounds. Sparking swords and fluttering capes. The roof of the castle is suddenly full of color and death. Morgan is of course is in the middle of it. He hisses as his round fails to hurt as it intended but then he has more to worry about. Lady Harken snarls curses and insults along with flinging blades, and Siegfried comes in with a sword intent on cleaving him in half.

There is a echoing clang of metal on metal as he brings his gauntlet in to parry. Morgan slides back as he kicked up roof tiles as he skitters across the length of the roof. However when the flash of light clears the Fox is still in one piece. A softly glowing energy shield around his hand.

"Ya know darlin'," Comes the drawl aimed towards Lady Harken. "Ain't that primitive an ARM."

Then he's moving again, this time in Harken's wake as he swiches targets. The rotary canon barking shells at her wake as he moves. Those moves are sharp and trained. Gone is the usual lazy air of a layabout Digger. Now there is something more sharp, more polished about the movements. As if the war itself has brought out something in the fox that he usually keeps hidden.

He's got more important things to do than that now though. He has people to kill.

"What you have against Zed, darlin?" He adds towards her. "I mean I admit he ain't the smartest bulb in the box but he ain' that bad" He calls out, intentionally of course taunting the woman with the sword. Trying to distract her. Give Ida some breathing room.

Because this is quickly getting messy.

The recoil of the guns as he fires grows, the glow spreading up his arm into a swirling energy shield forming a latticework of protection around him. Its using the energy from the gun to power itself. Intresting way to work at least.

His eyes flicker to Ida and Gwen as he advances. Checking on them, worry flickering to the front as he sees Ida...well...thats a lot of blood.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Others are piling into the fight - Hiro, Ruby, Jean. Lemina. Morgan. Ida somewhere in the back. Talise widens her eyes but doesn't have a free breath to say anything. She throws her punch.

And the big guy doesn't budge.

And then smashes her off the ramparts and throws her into Tethelle hard enough that he just about rips her arm off. She opens her mouth but nothing comes out but a choked sound before she goes hurtling into Tethelle like a thrown bowling ball. Her helmet slams into Tethelle and goes tumbling off from there, bouncing across the stone ramparts before Tethelle releases her. Her hair is damp with sweat and in disarray.

"Sorry," Talise manages to gasp before smiling ruefully as her shorter friend sets her down. "I'm okay... he's stronger than I thought."

(Note to self: Overpowering him probably isn't going to work,) she decides.

Siegfried starts talking. Her eyes narrow. "Oh, please, shit on our religion some more," she fires back at him. Tethelle puts things more eloquently. She levels her sword as well, scowling darkly. "My name's Talise Gianfair and I can't claim to speak for Althena. But I do stand for stopping shitheads like you from hurting the innocent. So long as that's the case, then I'll be your opponent!"

She glances back towards Justin and clenches her teeth as she realizes one of the other metal freaks is preying upon him. She's not close enough to intercept Lady Harken; she'll have to hope Ida can keep the King covered. Especially since Siegfried's after him too - with that cannon.

Talise hates ARMs. They're alien to her. This one is even more alien than the rest.

Inhaling, then letting it out, she steadies herself mentally. (He has physical strength. Physical strength can be redirected. If I can't overpower him, then maybe....)

Tethelle makes her move. Talise fans out to one side of her shorter but similarly swordy friend, Rastaban weaving as she grips it in both hands, one arm aching but still steady. As Tethelle strikes, Talise takes a long step forward and sweeps in, hoping to take advantage of Tethelle's technique to deliver a couple of strokes. She swings once, seeming like she's going to go for his flank -

It's a lie. She steps past Siegfried, leaping out to his other flank, then whipping her good arm down to her belt and coming up with a broad-bladed throwing knife. Clenching her teeth, she darts in as fast as she can and attempts to cram the knife into one of the seams in Siegfried's armour, and then leap back before he can catch her. She hopes.

As for the knife, it'll hurt at first - but it'll hurt even more when the runes in the blade light up.

And a massive lightning bolt explodes out of the knife hilt, runs down the blade and attempts to deliver a massive burst of lightning magic into Siegfried's circulatory system.

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Siegfried with Mai Knaifu!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Lady Harken with Blazer Gauntlet!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed its action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Morgan Newkirk's Blazer Gauntlet for 53 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes Cover! It gains 50 temporary hit points!
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's Mai Knaifu for 53 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

"Eh!? What am I supposed to look after a baby!?" Not quite having the upper body strength to actually hold a baby- she turns her efforts towards comforting the crying baby in the spot she lay. "Hey there cutie, don't cry- I'll... think of something..." At first she turns her pink pawsie towards trying to tickle her side, "Gootchie- gootchie-goo-"

The baby just kept sobbing.

Ruby with a paw, dangles a sardine from her secret fish store over her, "In the mood for a fishie? A fishie from Auntie Ruby?"

The baby is entirely unswayed by food that's too solid for her to eat, "No? I guess your palate isn't refined enough..."

Eventually the sounds of battle above make her a nervous wreck and Ruby curls up on top of her- which finally gets the baby to calm down, as delighted, curious hands start grasping Ruby everywhere. "Don't tell anyone about unnh-" That's the baby pinching her cheek, pulling it so far out that it distorts her face.

Ruby whimpers, "Everyone... come back safe... and soon... before my dignity suffers a blow it'll never recover from."

~Back upstairs~

To say the battle isn't going well is a gross underestimation of the situation. "By right? You have no right to heap more suffering on these people!" But the Quarter Knight addresses Lucia, and his eyes narrow in shock- "Your subordinates?" Were they spying on them? Or... was it someone they'd met? He doesn't like either possibility. He doesn't like the implications of this kind of invasion. He doesn't really understand the kind of conquest that's taking place here, so instead he blurts out his denial, "She's not the Destroyer! Her mission is to save a world, not destroy it!"

But Glumzambor gleams, and while he can't comprehend the form of the attack it takes- he still reacts instinctively, his toes whip under a small piece of battlement rubble, and he kicks it into the air just as that rainbow lances of energy streak towards him.

Making contact with it, it shatters, showering his face with grit and mortar- causing him to gasp and cough- but the desperate instinctive act preserving him from the true form of Siegfried's deadly attack.

But his head whips around at the gleam of the ion cannon, towards where it's pointed and- he sees a glimpse of red- and eternal blue getting in the way- "NO!" He shouts as a denial of the reality that's before him. "...Lu-cia..." He looks agonized as he turns upon Sigfried, "How dare you!?"

But he remembers...

Hiro, I understand that you are worried for these people, but if we are randomly slain in this disaster, everyone on both worlds will surely perish.

Maybe it had been the right thing to do by being here. But it was his fault for her getting hurt here. She hadn't wanted to be here- even if she was anyhow, doing the right thing.

And yet it's Lucia's own resolve- that pained soprano- that pushes him out of such thoughts.

He'd honor that resolve. "If she says you won't have it-" Wind swirls around at his feet, determination written in his grit covered face- as his knees bend, and the wind acts immediately to buoy him upwards in a blur of motion, raising his blade high, he descends upon Siegfried- orange scarf streaming behind him as he slashes downward. "-then you won't! DODGE THIS!"

The Quarter Knight's strength is terrifying- but maybe with gravity behind him- he could rock him back just enough for the others to follow up.

GS: Hiro has attacked Siegfried with Poe Sword!
GS: Hiro has completed his action.
GS: Siegfried takes a solid hit from Hiro's Poe Sword for 106 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Ragnell's presence is something of a surprise, but not an unwelcome one; they could use the help anyway. ...Did use the help, for that matter. But all of those things, all of what happened earlier amidst the flames, just continues.

Right now, Lemina's with her, bow and all, and she knows Lucia is back there. It doesn't even occur to her that Lucia would just leave in the midst of all this. But then, earlier she had to try to help with a baby...

The Teardrop isn't something that Jean knows.

But how does this Lady Harken know Zed?

Their time on Filgaia is at an end...? It rings in Jean's ears as she hits alien steel rather than Siegfried's flesh. Siegfried laughs to Lucia even as Jean shifts into a better position as best she can. But that doesn't avail her much against this strange projectile, this thing that slams at her. Jean, though, is riled; rather than stepping out of the way, she elects to keep pushing through, and as she rushes forward it bursts against her, sending a hockwave of strange static and pain that feels utterly alien.

"Lucia!" she calls with a cough as she looks over to where she's with the King. She has her magic, but even she can only withstand so much. "Hiro! I'll keep an eye out!"

But at that she whirls mid-step to end up in a sprint the rest of the way to Lady Harken. "Pick on someone who knows how to fight!" she says, and ducks down low to hack at the back of the knee, rising for the lower back, a leaping kick down for her shoulder joint that sees her trying to bounce off, a flurry of attacks at vulnerable places, all light as a feather, kicks and fans and all. Jean isn't a knight, quarter or otherwise.

GS: Jean has attacked Lady Harken with Feather Step!
GS: Jean has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Jean's Feather Step for 33 hit points!
GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell hadn't paid much mind to Siegfried's demands for the Teardrop, whatever that is. That changes as abruptly as Lucia does, who suddenly stands tall and fierce, wind billowing through her hair and cloak and stealing away her hat. (Ragnell has to press a hand to her own momentarily to keep from losing hers as well.) She not only changes, but demands answers... Ragnell has seen quite a bit of her through the commotion and hadn't been terribly impressed with what she'd seen--Lucia had seemed dazed, confused, reluctant to fight, even panicky when she had that baby pressed on her (but in fairness, babies are terrible, so Ragnell's willing to give her that one)--but now it's like she's someone else entirely.

"Hmmm..." she murmurs, red eyes lingering on her for a moment.

But only for a moment, because these aren't enemies that can be ignored, even if Harken seems to interpret the actions of those who focus in on Siegfried over her that way. She's DAMN fast, too, though not so fast that Claude won't chase after her and try to draw her ire. Whether he succeeds or not isn't particular Ragnell's business, nor does she make an effort to help defend the King; he's a human, ruling over humans. They can guard their own if it matters so much to them. It looks like they will, too, one way or another, with Ida's frankly surprising screaming and Lucia taking point on the King's defense despite taking some nasty blows. Ragnell, for her part, isn't anticipating having to guard too much--so it's genuinely surprising to her when Siegfried aims directly at her and fires off a pulse of white and blue light. Ragnell curses loudly and dives out of the way, avoiding a direct hit, but the concussive blast catches her and rams her hard into the stone anyway. She curses again and gets to her feet, then looks up over at Lucia. Her ferocity now is something else to behold, and even if Siegfried didn't answer her, she's taking this Teardrop business deadly seriously. She glances over at the King, an apparent source of information on this thing. Hmm... It'd be one thing if it was just a matter of him being the ruler of the local humans, but if there's a deeper reason here...

When Lucia risks herself to protect the King, that seals it. Seraphic magic pulses up around Ragnell as she casts, glyph at her feet; then she points towards the king, calling, "Life Surge!" Healing lightning will crawl up the sovereign an instant later, helping to knit his wounds shut and giving him a literal jolt of energy.

GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Sheriff Star with Life Surge!
GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action.
GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Sheriff Star!
GS: Seraph Ragnell heals Sheriff Star! He gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

This isn't magic, Lemina thinks a little distantly, as she shifts one hand off of her bow to grab her staff -- and throws up a shield of unyielding ice to protect herself. It cracks under the strain of protecting her from that burning energy, and shards of it even splinter into her -- but better that than the full brunt of Siegfried's power.

Lucia, however, does not seem to be faring nearly as well -- it's one thing to know she's been weakened by a curse, and another to see her simply get shredded like this. "LUCIA!" Lemina calls, voice cracking under the strain. She puts away her bow and places both hands on that staff now -- if she doesn't act decisively, then... then...!

Her thoughts momentarily turn away from the battle itself -- toward things she wants to do after the battle. She has to pick Lucia's brain for the secrets of magic! She has to track down Virginia, still! She has to... collect Guild dues!

Her resolve found, she briefly glances over to Ragnell and the King. Satisfied that someone's keeping an eye on him, the Junior Premier turns her attention on Siegfried once again.

Pointing her staff forward, she cries out, "Don't hurt him, or Lucia, any more, you mega-mangy freak! Ice Lance!" A bolt of bright blue-white ice springs from her staff toward Siegfried, much more powerful than her previous arrow.

GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Siegfried with Ice Lance!
GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Siegfried guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Ice Lance for 74 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

"Father, no!" Cecilia yelps; damn you dad THE LEAVING WAS A GOOD PLAN

But Justin runs to interpose himself, and Cecilia's too slow, too dull, too weak to do anything but watch her father get clawed by Harken and then as Siegfried moves to blast her father apart. She's already moving, but the stunning light of the blast has enough backing force that she actually yields a step before it, her hair and skirts sent roaring back by the shot. At the end of it, she turns to look and--

Lucia, barely alive; and her father, moreso. "Lucia," Cecilia mouths, the moment only slowly catching up to her. That strange woman - strange but interesting, and kind in her way. Cecilia remembers. And she knows about the Teardrop...

Cecilia's staff clatters to the ground as she takes a knee beside the fallen duo. "Father! Lucia!" Cecilia breathes. "You, we," she stammers out, the words rushing out of her before she can compose them. "We have to get you out of here!" She's not sure who she's talking to. Maybe everyone. Is there such a thing as escaping? The wall of the castle might hold - Adlehyde Castle is the domain of Zeldukes, Guardian of Castles, isn't it? Even with all she's seen, she still believes that the Guardians have some power against these things...!

But they're outside the castle. She throws her arms forward, hands glowing. "Get up, quickly, please...!"

It's aimed for Justin. Sorry, Lucia, you're cool, but you're not her literal father.

GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has attacked Sheriff Star with Heal!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has completed her action.
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde heals Sheriff Star! He gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Drawing up her Arm to take the brunt of the shot from Siegfried's cannon, Gwen is pushed back. She had attacked the easier of the two to aim at, but now, glancing at the damage Harken is causing, Gwen is already beginning to regret her decision. Harken's mention of Zed's name confuses the courier momentairely, as well. What did Zed have to do with all this? He's a Beastman, much like so many Drifters she had met lately.

There's more worrying concerns, as well. Gwen sees Lucia take the hit, her eyes widening as the very Lord of Calamity (a title Lucia has already proven was ill-fitting to Gwen) attempts to shield the king, her 'minions' coming to her aid. Bursting into a sprint, Gwen leaps over some fallen rubble and lands with a slight stumbling forward, quickly regaining her speed. Her ARM isn't quite ready for any large attacks just yet. There's so many people here, people she knows, wants to protect, wants to help.

It's the Memory Cube situation all over again. Gwen wants to be in so many places at once, but she's limited by there being only one of her.

There is, however, one thing she can do.

"Here'sa hot plate of some primitive fer ya, m'am!" Gwen shouts as she comes in, metal fist held back, coordinating her angle to attempt to throw that fist into Harken's face, running at top speed.

This is something she's going to pay for, isn't it?

Sorry, Vash. That promise about surviving and not turning into a ghost? Gwen really, really wanted to punch a Metal Demon in the face.

GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Lady Harken with Nice Hot Plate of Primitive ARM!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

Harken isn't quite satisfied with the noise from the King. "Scream, why don't you?" she snarls. "You're hardly going to get any attention from the rest of them if you just die stoically on your feet." Quite unsatisfying - how was she going to get her true battle if the humans weren't willing to cooperate?

It's the sight change in air pressure that warns her that something is coming, and Harken spins around and brings her scythe up, throwing her own weapon into the vacuum and collapsing it in a single motion. "Interesting," she states, looking back at Claude. "That move... hmph, not quite the Fast Draws of the Arctican knights, but something similar. Who do I recall who used that sort of attack...?"

And then Ida shouts at her, and Harken turns her attention to the gunslinger. "Now THAT'S better!" she shouts, and suddenly erupts into a blur of motion. Sparks split the air in front of her, and a stream of crumpled and sliced bullets land on the ground behind her, each of them struck by a rapid blow from the scythe in the Quarter Knight's hands.

