2020-08-01: A Parody of That Man

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==============================<* Clozer Woods *>==============================

Situated upon the northwestern end of Kattelox Island, Clozer Woods presents perhaps the most challenging environment for both Drifters and Diggers alike - with another entrance to the Underground Ruins, along with a mysterious entrance to a Ruin whose door remains untouched to this day... well out of climbing or walking reach, necessitating some kind of aerial travel. The Guild has been hard at work at a Digsite to enable access, but the progress is at best laboriously slow with the threat of the Pirates around.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrCnzkAGRsY
<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

The Sub-Gates of Kattelox Island have become a hotbed of contention in the last few weeks, with the Veruni making a move with one of their top-level commanders against one of the Sub-Gates there. What used to be a local curiosity is now become a murmuring across the Great Sea, as the greatest forces on Filgaia bend their attention toward the small island of Kattelox.

And now, again.

The sounds of blasting thunder out from Clozer Woods, heavy equipment rumbling through the trees. Nobody saw it arriving, but the unmistakable buzz of saws and roar of drills tearing into the earth could only come from rare, powerful excavation equipment. Odessa guards posted at the edge of the forest, guns at the ready, make it clear enough who is responsible.

Breaking through the Odessa line is easy enough; the guards are no weaklings, but Drifters are used to dispatching with their kind, by now. Further in, through the trees, toward the newly-created clearing some short distance away from the main Sub-Gate, the heart of this project is clear. A large drilling machine, manned by an Odessa soldier, tearing through the earth and digging down - an effort to totally bypass the main entrance to the Subgate and gain access the 'old fashioned' way. Next to it, a pile of explosives as tall as a man, for blasting through rock harder than the drill can handle.

And next to that, a huge man, dark skinned. He's powerfully muscled, with wearing heavy gauntlets and a tight black compression shirt with blue jeans as his only attire. His hair is deep black and wild, going down to his hips; except for the front, held back by a red headband, which is shock-white.

Brad Evans. Prisoner No. 666 of Ilsveil Prison, the Hero of Slayheim, trusted soldier of ARMS...quietly toiling away at the center of the Odessa base, his bright green Mechanical Glove flexing as bright-white construction sand flickers into being and gathers together into the form of a full satchel of C4. He tosses it onto the pile.

DC: Brad Evans switches forms to Traitor No 1!
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Zhang Xiumei is running through Clozer Woods.

As ever, she tends to be ahead of the others; not so far as to be dangerous, but with Model AV, she is faster than many humans. ARMS, of course, is not made of people who are strictly human. The Pulse Cannon in her hand smokes a little, from the barrel; she just shot her way through a couple of Odessa Guards. She runs -- and then her feet skid to a stop.

She notes the machine -- considers how to break it -- and then her eyes shift, towards the pile of explosives, and then finally, to the dark-skinned man. The silent presence she knows well; he had been in nearly every fight, quietly seeing them through. Something catches in her throat.

She skids to a stop. "M-Mister Evans...?" Her eyes follow the satchel of C4, then look at him. "What... what is the meaning of this?"

DC: Zhang Xiumei switches forms to Biometal Model AV!
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Hey, that's not entirely fair! Some of the small forces are also turning their attention towards Kattelox, too. Like Clarissa and Felius Arwin.

"That's them," Felius murmurs to Clarissa as the pair peek out from tree cover at the construction site ahead. There was no way to miss the sound of heavy equipment, nor to overlook the rumours of Odessa active in the region. The pair made their approach as sneaky as possible.

"What could they think is in there? They must have some information we don't," muses Clarissa, keeping her voice down - though the sound of drilling makes it unlikely she'd be heard in any case. Lifting a pair of binoculars, she peers up towards the piece of heavy equipment. "Look, it looks like they're trying to bypass the Subgate entirely. I'm not sure they can--"

She cuts herself off as she pans her gaze downwards and immediately finds herself struck through the heart with a pang of utter shock. The binoculars slip out of her hands.

Felius's expression doesn't change, but he does rest a hand on Clarissa's shoulder. He sees the same thing she does.

When Xiumei darts out, Clarissa's not far behind her. Her eyes are wide, shimmering with hurt. "Brad," she appeals, her voice in her throat and tight with emotion. "Brad, what's going on? Why are you working with Odessa? This is some kind of misunderstanding, isn't it?!"

Felius is not too far behind his alleged sister. The other man from Slayheim - so Clarissa claims, anyway - just watches Brad with a blank expression, halberd in both hands.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Odessa guards posted...

Eleanor is moving through a bit less quickly than Xiumei; she has her rifle out, having taken a few shots at guards along the way herself while primarily supporting the group with her spells. But here, she comes to a stop beside Xiumei a few moments later. "What?" she asks. "He's here?--"

That's a lot of explosions. It is not why Eleanor stops to look. Brad is there. "...W-what?" she asks, blinking. "But..."

"But why are you..."

It doesn't work. It doesn't really make sense to Eleanor, and the elf stares not at the explosives but at Brad. "I..."

In a quiet, low tone as she lowers her rifle, she murmurs, "I didn't see this coming at all..."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

Odessa operations had been sighted on Kattelox Island. It seemed they had an interest in the Sub-Gate. Whatever they wanted, it was the duty of ARMS to ensure that they didn't get it.

And so, Clarine finds herself among the soldiers of ARMS deployed to Kattelox Island. Her ethereal nature makes it easy to take the Odessa soldiers on duty by surprise and give her friends and edge, and together they make it to the center of the compound.

Expected is the large drilling machine, a thing of steel and fire. Entirely unexpected is the man working next to it. A familiar man. One she considered an ally.

"...I... do not understand. Did I... miss a briefing...?" Clarine asks, confused and unwilling to jump straight to the possibility of betrayal. It was not as if she had never been a victim of it before, but...

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        "Um."

        Gwen squints through a pair of binoculars as she balances on the tree limb, playing the part of the scout like a good ranger class (that can't stop rubbing its face into the brawler subclass).

         ".... Hey. Uh. Any members of ARMS here? When's the last time one of you guys saw Brad?" She lowers the binoculars from her eyes, and frowns at this complication. "'Cause he's kinda over there, bein' all helpful-like."

        Xiumei, Clarissa go on ahead, followed by others, asking the questions that cloud Gwen's own mind. "A guy like that has his demons, so I can see this bein' a thing. I wonder what sorta hell he was put through before he got here." Gwen focuses her binoculars on the drilling machine. "It also feels like a trap, though. Brad's at least as strong as me, n' there's the drill there, n' the C4, but like. I just don't see how it could be just this. Heck, maybe it could be a lookalike."

        Dropping down from her vantage point to move to a better position, Gwen begins to load the ammo into her recently retuned ARM. She'll drop in when she feels it's necessary, but for now, she'll need to make sure her companions aren't in a bad position by going to confront Brad. Or his lookalike.

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia is still stuck on Kattelox. Sort of. Technically she could leave whenever she wants. If it wasn't for her inability to say 'no' when directly asked for help, which the Digger's Guild has been all too happy to take advantage of. Which isn't to say she isn't being paid, but she does have other things on her mind, which she would really like to get back to. It's just kept on being 'one more job' after 'one more job'. Even Xantia is getting tired of punching Reaverbots at this point.

It's almost a relief to hear of something out of the ordinary going on within the woods that house one of the Sub-Gates. Last time something like that happened, it was Veruni making a mess of the forest on their way to the gate. Naturally, Xantia is expecting that they've come back to try again, and wastes no time in heading to the scene.

One thing is immediately obvious: these aren't Veruni. She knows the uniforms by now. And now especially, she is in no mood to even attempt to the diplomatic route. Not that she isn't more the type to punch first and ask questions later to begin with.

The tension of the stand-off is abruptly broken as one of Odessa's guards comically flies by between the gathered ARMS members and the drilling machine, landing somewhere out of sight. Xantia arrives shortly after, looking mighty ticked off... until she sees who else is here. Just like that, her mood does a 180, and she smiles brightly. "Oh, hi Clarine, and friends of Clarine! ARMS, right? You've got this under control already?"

She clearly hasn't quite figured out the situation. One can hear the gears turning as she's wondering about the troubled expressions, and the way people are looking at Brad. Surely she can piece it together from there.

"Oh hey, it's you, the Hero! Were you about to blow up that machine? Go ahead, I've had plenty of fun already!"

Or maybe not.

<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Who could have expected.... That a guy who was roped into working for ARMS through a bomb collar could go traitor?!

Still, Marivel has been holding back--seeing how well ARMS has been progressing in their growth rather than trying to supplement their talents with her own sorcery. She's been trying to be a little less hands-onny as of late--now that the group has been back on Filgaia for a while, she trusts they don't really need her stepping in and telling them what to do back when they weren't still fresh, new, and stranded on the freakin' moon.

But she has come along, slowing down as she hears cries of dismay, disbelief, and confusion as to the reason for his presence here.

"Well, no," Marivel says, wrapped up in her shroud and straw hat. "I don't think you missed a briefing at all."

She studies Brad. She sniffs faintly. And then she says, "Well... I suppose if you betrayed us all, I should use the secret bomb activation code. Let's see... What was the code again?"

She taps her index finger against her cheek. "Oh gosh, it seems like I forgot the code. I guess I'll have to use the hidden remote I keep on me at all times."

She reaches into her robes and says, "Woops!"

"It seems I have forgotten my secret bomb collar activation remote in my other mystery UV blocking robes."

"How embarrassing." Marivel says. "I can't believe I am trusted with such responsibiity when I'm so incorrigible!"

"Ah well." She claps her hands once. "I guess since I totally accidentally forgot the completely inethical bomb collar remote and I don't remember the code, I guess we'll have to find some other way to handle this situation."

"So Brad... How about you go have a nice vacation somewhere and we'll just continue handling Odessa without you. You deserve a hero's rest don't you? And standing admist a giant bomb pile isn't really going to help you out here."

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

It is probably a bit of a surprise for Gwen when she drops down from an overhanging tree limb to load her weapon, only for six feet, three inches and 230-odd pounds of derpy swordguy to burst out of the brush and land beside her in a three-point crouch. Claude C. Kenny lets out a long breath, sucks in another one, and then blinks as he turns to Gwen, as if suddenly recognizing her presence. "Uh... hi?" he asks, his cheeks coloured a bit from exertion.

It is probably a bit weird for Claude to be here on Kattelox Island. There's no reason for him to be - he's not a part of ARMS, and hasn't been tracking these sub-Gates at all. On the other hand, 'wrong place, wrong time' is a phrase that describes a lot of Claude's life (surpassed only by 'shut up space dad' and 'oops' in raw numbers). Alternatively, his not-marriage to the Innocent Maiden, one Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde, means that he has the distinct privilege of being close to hand when one of the not-quite-gods of Filgaia calls her up on magic speed dial and shouts GO HERE, NOW.

There is also, Gwen might note, something... weird about his left eye. A faint flickering, as though... tiny lights were moving across it?

"Uh... bye," Claude says apologetically, then takes another bounding leap up through the undergrowth, his jump's arc cresting just over the treetops. The big blonde can see movement in the near distance... and two people he recognizes right at the site of whatever-it-is that is making his tricorder's contact-lens HUD light up like a Christmas tree.

<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

The ARMS empathite radios all chime at once.

        >>Amy: Hey, is something happening out there? We had Brad on the island, but something's...weird?
        >>Kate: Some weird interference on his signal...let us know if you see anything.