But that display gives Rena a chance to sneak up behind the woman, and she leaps straight at Harken and drives her feet into her back. It's only thanks to the blonde haired Valkryie's own incredible reflexes that she isn't knocked completely to the ground, and she slides forward... just in time for Layna to drive herself forward and slam into Harken with her shield. It's not a bad combination, and Harken staggers before leaping back to open the distance between herself and her opponents.

"Much, much better indeed. Clearly I need to cut the old man again! That seems to get you motivated!" She raises her weapon again, and listens to it for a moment. Something coming...? THERE!

Another rapid barrage of slashes, although given the sheer volume of fire that Morgan is throwing at her the Quarter Knight can't block all the shots, and several of the bullets crater on her armor, while another cuts into her arm, leaving a line of blood running down her grey jacket. She grins at him, shouting, "Zed is a fool, but apparently he was good enough to fool the lot of you for quite a while! So you should consider that you allowed an numbskull who can do little but fight to infiltrate you and feed us your secrets for MONTHS!!"

But there's enough people that not even Harken can avoid their attacks entirely, and Jean comes from a blind side and throws a precise kick into the Valkyrie's side. She skids along the ground, gasping for a moment - and it's clear that no matter what the Metal Demons might be made of, some of the basics are similar enough that she's managed to stagger the woman for a moment. Harken leaps back another step, moving away from the group. It's a planned evasion, as she moves to open up some room between herself and her opponents. And in the meantime, people are gathering around Justin, trying to protect him...

Let them try.

But there is one thing that draws her attention, as Cyre calls out to one of the Guardians, beseeching them loudly to grant him power against the Metal Demons. Asking for those enemies of her people that had so long attempted to reject them from the world. Harken narrows her eyes, and starts to run. "You call out to the GUARDIANS for help?" she declares, and the only reason Cecilia isn't getting this attention is she doesn't have the GLOWING TATTOOS that are lighting her up like a beacon to attract the Quarter Knight's wrath. "Don't think that your gods will save you, human! NOT FROM US! NOT THIS TIME!" She leaps forward, landing in front of Cyre. Blue eyes flash with anger, and her blade turns blood red for a moment.

"Azrael. Execute."

Harken cuts.

There is a single line of red light that splits the air. It doesn't seem to move despite any change in perspective, and it simply hovers there...

...and then the wall behind Cyre splits in half, blocks tumbling down off the castle, others sliding down to rest on the ground. A part of the floor collapses, no longer connected to the beams behind it. And Cyre...?

Well this probably hurts. Just a little.

The Valkyrie leaps, moving along from her attack on the Shaman, running along the stone wall for a moment. And finally, Harken reaches the point that she wanted. In fact, her last move actually carries her up the wall of the battlements, where she lands on top of a crenel that is protruding from the rest of the stones. And as she stops, Harken shortens her grip on her scythe, holding it on one hand just below the spindle that is set under the long, sweeping blade at its head. The blade itself begins to hum, making an audible noise as her ARM charges itself, preparing for her next attack.

"What did you call that attack? Air Slash?" she calls out, singling out Claude for the moment. "Perhaps Gentle Breeze might be a better name! I've seen that attack before, and allow me to show you what it SHOULD look like!"

The Quarter Knight launches down from the wall, slamming into the ground and skidding forward in a shower of sparks as her armored feet grind against the stones. She pulls her weapon back, straining as she channels her strength into the ARM... and then it snaps down, the scythe cutting a wide arc across the floor in front of her.

The air before her shudders, and a dozen furrows erupt in the ground as she unleashes a barrage of vacuum waves straight across the room. Where Claude had thrown one, she throws a dozen slashes in a wide fan that send streamers of debris upwards as they cut towards everyone in front of her.

And then Harken steps... and almost vanishes as she moves in a single long step, her speed leaving a faint afterimage in her wake. Her foot strikes the ground, she turns...

And a second wave of vacuum cuts race across the room, at a perpendicular angle to the ones she had just launched. A moment later the ground has a peculiar pattern as the two sets of attacks cross each other's paths - but that remnant belies the crossing pattern of slicing air that had engulfed the battlefield, including those who had been struggling to protect King Justin.

GS: You cannot act while you still have attacks in queue.

DC: MISS! Lady Harken completely evades Nice Hot Plate of Primitive ARM from Gwen Whitlock!

GS: Lady Harken has attacked Lady Harken with Killing Intent!
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Killing Intent for 0 hit points!
GS: Lock and State! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!
GS: Restore! Lady Harken clears debuffs from Lady Harken!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Azrael - Executioner!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Executioner for 307 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Rena Lanford with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Lucia with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Layna Manydays with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Jean with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cecilia Adlehyde with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Sheriff Star with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Claude C. Kenny critically Guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 100 hit points!
GS: Layna Manydays takes a glancing hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 134 hit points!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 150 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Jean takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 155 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Jean!
GS: CRITICAL! Rena Lanford takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 161 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Rena Lanford!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey critically Guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 84 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 188 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Morgan Newkirk guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 142 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

"You..." Siegfried snarls towards Cyre. Realization sets in -- then Talise sets in. He turns to look at her. His expression is cold. "I do not mock your gods, whelp," he says. "I kill them."

He raises Glumzambor -- and Talise's knife slams into the edge of it, before it swings down and slashes along his thigh armor, leaving a deep gouge -- and a sharp shock of electricity, as the lightning bolt collides into him. Siegfried turns, arm raised, and fires a bolt of ion energy right for Talise before she even lands.

"I neither ask nor expect you to grant me right!" Siegfried shouts back at Hiro. "Call her what you will. Call this what you will. I will tell you what it is: a war, fought for a thousand years, until your kind are driven from Filgaia for their weakness!"

And then Hiro lands, sowrd slamming down, and it plunges into Siegfried's armor -- and through it. Black fluid bubbles up, spraying out, until it stops. Siegfried snarls, then swings up Glumzambor in a terrific arc, trying to bat Hiro backward. Which is when the ice lance slams into his side and smashes through, drawing more of that thick, black fluid. He turns, looking balefully at Lemina.

"A sorceress," he spits, before he leaps away from Hiro. His clape flutters after him, and then he comes crashing down towards the mage. His spear swings, and he does another two-handed slash -- this one aimed at chopping hard into the mage, with another flash of red. "And what do you care for one called the Destroyer?"

Justin is slammed into the ground, smashed back by that very same Destroyer. His cane drops -- and the way his knee gives out when she hits him, but takes the strike for him, tells Lucia a lot. This isn't a man who could walk or fight. This is a man who is past his prime, who is slowed by an old injury, and has had to use a different sort of strength to help his kingdom. His eyes widen, as he looks up at Lucia.

"You..."

He feels the light that Ragnell blesses him with -- feels some of that wound on his chest close up -- and exhales in relief. But, he can't see the source of it. His eyes scan, before he looks back at Lucia. "Thank you," he manages, weakly.

He looks up at Cecilia. "My--my daughter. Run, please, for the love of the Guardians. I won't lose you, too, to these!"

Tethelle's cry distracts Siegfried, for a moment, as he looks in the King's direction. "You dare to challenge me?" Siegfried says, turning to look at her. "You have guts, human. I respect that... but I have spilled far too many to give you more than respect!"

He sees the way the sword glows, a light granted by the Guardians. A light that he knows, so well, from other wars -- and other times. "And you will find that the strength of the Guardians isn't what it was once! As they are weak..."

Tethelle's sword swings down -- and Siegfried's sword swings up. Red and shadow trail after it, in its wake. Its great yellow eye twitches and blinks -- and then dark light erupts from it, the moment the two swords meet. Sparks and lightning erupt... and then Tethelle's ancient sword splits in half as Glumzabor rips up through it, and then slashes down at her with a reverse stroke.

"...SO ARE YOU!"

He lands, blade swinging to the side, as the shorn half of Tethelle's sword lands by his feet -- and he turns, in open defiance, to face Lucia and Justin both. "If you wish to die here, protecting human filth such as this..." The Quarter Knight bobs his head. "So be it, Destroyer. Code 98ZPB."

The Metal Demon's chest splits open. It becomes clear, then, that this is no human. The chest plate on his armor reveals a mechanical interior, with cords and wiring, leading to a single central nozzle. It pulses, once. And then brilliant white light explodes out of it, a beam that rips across the battlements. They burn away at it, reduced to ash, and the beam hurtles with fateful, deadly impact for Lucia and Justin alike. When it rips past, it shatters a whole tower. The castle tower in the distance explodes apart into stone and dust, fiery chunks raining down into the courtyard and city below.

GS: Siegfried has attacked Talise Gianfair with Ion Pulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Hiro with Dark Spear!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lemina Ausa with Nemesis Cleave!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Azure Cleave!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lucia with Proton Beam!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Siegfried with Charge Burst!
GS: Talise Gianfair takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Ion Pulse for 135 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has canceled their attack on Lucia.
GS: Lady Harken has canceled their attack on Sheriff Star.
GS: Hiro guards a hit from Siegfried's Dark Spear for 72 hit points!
GS: Siegfried takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Charge Burst for 0 hit points!
GS: Siegfried's Reload flag cannot target himself!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian guards a hit from Siegfried's Azure Cleave for 118 hit points!
GS: Shieldbreak! Statuses applied to Tethelle Cirdian!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Proton Beam!
GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Proton Beam for 213 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: CRITICAL! Cyre H. Lorentz takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 30 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Cyre H. Lorentz!
GS: Lucia takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Proton Beam for 221 hit points!
GS: Lucia has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 85 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has completed her action.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Captain's Orders!!
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Captain's Orders!!
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Jean with Captain's Orders!!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Captain's Orders! for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Claude C. Kenny gains 15 extra FP from Layna Manydays!
GS: Jean takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Captain's Orders! for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Jean gains 15 extra FP from Layna Manydays!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Captain's Orders! for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 15 extra FP from Layna Manydays!
GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a glancing hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 151 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lucia has posed.

Gwen leaps into the fray and is blasted away for her trouble -- but for that sacrifice, Lucia might not have been able to make hers. Is she even listening to her desperate, horrified friends? Has she even noticed their concern for her?

Would it matter if she cared?

For now, brilliant white light comes for Justin -- and for Lucia, who remains between him and the one who would seek doom upon all the world.

She doesn't move.

It fills her eyes, which tear up reflexively... but deep within, she is seeing other, older lights, lights both like and unlike the one about to claim her. Lights that, once, consumed everything.

Lights that she was, then as now, unable to stop.

Her fists clench, and to her last moment she pours her strength into that magical shield, which pulses with radiance, with the power of life itself.

"Live," she commands the King, without looking over her shoulder at him, spreading her arms wider still. "And, with your life, protect the T--"

It comes.

And she goes -- again lifted bodily into the air like a rag doll, this time she lands, spread-eagled, against a parapet wall. There is a cracking sound... but afterwards, it's the stone that remains intact.

Lucia does not rise again.

GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Siegfried's Nemesis Cleave for 82 hit points!
GS: Disrupt! Statuses applied to Lemina Ausa!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

So. Morgan did get Harken's attention.

He isn't sure if he wanted it.

The first line of air slashes shatters his shield to splinters. He is glad for it though at is prevents the worst of the damage. He was just about to smirk when he saw the second set coming.

...that is a lot less pleasent to weather.

It slams into his side befor ehe can move and lifts him off his feet. He ails though the air to slam into a tower. Stone stopping his movement in the most painful of ways. He is going to need so many potions after this to get back in fighting shape.

If he survives at least.

That seems to be becoming more and more difficult.

A quirked eyebrow though as he levers himself back to his feet. "Yer telling me that Zed was a spy all along?" A beatpause. "...well damn. Either he's the most clueless spy I've met, or he's just a damn good method actor." Morgan just thought he was part of some kind of cult!! Not actually one of them! However more questions can wait at least a little bit. Right now? Well right now he's just trying to survive the next five minuites.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna's shields take the brunt of Lady Harken's attack, but it still forces her backward. And, predictably, to the ground.

This was happening way too much lately. With a groan she picks herself up off the ground and fixes her hat back onto her head.

The situation was looking grim. Her allies, her comrades...they were all looking beaten and worn. One of them had fallen.

Were these enemies too great for them?

No.

They couldn't give up just yet.

"Don't throw up the white flag now, me hearties! This day is not yet over! These blaggards might be powerful, aye, but we'll show 'em there's still fight in left in us! For your city! For your people - friends, family, countryfolk! For whatever gods or goddess you serve! There's still something left to fight for! And-"

She points towards Siegfried and Lady Harken.

"You can't let them take that away! For anything worth having's worth holding onto, aye? That's the pirate way!" She shouts.

Hopefully that'd be enough to rally at least some of them to action. If not fighting, at least doing something productive.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise doesn't have all that far to go to land. Her toe hits the stones of the battlements.

Then Siegfried blasts her to kingdom come.

A blinding ion flare drowns out anything she might say; she vanishes from view for a moment as the entire blast hurls her backwards and explodes like a massive energy bomb. It appears for all intents and purposes that she's completely gone. Rancid-smelling smoke streams out from the point of impact.

The light and smoke eddy after several long, painful seconds. Long enough for Siegfried to smash the sword of someone else who challenges him.

Surging forward, Talise erupts out of the smoke cloud left behind. Most of her mailshirt has been blasted off; bits of half-molten chain have been melted into her tunic in places, the heavy garment surviving only through some dint of luck, but the loss of the mail above it depriving her of any serious protection. Scorch marks blast across her face and limbs, rivulets of blood running down her arms to pool in her gauntlets. More runs from the corners of her mouth and down one side of her face. A growing bloodstain mars the left side of her stomach, soaking into her tunic and down one leg of her slacks.

She can hear the King crying out. Cecilia crying out. Tethelle having something precious to her smashed. Bodies being hurled in front of Lucia. A strange girl - one she doubts, but yet does not doubt. One struck down already, falling beneath the blandishments of the metal horde. One who does not deserve to die here.

(One whom Lady Chloe wouldn't let die here. One whom Alex the Last wouldn't let die here. One whom Dyne or Natto or Leon or Gaul or the Sisters wouldn't allow to die here.)

She strides forward, eyes hard and blazing green as she bears down on Siegfried again. "You don't have anything to say except about how weak humans are, do you," she says, her voice flat, but laced with intent. "Fine. But nothing you do will stop me from fighting you. You're some kind of godslayer, huh. Too bad."

She sets her jaw. "My goddess killed me a long time ago."

She hurls herself forward again. This time she's not being particularly clever about it. She can hear Lucia going down behind her, struggling; the king, the princess - Cecilia, someone she likes. Her friends, hurling themselves into certain death to save them. She can't let them down.

She challenges Siegfried straight on. Her gauntlets fire up but she doesn't attempt to put Rastaban through him. Clenching her teeth, she steps in and feints once - attempts to deflect his sword to the side, strikes again, then once more. Should he strike back, she'll be ready with a parry. The burst of power comes with a burst of profound skill - an act of pure technique. Planting her heel, she falls back, as if being overwhelmed.

It's a lie. She surges forward explosively, pivoting, channeling her power into a swift backswing - controlled, but devastating, aimed to try and tear Siegfried's gun arm off at the bicep. There's no magic to it, simply a controlled blow that comes in like a crashing tide.

She won't be able to keep it up forever, but while she can, Talise Gianfair is trying to make this fight a straight-up sword duel - in the hopes of distracting Siegfried from Justin and Cecilia for just a moment, and hopefully fixing his eye on her.

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Siegfried with Tidal Blow!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's Tidal Blow for 75 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude C. Kenny grits his teeth as Harken simply obliterates his Air Slash before it can reach her. God, he knew the Metal Demons were powerful - Yarobeleedt was a terror and Zed left pieces of him spattered across half of the city - but he didn't know they were that powerful. He tightens his grip on his sword and lands in a guard position. "Arctica..." he mutters - that's where Ida had thought he and Zed were from. A destroyed military kingdom... and as good a place as any for a lone soldier to pretend to be from. "I never trained in the Fast Draw school," Claude says, which is true but misleading as hell. "But I won't need it to take you down!"