You certainly do see something, as the large man - the Hero of Slayheim and reliable ally of ARMS, a man who has denied Vinsfeld to his face - conjures another pack of explosives for the pile. He almost doesn't respond. He glances over his shoulder, catching sight of ARMS rushing in. "Heh. Pity," he grunts. "Weren't supposed to see this."

His gaze traces across Marivel, as she makes a big show of threatening to set off the collar. "...you wouldn't, anyway," he says. "Not this close to town."

...you're currently several miles away from the nearest town. How big IS that bomb!?

"Simple enough, isn't it?" he asks, standing up. The way he moves is perfect, as he grabs a towel off a nearby bench and wipes his hands free of oil and soot. His tone is perfect. His mannerisms. This isn't a double; no human lookalike could possibly mimic a man so flawlessly. Besides...that Mechanical Glove is one-of-a-kind.

"Vins said he wanted into the sub-gate. Blasting's always been a specialty of mine. Shame, though."

He looks up, eyes hardened. "I didn't want you to see this. Get 'em."

Brad snaps his arm up at the same time as the Odessa goons lean out from their trees, peppering the attackers with gunfire. At the same time, Brad's Mechanical Glove lights up, glowing white glimmers of energy rapidly assembling into what appears to be a missile launch scaffold at his feet. He stomps its launch pedal and sends a SCUD blasting off into the thick of the crowd, at the same time as the Glove draws yet more light into his hand, which constructs into a MASSIVE shotgun. This he points backward, and fires it, and the recoil sends him rocketing toward ARMS almost faster than the missile - right up until he wrenches himself aroundand levels it downward, pistol right in Xiumei's face before blasting her with both barrels.

GS: Brad Evans has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Super Shotgun!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Eleanor Klein with Mini Scud!
GS: Brad Evans has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Clarissa Arwin with Mini Scud!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Marivel Armitage with Mini Scud!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Claude C. Kenny with 100 Knuckle!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Xantia with 100 Knuckle!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Gwen Whitlock with 100 Knuckle!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Seraph Clarine with 100 Knuckle!
GS: Brad Evans has completed his action.
GS: CRITICAL! Clarissa Arwin takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Mini Scud for 96 hit points!
GS: Mighty! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Zhang Xiumei completely evades a hit from Brad Evans's Super Shotgun!
GS: Riposte! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Seraph Clarine takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's 100 Knuckle for 102 hit points!
GS: Eleanor Klein takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Mini Scud for 64 hit points!
GS: Mighty! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's 100 Knuckle for 111 hit points!
GS: Marivel Armitage takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Mini Scud for 133 hit points!
GS: Mighty! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Claude C. Kenny guards a hit from Brad Evans's 100 Knuckle for 66 hit points!
GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's 100 Knuckle for 56 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Nora..." Xiumei says, her eyes wide and concerned. She looks back at her -- then, stricken, at Clarissa and Clarine in turn. She hears Gwen's question and looks back at her. "This--this is as new to us as it is to you! I don't know--"

Marivel has no answers. That was the one hope Xiumei had, and she finds it dashed now. It is hammered in, when Amy and Kate speak over the empathite radio.

Brad levels his double-barreled shotgun at her face. Her eyes widen -- and she is already moving by the time that Varius screams, in her mind: <MOVE!>

She throws herself to one side -- rolls on the ground, and comes up kneeling -- and comes up aiming, too. Light glints off the barrel of the handcannon gripped in both hands before, Xiumei squeezes the trigger.

A trio of bolts of light explode from the barrel, one after the other, and hurtle towards Brad. "Why--why did you go to them? You didn't--"

But he has a bomb around his neck. Is it such a surprise?

GS: Zhang Xiumei has attacked Brad Evans with Pulse Cannon - Triple Burst!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

There was a big part of Clarissa hoping there'd be some sort of misunderstanding. Maybe some outside force exercising influence over Brad. Maybe some sort of doppelganger - though she has no idea how anyone could look like Brad.

Instead, there's just an explanation. Cold and uncaring. He just brushes them off as if their trust in him didn't matter. Clarissa's lower lip drops a little.

        little missy

"You've been lying to us all along, haven't you," she whispers.

Firearms fly, and Clarissa is so overwhelmed that she's caught flat-footed when Brad unleashes a rocket at them. She widens her eyes, too stunned to even move.

"Clarissa!" Felius shouts - and he slams into her in a sudden rush. The two hit the ground just as the SCUD goes off.

Debris and flame wash over the pair as they tumble away. Clarissa gasps in pain and shock, looking up at Felius with wide eyes. "Felius--"

"I know who you're thinking about," he cuts her off quietly. "This wasn't your fault. Sometimes people sell you out for their own selfish ends. If you believe in what's right, I'll be with you when you do what you have to."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Clarissa pulls herself up to one knee. The shock in her face is beginning to give way to something else.

A steady, righteous conviction. She nods to Felius before boosting to her feet. With a sweep, she snaps Strahl Gewehr from her belt and levels it on Brad.

"I hate lies," Clarissa declares with a scowl. "But I'm not going to let another liar hurt the people I love for his own selfish reasons, Brad. Not even someone I like!"

She opens fire - and the ARM draws on her emotions, seeming all the brighter and more ferocious as it lets fly.

GS: Clarissa Arwin has attacked Brad Evans with Strahl Gewehr!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor's reaction is sluggish; she still doesn't trust the message of her senses or the obvious statement the world before her makes. Xiumei looks at her, but she can only look back in dismay and disbelief. When all the others speak, though, when Brad says it...

"No... This isn't--"

The mechanical glove is one-of-a-kind, though. And he uses it. The missile draws in and Eleanor dives, still hit by the blast but not full-on. She hits the ground and rolls, coming up to one knee to look Brad's way again, and then to the others. "That's..."