And then infinite vacuum blade hell rains out across the battlefield. Claude's eyes widen, but then he breaks into a rapid run, scampering along the battlements. "AIR SLASH!" he shouts, deflecting Harken's hurtling blade with one of his own, a soft < BOOM > echoing out as the two collide. "AIR SLASH!" he screams again, hopping up onto the parapet. "AIR SLASH! AIR SLASH!" he cries as he quick-steps along the edge, blasting two more but having to evade the third. "AIR--" The last blade smashes into Claude's back - tricksy devil, that Harken - and sends him faceplanting onto the roof. He rolls quickly away from where he lands, evading one last air cut in the process, and then comes up to his feet, hauling his sword back. "AIR---"

But then Claude C. Kenny hears Siegfried speak the word 'Code,' followed by a series of numbers. And he's one of the only people on the rooftop who knows immediately what this means. He whirls to face the leader of the Quarter Knights, sees the chest plating snap back. Hears the warning pinging from the tricorder in his pocket. Sees where the chest is aimed. Knows what's going to happen, a half-second before it does.

And in that half-second, Claude C. Kenny moves, darting across the stone roof in two short, low bursts, shouldering King Justin out of the way, trying to roll past Siegfried's blast, even as he brings his left arm around, blue chi blazing as he turns. He's not going to make it, not entirely - it's going to be close. He was a fraction os a second slow. It's just barely enough to keep him alive. "DRAGON'S....."

The beam rips forward. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!" Claude C. Kenny screams, slamming a draconic visage forged of chi and will in front of him, using it to absorb the barest fraction of Siegfried's strike. He doesn't try to stop it, or he'd die. He doesn't meet it head on, or he'd die sooner. But if he meets just the barest edge of it, for a fraction of a second...

Claude is flung backward into King Justin (committing a crime against the majority and lese-majeste in the process) as the force of the impact drives him into the parapets, cracking two of them and possibly also his skull. Claude blinks. Zed... does not hit harder than that.

Claude grits his teeth as Layna's words cut through the haze; the young swordsman staggers to his feet, grabs Justin by the belt, and hauls him up. "STOP BEING A (obscene gerund) (pejorative for dullard) YOU (progeny of an unmarried couple) OF A (highly improbable suggestion regarding the ancestry of Justin's grandmother) THREE-EYED GOAT AND GO!" he screams, then sprints at Harken, trying to run interference, his sword hurtling around in a pair of wicked, nearly-simultaneous swings.

GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Lady Harken with Twin Slash!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Too fast.

Way too damn fast.

Rena barely glances a kick against Harken before she's gone, leaving that weep to strike the empty air. Tsk! But that's fine. She just needs to defend herself. Her main job is to make sure that everyone else stays standing for as long as possible.

Well, that would be the case if it weren't for the fact that a stream of vacuum force was now tearing through the area. "Ahhhhh!" Rena guards her face with her arms, getting blown away by the slicing wind blades, and then hitting the ground, rolling some ways purposely to get out of the immediate danger zone.

Once she manages that, Rena stumbles back up to her feet, panting. "Claude... these 'Metal Demons' are no joke..." She murmurs under her breath, taking the time to ascertain their status. ...Welp, there goes Lucia. She curses herself for not moving faster, but she can't go reviving her in the middle of a heated battle. ... She should focus on whoever is left.

Rena spreads her arms and summons up as much healing power as she can manage. The soothing light gathers, and then spreads to her allies. Particularly Claude, herself, and Gwen. Who seem to need it most

GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Twin Slash for 121 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Harken's comment digs under Ida's skin, and sticks. "Try me, demon-witch, she snarls. And Harken tries. She does more than try.

Ida's jaw falls open. She stares at the giant, gaping hole in the castle wall, at the nice, clean cut left behind. It's enough to knock her out of the battle trance--and she can't so much as see what happened to Cyre because then Harken is trying to murder everyone else around her. Ida twists both her guns to intercept, only to have them torn from her hands. Metal hits the castle roof, slides, and skids out of Ida's reach.

She is a student of Five Precepts Chained Devil Style, which is a gunslinger's art. She doesn't have her guns, unless she wants to risk--

Claude. Oh no, Claude. Oh no.

Ida has seen her friends get shot, stabbed, torn up, set on fire, infected with eldritch energies, and worse. Somehow, this has not prepared her for the sight of Claude stepping into the blinding whiteness that is Siegfried's fury unleashed. She's bleeding; her hands ache, and the cut on her side has been joined by one on her right forearm, and another that damn near reopened the wound K.K. put in her a week ago. Her shirt is covered in blood. Her breath is coming in ragged gasps. She does something profoundly stupid, and yet oh so satisfying.

Ida does not speak. She just straight-up rushes Harken while she's distracted, barely noting that Claude's stll alive, and drives her right foot down at Harken's ankle with all the force she can muster. It's an ugly attack, one that would definitely put a human opponent at risk of permanent injury. Ida follows it up with a driving left jab to Harken's side, a half-step to the right, and then--

A leaping uppercut to Harken's face. All sense of refinement and decorum is gone. All that's left is adrenaline, pain, blood-loss wooziness, and the desire to hurt these demons for what they've done, even if it means breaking herself in the process.

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Lady Harken with Unladylike Roughhousing!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Cure Light!
GS: Rena Lanford takes 6 damage from Poison!
GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

"Weak!? Heh-" It's the conversation with Gwen that inspires him to talk back, "You don't really know the people of this world if you think it's like that. Althena took so many people from this world to ours long ago to escape destruction, but the people of the Blue Star? They've been surviving ever since. And they'll survive your war too!"

Siegfried swings Glumzambor in a titanic arc, and the young man has no recourse within his reach, but to bring his sword up in a desperate attempt to parry it.

For a moment, sparks fly, before he's batted backwards like a child before the Quarter Knight's greater strength. His head dips down mid-flight- to just barely avoid him taking off his head. But his shoulder-, a spot of red blossoming from where chain links are parted.

Striking the parapet, he puts a hand up, to support himself, getting up on wobbly legs- "This is her world too. Her mission has nothing to do with this- but she's here anyhow, defending it from you." But Siegfried is a terrifying Juggernaut, as he swipes aside one challenge after another, and he can barely stand after all that.

So be it, Destroyer.

Followed by a code he doesn't understand. But he can guess his intent, "No! No stop!"

His legs sure won't move as fast as he wants them to right now. Not as that beam of titanic force strikes Lucia's shield, and lifts her up bodily in the air and carries her against the parapet. His fear far outstrips his anger. His hand goes to a sheath at his side- grasping at a length of steel bound to steel. He grasps it vertical as he limps over to her- before drawing it up over his shoulder, and flinging it forward with all of his might. "I- I need to get her!" She calls out to Jean, to Lemina, to Ragnell in the hopes they'd cover him.

The boomerang arcs forward in one piece, past Siegfried- but upon it's return flight, it breaks apart into two of equal size.

Deflecting off each other, they both arc in seperate directions, before crossing back on Siegfried's position. He doesn't really expect it to do dire harm- but merely be a distraction.

Because right now the only thing he wants to do is get to Lucia. Lucia who didn't want to even be here- and got hurt for a cause that didn't seem to be her own.

Once he gets to her side, he puts an arm around her- lowering her down in a hurry, and pressing a finger to the side of her neck.

It's an anxiety inducing few seconds before he feels her life's beat, something stinging at his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispers, even if he knows she probably won't hear it right now.

GS: Hiro has attacked Siegfried with Cross Boomerang!
GS: Hiro has completed his action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Unladylike Roughhousing for 109 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

So. Morgan did get Harken's attention.

He isn't sure if he wanted it.

The first line of air slashes shatters his shield to splinters. He is glad for it though at is prevents the worst of the damage. He was just about to smirk when he saw the second set coming.

...that is a lot less pleasent to weather.

It slams into his side befor ehe can move and lifts him off his feet. He ails though the air to slam into a tower. Stone stopping his movement in the most painful of ways. He is going to need so many potions after this to get back in fighting shape.

If he survives at least.

That seems to be becoming more and more difficult.

A quirked eyebrow though as he levers himself back to his feet. "Yer telling me that Zed was a spy all along?" A beatpause. "...well damn. Either he's the most clueless spy I've met, or he's just a damn good method actor." Morgan just thought he was part of some kind of cult!! Not actually one of them! However more questions can wait at least a little bit. Right now? Well right now he's just trying to survive the next five minuites.

His ARM seems to glimmer. Odd eyepiece appears as the gleam fades, fitted around the foxes left eye as he smirks. Lines of power and attack are revieled as he takes aim at Harken. Enough to at least get some breathing space.

Center himself.

Or at least it was his plan. Until one Claude C. Kenny goes and takes one for the king. His eyes flicker towards the young man and then widen as he catches sight of his outfit. The fox does the slightest of doubletakes. Suprise writ on his features for that moment before Kenny is hit and then starts shouting.

The suprise fades to a smirk before the Fox is off again. Running to get back into the fray, though his momentary distraction cost him any chance of a clear shot.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

It almost seems like a waste, afterwards, when Ragnell's healing spell restores the King in time for Cecilia to rush to his side and add more restorative magic to his body. It feels like her efforts would have been better spent elsewhere, the most obvious target being Lucia--for a variety of reasons, one among them being that Sorey said he didn't want her dead, Ragnell isn't inclined to let her get killed. But Lucia's capable of making her own choices, and chief among them is protecting this man so that he might protect this Teardrop.

Whatever it is.

"Blessings of the Seraphim," she mutters at Justin's thanks, tone dry as a desert. "You're welcome." There's naught else she can do when Siegfried literally opens up his chest to rake a massive beam of light towards Lucia, blasting her backwards against the stone parapet and leaving her motionless, particularly since Harken's decided to show Claude what an Air Slash *should* look like by returning fire in a dozen directions, including hers. As the ground attack hurtles towards her, Ragnell again moves to evade, and again the force of its passing alone sends rocks slamming into Ragnell, smashing against her defenses. She grits her teeth in pain, then curls an arm over her chest, motes of magic again rising up around her feet. "All right! I'll keep Lady Knight there at bay!" she calls to Hiro, understanding his intent in regards to Lucia; Jean and Lemina can handle Siegfried.

Then she points at Harken, calling, "Pierce through! Thunder Spear!!" In response to her call, a bolt of lightning materializes in the shape of a spear and hurtles across the battlefield, aimed directly at the Quarter Knight. As far as defending Justin and encouraging him to haul ass away from here, she'll leave that to the humans; it doesn't look like he can see or hear her anyway.

Which is pretty interesting, considering his daughter *can*. But that's a concern for later.

GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Lady Harken with Thunder Spear!
GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action.
GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Target Aquired!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed its action.
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Morgan Newkirk's Target Aquired for 0 hit points!
GS: Quick! Statuses applied to Morgan Newkirk!

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Jean is still moving when Harken shifts forward, and her slashes hit the air; the first furrows start to make her stumble, despite her balance and grace, and though she catches herself the second volley is more than enough to crash into the young woman with green hair, shocking her off her feet and setting her to roll along the ground untl she impacts rubble hard against her back.

There's a wince and a seething for a moment. Cruelty for no reason...

Jean drags herself back up to her feet, rubble falling off of her as she does, standing on the battlefield in heels in a dancer's outfit. She doesn't look like much of a fighter to look at her clothes.

But she levels her stare at Lady Harken all the same. "You're a monster. You inflict this kind of cruelty not just on the people you want to prove yourself against, but on noncombatants who have nothing to do with any of this. I don't care if your group wants to take over Filgaia."

Jean widens her stance, "I won't allow it."

At that she breaks into a run, leaping nimbly over broken brick with the movement brushing her sidetail back. The column of light from Siegfried is noted, but if she looks now she won't be able to do anything against the Quarter Knight before her; she's committed, and can only pray that they'll be safe.

Just as she allows herself a glance that seizes her heart anyway, there are loud and encouraging words. She can hear Layna's voice. She's no pirate herself, but she's had drinks with a number. It's enough.

She shifts to the side before she gets there, and ducks down, keeping herself out of sight for just a moment. Ida's rush forward in distraction, striking away, provides the perfect cover for her; the dancer whirls around behind Harken again, once again moving from cover, through misdirection, rather than a simple fight.

She swings with her fans again, aiming for what seem to be weak points in the armor with precision that hopefully devastates. Only after she's attacked does she murmur, "I don't care about pain."

The fact that moving hurts still, that she's bleeding heavily, doesn't stop her. The others are going through much worse. Especially because Hiro calls to her and she sets her teeth an instant in a different kind of pain. "Go!" she says, and looks at his path, if there's anything she can do.

"Try me!" she shouts at Lady Harken, her heart more and more tight. The fire rages all around her. The bodies...

GS: Jean has attacked Lady Harken with Razor Dance!
GS: Jean takes 5 damage from Poison!
GS: Jean has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle has always had guts. Guts are what she's got too much of, really.

Tethelle is fighting at the top of her form. She has never, in her life, shown as much skill as she has since the beginning of the invasion; she moves between positions fluidly, adapting to Siegfried's movements, searching for weak points. She's very good, and it shows. There's just one problem:

Siegfried is better.

Despite everything - as hard as she's fought, as hard as she's pushing herself - she's outmatched. It's not even close, much as she would like it to be. When she sweeps her blade into Glumzabor instead of Siegfried's chest, the surprise on her face is palpable. She fights against it, pushing hard, trying to shove Siegfried's blade out of line by main force.

Siegfried is stronger, too.

With a horrific screaming sound of tortured metal, Siegfried shears through Tethelle's archaic sword, a gift from her master. It was carved at an angle, and the blade is literally smoking where Tethelle's strength and power fought against Glumzambor and lost. Off balance, Tethelle staggers as Siegfried follows through, striking her side. Small mercies: it was a reverse stroke, and it isn't as deep as it could be. It still chops into her side, sending her reeling.

It hurts. Tethelle forces the pain down, still holding about two thirds of a sword, the carved edge of it still glowing ruddy with the heat from the friction required to literally shear through metal of that sword. She feels as much as sees someone go down under Siegfried's assault - Lucia, who she does not know.

She's losing. Siegfried is winning.

"The power of the Guardians," Tethelle gets out, voice slightly raspy, "does not end because you wish it. And my power does not end because you have broken my sword." Her sword - she'll mourn for it, and what was lost, later. Right now, she can't. "The power to wield a blade lies in the heart!"

Brave words or not, Tethelle has no idea how to use a broken sword as a weapon. She attempts a couple feinted stabs at Siegfried with the ruin of the blade before abandoning that as a bad plan; she circles him instead, holding the shattered sword as if she expected to be able to do something with it, parry or block or otherwise defend herself.

But what she actually does is channel her power through it. For a split second, the sword looks like it is there, made of shimmering silver and gold - and then it fades, though the pulse of energy does not, thrumming around her.

Whatever happens to her, Tethelle is still ready to fight, defiant to the end.

"Cecilia!" Tethelle calls. "Go! Do what you need to! Right now I will be the sword and shield!"

GS: Tethelle Cirdian has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Soul Pulse!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has completed her action.
GS: Tethelle Cirdian heals Tethelle Cirdian! She gains 100 temporary hit points!
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Seraph Ragnell's Thunder Spear for 55 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Jean's Razor Dance for 41 hit points!
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Hiro's Cross Boomerang for 88 hit points!
GS: Siegfried enters CONDITION GREEN!!

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

"She's my friend, you mega-evil weirdo!" Lemina shouts, hastily reaching for her umbrella and popping it open. Using an umbrella to guard against a spear works about as well as one would expect; she's able to deflect it down slightly and entangle it for a second, but for the most part, she's left bloodied.

As Lucia falls and Hiro moves to help her, Lemina -- despite it being a colossally bad idea -- actually steps forward, moving herself to try to close off Siegfried's advance toward them and do exactly as Hiro asked. She isn't really thinking about it -- despite everything, it's what comes naturally when there's no option to run away.