She can't bring her mind to put together the components for a spell; instead she lifts her weapon again. "Though her eyes waver, she points and aims, looking down the sights. Eleanor's rifle, nearly as tall as she is, locks on--and she starts firing at Odessa goons, one shot, another shot, and another in silence.

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Brad Evans with Dead Shot!
GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein assumes the Avenger stance!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Odessa goons pop out of the trees, but Claude C. Kenny is wise to their goonish ways. As a combat officer, being a goon is in many ways his official job description; he also knows enough tactics to know you don't leave the person tending to the mission objective without some sort of cover. By the time they take aim, Claude has already hunched his head down and bunched his shoulders up, his arms rising to cover the sides of his head as well.

Yellow-orange sparks lick out out from the treeline; a light round bounces off the big blonde's forearm, and two more slam into Claude's chest halfway up his left side. They should rip through his tan jacket and into his lungs and heart, killing him instantly; instead, he sort of grunts with the impact and keeps going.

His eyes flick left and right, tracking targets. Red-limned silhouettes surround several heat signatures.

"TEEEEEEEEEEEEEAR INTO PIECES!" Claude roars as he lands, hard, upon the stone below; several ripples of chi pulse out along the earth in separate streams. Two seconds later, the trees in which Odessa's overwatch are sheltering begin to shake and shiver as pillars of jagged stone burst from the earth, sending the floral shelters flying. Claude lets out a breath, his hand dropping for his sidearm as he seeks the main targ---

uh

"......what the heck?" he asks, blinking at Brad. His eyes narrow. "Did you eat the funions?" he asks, his voice angry and intent.

GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Brad Evans with Ripper Blast!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

"...Xantia..." Clarine greets timidly, looking back at Xantia as she arrives. Normally, her greeting would have a bit more enthusiasm, but it's dulled somewhat by her confusion toward the situation at hand.

And then Marivel arrives pointing out that, no, she did not, in fact, miss a briefing.

"...Then..." Clarine murmurs, her expression darkening. ...Then, he really was working for Odessa...?

Then, there's a transmission over the radio. Interference...? Clarine frowns, then looks toward Brad himself as he speaks.

"Yes, I imagine it would have been easier that way." She says quietly. Is she...sad? Hurt? Angry? She's not sure. It's difficult to process her emotions. Difficult to suppress the part of her that wants to blame it on the natural duplicity of mortals.

So busy is she with trying to process everything that she doesn't realise Brad's coming closer until he's right upon her, striking and sending her flying back. It takes some effort to halt herself in mid-air before she goes flying into anything.

"...How long? How long have you been cooperating with them?" Clarine asks, her tone cold. She extends her arms forward, and a barrage of glowing white spheres of light fly out. She aims more for the Odessa soldiers accompanying Brad than Brad himself, though he may doubtlessly end up getting caught up in it. With a gesture, the spheres detonate in a bright, disorienting flash, capable of temporarily blinding anything caught unaware.

GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Brad Evans with Blinding Flash!
GS: Seraph Clarine has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        Isiris's curse be damned; when Claude bursts out of the brush like a noble woodlands stag, Gwen lets out a brief choked scream..

         A blonde stag. With something in its eye.

        Gwen points her ARM at Claude at for a split second, before lowering her right palm. "Damn it, Claude, y'scared me! I nearly shot you!" She squints. "Do you need some, uh, eye drops..?"

        Annnnnd Claude bounds off, leaving Gwen to run after him, because clearly, there is somewhere he's going to. Maybe he knows something she doesn't?

        Charging into the underbrush after having her cover blown is not the smartest thing ever; Gwen leaps right into one of Brad's missiles, blasting her off her feet and tumbling down towards the clearing.

        ".... damn... Gh..." She groans, and rubs her forehead, sitting back up. "... certainly hits like 'im..." Not that she'd exactly know beyond just hazarding a guess.

        But first--

        A knife sails through the air from the forest edge, aimed straight for Brad's ARM. The knife itself is nothing special, cheaply made and likely to shatter against Brad's bicep, if it was thrown by an ordinary amateur.

        When thrown by an amateur with a ARM arm, it's a different story.

        "Eeeeh, we'll figure this all out once we take care of this," Gwen says, rather lackadaisically. "It ain't like you were tryin' to stab your friends in the back, from what it sounds like."

GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Brad Evans with Comet Clip!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

"That so?" Marivel says. "I guess I should be grateful that you have such faith in me."

Amy and Kate indicate some kind of strange interference going on over the empathite radio. Marivel hops to the side but the SCUD missiles impact before she can get clear, sending one of her legs bursting into a cloud of smoke. "You really don't mess around, do you..." Marivel says, balancing on one leg.

'TEAR INTO PIECES!'

"This is my last resort!" Marivel shouts back. She kind of crouches on her remaining leg as solid darkness twists out of that stump, cupping her chin thoughtfully as she studies Brad. Like Eleanor, she might be trying to re-evaluate what her senses are telling her even though the evidence is pretty damning. Every explanation she throws at it simply can only be settled by the obvious explanation. That is part of why she's suspicious.

"Don't lose your heads," Marivel says to her team. "Even if our hearts are broken by this indelible betrayal, we can't lose faith and all that."

She channels her sorcery into one hand, her fel magicks coalescing into the form of a...

... A blitzball.

"Face the terror... of Spira's ultimate power...! The power of Extreme Water Polo!!"

A surge of darkness adds heft to her throw as she flings it for Brad's face!

"But I suppose you're right. I promised myself I wouldn't sacrifice any more heroes. So I suppose that means..."

She cracks a thin smile. "I'm going to have to leave you alive."

GS: Marivel Armitage has attacked Brad Evans with Shut up And Jam Ball!
GS: Marivel Armitage has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia continues to have the situation totally (not) figured out right up until Brad says 'get 'em'. Betrayal is not exactly something her mind goes to immediately, if it ends up ever going there at all. Even as she's forced to flee a sudden hail of gunfire to run for cover, she doesn't come to what should be the obvious conclusion. Because that conclusion isn't obvious to her. It's far more likely that there's simply something going here that she's missing. Nothing new there, happens all the time.

This doesn't make her current predicament any more fun, of course. Bullets strike her several times as she flees. Luckily, they all impact her armored bodysuit, which is made to protect from exactly the sort of common situation such as being shot at. This makes the first order of business rather obvious: stop this storm of bullets.

Shooting back might be the most practical way to do that, but she lacks a gun. So obviously the next best thing is to leap into a tree, grab whoever's up there, and toss them out. Then hop one tree over, and do it again. And again, until she runs out of occupied trees that are conveniently bunched close together. Then she leaps back down, taking in the fight between ARMS and Brad with overt confusion.

"What is happening? Is this a Hero thing? You know, one Hero helping another, something like that?" It may have been a long time ago, right around the time they were forcibly sent to Spira, but Xantia remembers Brad calling Vinsfeld 'the real hero' back then. With what little she knows, this is the only explanation that even starts to make a bit of sense.

GS: Xantia has attacked Brad Evans with Xantia-style Pruning!
GS: Xantia has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Xantia has completed her action.
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Zhang Xiumei's Pulse Cannon - Triple Burst for 82 hit points!
GS: Mighty! applied to Zhang Xiumei!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans completely evades a hit from Clarissa Arwin's Strahl Gewehr!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Brad Evans gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Eleanor Klein's Dead Shot for 81 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Brad Evans gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Brad Evans's Force Guard activates!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Ripper Blast for 96 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Seraph Clarine's Blinding Flash for 0 hit points!
GS: Cripple and Jam! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Gwen Whitlock's Comet Clip for 27 hit points!
GS: Jam and Weaken! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Brad Evans takes a glancing hit from Marivel Armitage's Shut up And Jam Ball for 65 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Brad Evans gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Jam! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Xantia's Xantia-style Pruning for 78 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Brad Evans gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Brad Evans's Force Guard activates!
<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

Brad's blast at Xiumei sends him FLYING UPWARDS, because apparently that's a Shinra-brand shotgun. He backflips with an uncommon grace for a man of his build, but the landing is like a meteor splashing down, sending up clods of dirt and grass with the force of it. Clarissa calls at him in anger and despair, and another BLAMMO!!! echoes from within the crater, sending Brad roaring skyward. Her blast from Strahl Gewehr scorches his boottips but doesn't quite hit. Unfortunately, now he's in the air. One of Clarine's blasts catches him in the chest and sends him pinwheeling, slamming into the ground hard. He shoves himself up, slamming down his Mechanical Glove's shield just in time to catch the shot from Xiumei. He's breathing hard already.

Then he reaches down to his Glove and twists a dial, and a rune shines across it. The blessing of ice he received from the Shrine on Lunar...that's not something you could copy...

He swings his weapon up and levels the Glove at Eleanor, the cannon mode slipping out from the side, its single large-bore cannon gleaming menacingly as it starts to fire frozen bullets downrange. Bam, bam, Elanor, Clarine; bam, bam, Clarissa, Xiumei. "....You never thought about it, did you?" he asks Xiumei.

Wherever shots land, it freezes over, magical ice spreading. He's prevented from doing more damage with that by Gwen's knife, which slams into the side of his Mechanical Glove. The knife explodes, but the Glove just jerks, Brad grunting in surprise and pain. He stands up, rolls his neck. "Alrighty," he says.

Then he just CHARGES, right at Claude. There's something wild in his eyes as he drives a megaton fist right toward him, the Mechanical Glove glowing with power as he drives it right toward Claude's chest. Then he drops the Super Shotgun down and blasts himself off across the distance. It's like a beast of prey - or possibly a rocket-powered refrigerator - bearing down on Marivel, pinwheeling around himself to drive his fist directly into the vampiress. The blitzball slams into him midflight but his sheer mass prevents it from diverting him.

Then he punches the side of the Glove and the whole thing sparks, just before he wheels around on Xantia and Gwen, firing electric blasts at both of them.

"A hero...heh. Kids say the darndest things." He stands up, straighter than he's ever stood, looming, tremendous.

"A hero is what they call you when they want you to jump on the grenade for them. Nothing more."

GS: Brad Evans has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Coldcock!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Eleanor Klein with Coldcock!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Clarissa Arwin with Coldcock!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Seraph Clarine with Coldcock!
GS: Brad Evans has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Brad Evans spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Hammer Fist!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Xantia with Punch Drunk!
GS: Brad Evans has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Punch Drunk!
GS: Brad Evans has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Brad Evans spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Marivel Armitage with Hammer Fist!
GS: Clarissa Arwin takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Coldcock for 116 hit points!
GS: Slow! applied to Clarissa Arwin!
GS: Brad Evans has completed his action.
GS: Seraph Clarine guards a hit from Brad Evans's Coldcock for 60 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Seraph Clarine gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Slow! applied to Seraph Clarine!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Marivel Armitage takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Hammer Fist for 137 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Marivel Armitage gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Hammer Fist for 68 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Claude C. Kenny gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Xantia guards a hit from Brad Evans's Punch Drunk for 54 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xantia gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Break! applied to Xantia!
GS: Eleanor Klein critically Guards a hit from Brad Evans's Coldcock for 20 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein's Force Guard activates!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.

 
                                "Oh!"

"Well," says Erzebet Mara Lefanu, "this is awkward."

From the direction of what might be considered the core of the Odessa camp - or at least the side from which the Drifters did not approach - emerges that titular redhead, who is currently wearing a tatty-looking fatigue jacket over a relatively short singlet. Didn't she die in that island? Right now, she looks fine, although she is wearing a broad brimmed hat and some leg coverings.