"I -- I won't let you hurt anyone else!" she insists, her grip on her staff tightening. Swinging it forward again, she sends out a much smaller, less impressive blast of ice than before. Right now she's more interested in maintaining Siegfried's attention -- or at least as much of it as she can take.

GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Siegfried with Ice Pick!
GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Ice Pick for 53 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

The fist aimed for Harken's face hits empty air instead. Gwen was too slow to reach the quick Valkyrie, vaulting over and rolling on the ground in order to attempt to bring herself to a stop. It's not as if this is really surprising, however, as Lady Harken displays her prowess with an amazing amount of speed, delivering several angled cuts with her scythe, slicing nearly everyone in the room. Gwen just barely manages to shield Lucia from one blow, and receives a powerful shove back for her trouble, leaving Lucia open for Siegfried's far more powerful blast.

And there goes Lucia, slumping to the ground. All that, and Gwen still didn't protect Lucia. Her ARM twitches alive with electricity, organic plates shimmering with roiling light set against jet black underneath. So Zed was...

No, she's not going to believe it. It's just a ploy to get them to lose their nerve.

For more effective is the sight of Siegfried. "So that's..." Gwen gazes on the open chest of Siegfried, an unsteady left hand feeling the circuit connecting her ARM to her heart. She can feel the subtle curves metal of the device embracing her heart.

She silently begins to run towards the armored demon, throwing her crackling ARM backwards, then thrusting it forward towards that chest, her ARM disturbingly akin to the very bio-metal she seeks to destroy. "Ngh!" The air becomes alive with arcing energy, the digits of that arm attempting to attach themselves to whatever heart lies within and shock it back to whatever dormancy this entity had come forth from.

Hiro made a statement.

Gwen had to prove it to these demons that those words were far more true than they initially believed.

GS: Rena Lanford heals Gwen Whitlock! She gains 200 temporary hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Siegfried with Corona Discharge!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Gwen Whitlock's Corona Discharge for 141 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

This insane, grand battle; a desperate struggle to survive against the most grandiose of enemies. Cecilia feels like a spectator; firing the occasional shot across the bow, but undeserving for her place on the stage.

She also feels like she's already been run through. Forget the assaults. The raw terror boiling off of the Medium pierces her like a knife, but the Teardrop is bleeding the Guardians' thoughts into her. Schturdark taught her to hear the voice of the world. It has always been a strange sense, the rumbling anger of the earth and the floaty sorrow of the sky, twining and whirling and twisting from moment to moment. Always tired, but always many.

Right now, all the voices are one. The voice of the world is screaming in fear.

Cecilia can barely focus on the fight. So maybe it's no surprise that when Harken's blast sends her toppling, a slash slicing across her belly and leaving fresh blood to blossom across her white dress, she lies there, wheezing for a few horrible seconds. She shakes her head at her father, slowly forcing herself up. "No, Father! Not without you! Adlehyde needs you! This isn't..."

The words are cut off by a ragged breath. Her tears flow freely. "Neither of us can stay..."

But the horrible light from Siegfried wipes away whatever she was about to say. The next second goes by faster than she can track. Lucia is blown completely away. And the next shot comes for Claude, blasting the two back away from her. She stumbles to her feet, running after. "Claude! FATHER!"

Claude is not a particularly subtle person, but Cecilia still reaches for her father's hand, tugging. "He's right, Father!" Even if he needs to be executed later. "We have to leave! This isn't..."

She looks over. "...I'm not strong enough..." she whispers, as the fear of a world crests across her heart. "This isn't...a fight you or I can win."

She reaches into her magic again, power rushing across her; the winds around her twist at her command, making the people around her light. "So let's go!" she says, finding some strength in the resolve to RUN THE FUCK AWAY, and tugging harder.

GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has attacked Cecilia Adlehyde with Turbulence!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has attacked Sheriff Star with Turbulence!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Turbulence!
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde has completed her action.
GS: Cecilia Adlehyde takes a solid hit from Cecilia Adlehyde's Turbulence for 0 hit points!
GS: Quick! Statuses applied to Cecilia Adlehyde!
GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Cecilia Adlehyde's Turbulence for 0 hit points!
GS: Quick! Statuses applied to Sheriff Star!
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Cecilia Adlehyde's Turbulence for 0 hit points!
GS: Quick! Statuses applied to Claude C. Kenny!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

Talise slams into Siegfried, knocking him backward again. The chestplates all lock back together, and he turns on her. His eyes glint with that red steel, and he nods once to her. Glumzambor swings backward -- and he stumbles, when she grabs onto his arm. Talise can feel a satisfying pop inside -- and he grunts, which is as much reaction to pain as he has typically shown.

But the other arm holds Glumzambor, and he swings that one 'round. Then, he stabs it forward. He can't quite get it lined up with the center of Talise's body -- so he tries to ram the full length of the blade through her side.

Then he kicks, hard, for her chest. "Then finish dying!"

He turns, then. His eyes regard Hiro with a cool detachment, before he starts walking forward -- lifts his armored gauntlet -- and the boomerangs slam into it, sparks exploding and flying. The Quarter Knight lets out a shaking breath. And he watches, almost curious, as Hiro runs to Lucia's side despite everything.

"The Guardians have failed Filgaia once," Siegfried says, looking at Tethelle. "I would not place your hope in broken creatures."

He turns, and looks... openly surprised to see Lemina standing there in front of him. So small, he thinks -- he towers over most humans, at nearly seven feet in height -- and yet, it's a reminder. Even more so, as a blast of ice slams into his chest, denting the armor plates in more. Sparks explode out from where they crumple inward. "You will try to stop me."

GS: Siegfried has attacked Talise Gianfair with Nemesis Cleave!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Hiro with Sieg Impulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lemina Ausa with Sieg Impulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Sieg Impulse!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Sieg Impulse!

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Fengalon's power surges through his veins. He can feel it- the presence of the Guardian of the Winds swelling in his chest, filling him with the divine might that suffuses the world itself. Cyre feels invincible. Indomidable. As vast as the sky itself and as inexorable as the thunderstorm.

And then Harken... Takes offense.

He's not quite sure what happens. The wall behind him is sliced clean in half before he realizes that something's gone wrong. Then comes the blood. It boils up out of his throat, explodes in a great gout from a fresh wound across his chest. No. That's not quite right. It winds all the way around his torso. A ringed cut that, impossibly, did not actually slice clean through him.

The pain registers a moment later. A terrible, agonizing pain that seems to shoot straight through the Guardian-infused high that he'd been, only moments ago, exulting in. The Guardians are weak, they say. They're nothing before the Metal Demons. Nothing before the power these invaders wield.

Cyre staggers. His breaths come wet and ragged, blood suffuses his lungs. He wheezes, gasping for air. Some small part of his mind recognies that... That Harken isn't done. She's still moving. Still striking. There's someone there, someone who needs protecting, someone...

Cyre moves before he can think.

A shockwave of hypersonic force smashes into his chest, flash-boiling his blood on impact. He screams as the pain surges through his nerves, screams bloody murder into his brain. The Guardians are weak, therefore they are weak, they said.

But.

He can still stand.

His voice is drowning in blood, his lungs are filling with fluid. He has to get it out. Release it, somehow. His consciousness is slipping away, his control is...

Slipping.

But he can still do this.

Cyre staggers. He takes in a haggard, suffering breath. His chest seems to distend, ribcage widening further than it aught to, aided almost certainly by several hewn-through bones. "You wanted more," Cyre growls. It's more of a wheeze. "Fine."

"Here."

He widens his jaw. Blood boils at the back of his throat.

One more time, he roars.

A bloody, bone-shattering, crimson-tinged roar.

(It might just get splatter all over Harken's fancy armor)

GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has attacked Lady Harken with Howling Gale!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz takes 7 damage from Poison!
GS: Cyre H. Lorentz has completed his action.

DC: MISS! Lady Harken completely evades Howling Gale from Cyre H. Lorentz!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

Justin is yanked to his feet. The king stumbles backward. To his credit, he isn't shouting at Claude for a display of disrespect. "Get--get Cecilia out of here!" he calls to Claude. He opens his mouth to say more -- and then thinks better of it. Justin takes a few, stumbling and shaking steps.

They're slow. So slow. His cane lay on the ground, cracked in half from one of the shots that came too close to it.

But he glances back. "Miss Whitlock!" he gasps.

In time to see Gwen slam her fist into Siegfried, to send electricity coursing through him. It smashes him backward, before he can finish his terrible advance on Lemina. It stops him from walking forward. The Quarter Knight snarls, then spits. "Tenacious, aren't we? But you are wrong. This world has been ruined -- and humans do not deserve our homeland!"

Portions of his armor light up -- and then swirling bombardments of silver light erupt and fly about, every which way. They bombard around them -- some firing at Gwen, others whipping past her for Lemina, and another for Tethelle. One even whips towards Hiro as he kneels -- and a third hurtles towards Cecilia, as she runs.

But Justin grabs her hand. He yanks her aside, so it slams into the battlement and sends up a burst of stone. Then, the king nods, as he tries to move. "Hurry," he says. "Don't--don't worry about my leg, just move!"

GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Talise Gianfair guards a hit from Siegfried's Nemesis Cleave for 81 hit points!
GS: Disrupt! Statuses applied to Talise Gianfair!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Sieg Impulse for 62 hit points!
GS: Hiro guards a hit from Siegfried's Sieg Impulse for 121 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Siegfried's Sieg Impulse for 79 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

Gwen rushing at her earlier was cute enough - really, that was how Harken thought of it. Cute. As the young woman tries to run past and punch her, Harken leans out of the way, the fist whistling past her. But the red armored woman steps past, already bursting into a run as she leaves one comment behind her. "You may just be a human, but I can respect someone who's willing to step up and fight, even when it looks hopeless."

Cyre looks like he is in terrible shape, and Harken looks at him for a moment in an expression that looks almost like pity. She waits for a moment, and then smiles. "Well, you certainly have spirit. Sadly..."

And as Cyre releases a blast of magic, the wind rushing forward to slam into Harken, she simply slips around it like the attack wasn't even there. "Perhaps you should aim for a bit more focus next time!" And with that, she spins around and sends the butt of her scythe directly towards Cyre's face.

The pirate is doing what she can to rally those here, but Harken simply listens to her calling out with a bemused expression. She point at Layna, and replies: "Do you think that we haven't heard this nonsense before? All the talk of honor and duty didn't stop us from slaughtering the Arctica Knights to the last! Their commanders tried to keep them fighting to the last, but in the end even their greatest fell before us! Before the Metal Demons, the only place for mere humans is on their knees, or dead at our feet!" And without even hesitating, Harken leaps towards the pirate, her weapon coming around in a wide arc. "And how inspiring will you be when your head rolls on the floor!?!"

"I admit, I do admire your spirit, boy!" the Quarter Knight adds as Claude comes rushing towards her. Quite a few humans would have just up and died after that sort of treatment, but it seemed that this one still had quite a bit of fight in him. She looks him over for a moment... there was something vaguely familiar about that look. That bothered her... but only for a moment. Instead she rushes forward, Claude's blade slamming into her side with both slashes as she does so. But while he feels them cut in, they don't seem to penetrate into her flesh all that much, despite the blood that is flowing from the wound.

Harken grins, and brings her scythe up. "Very well - I choose you! The first of this lot of cretins who actually feels like a bit of a challenge!" she declares. "What is your name, boy!?!" Which is a little odd to ask as she suddenly slashes with her weapon, the blade of her scythe creating an X coming down on Claude with two rapid swings.

The wild flailing that she goes from Ida, on the other hand, is much less impressive. But it is effective, as Ida mashes to smash the Quarter Knight in the face, causing her head to snap around for a moment as she staggers. Harken looks up, rubbing her cheek for a moment. And then she grins, her scythe coming up over her head at an impossible angle. It doesn't seem like she should be able to actually move like that, and a close look at Harken's hands shows that she is merely guiding the weapon, rather than putting any power behind it. Instead, it attacks Ida of its own volition.

"You would be surprised what a fool can accomplish. There is something to be said for a refuge in audacity," Harken replies to Morgan, as he focuses and tires to center himself. But she at least gives him a jab with a word or two at the moment. "Although I doubt that he would have accomplished that much if you were not such gullible fools. At least the others managed to keep their identities more deeply hidden."

The bolt of lightning that erupts form seemingly nowhere is a surprise, and it is again a sign of how fast her reflexes are wired that she manages to avoid the strike. She marks the point from where it emerged. A magical attack of some sort, but there was no evidence of the caster. She pauses for a moment, the Quarter Knight taking in the situation. Some sort of spirit, perhaps? There had been one impact from her attack she couldn't explain - perhaps it was vulnerable to a saturation strike? Only one way to find out...

Jean's own anger was impressive though, and Harken actually pauses to listen to the tirade being thrown at her. Accusing her of unnecessary cruelty and the like... well, she had to respond to that. "That's the problem with you humans. You speak of cruelty, but how many of you take a moment to think of the rats you poison, the insects you crush, or the thousands of other creatures whose existence makes your lives more difficult? That you sweep out of the way without a moment's concern?" The Quarter Knight takes her own stance against Jean, her scythe low and ready to strike.

And then as Jean moves, Harken tries to match her, the two circling for a moment, looking for an opening. "You humans are blind to what *real* cruelty looks like. The atrocities that you commit against each other pale against even this battle! The world is better off without any of you in it!" The dancer leaps in, slashing at Harken. Blood flies as she cuts through the dark grey gambeson, and Harken counters with a lightning fast strike of her own, aiming to land a cruel blow against one of Jean's legs to trip her up.

"Pest control is too kind a description for what humans deserve!"

Her circling has brought her to the position to attack both the Drifters back line and the King, and Harken smiles. Even that place that had produced the lightning bolt was in the range of her attack. The scythe comes up, and Harken braces herself... and her first step shatters the ground beneath her feat, the Quarter Knight moving in a red blur as she leaps straight towards Justin again. Her scythe spins in her hands, and those who were trying to stay out of the fight suddenly find the Red Valkryie coming at them in a storm of blows, her flashing weapon reaching out in passing for their blood before she slams into the wall above the door Justin is running towards to escape. Her weapon comes up, and she grins. "So, King Justin, who is it going to be!?!" she shouts. "An old crippled man..."

And suddenly her blade turns, and comes straight down towards Cecilia.

"OR YOUR DAUGHTER!?!"

GS: Lady Harken has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Reverse Strike!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Layna Manydays with Sudden Slash!
GS: That attack doesn't exist. [Azrael - Cross Slash]
GS: That attack doesn't exist. [Azrael - Reaper Slash]
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Jean with Fast Draw - Guilty Blade!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Rena Lanford with Fast Draw - Slash Rave!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Fast Draw - Slash Rave!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Fast Draw - Slash Rave!
GS: Layna Manydays takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Sudden Slash for 151 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Slash Rave for 166 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Azrael - Cross Cut!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Azrael - Reaper Slice!

<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.

ROUND 3 OF 3: Bonus objective complete!

GS: Lady Harken has attacked Sheriff Star with Azrael - Guillotine!
GS: CRITICAL! Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Cross Cut for 267 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Claude C. Kenny!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
GS: CRITICAL! Jean takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Guilty Blade for 178 hit points!
GS: Poison, Entangle, and Cripple! Statuses applied to Jean!
GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Guillotine for 283 hit points!
GS: Sheriff Star has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
GS: CRITICAL! Ida Everstead-Rey guards a hit from Lady Harken's Azrael - Reaper Slice for 153 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!
GS: Lady Harken has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

'He's right' are two words not often attributed to one Claude C. Kenny, but he values them all the same when they come from an heiress to the throne and the actual inhabitor of said throne. More worrying, however, is that Rena is absolutely correct in her observation. "Yeah," he agrees with her. "Once the king gets out of here, we should go as well. We're..." He licks his lips. Any idea Claude had about his own invincibility was shattered when Zed left him in a bunch of pieces at the foot of the Granas Cathedral. And this Harken and Siegfried, for all of Claude's bluster... they're worse. "We need to get out of here once we can," he says, missing Morgan's look, his focus fully on Lady Harken and her superior.