She rubs the bridge of her nose. "Hm," she continues.

To Erzebet's left, a 5'5" elf with orange-red hair and yellow eyes says, "Tch," as she adjusts her posture. This elf is carrying a large duffel bag and several dust-scattered shopping bags from a boutique in Meria Boule. "What a pain."

It's Eleanor. Isn't it?

To Erzebet's right, a 5'8" human with a stout if pleasant build flips up a face mask with one hand. The other hand holds -- something; it is some kind of ARM; it looks like a trefoil drill head but extended out along something, with glittering chain-mounted blades of blueish metal. "Gee!" says Gwen (isn't it) - "Looks bad. Should we get in or preserve the ARM resources?"

Erzebet pushes her glasses up her nose. Then she giggles. The giggle goes into her clenched hand. She bites her knuckle, her eyes crinkle and the giggle rises upwards into a ripple of laughter and then into a full fledged cackle. Eleanor and Gwen blink and seem to hold position; Gwen flips her face covering back down.

The laughter continues long enough to make its near total lack of joy appear.

"How does it feel?" Erzebet asks, aloud, her voice lifting in a slight quaver. "Do you 'get it'? It's like that old story - now who was - ha ha, oh, I don't want to say it! I don't want to say it outright because I see your FACES and they're all so BEAUTIFUL right now."

'Eleanor' says in a rather apathetic way, "If they figure it out, they'll know. The project is going to have problems then." (Gwen tilts her masked head as if not quite getting it.)

"It's going to CHANGE," Erzebet says. "And maybe CHANGE is good." She seems to almost bob forwards a little, lowering her hand as her mouth contorts. "Maybe now they'll know how it feels. They'll have that SENSATION. Because here's the real punchline, you know, is that they don't know which one they have!"

"I feel kinda funny looking at her," says the masked Gwen.

"Funny?" Erzebet answers.

The masked Gwen scratches the side of her head. "Yeah... it's kinda from what you said."

"Oh?" Erzebet says, turning her head away from the cluster of the group around Brad. "How do you mean?"

"If it's just ME... then..." says the masked Gwen, before she opts to instead heft up the ARM and look at Erzebet. Erzebet gives a shocking thumbs up and then reaches for a somewhat awkwardly positioned holster.

GS: Zhang Xiumei guards a hit from Brad Evans's Coldcock for 60 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Zhang Xiumei gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Slow! applied to Zhang Xiumei!
GS: Gwen Whitlock critically Guards a hit from Brad Evans's Punch Drunk for 19 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Clarissa's a little distraught right now. You'll have to bear with her.

She keeps on moving, strafing to one side and keeping her weapon trained on Brad - but she holds off on another shot. There's a big part of her that really doesn't want to hurt him. As much as he's been somewhat terrifying and distant, he's at least been a comrade.

Her eyes widen a little as she looks over to Eleanor, then Xiumei. And in so doing, she takes her eyes off Brad completely.

She pays for it: A bullet hits her in the hip, and she falls with a cry, stumbling to her knees and catching herself with one hand.

Blithely unaware of anything going on from directions she didn't come in from, Clarissa curls her hand tightly around the grip of Strahl Gewehr and hunches her shoulders. Fighting through the pain feels somehow beyond a physical challenge. It's a familiar hurt, one she didn't want to face again - an echo of how deep the wound really cuts, yet a wound that feels like it's been picked at one too many times to ever truly heal. She can feel a couple of tears beginning to map courses down her cheeks and she hates it.

She hates how much she let it hurt her. How much it feels like shit every time.

"Clarissa," Felius indicates from the young woman's left, moving in to kneel near her and cover her with his halberd held across her. "Look over there."

Clarissa does so - and there's Erzebet, with Eleanor and Gwen.

Clarissa looks between Eleanor and Eleanor. Then at Gwen. Then at Gwen. Then at Erzebet.

Her sadness immediately gives way to a sudden surge of indignation. She comes to her feet slowly, drawing herself up and raising her chin.

"ERZEBET MARA LEFANU," she shouts, "are you and your friends here all just complete lying butts?!"

GS: Clarissa Arwin has attacked Clarissa Arwin with My Most Honest Desire!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has completed her action.
GS: Clarissa Arwin heals Clarissa Arwin! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Restore! Slow removed!
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiu's glance at Eleanor is worried in turn. She doesn't have any answers, either. This -- this, she realizes, must be real. Her jaw tenses, as Clarine asks a question she would like to know herself.

He hits hard, she thinks. Brad was always a fierce fighter; it proves little relief to have Brad facing her. She looks at Brad, her eyes widening, as he fires -- and she runs forward, moving to the side. The shot clips her, sending her into a spin.

"No!" she calls out. "I never thought about it! I--I didn't know if I wanted to do this, but... I couldn't betray the others!"

Maybe she thought of it. But she did not reach that conclusion. She watches Brad charge for Claude, and her teeth grit when she hears what he calls a hero. She throws the Pulse Cannon aside; the weapon vanishes into cubes of light, which swirl, then form her beam saber. A beam of light, bright white but green at the edges, explodes out from the cylindrical handle.

Before she can leap, though, she spots Erzebet. Erzebet and two familiar faces. Her eyes widen -- and widen sharply at the sight of a copy of Eleanor. "What--" Her breath catches, then she shouts: "What is happening!?"

She leaps. SHe goes for Brad, first, jumping up with her Pulse Saver swung back over her head -- and slashes down with a two-handed strike as she descends towards Brad. "Is this--is this some scheme of yours!?"

She shouts it at Erzebet.