That focus and attention are the only reason he lives through the next several seconds. Although it doesn't immediately look like it.

Lady Harken's blade whips through Claude's guard - literally Azreal cleaves through his borrowed blade - and two heavy wounds tear through his shirt and into his chest, tearing through flesh - but meeting a barrier of chi the young man barely had the werewithal to erect that prevents her from tearing his lungs out.

He stands there for a second, pieces of the longsword falling. "C...Claude...C...."

And then he drops forward, bleeding rather heavily. He's had a long day.

GS: Cyre H. Lorentz critically Guards a hit from Lady Harken's Reverse Strike for 27 hit points!
GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Slash Rave for 161 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.

Justin recoils, when Lady Harken slams into the door above him. He stumbles backward. But, he doesn't fault, despite the weakness in his knee. It flares to life with fire and pain. He wills himself to keep moving.

But, it isn't until he sees where that blade is coming that his will becomes action.

Then, in a brief moment of finesse that is like his younger years -- before his knee was shattered, and the best healers couldn't restore it -- he leaps. The scythe blade meets him again, and it is no shallow cut, this time. It plunges through his chest, then out his back.

He falls off it, his body crumpling. There is a terrible, wet sound when he hits the ground. His breath is a horrible rasp.

And there is still no Teardrop.

GS: CRITICAL! Lemina Ausa critically Guards a hit from Siegfried's Sieg Impulse for 78 hit points!
GS: Rena Lanford guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Slash Rave for 95 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Blasts bombard Tethelle. She fights to stay upright, and the power thrumming through her veins helps her. She is simply too stubborn to fall.

And, like Cecilia, she hears the voices. Not clearly; she does not have a Medium, she cannot communicate with the Guardians away from a shrine or a place of their power. But Adlehyde Castle is blessed by Zeldukes, and it's enough for her to feel the tone if not the words - and honestly, even if she couldn't, she could tell.

"No," Tethelle says, to Siegfried. "They are not broken. And even if they were, a broken blade still has power."

Tethelle raises her shattered sword again. She looks for all the world like she is going to stab him with it - but she doesn't. She rears back and throws the remnants of her blade at Talise. It is still trailing a silver-white contrail from Tethelle's spiritual force, and if Talise can get her hand on it - even for a moment! - she may feel the pulse of power running through her hands. (But hold onto that; she's going to want the half-sword back later.)

As for Tethelle herself, she scrambles, trying to ignore her own wound. She's moving fast now, toward Cecilia. She seeshearsfeels King Justin fall behind her, and that's another thing to mourn, but right now she is going to go with Cecilia, before all is lost.

It's what her heart tells her to do.

"GO," she roars at Cecilia. "I will protect you and defend him!" Even if there's not much Tethelle can do for Justin, after that... It's heartless, perhaps; cruel, even, to force her to leave her father. But sometimes being the strong arm and blade of the Guardians means you have the horrible jobs... and one of those jobs may be to ensure Cecilia's survival.

Even if Cecilia ends up hating Tethelle for it.

GS: Tethelle Cirdian has attacked Talise Gianfair with Blessing of the Broken Blade!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has completed her action.
GS: Talise Gianfair takes a solid hit from Tethelle Cirdian's Blessing of the Broken Blade for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Talise Gianfair gains 15 extra FP from Tethelle Cirdian!

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Son of a-

God damn it, Claude!

But Rena can't say that because she's too busy flying into the air, and then hitting the ground. Again. There's a wet cough, but she... manages not to conk out just yet. "Ungh... Claude...?" She groans as she sits up. And... Oh boy. Look at him. About to fall over. Again. SIGH. She knew this was going to happen of course. That's why came along. But right now, it seems like there are more immediately pressing matters to see to.

Shakily standing back up to her feet, the elf turns to... Oh wow, that Cyre fellow looks like a stiff breeze would do him in! She immediately raises her hands and starts casting.

"Hold on!"

And thus, the beastman would feel his wounds lifting, at least somewhat. She can't truly focus on fully alleviating the pain in this hectic battle! Nor can she focus on protecting herself at the same time. Ah the life of a healer. Wonderful stuff.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

This isn't a fight you or I can win, Cecilia Adlehyde cries out to her father, somewhere far away.

Talise Gianfair's eyes darken. Blood drips around her left eye socket. Her lips peel back to bare her teeth as her mind clicks to the only answer she's capable of giving:

my only regret

is that i

won't be here to

save

sephilia

Her blade hits home; her grip does too. She feels Siegfried give slightly. It gives her hope. This monster can be budged. She sees him coming around. She knows what he wants to do. Maneuvering, she -

She is not as fast as a Quarter Knight of the Metal Demons - but she is fast enough. The blade of Rastaban glances against Glumzambor - and diverts it by a few inches. The dark blade does not hit anything she needs to live - and it rips upwards instead. It gouges into her side and slices up her body, more shallowly, leading a bleeding rut carved at the deepest into her side, decreasing rapidly in depth as it slices up her chest almost to her neck before the blade exits her and sails onward in an arc of blood. Droplets of it hang in the air. Her head snaps back, blood pouring from between her teeth as her eyes fade and unfocus, a dull gurgle the only response she can manage through the excruciating pain.

Rolling backwards, she lets her breath out in a gasp. If this were a battle of pure technique, she might be able to defeat Siegfried, she realizes. But his raw physical abilities are beyond anything she can muster. Talise cannot pop out a gun at will. She cannot move faster than a skilled human. The power she can tap into through her Gauntlets only goes so far before it runs dry - and she's run them dry now. And her body can only take so many blows. She only has so much blood, and right now it's gushing out of her side and chest at an alarming rate, soaking her tunic and trousers in an angry crimson -

In the background, Talise hears someone die.

And then someone calls to her. Tethelle. A friend who is counting on her.

A bloodied hand reaches out, and takes the broken haft of Tethelle's sword in hand. A haze of silver ripples through her for a moment. It's brief, but palpable. She can feel her heart beating quicker, but it's no longer just because every beat pumps more and more of her life out of her.

Tethelle believes in me.

Rearing back, a bloodied, wounded Talise plants her heel and stands before Siegfried again. In one hand, she grips Rastaban, the two-handed sword balanced expertly in one. In the other, she grips the cauterized two-thirds of that ancient Baskar blade. She twirls each adeptly.

Then she hurls herself at Siegfried and unloads with everything she has.

Rastaban slices at him from the right. The other sword is broken; there's still blade on it, though, and she simply delivers short, butcher-like chops with Tethelle's weapon. She spins, she pressures, she times her attacks with beats that flow from the spirit and not from the heart. Soon enough, she relinquishes Tethelle's blade to her belt and finishes the combination with a withering series of two-handed strokes with Rastaban alone, each one quick, unrelenting, aimed to tear into the Quarter Knight's shoulders, his chest. She does not understand who or what Zeldukes is, nor that the technique with which she seeks to overwhelm Siegfried is a picture-perfect example of Thousand Relentless Tides style in motion, a blending of Althena's Guard's defensive style and the driving offense she had mastered before.

All she knows is that if she is going to die, she is going to make the most of Tethelle Cirdian's faith in her.

She will make sure nobody else dies today.

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Siegfried with Savior's Storm!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: Talise Gianfair has activated a Force Action!
GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Cyre H. Lorentz with Cure Light!
GS: Rena Lanford takes 8 damage from Poison!
GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action.
GS: Rena Lanford heals Cyre H. Lorentz! He gains 200 temporary hit points!
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's Savior's Storm for 164 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

His boomerangs skitter off Siegfried's armor, but for the moment he doesn't care. They're completely forgotten compared to what's important. "I wish I'd known sooner how much you endure every day." He whispers- feeling guilty by how much she must go through with the burden of all of that Malevolence. How much more she suffered today.

But then he sees silver light out of the corner of his eyes, and from his kneeling position it's all he can do to keep himself between Siegfried and Lucia as light flies about. His sword whips up in a straight cleaving parry of the light.

The light cascades against it, splits into two, and he howls as it washes over him on both sides, smashing him up and over Lucia into the parapet where he once lay- his feet still planted so they won't run into her inert form.

His blue tunic by this point has sizzled away, revealing chainmail that's been scorched black- scored by Siegfried's horrible light. "Nnngh... crud..."

Breathing hard, suffering from where he's likely burned underneath his own armor, he pushes himself up with a hand, delicately, trying to avoid touching Lucia. "I don't understand- what makes you think you deserve it more! Everyone has a right to have a home- a place they belong-"

But- Lucia told the King to live- and Hiro is witness to the horrifying sight as he leaps in in the way of the blow meant for that girl, who he presumes is his daughter- a scythe erupting from the King's chest. It's like his world has blossomed red, in a silhouette of black.

Her resolve was for him to live, to protect something. And in a moment the reason for that resolve is gone.

"Get them out of here!" His expression twists up into true righteous anger in that moment, "What is the matter with you?! Do you two really think of humans as pests? That you can just kill us as you please!?" He says as he whips his blade in a cutting arc- his own form of challenge issued, "We'll make sure that after today neither of you will be able to even think things like that anymore!"

The wind along the battlements whips up along his blade, streaming along it so dense that one can feel the whirling currents moving around his sword. Raising it up over his head, he whirls it around in a rapid flourish, before he takes a step forward, and pivots around as he advances on the Quarter Knight.

Putting the strength of his arms into it, he makes a desperate, vicious slash. Blades of vacuum pressure erupt towards him and upon contact, explode outwards with the force of a cutting whirlwind.

GS: Hiro has attacked Siegfried with Sybillium Sword!
GS: Hiro has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna sees Claude shout orders at a King, of people. She sees Ida, who didn't look that dangerous at all, rush Lady Harken in close-quarters combat. She sees Jean dance about, striking subtly with her fans.

Layna throws her head back and laughs.

"Aye, that's the spirit!" She says.

But the fight isn't over. Perhaps in response, her opponent points directly at her.

Layna listens, fists at the ready.

She'd never heard of Arctica. Well, that would explain a thing or two there. And then the weapon comes, sweeping across her chest. Layna moves to dodge, but her opponent anticipates this, and then...

Another stain of red, matching the one on her side.

The grin has not left Layna's face this entire time, but it's clear from her body language she's on her last legs, but still trying to hold strong.

"You'll find that we humans are a lot hardier than you think, lass. Whatever happens...we'll always be around to make your life hell, aye? Talk as big as you like...we'll always be around...to punch you in the face!"

And she does. Or, she makes a solid attempt at it.

A gauntleted fist comes flying out towards Harken's face, her other hand remaining close for defensive purposes.

It was more out of defiance than anything.

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

What Harken says to Jean is something different; that comparison between all of the people that she's seen hurt here already to pests makes her angrier still, something that burns inside her and shows in her eyes. They're blind...

She sets her eyes before she leaps, and makes her answer her strike. Her fans spray out and Harken brings her slash down at her. It's not the words that hits her next; despite Jean's speed she can't evade that blow, and blood sprays freely from the wound that's carved in like her thigh was so much meat, Jean herself clattering to the ground and rolling her way to a stop. "Gh--" It's a difficult breath. The fire seems to rage all around her even now, the cold ruined stone a reminder of the dead. It reminds her of...

Jean closes her eyes and forces herself back up, setting her wounded leg down first and just accepting the wave of pain that shifts up her body. From many wounds she's bleeding, and she can't move as quickly or as responsively as she would like.

"...I'll show her pest control," Jean mutters, and forces herself to stand up straight next. Her fans go back at her side. She starts forward again, her high shoes jarring her more with each step. She looks to Lucia, fallen. Lemina, Hiro... Even Ragnell. Maybe they aren't looking at her.

"Ha--" Jean starts faster and sprints towards the fallen King and the Quarter Knight with the bloody scythe. Her shoulders lower as she leaves a red trail along the ground. It doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that she makes it closer, quickly, and then atempts to duck under Harken's guard, getting close. She has no bravado to offer except for speed, except for the flash of anger in her eyes. Instead she ducks and weaves until she finds what must be the weak point. Weaponless, she rears back an arm--

"Shadow Dragon Palm." She intones it as a whisper and her fist slams forward, wreathed in life-destroying darkness. She aims for the chest, and anyone can see her strike.

GS: Jean has attacked Lady Harken with Shadow Dragon Palm!
GS: Jean takes 8 damage from Poison!
GS: Jean has completed her action.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Lady Harken with Bash and Buckle!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Jean's Shadow Dragon Palm for 158 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Lady Harken critically Guards a hit from Layna Manydays's Bash and Buckle for 14 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!
GS: Layna Manydays takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Siegfried guards a hit from Hiro's Sybillium Sword for 137 hit points!
GS: Siegfried enters CONDITION GREEN!!

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

'Once the king escapes.' So much for that. Even Ragnell's shocked when the old man opts to leap not just in front of Harken's attack but onto her blade. On the one hand, it irritates her that her efforts went to waste; on the other, much bigger hand, she has to admit that she's impressed by his loyalty to and love for his daughter. The fate of the Teardrop remains unknown, but Siegfried didn't know it either. Perhaps this is the King's way of protecting it: by taking that knowledge with him to the grave.

At least he got to have the (dubious) blessings of the Seraphim before he went. Cold comfort, now, which will match his body nicely in a few moments.

Even if there's anything that Ragnell wanted to do about it, either, Harken is an even more formidable foe than she first appeared: not only does she evade Ragnell's Seraphic arte, Harken's counter-attack hits Ragnell dead-on, despite Harken being completely unable to see her. Ragnell's struck backwards powerfully, painful lines scored across her body, where she's crumpled on the parapets near the edge. Panting, she pulls herself upright, her entire body creaking with agony. She won't be able to take another hit like that... And combatants are dropping by the moment. There goes Claude, for example, and Cyre looks to be on his last legs. Lemina's brave to actually do as Hiro asked and step in to distract Siegfried, especially since Ragnell was mistaken--Jean had gone to fight Harken, and now unleashes a dark blast of anti-life energy at her. Ragnell whistles a low whistle, red eyes narrowed.

Magical power flows up around her as she channels her power into getting herself steady again. As she casts, she takes a good look at the battleground, at Rena and Talise, at Hiro and Cecilia, at everyone's efforts to overcome a foe far too powerful for them. Harken talks of Zed fooling everyone and feeding back their secrets, of the Metal Knights slaughtering the Arctica Knights, of humans being pests who are better off dead. Ragnell doesn't entirely disagree with the sentiment, but the fact that the Metal Demons are *this* strong is ACTUALLY KIND OF WORRYING.

Besides...

"Life Surge," she murmurs, knitting some of her wounds back together. It's not enough to repair all of the damage that Harken did to her, but it's enough to let her stumble back onto her feet.

...well, some reasons are just personal.

GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Life Surge!
GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action.
GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Seraph Ragnell!
GS: Seraph Ragnell heals Seraph Ragnell! She gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Something gives when Ida's hand hits Harken's face, and it isn't her fingers. Pain spikes through her hand, but not the sort of pain that heralds broken bones--the chi reinforcement Ida uses to sling guns one-handed is doing its job--albeit inefficiently--in a different way. Harken's scythe comes down at her in a long, horrific cut, tracing a line of red across her chest. It's deep, and she can feel it slicing through muscle like a butcher's knife cutting meat. Blood splatters the ground around her.

Ida's face twists into an ugly sneer. Her eyes are unfocused.

Claude goes down. Harken lays into the helpless King Justin, the very person they were here to protect. Tethelle yells at Cecilia to run. Ida slumps against the broken parapet, her breath coming in heavy gasps that aren't quite sobs. She's helpless. She's always helpless. She--

Something digs into the small of her back. Could she risk it? She has to. Her mother would want her to. Granas would want her to.

She wants to.