GS: Zhang Xiumei has attacked Brad Evans with Pulse Saber - Jump Slash!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Brad Evans may indeed have eaten the funions, Claude C. Kenny decides. His teeth grind, and his fingers twitch in the direction of his sidearm, hesitating. He doesn't know Brad as well as some of the others here. He's been a solid companion on a few occasions. They out-flexed a bunch of ghosts together. It's not like they're best friends or anything. But still, he can't draw his pistol - because he's been trained, for years, to know that you don't draw your weapon unless you're prepared to use it. And you don't use it unless you're prepared to kill with it.

And here, to his slight surprise, Claude isn't.

I may be in the wrong line of work, Claude thinks as Brad charges in; he tries to twist and slip the bunch, but Brad is just too big and powerful; a glancing blow connects with a meaty thud and sends him rolling along the turf. Claude grimaces, scrambling up to his feet; his left foot skids on a patch of loose dirt, sending him back to his knees. He scrabbles up again. Caught by his moral dilemma, Claude doesn't notice Erzebet or Eleanor or Gwen(?) lurking on the far edges of the fight; he is too focused on taking the big man down. Which will take some doing - Claude is not used to being the smaller person in any fight. He doesn't like it much, either.

Still, he charges in toward Brad, lashing out with a sweeping side kick that is telegraphed hard - because Claude's real target is the young tree beside the man from Slayheim, which snaps about three feet up from the ground, leaving an eight or nine-foot length slowly tumbling down. Claude reaches up and catches the springy log in both hands, fingers digging into the young bark as he whips the improvised weapon down in a heavy slam. The boy from Earth takes a step forward and turns his body in a tight circle, sweeping the log back around toward Brad from the side in a whistling arc.

GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Brad Evans with Twin Slash!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

The cannon will shortly be aimed at Eleanor, but she was already reaching into her bag; as she pulls a gold ring with a red gem, she focuses Mystic power out of it such that when Brad fires, Eleanor conjures a flame that steal away most of the shot's power against her. It would be the ideal moment for a hard expression, a serious declaration--

But Eleanor's expression isn't hard, and she doesn't make any declarations. She just shakes her head. The awkward moment comes, though...

It's awkward, all right. Eleanor blinks at Erzebet, immediately preparing for battle from another front--except there is her face and her voice over there. "Wh..."

Their faces are beautiful right now. Eleanor doesn't appreciate it much. But she definitely has a sensation, all right.

"You--I--What!?" Eleanor makes her dismay known. The elf--one of two, now--looks from her to Brad to the others. "Of course I'm..."

'Which one.' It's true.

"You--" As Brad goes in on Xiumei, though, Eleanor calls back, "I know you couldn't! Don't... let them get to you..."

She hesitates, and puts away the ring, pulling another inset with a green gem, which she slips onto her right hand. Breathing carefully, Eleanor lifts her hands. "Regardless of what I'm feeling... I can't let this go on."

A sudden whirlwind of green energy crashes towards Brad with all the force of a spell.

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Brad Evans with Mystic Wind!
GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein's Avenger stance ends.
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel turns her head towards Erzebet moments before Brad clobbers her and sends her flying halfway through the clearing. Marivel's body skids and bumps along as she rolls along the ground, her body tearing up more bursts of smoke erupting from her body through the tears of her robes. Her leg reforms as she flies and she punches her fist into the ground, slowing her roll--so to speak.

"...Huh."

She stands up, dusts herself off. She looks to Gwen. Then she looks to Other Gwen.

She loks to the elf carrying the shopping bags.

"That's really impressive...!" She claps her hands excitedly. "Haha! Very well done. Well done indeed."

She seems to understand what's going on but if you're hoping for Marivel exposition this time, she doesn't actually give it. Instead she crouches down on both legs and launches herself, eyes glowing crimson, fangs bared as she darts towards Erzebet. "Everyone! My fight with Erzebet might take a while so hang tight and be brave!"

She closes in, chatting almost conversationally, like talking to an old friend. "Did you know that in order to learn skills I steal a little bit of 'soul' from my target? Nothing major! Just a little sliver that you'd never really miss...! But sometimes someone carries spiritual POISON within them and you don't want to put that in your mouth for very long! Now for all the issues with the Nosferatu process--you still aren't 'poisoned' in the way someone afflicted with malevolence might be!"

"But..." She swings one claw forward towards Erzebet's face. "My point of course is that I've learned a variety of techniques and spells through my people's sorcery! And this is my ultimate technique that will surely spell your doom, Erzebet!!"

The claw is a feint, though, stopping short as she reaches with her other hand and just pokes Erzebet in the chest.

"Aport." Marivel says with a cheeky but strangely warm smile for her vampiric rival.

A flash of light envelopes Erzebet..!

And in a moment the power of the APORT SPELL teleports Erzebet away from the battlefield to...

...somewhere else.

"Whew." Marivel says. "That should buy us some time to deal with the attack of the clones."

GS: Marivel Armitage has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Perhaps to most this situation would be rather clear-cut, but Xantia seems to still have trouble coming to terms with it, or even grasping it at all. She just can't see this any other way than 'friends are fighting friends'. One of the few situations where even she hesitates to conclude that punching the problem will make it go away, and she actually takes a moment to think about her next action.

Not the best time to just stand there, as Brad doesn't hesitate to fire on her. Xantia can only cross her arms in front of her to protect herself as best she can. Getting blasted with electricity was perhaps one of the better possible outcomes - when you commonly surround yourself with electricity on purpose, it stands to reason you'd have some resistance against that sort of thing. Still, unlike when she does it herself, this is quite an unpleasant sensation, and serves to make up her mind for her. "Okay, if that's how you want it..."

Brad speaks on heroes, and adds another possible definition of the word onto Xantia's growing collection of them. By now she has no idea how true any of them are anymore, but she's confident enough in her reply: "Maybe to some people. A hero can be many different things, to many different people." A lot more nuance than the glowing hero worship she once touted.