"Core Precepts," Ida says.

"gold,When faced with devils such as these,

we have no choice but to use a devil's arms."

Ida summons up what little reserves she has left. Her eyes snap back into focus, and she takes in the scene--the two Quarter Knights, the crowd of people around them in various states of injury. The anger burns, but now it is tempered by righteousness--she has seen an abomination here today. She has seen innocent people butchered by these monsters; they showed up tore half of what Ida loved to pieces.

The worst part is knowing that there are others here who've had it so much worse. Ida is their avenger now.

Her hand darts behind what's left of her coat, into the holster she hasn't touched since the fight began. That sensation of gravity returns--tendrils of mercury-laced smoke curl up from somewhere behind Ida's back, creeping towards the two Quarter Knights.

"DRAW," Ida says. She forces her reserves into her torn, injured, screaming arm muscles, drawing something that glimmers in the fading light with the telltale patina of fossilized demonbone. It looks like a rifle that got hacked down to a heavy pistol--Ida holds it one-handed, takes sight of Siegfried's center of mass, and then pulls the trigger. A booming roar echoes from the weapon as it spits a slug--half-molten from the Dragon-breath igniter sitting inside. Ida turns slightly, lining Harken in her sights. She fires again. The bullets don't just seek their targets. They're trailed by spiraling smoke the color of demon-blood, and sparks of power.

Ida sags back, utterly spent.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Something gives when Ida's hand hits Harken's face, and it isn't her fingers. Pain spikes through her hand, but not the sort of pain that heralds broken bones--the chi reinforcement Ida uses to sling guns one-handed is doing its job--albeit inefficiently--in a different way. Harken's scythe comes down at her in a long, horrific cut, tracing a line of red across her chest. It's deep, and she can feel it slicing through muscle like a butcher's knife cutting meat. Blood splatters the ground around her.

Ida's face twists into an ugly sneer. Her eyes are unfocused.

Claude goes down. Harken lays into the helpless King Justin, the very person they were here to protect. Tethelle yells at Cecilia to run. Ida slumps against the broken parapet, her breath coming in heavy gasps that aren't quite sobs. She's helpless. She's always helpless. She--

Something digs into the small of her back. Could she risk it? She has to. Her mother would want her to. Granas would want her to.

She wants to.

"Core Precepts," Ida says.

"When faced with devils such as these,

we have no choice but to use a devil's arms."

Ida summons up what little reserves she has left. Her eyes snap back into focus, and she takes in the scene--the two Quarter Knights, the crowd of people around them in various states of injury. The anger burns, but now it is tempered by righteousness--she has seen an abomination here today. She has seen innocent people butchered by these monsters; they showed up tore half of what Ida loved to pieces.

The worst part is knowing that there are others here who've had it so much worse. Ida is their avenger now.

Her hand darts behind what's left of her coat, into the holster she hasn't touched since the fight began. That sensation of gravity returns--tendrils of mercury-laced smoke curl up from somewhere behind Ida's back, creeping towards the two Quarter Knights.

"DRAW," Ida says. She forces her reserves into her torn, injured, screaming arm muscles, drawing something that glimmers in the fading light with the telltale patina of fossilized demonbone. It looks like a rifle that got hacked down to a heavy pistol--Ida holds it one-handed, takes sight of Siegfried's center of mass, and then pulls the trigger. A booming roar echoes from the weapon as it spits a slug--half-molten from the Dragon-breath igniter sitting inside. Ida turns slightly, lining Harken in her sights. She fires again. The bullets don't just seek their targets. They're trailed by spiraling smoke the color of demon-blood, and sparks of power.

Ida sags back, utterly spent.

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has activated a Force Action!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Siegfried with Devil's Draw!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Lady Harken with Devil's Draw!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes 8 damage from Poison!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: You do not have any attacks from that person in queue.
GS: CRITICAL! Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Devil's Draw for 144 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia is running. Running better than she has in a long time, thanks to her spell. Her father is with her, and maybe they'll escape. Tethelle is coming up behind; yet another person offering their body up.

That's not how it's supposed to go, her mind screams. We're not here to be protected--!

The shadow falls. The Teardrop surges at her, a tidal warning, and it's the only hope she has of noticing Harken approaching her.

The swing. The scream. The blood. It rips her concentration from her feet, which means her ankle twists under her and she collapses, ungainly; a very expensive sack of potatoes hitting the dirt. She half turns, searching for her father, and--

"Fa...ther," the word croak out of her mouth. Is...is this...

Tethelle screams at her to flee. This, on its own, might not be enough. But the Teardrop is also burning against her chest, a din almost as loud as the battle.

She forces herself up and she runs.

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

The nice thing about making yourself a target: you probably aren't going to get blindsided by being a target. Lemina hunches low and makes herself an even smaller target than she already is; it works the way she intends, at least some of those silver lights missing her by inches.

She's not exactly in great shape afterward, just the same; she's clearly reeling, and her grip on both of her implements is dodgy at best. "U -- ugh," she groans, gritting her teeth. "This is worse than landing on the Blue Star for the first time..."

Her stance rocks back and forth a little bit, and she looks over to her friends -- to Hiro, to Lucia... to Jean... to the King. Two things happen one after another -- and both of them etch themselves into Lemina's memory forever. As the King falls and Jean sprints toward him, Lemina helplessly watches --

Jean acts decisively, and the Junior Premier's mouth gapes open a moment. So that's the true power within Jean... Lemina winces -- and then remembers that everything happening will be pointless if they don't rebuff the Metal Demons, anyway.

"... that's -- too far," she breathes, dropping her parasol and taking her staff in both hands. She continues to circle to try to keep herself between Lucia and Siegfried, gaze leveled. "That's --" As Cecilia bolts, Lemina swings her staff forward in a two-handed gesture, a gnarled scythe of ice heading for the Metal Demon. "That's enough!"

The scythe swings straight down, seeking to pierce through Siegfried's guard and keep him unstable long enough for Cecilia to finish running. ... it's all she can do, at this point -- make sure that all the blood spilled here today isn't totally in vain.

GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Siegfried with Freeze Claw!
GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Freeze Claw for 119 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

And now. Now they start to fall.

Harken's scythe takes its toll on the defenders. Claude falls. The King slumps to the floor in a growing puddle of his own lifeblood. As the worst happens Morgan recieves his own fare share of it. The slices from the scythe cut deep into the beastman as he staggers against the sheer hate of it all. His shields hold by bare inches as he is shoved backwards. Ida snaps as he unleashes her ARM against the scythe wielding Quarter Knight. Gwen's lightning slams into her oppoenents.

Morgan doesn't have anything quite as flashy but he steps forwards. His own ARM spinning up. The triple canon shifting into a single barreled one. A single round rings out, one ment to snap hard against Harken's head as he starts to advance. The power of his ARM growing as he stalks forwards.

Past his wounds. Past the worry. There is a wicked smile on his face as the blood sings in his veins. For all the protesting that he's a simple Digger. For all the plotting and planning and the laying low.

Part of him missed this.

If he had to be honest with himself. Part of him enjoying this scale of chaos. Testing himself against opponents that he ahs no right to face. There is only one thing he regrets right now.

He can't get to his gorram Gear.

GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Lady Harken with Ace High!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed its action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Morgan Newkirk's Ace High for 44 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Gwen can feel it- the way her body begins to feel lighter, muscles regaining some measure of their previous pain-free movement. Wounds resolve and begin to clear away. It wasn't coming from her ARM, though, but through the healing energy of Rena. Is that possible? Gwen always heard that healing magic was sort of impossible, like a male calico cat, but then again, aren't there still a few male calico cats out there, somewhere?

The king calls her last name. Gwen spares him a look out of the corner of her eye, just as her metal fingers try to dig into Siegfried's chest. The sight of an average muddling courier, bumbling as she yammered before him weeks before, extending an arm that was anything but human. Organic lines curving each metal plate, shimmering with yellow energy. Black outlines of joints underneath.

It would be, perhaps, one of the last things he saw, before he gave his life to protect his daughter. The love of a father. He was true to his convictions, it seems, right until the end. "We'll cover for you, miss," she yells to the princess Cecilia. "We won't let them touch you-" But Cecilia will be forced to flee. And she does, possibly taking the remaining hope of all of Adlehyde's citizens. If only all of them can be as noble, when the time came.

Ida's own ARM reveals a strange secret, blasting away. Gwen sights Ragnell nearby, as well. "Ida!" Gwen cries. "Hold on, we have someone here that can maybe heal you-" There's too much around them. That healer (Rena?) can't heal them all.

Gwen draws on the oddest piece of courage she could find, just then. Taking a breath, she remembers that little, throw-away promise she made, and the quiet reply of gratitude back.

"Don't worry, I'll live," she says, under her breath. "Can't be going against my word just yet, can I...?"

Moving nearby Ragnell, Gwen looks up towards the Seraph, holding up her ARM. "Let's show them what we can do, Ragnell!" WIth a pulse of cackling light, electricity flows from Gwen towards Lady Harken and Siegfried, potentially engulfing them in its electric light.

GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Siegfried with St. Elmo's Fire!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Lady Harken with St. Elmo's Fire!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's St. Elmo's Fire for 30 hit points!
GS: Disrupt and Jam! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!
GS: Siegfried takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's St. Elmo's Fire for 32 hit points!
GS: Disrupt and Jam! Statuses applied to Siegfried!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

"Well struck, Lady Harken!" Siegfried says. "A tenacious one, but--ah?" The Quarter Knight looks down, as Justin falls. His eyes look over, expectantly, and then he frowns. "Where... where is--"

He honestly thought he had killed Talise. When she runs in, her flurry of blows landing, the first few take him by surprise. Talise scores hits on his shoulders, and one even rips through his armor. More of that black fluid erupts out. The Quarter Knight snarls, before he swings his blade around and chops it up -- and catches Rastaban in a shower of sparks. Then, Siegfried steps forward.

His own blade beats down, slashing once, then twice, leaving a brutal X-shape in the air, before he stabs Glumzambor through it. Blue light explodes, then fires directly at Talise.

"As pests?" Siegfried asks, turning to look back at Hiro. "You are not pests. Most of you cower behind the few who will protect you. The rest of you seek power, no matter the cost. You are a plague upon this world -- unworthy of its gift. Any hope of peace..."

Siegfried's eyes flash, a dangerous red. "...died when you struck down our holy Mother!"

Wind whips and rips at Siegfried, billeting him, and smashing him backward. He stumbles -- and then he gets a blade slammed into his midsection. He whips a gauntleted hand out, trying to clock Hiro in the face and knock him away. And then, he leaps, and his blade comes slashing at Hiro's midsection, before he backs up, and throws a mighty punch at him to pitch him away. He turns, to see Cecilia run. He starts to advance on her -- and then the huge scythe of ice swings down and slams into his armor.

"Grk!"

Black fluid bursts out, again. He stumbles before he rights himself. Glumzambor is gripped in both hands -- and then he unleashes those terrible arcs of yellow, white, black, and blue light again. Many come surging for Lemina. Others slash out for Tethelle, one swings down to strike at Ragnell from above, another whips out for Gwen, and others shred away more stone.

He stalks over, then, to Justin. Siegfried picks him up -- and blinks, when Justin's eyes meet his. He reaches to a chain around his neck, and then yanks a pendant away...

...and comes up with a silver locket. It falls open, showing an old daguerrotype of Justin, in his younger years, and Cecilia on his knee. Siegfried looks down at it, in confusion, and then up at the king.

Justin laughs, when Siegfried drops him roughly. "Where," the Quarter Knight snarls, "WHERE IS THE TEARDROP!?"

He wheels around -- in time for the pulse of lightning from Gwen to smash into him. He stands his ground through it, even as electricity arcs sharply over him. He snarls -- and then concentrates. Energy crackles around him, forks of plasma beginning to scar sky and stone.

"I will tear this castle APART!" he shouts. "I will not surrender the future of my species to the likes of you!"

GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Devil's Draw for 89 hit points!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Talise Gianfair with Blue Destiny!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Hiro with Blue Destiny!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Lemina Ausa with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Talise Gianfair takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Blue Destiny for 175 hit points!
GS: Hiro has activated a Force Action!
GS: Hiro guards a hit from Siegfried's Blue Destiny for 105 hit points!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 119 hit points!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey guards a hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 63 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Seraph Ragnell takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 181 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

The king has fallen... and STILL no Teardrop.

That is... irritating. Haken looks down at the man for a moment with a harsh expression on her face, clearly displeased by the lack of the prize. "You old fool, WHERE DID YOU PUT IT!?!" she shouts, pulling her scythe free. Without the Teadrop... well, it wasn't good. Who would have expected the King NOT to have it?

This was fine. She could cope. And at least she'd put the hurt on the old man, and people were not just ignoring her. The man who gave her that strange, familiar feeling was down, and Harken could deal with him at her leisure - although there was also a faint sense of... irritation at seeing the blue haired elf shouting at him in concern. Hmph - she'd deal with it. There was nothing to be concerned about. Nothing but the fight.

And at least there were a few still fighting! The pirate had decided to finally throw herself back into the fray, and Harken welcomes her with scythe in hand. She walks away from the fallen king, bringing her weapon around to block Layna's hit. But while she robs the blow of much of its power, it does skid high and hit the Quarter Knight in the face. In one of the eyes in fact, and she staggers backwards, not able to see. "...a cheap shot. Hah, but this isn't a duel - so not bad," she states, covering her eye for a moment. It's bleeding and hard to see, but she can keep going. The moxie in this one...!

But the next strike is far more than she expected. While Harken was focusing on the others, the frilly looking dancer had been preparing something even more potent than Harken had expected. Someone who had used such a light attacking style unleashing such a powerful blow. Jean slams her fist into Harken's chest, the raw power discharging itself and knocking the Quarter Knight backwards. Harken slams into the wall, leaving behind a spider web of cracks in her wake as she drops back to her feet.

Harken even sways for a moment as she lands, holding her chest with one hand, her eye with the other. He scythe lands on the ground, begins to tilt over... and stops, hanging their ominously. "So girl, what is your name?" Harken asks, coughing once and spitting out a gob of blood. "When I kill you, I will ensure it has a place of honor among those I have chosen for your bravado and power."

And then she feels a familiar sensation - Harken turns slightly, just in time for Ida to blast her with a massive bullet from some strange weapon that she is carrying. The blast hits her head on, shattering part of her chest armor and leaving behind a smoking hole. It doesn't bleed like the other wounds she has taken, and Harken gasps for a moment as she's wracked with pain. "Really - shooting me with THAT WEAPON?" the Quarter Knight demands. "You want to use the bones of our people and turn them into weapons? And you wonder why we look at you as scum!?!"

Another gunshot echoes from nearby, as Morgan attempts to put a round into Harken with his weapon. The Valkryie turns, her blade coming down at the shell - which explodes in mid-air from the force of the impact, the blow pushing her away slightly. She look back at the fox beastman for a moment, raises her finger, and waves it back and forth in a 'tsk tsk' gesture. The silent type - but that was fine. Not everyone needed to shout the heads off in battle.

The electric discharge that follows leaves Harken shaking - Gwen's blast of power does a number on her, forcing her down to one knee for a moment despite the lack of direct damage that it does. Harken clenches her teeth, doing what she can to fend off the feeling of her muscles convulsing, and gives the other woman a glare that probably is not a good sign, given the amount of carnage she seemed able to cause at will.

"Enough. This is a waste of time if the Teardrop is not here!" Harken declares, pushing herself unsteadily to her feet. Her scythe whirls through the air, hovering just out of reach as the Quarter Knight takes a deep breath in... and then she unleashes a loud "HOOOOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of her lungs. It seems like a green flash of light comes off of her body, her wounds smoking and the blood dissolving into silver steam after a moment.

And Harken casts her gaze about for a moment, and sneers. "It's been entertaining, but I think it's time that we wrap this up," she declares. "Siegfried, we need to keep searching for the Teardrop. Let's put an end to this once and for all!"

And with that, Harken reaches out and takes hold of her scythe, the blade shimmering for a moment as it gathers power. And then Harken brings the weapon up... and slams it into the ground.

The vacuum wave erupts outwards in all directions, a spreading start of destruction that picks up pieces of the roof and carries them along its front in a crushing circle of expanding destruction. It's a terrifying vision as it rushes towards everyone - a bloody end aiming to tear them to pieces.

GS: Lady Harken has attacked Lady Harken with Inner Focus!
GS: Lady Harken heals Lady Harken! She gains 200 temporary hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Lady Harken with Killing Intent!
GS: Lady Harken takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Killing Intent for 0 hit points!
GS: Lock and State! Statuses applied to Lady Harken!
GS: Restore! Lady Harken clears debuffs from Lady Harken!
GS: That attack doesn't exist. [fast drawn - harken]
GS: Lady Harken enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Rena Lanford with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Layna Manydays with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Jean with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Lady Harken has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Fast Draw - Harken Tempest!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 33 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Vash the Stampede has posed.

B e f o r e

• ding-ding-ding*

"Hey, thanks again! Seriously, this stuff is the best!"

The port air of Timney is refreshing, buffeting against his cheeks as he exits the local bakery. His nostrils flare, taking in the scent of salt from the edge of the harbor, and a modest, contented smile drifts across his lips. He always liked port towns. The sea breeze. The sound, the thrum and bustle of life and activity. Even with scars still yet unrepaired, it's nice here. Quiet.

Peaceful.

He takes his time on the way back to the place he's been staying -- not an inn, he didn't have the money to spare. But in helping with repairs around the city, he's earned some small amenities and good will from the townspeople here, and ultimately, he ended up in the temporary care of an older couple near the entrance to the city. They're good people. Even when they rightly yell at him for noise. But he likes it. It just makes them human.

He offers his greetings, warm and chipper, as he enters the house. He barely even notices the flash on the memory cube as he hums to himself, setting aside that big bag of pastries. He's happy here. He's...

Flash, flash, flash.

"Eh?"

Sky blue eyes blue eyes blink as he catches it from his peripherals. They're confused, but still pleasantly so, grabbing that bag as he makes his way to the cube, and with thoughtless expertise turns it on. A familiar face flashes across the screen. His eyes squeeze shut with familiar warmth. He holds up the bag, beaming with pride.

"Hey, Gwen! Guess WHAT--"

"Please, I need you to listen-"

He listens.

And those eyes widen.

Within moments, that warm young man with the blonde hair and red coat are gone from that elderly couple's home as if he was never there, donuts rolling cast aside and forgotten on the floor.

N o w

• BLAM-BLAM-BLAM*

In the hellacious, flame-soaked air of Adlehyde Castle, three gunshots ring out, no doubt lost within the roar of battle and chaos. One, two, three, each coming off the tail end of the next so perfectly swift it sounds to those who might catch wind of it like one extended blast cutting through the air. He remembers seeing this castle once and marveling over how well fortified it looked, like a bastion of peace.

Now, it's all burning.

Three shots. Each towards a wrecked and rent spire jutting from the once-proud top of Adlehyde castle. Each one aimed perfectly to hit weak points in its already damaged structure. It groans. It protests. But he knows where those shots landed. And he knows what comes next.

There's a shadow cast over Lady Harken and Siegfried as they wage their merciless violence. A shadow that grows bigger, and bigger, and bigger. And if they look up, they'll see why:

The sky is falling.

Or more specifically the spire, knocked loose by those bullets, or fate, or the whimsy of luck, comes crashing down on them, through fluke or deliberate timing angled perfectly into a trajectory to catch the two of them alone and blow them back with the horrifying crash of metal against stone, crunching and crumbling and creating a very real, but very temporary boundary between the Quarter Knights and their prey.

He's there, at the top of that spire, as the dust billows away into the torturous heat of Adlehyde's skies. A tall man. Blonde hair. Red coat. Orange sunglasses. And a large, silver ARM--

--pointed dead center at Siegfried and Harken.

He looks back. And for all those who might know this man might know him as a fool, an idiot, a buffoon--

"RUN!"

--there's no doubting both the forcefulness and desperation in Vash the Stampede's voice as he shouts that single word into the wartorn air.

He doesn't look back. He doesn't dare. He just hopes they listen to him, hopes at least for once he wasn't too late as he turns a modest but sad smile onto the Metal Demons before him. He doesn't stand a ghost of a chance against either of them, let alone both. But if he can just distract them long enough, he buy the rest some time--

"Hey -- I don't imagine I could convince you to go back home, could I?" he asks, and despite the absurdity of such a request, in the middle of something like this, it is utterly earnest.

Even if the sad resignation behind it and the cock of his gun's hammer means he's prepared for the alternative.

GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 86 hit points!

DC: Vash the Stampede switches forms to The Humanoid Typhoon!

GS: Vash the Stampede has attacked Siegfried with The Walking Disaster!
GS: Vash the Stampede has attacked Lady Harken with The Walking Disaster!
GS: Vash the Stampede has completed his action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Vash the Stampede's The Walking Disaster for 83 hit points!
GS: Siegfried enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Vash the Stampede's The Walking Disaster for 42 hit points!
GS: Layna Manydays has activated a Force Action!
GS: CRITICAL! Layna Manydays takes a glancing hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 51 hit points!
GS: Poison and Cripple! Statuses applied to Layna Manydays!
GS: Jean has activated a Force Action!
GS: Jean takes a glancing hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 14 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Lady Harken's Fast Draw - Harken Tempest for 59 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 108 hit points!
GS: Lady Harken has completed her action.
GS: Lemina Ausa takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 116 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

"Jean..." He says- as if struck speechless by seeing her unleah that life-destroying darkness. He can't hear it. But he remembers her saying- in the cave. How she once served evil.

But the moment costs him as he takes a blow across the face, he stumbles away a pace or two- too punch drunk to respond, his vision swimming with spots. And yet he sees a glint of Siegfried's armor, gleaming blue in the light of the sun as he leaps. Bringing up his blade- he realizes the Quarter Knight's strength is too much if he tries to turn the blade with one hand behind it. Instead he shifts his other hand upon the blade itself. Holding it in both hands as Siegfried brings it down hard. "ARGH!"

It's a desperate double edged defense, as Glumzambor chinks into the sword, for a moment, and he suffers with his own blade pressed into his palm. At the last second, he pushes forward, and Siegfried's Spear slides down the length of the blade to the hilt- where it slams against his opposite hand hard enough that his grip goes limp.

The sword clatters against the battlements, skittering against the ground- as he stumbles backwards, wringing his hands which both suffer, face twisted up in agony.

He didn't know where his boomerangs were any longer. And he no longer had a grip on his sword.

But those weren't his only weapons. In his blood ran the blessing of his world. A blessing his Grandpa had taught him to use and that Lemina's teachings had helped him refine.

"Yeah? So it's about revenge?" He finally manages to hiss out, "Well I don't know what you're talking about... if these people even had anything to do with that. But we're not going to surrender the lives of all the people here to EITHER OF YOU!"

Even with both his hands torn up, he juts them both forward- whispering an incantation- as twin funnel clouds descend on both Lady Harken and Siegfried.

While he's not a practiced enough spellcaster that he had any hope of stopping them- he hopes the cutting, billowing tornadoes at least slow them down a while longer.

His eyes shift sideways to the spot where his sword lay.

He just hopes he can get to it in time.

GS: Hiro has activated a Force Action!
GS: Hiro has attacked Siegfried with Vortex!
GS: Hiro has attacked Lady Harken with Vortex!
GS: Hiro has completed his action.
GS: CRITICAL! Siegfried guards a hit from Hiro's Vortex for 88 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

He almost did kill Talise. Turns out she's made of sterner stuff than you might think - especially when someone's counting on her.

Even with the King dead.

Again and again she strikes, now just two-handing Rastaban, not wishing to break Tethelle's weapon any more than it already is. An angry hiss emerges from her throat, but she chokes it back, stroking again - her weapon catches against the Quarter Knight's. Sparks bounce off her face. She lunges back, ready to move in again.

Siegfried does something she doesn't expect him to do; she's still too used to a sword duel being a sword duel, and the sudden cross-explosion of light catches her point-blank and hurls her back bodily in an eruption of pain. The blast scorches into her midsection, burning away more of her tunic. A few lingering links of chainmail end up melting against her skin like white-hot pokers. She doesn't even have enough in her to scream; all that comes out is a sick-sounding wheeze as she's hurled violently off her feet, hitting the ground with a thud and skidding for several metres.

She leaves a wet red streak on the stones where she passes by, before rolling and ending up on her stomach, still clutching her sword in one gauntleted hand.

It takes her some effort. A lot of effort. Everything she has. Planting her sword against the ground, Talise groans thinly as she struggles to her feet. She coughs wetly, a racking sound, thick dark blood dripping from between her lips to pattern the battlement-stone. It's not that dark unless she's on the verge of death.

She has been through her adventures, to be sure, but Talise Gianfair has never been on the verge of death before. Not like this.

And yet... Siegfried still doesn't have what he wants. Not yet.

Weaving, Talise forces herself to stand. She can barely do it. Her chest rises and falls as she breathes, the gasps of clear air bringing some stability, staving off the black tunnel her vision has begun to fade into. The darkness recedes slightly. She reminds herself that others are here. Tethelle, Ida. Cecilia, whose father just sacrificed himself to save something. The Teardrop. It dawns upon Talise what that is - that thing Cecilia carries with her. It must be that.

And so long as Siegfried does not have what he is looking for, there's hope. Hope to buy time for Cecilia. To salvage this in some way.

Grimly, Talise moves her left foot back and plants it. She breathes in - and strides forwards, back into Siegfried's field of vision. Her sword weaves slowly in her hand. From all the wounds, the injuries, the grievous cuts and rivers of blood, the visible exhaustion, it looks as if she should be dead - as if he should've put her down ages ago.

Slowly, she lifts her sword, and points it at him with a straight, unblinking gaze. I'm not done with you yet.

With a last surge of energy, she hurls herself forward. Her muscles bunch, gauntleted hands clutching Rastaban's bound hilt. Sweeping it back, she raises her voice with all the force she can muster.

"RUUUUUUOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHT!!!"

Metal sings through the air like a held harp chord. Something flickers - a sudden surge of movement. And then Talise is behind Siegfried, beginning to drop towards the ground unsteadily. Rastaban is held out to her opposite side, high and at an angle, as though she's just swung.

It may take a few seconds for the blow to manifest - a deep cut she aimed to power through Siegfried's chest. Or at least, to mark him. To wound him with the last bit of her strength.

"Hope it stings," she rasps as her strength begins to leave her.

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Siegfried with Tidal Blow!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried critically Guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's Tidal Blow for 21 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Good, Tethelle thinks. Cecilia might get away.

Tethelle is cheating, in one way - for she knows exactly where the Teardrop is. Unless it was put somewhere else, but she'll wager it wasn't. In fact, she just did. "It is not here," she says to Siegfried.

The advantage, such as it is, of fighting in civilization is that there is stuff everywhere. Even on a lonely battlement, if you know where to look. For instance, Tethelle has gone to the wall itself and retrieved something from it, just as Siegfried's horrible light pierces her. She roars, struck by the beams. She's up, but not by much.

But she's turning back. And now she's got something in her hand - a broken chunk of flagpole about six feet long, still topped with the flag of Adlehyde. Originally it would have thrust out from the battlement so it could be visible from someone looking up from the gate. Now Tethelle holds it in her hand, whipping it left and right in a testing manner.

And then, even as Vash tells her to run, she runs - at Siegfried. "Go!" she calls to the others. She told Cecilia she'd do what she could, and she takes that seriously.

Tethelle puts her entire body's strength into the swing. The pole flexes in a way her sword wouldn't, cracking straight as she snaps her wrist and adding extra force to the blow. She whirls despite the hole in her side, spinning completely around and lashing out at Siegfried's face from the opposite direction, right-left-right, finishing up with a sweeping blow to his legs to hopefully trip him, hard enough to splinter the pole she's using as her weapon -

And then throwing the flag itself on top of him, to blind him, as Tethelle stomps on an edge to make it harder to rise. Siegfried is a better fighter than she is, much as it hurts to admit it. But she doesn't have to beat him - she only has to keep him busy for a few more instants.

Right now, Tethelle is just trying to tangle him long enough to give everyone else - including the person carrying King Justin - a chance to get away. If she can keep Siegfried down for even a few seconds, she will - and if she can't, well, she can always jump off the battlement. It's not like she didn't come up that way.

Of course, she didn't have the great hole in her side then, but sometimes a great escape needs a great risk.

GS: CRITICAL! Lady Harken takes a glancing hit from Hiro's Vortex for 50 hit points!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has attacked Siegfried with Whirling Juggernaut!
GS: Tethelle Cirdian has completed her action.
GS: Siegfried guards a hit from Tethelle Cirdian's Whirling Juggernaut for 87 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Jean is certainly frilly; she's not at all dressed for battle. It's clear to Lady Harken, it seems, the difference... Although not the context. Jean keeps that to herself as she stares to the wall, fist still extended with a black glow that's fading by the instant until it is gone.

Jean's heart still has this awful feeling gripping it, painful inside her chest. But the sounds are all around her, the smell of blood, the heat of flames and... whatever this is. They fall away; she stares at Lady Harken. The Quarter Knight sways, her scythe holding itself up. Through that Jean keeps staring at Harken and her strange blood. She asks a question.

"My name is Jean. You're welcome to try."

But the attacks keep coming, and Jean has long enough to let her heart try to seize up and take a breath before she begins to move forward--

Forward is the wrong direction. the vacuum wave crashes towards her and Jean stops short and leans backward so fast t looks like she's fall until her feet shift off the ground. The wave is still coming, starting to reach her as her arms bend and she springs the rest of the way out of the way on her hands.

She lands hard, her landing slick as her shoe now is bloody too. Hiro's magic lights the way over to him, and she sees a sword on the way over. "...Hiro!" Jean calls. She rushes to grab his sword, holds it up, "I've got it! Come on, let's get everyone out of here!"

There's no point in tryng to strike any longer; she should conserve that energy. As she starts to move towards the stairs, she looks back. "Lemina!?"

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

This time, Lemina has no great defense against the arcs of light streaking toward her; she was fully prepared at first, but this time she's already in the thick of things and promptly eats the worst of it. She staggers back from Siegfried, and --

~*~ "RUN!" ~*~

Lemina... isn't much in a mood to argue with this. There's already been so much blood spilled -- so much death... she's the type to seek victory, not vengeance, and has zero qualms leaving if it means at least most of them will see another sunrise.

So Lemina -- who has, up to this point, thrown herself squarely into the face of danger more or less face-first -- starts to backpedal. She's still facing Siegfried -- far be it from her to hand an opponent a free shot -- but she's definitely trying to put that retreat into practice.

"Hiro!" she calls. "Get Lucia and let's get out of here!" She sees him looking toward his sword, and -- oh, Jean's got it. For a brief moment she was terrified that they'd have to go to Lacour and spend money on a sword. The magess launches another heavy bolt of ice -- but it's toward the ground in front of Siegfried rather than the Demon himself, because what she's looking for is to stop him from advancing toward herself, Lucia, or Hiro so they can leave.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Her fist glances, but draws blood. Her point has been made.

"Aye, if you wanted duel rules, you shoulda said before you started." Layna replies. Unfortunately, Harken seems to take this as a challenge, and yet again releases another wave of powerful slashes.

She brings her gauntlets up to defend, but similarly to what happened with her opponent, the rest of it is diverted towards her face, leaving a bloody scar that matches the one already present.

And then, a man appears.

She's never seen this man before, but even in the short time since her arrival she's heard rumors of a red-coated man that brings destruction in his wake.

And he shouts one word.

"RUN!"

She does have her crew to keep in mind, after all.

She takes a step back and draws a bottle from within her bloodied coat, and pops the cork and downs the lot.

"I haven't felt more alive in years, lass, but I think we both know continuing this is futile. Maybe next time, aye? I'd offer you a drink, but, well...you don't seem like the type. Have fun with him!"

'Him' being the red-coated man. Right now, though, there's another man in her sights - Claude, who'd fought with her on the way here, who'd proven to be rather fun at parties. She couldn't leave him here to die to these demons.

She scoops him up under one arm and backs out, before breaking into a run.

'Live to fight another day' was also the pirate way, as it happens.

GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Layna Manydays with Careening!
GS: Layna Manydays takes 7 damage from Poison!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Layna Manydays heals Layna Manydays! She gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida watches as the hole she just put in Harken's chest mends itself. Harken calls her more names, but at this point, there's no way she can salt the wound even further. Harken has already torn fresh, new wounds in both her body and mind, to go with the ones she's already sustained.

She trusted Zed.

"Well! You know, my uncle told me once... Pure power does not discriminate. He also said that the sword is only as sharp as its wielder. In other words! It is the wielder that matters, not the power itself! Power is power. Strength is strength! To use it to hurt, to use it to defend, that is up to the one who possesses it!"

Horrible energies fly everywhere. Ida stumbles forwards, fumbling Devil's Due back into its holster. She twists downwards, snatching up her dropped ARMs with one hand. Siegfried's rainbow clips her calf, singeing through skin and flesh. Harken's vacuum slash tears into the small of her back--she is only spared from instant death by the body of the weapon that her father made, and her mother wielded. Devil's Due gleams before Harken's eyes.

She trusted Riesenlied.

"Just recall what we've spoken on the purpose of ARMs, Miss Ida. Recall what you've taken that ARM up for, and what it is not for... do not let those flames consume you."

Ida is running now. It's not much of a run, and she is barely aware of what's going on outside her little bubble of blood and agony. She barely notices the mysterious, red-garbed stranger who might've just saved their lives. All she knows is that something distracted Siegfried and Harken, and she is in no shape to fight further. She picks up speed, her breath rasping in her ears as she chases the courier's shadow.

She trusted Kalve. She still has the multitool he made for her in her pocket.

"Thank you for being my friend."

She runs like the past day and a half is something she can outrun if she just tries hard enough.

It isn't.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

The rainbow arcs smash downwards, and one of them sear into Ragnell, burning its light into her body and dropping her to her knees. Siegfried and Harken both show no signs of getting taken out anytime soon, while the defenders are either on their last legs or close to it. Only the timely fall of a tower between them and the Quarter Knights prevents Harken from taking them all out on the spot, and even then the advice of the red-coated man who enters late is for everyone to run.

'Let's show them what we can do, Ragnell!' Gwen had said before shooting lightning at Lady Harken and Siegfried.

"All considered, Gwen," Ragnell rasps, "let's not."

She staggers up to her feet, checking over at Lucia, Hiro, and the others; good, looks like they're rallying, picking up each other, and getting the hell out. Ragnell shoves at Gwen's shoulder, then says, "You won't get stronger if you don't take on strong enemies, but you'll never get stronger if you let yourself get killed. Let's take your friend's advice and get the hell outta here."

There's a lot she's seen and heard tonight that she'll need to remember... and she doubts, especially with Siegfried able to see her, that she'd be able to survive and escape all on her lonesome if the battle were to continue as is.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

"Lady," Morgan drawls as Harken waggles a finger at him. "I like yer moxie." Then there is those hellish blasts of wind again and the fox hardly gets his shields up in time to weather them. The blue-white energy forming a split second before the hit and scattering a second after. Those ears of his can pick out three rounds fired that didn't happen to be from any of the ARMs around here he knew of.

Then the call to run.

The slowly growing shadow of a falling tower.

"Arabadash?!" He knows that man in red! Just. Never can get his name right. Not that Vash makes that easy.

But he made the tactical decision simple right now.

"Gwen! Get the king and get out of here!" Comes his throaty shout as he starts running. Not towards the edge but...well...towards Harken. Not the smartest of moves. Espicially after seeing what that scythe can do. But. He has a plan.

At least 12% of a plan.

Maybe even 15%! He's doing good.

"Ya know," This towards Harken. "If'n you wern't tryin' ta kill us all, you would be a fine drink o' water in the desert if'n you know what I'm sayin'." This, coupled with a roguish grin is shouted as he approaches. Not near the speed she has, but still long legs count for something. He is advancing at speed on the scythe wielder. Most people who know Morgan would say this is just a set-up for a horrible plan gone wrong.

It looks for a long second that he is actually going to go through with this horrible plan. Perhaps trying to tackle Harken and her scythe away from everyone else.

But he drops low at the last second, sliding past the scythe wielding Quarter Knight. One hand snaps out to snag around the waist of the wounded Talise as he continues his slide. "The rest o' ya better run! This whole place is comin down!" Then under his breath. "I'm gonna make sure of that." His other hand grabs Cyre around the collar to pull him over his shoulder.

On the edge of the battlement he spins and flashes a grin. "If ya ever get over the whole genocide thing, darlin. Look me up." That grin again as he raises his ARM and it starts to glow.

Where it summons its weapons from is a mystery. However no one doubts its effectiveness. Micro-missiles streak out of space-time as the ARM unleashes a barrage of weapon fire to chew up the ground around Harken and Seigfried. The recoil? Well there isn't much from the missiles but its enough to send him hurling off the edge of the battlements.

Now. Normally this would be a horrible idea. As gravity is the worlds cruelest mistress. However his ARM has one of many talents and the energy grapel that is attached to the outer wall at least lets him...well...not pancake.

Which is about all it'll let him do now. It needs a recharge.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

The courier's efforts are rewarded with two blasts, nearly crushing her to the stone floor. Getting up, Gwen shakes and coughs, blood beginning to dye her pale red hair a darker hue. Every part of her body aches; all of Rena's previous healing had gotten her this far, but she couldn't take another hit.

That's when three shots ring out.

Gwen's eyes widen at the sight of Vash, briefly stunned into silence. After everything, this was a fragment of what was lying underneath the man's exterior the entire time?

Not just that. He took her words of warning, and instead of going someplace safe, he came.

Her expression softens as her friend attempts to distract the two Metal Demons. She nods, even if the motion may escape Vash's notice. Nodding to her friends, Gwen manages a smile. "Don't have to tell me twice." Looking to the Fiends, she raises her voice. This is our chance, guys!" she shouts, waving a hand. "Let's get the wounded out of here."

And that included... wait, there's the king, himself. Gwen moves over and kneels down beside the man's body, checking his vitals. He's alive. She nearly exclaims this for the others to hear, but with Siegfried and Lady Harken nearby, it may be a bad decision.

"Remember your promise!" Gwen yells at the ominous figure clad in red, as she carefully tries to lift up the dying king. "No dyin'! You're comin' back, or I'm coming back to hit you again!" She's crying, even as she smiles. "You know how terrifying I can be when I throw logs at people!"

Please.

She runs, holding the KIng's wounded body in her arms.

GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Vash the Stampede with Remember Your Promise!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Vash the Stampede takes a solid hit from Gwen Whitlock's Remember Your Promise for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Vash the Stampede gains 15 extra FP from Gwen Whitlock!

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

"I would never accept your surrender, human," Siegfried spits back at Hiro. Wind slams and smashes into him -- and then he gets struck into by the flag. He rips it out of his face, even as the flagpole slams into his legs.

And then he sees the tower come crashing down. Siegfried shouts and dives, trying to get away in time. The spire shatters into so much rubble, but it makes a barrier between them all for a moment. He shoots forward -- and then sees Talise. He ducks to the side, then raises his armored gauntlet. The blast slams into it, leaving a nick -- but not one any greater than the other damage his armor has taken.

His eyes look at Tethelle's and flash red. Then, he slams Glumzambor into the ground again. Hiro, Talise, and Tethelle find another wave of arcs of light ripping and tearing through the shattering stones -- and finally shattering the battlements. The wall of the castle rips apart as Gwen leaps away, with King Justin in her arms.

He gasps, his voice rattling. Blood is quickly soaking her clothing, and the hand that clutches her arm is weak. "Cecilia... she--she got away," the king gasps. "Guardians, let her... let her live--"

He sputters, weakly. "I've failed. I thought, I thought we could... if we had the Golems, then Irving's plan, we could... it's too late. They can't have the Teardrop. They... they can't--"

He blacks out, then -- but his breath is there, but shallow. The wound is beyond any known power to heal, but he breathes for now.

Behind them, the roof of the castle shatters in fire and desolation, leaving it scarred and burnt -- save for one knight. His cape flaps, as he turns. Siegfried looks at Harken, for a long moment. "We should fall back," he says. "We need to find the Teardrop. Perhaps they have spirited it away elsewhere."

GS: Siegfried has attacked Talise Gianfair with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Tethelle Cirdian with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Hiro with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has attacked Vash the Stampede with Negative Rainbow!
GS: Siegfried has completed his action.
GS: Tethelle Cirdian takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 114 hit points!
GS: Hiro guards a hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 71 hit points!
GS: Vash the Stampede takes a glancing hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 56 hit points!
GS: Talise Gianfair has activated a Force Action!
GS: Talise Gianfair takes a solid hit from Siegfried's Negative Rainbow for 119 hit points!
GS: Talise Gianfair has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!

<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.

There's something to be said for the tenacity of humans - but there is also a time when that tenacity becomes nothing more than an annoyance. Harken stops as a new figure arrives on the scene, and she looks at Vash for a long moment as the man appears with the sole intention of trying to buy people time to run. The Quarter Knight brings her weapon around, sending the bullet skidding aside so it only glances off her armor. But her blue eyes remain focused, and she considers him for a moment.

"Red coat. Spikey hair. A gunslinger. Would you be the man that they call Vash the Stampede?" she asks curiously. "Someone with a forty billion gella bounty for being a natural disaster, and you are here to save these... humans?" Harken looks around for a moment - and scoffs. "Certainly you have better things to do with your time?"

And some of the humans aren't even taking the chance to run. "Putting your life on the line for these." But the winds that pummel them, followed by a barrage of shells and a variety of other distractions - alright, Harken is willing to admit that they are showing some ingenuity in covering their escape. Certainly those who could think that quickly about how to save their live are worth considering as future opponents.

But Harken has one name at least. Jean. She smiles, watching the dusky skinned woman flee through the smoke, and makes a promise. "Yes, we will see in the future, Jean. We will see."

And then Siegfried speaks, and Harken looks at the fleeing humans. And she shakes her head. "Well, at least today wasn't a total disappointment," she observes, resting her scythe on one shoulder. "There are at least some humans here who have spirit. I'm looking forward to gathering those two souls for myself... but in the future. The Teardrop comes first." With that, she turns and leaps onto the edge of the castle, before turning to look back one more time.

"If Berserk finds it, however, I think I may have a word with our infiltration teams. Because there is no way that he should have such luck."

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Another huge shockwave rips in her general diretion. Talise doesn't have time to fall. Instead she's flung into the air and pelted with debris and energy, ripping across her in a wave. She's in an incredible amount of pain but can't find the energy to cry out. Instead, all she can hear is Siegfried ranting behind her.

'perhaps they have spirited it away elsewhere'

Blood running from her lips as she hurtles through the air, trailing a river of blood behind her like a cometary tail as she begins to fall towards the earth, Talise closes her eyes and smiles.

They did it. They ruined the Metal Demons' plan. They didn't find whatever the fuck the Teardrop is. There's at least a chance. A chance of... something. Something she doesn't understand, but she'll have to be content with it.

And all it cost her was her life.

(I'm sorry, Cecilia. Please be safe out there. I can't help anymore.)

And then Morgan Newkirk of all people sweeps in, puts an arm around her and keeps sliding away, spiriting her along for the ride, carrying her away from what's sure to be certain death. She has nothing all that interesting to say to him. In fact she doesn't actually seem to be conscious anymore, not really doing much more than bleeding out profusely from more injuries than she'd care to count, were she alert.

But she's holding on to her sword, and breathing.

And smiling, just a bit smugly.

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

Stumbling towards Jean, he takes his sword out of his hand, flashing her a smile of gratitude that doesn't quite reach his eyes- if only because they're in a terrible situation, "Thanks Jean. Always can count on you to watch my back." No matter what Jean has done in the past- he can't see Jean as she is now, as a bad person.

Lemina though calls for a retreat, and at this point, he can only agree. "Yeah Lemina- think we've already stayed longer than is wise." ... He has no idea that Lemina is considering mostly the cost of whether he'd lost his sword. "We'll be right behind you Gwen!"

He's heading towards Lucia when the tower comes down between them in Siegfried, the heat of the blaze surrounding silhouetting the Quarter Knight. which causes a hitch in his step before he continues his mad rush to Lucia's side. "What makes you think I'd ever give it to someone who wants to wipe us all out-?"

Whether bravery or mere bravado- it's washed away when Glumzambor is slammed down, as a prismatic splendor of power scours him once more, causing him to strike his wounded shoulder into the side of the wall. Hissing in another breath, he keeps going inexorably towards Lucia.

Sliding his sword away, he picks her up with a wince. Then as if steeling himself for this moment, he hefts her up over both shoulders in a modified fireman's carry.

It's only appropriate since right now, everything is on fire.

He's quick to follow the others down. They'll pick up Ruby on the way-

Meanwhile~

A baby tugs on Ruby's tail and she yelps, glaring, then sighs, "If you weren't just about the cutest thing ever- I'd be terribly upset."

Now~

They'll have to make a break for the city limits soon. And after a fight like that- who knows if they'd make it.

<Pose Tracker> Vash the Stampede has posed.

Would you be the man that they call Vash the Stampede?

There is no answer from the red-coated gunslinger, his sad stare hidden behind the reflective orange of his sunglasses' lenses. But the silence, in and of itself, is telling. He doesn't deny it. The Humanoid Typhoon.

Standing in defense of the people who fear and hate his name. Doesn't he have better things to do?

"I guess by anyone's reckoning it's pretty dumb of me, huh? You guys are way outta my league!" he admits, with self-effacing modesty, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He doesn't look back -- but he hears Gwen's words. A smile twitches at the corner of his lips.

"... But if I can help keep as many as 'these humans' alive as possible... there's absolutely no better way I could have spent my time here."

But they're running. And the Quarter Knights, moving. He sees Gwen, the last of them, leap from the corner of his gaze--

--and in a wave of refracting, negative light, the wall of the castle shatters within the blinding burst of Siegfried's power. The blonde man's hand comes up. He twists back, leaping as the edges of that explosion race, consume, and obscure him. And by the time it clears?

Vash the Stampede is gone. Not scrambling away from certain danger with impeccable luck to say something foolish. Not flailing and shrieking in the face of certain doom. Just gone, landing a distance away on the opposite end of the roof from where Siegfried and Harken fall away from, his shoulder smoking, red coat and bodysuit beneath burned away just enough to scorch an ugly burn across flesh and the hint of scar tissue.

This would be the time for a joke in any other situation. For him to make light of the situation and his dumb luck.

"... Sorry, Gwen."

But he doesn't. He just drops away from Adlehyde Castle's rooftop away from the others. To do exactly what he said.

Save as much life here today as he possibly can. No matter the cost.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Eventually, Layna returns to her crew.

"Ahoy, you lot! Where's the Chaplain? I've got a patient that needs tending too!" She shouts.

The crew is, understandably, shocked to see their Captain emerge, covered in blood and with a new wound across her face, and also with an unconscious young man under one arm.

A man dressed in robes emerges, and is surprised to have Claude thrust into his arms.

"Captain, you-" He starts.

"Shut it, Lysander! I can walk it off. Right now, I just need a-"

She turns to walk off, but there is a cry of surprise among the crew as she trips and collapses.

"...Looks like that's another one for you, Lysander." Dahlia mutters, walking over Layna and lifting her up.

"'M fine...just need a drink..." Layna mutters, but doesn't protest.

That was a rough fight.

Who was that woman...? She'd done some terrible things...but she was looking forward to fighting her again.