A red energy blade springs to life from the bracer on Xantia's right forearm - bringing her own ARM into this feels warranted. She charges Brad, striking once with her arm blade in passing. The follow-up she planned doesn't happen, however. Because that's when Erzebet appears.

Xantia can't help but stare at Gwen and Other Gwen in particular. That's who she knows best, after all. Given that, she feels that she has a pretty reliable way to figure out which is which.

"Hey Gwen!" she shouts to neither in particular. "You remember why you can't die here, right?" That's right, they have a deal...!

GS: Xantia has attacked Brad Evans with Crimson Flash!
GS: Xantia has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

"That rune... I know it." Clarine comments with a frown as a run shines across Brad's Glove. Indeed, that manner of sorcery isn't something that can be easily replicated. From his weapon, Brad fires a barrage of icy projectiles. With a gesture, mirrors fan out from Clarine's position to catch and intercept the attack. They manage to divert the worst of it, but the chill still clings to her, slowing her in a way only sorcery can.

It is about this time that three individuals make their presence known, and Clarine stops in her tracks. She knows them. Erzebet, and... Clarine is, momentarily, confused.

"...How...?" She says, dumbfounded. "What treachery is this...?"

She turns her attention back to Brad. ...Was this Brad a copy, too? But he seemed real, and that sorcery... This is all too complicated.

Marivel, though, seems to have a solution for Erzebet, at least. And that solution is... teleporting her somewhere else? ...Frankly, at this point, Clarine is glad for anything that simplifies the situation, because all of this is a little overwhelming for her, with her emotions already awry from Brad's possible-but-now-thrown-into-question betrayal.

"I think... I am simply going to deal with one problem at a time!" Clarine decides. To that end Clarine, with a gesture, brings a column of searing light down toward Brad. "Please stop being a problem henceforth!"

They can sort things out after they put a stop to the plans here.

GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Brad Evans with Limited Ray!
GS: Seraph Clarine has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Seraph Clarine has completed her action.
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Zhang Xiumei's Pulse Saber - Jump Slash for 85 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans's Force Guard activates!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Seraph Clarine's Limited Ray for 128 hit points!
GS: Quick! applied to Seraph Clarine!
GS: Brad Evans critically Guards a hit from Claude C. Kenny's Twin Slash for 28 hit points!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans critically Guards a hit from Eleanor Klein's Mystic Wind for 21 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans's Force Guard activates!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans guards a hit from Xantia's Crimson Flash for 71 hit points!
GS: Riposte! applied to Xantia!
GS: Brad Evans's Force Guard activates!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        Laughter catches Gwen's attention, threatening to distract her from keeping her focus on Brad's next move. Then, Clarissa's following exclamation forces her to look. "Hm?"

        She stares.

        "...."

        She notes the orange hair of the more dour of the three present, noting that it is, indeed, a stunning facsimile of Eleanor! At least, from this distance. And the other? Well. The ARM is off, but Gwen cannot deny the idea of having such an ability be useful.

        Acting (or 'acting) the part of the friendly bumpkin is one thing, but to see it displayed so openly in front of you?

        Gwen is Not Pleased.

        Brad's electric blast would be more than enough pain to deal with for Gwen, as distracted as she is. The woman's right hand snaps up in Brad's direction, projecting a glowing shield that absorbs most of the glove's force, ruffling her curls from the exchange of energy.

        "YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY, YOU ASSHOLE TOOTHY HYENA?!" It's probably for the best that Marivel is casting a teleportation spell, because Gwen is straightening her ARM, yellow gold light erupting with the speed of a metaphorical redhead's temper.

        Xantia's question, posed with all the zeal and faith Gwen can't fault her for having, demands an answer.

        ".... Cake," Gwen murmurs. "It was cake, I think..."

        Gwen's ARM blasts off, the recoil throwing her off her feet.

GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Coil Cannon EX!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Erzebet Lefanu guards a hit from Gwen Whitlock's Coil Cannon EX for 85 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

"It is cake!" Xantia confirms cheerfully, pointing at Other Gwen. "I don't know who you are, but you can't fool me~" ...Maybe the outrage is still coming. Then again, Xantia reacting differently to things than most people would is just a thing that happens.

<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.

 
Erzebet's head turns to look at Clarissa. "You're angry," she calls to her. "I understand. I was angry too! Soon enough you'll turn the corner; you'll get it. You'll really get it..."

She sweeps a hand through her bangs. Her eyes turn towards Xiumei. "I'm glad you asked that," she says. "The project wasn't mine but I did get the idea to use it on the scale we did. I thought, you know, why not? Right?" She spreads her hands. "Sometimes people just don't think of how to make use of what they have. They wear blinders, like horses. Ha ha! Don't tell Edward!"

The elf with the shopping bags raises her voice for a moment: "Just as I'd expect from my imitator," as Eleanor speaks with confusion. Her lips quirk in a small, cruel smile.

Erzebet looks at Marivel and takes a deep bre--

--
--
--

Erzebet isn't here any more.

The masked Gwen and the elf turn their heads to look at the space that until recently held Erzebet Mara Lefanu.

ELSEWHERE

Erzebet lands in the ocean with a splash.

"Oh no! It's that fisherwoman!" shouts someone from the side of the Thames.

"I'm not," Erzebet blubbles, before a life ring with a rope is thrown towards her. Her eyes narrow. She stops objecting.

HERE

It's a subtle thing but the stance of 'Gwen' and 'Eleanor' change, subtly. They straighten, their posture becomes more relaxed. 'Eleanor' drops her bags with a rattling thump from the duffle and a rustle of the shopping bags, and reaches into the nondescript work fatigues she was wearing.

A moment later Gwen's blast smashes her dead on in the torso and lays her out. No, these people aren't who they look like, or at least, that's not the entire story. Call this person The Elf. She sprawls out on her back for a moment.

The masked Gwen - no - the Driller - turns her head to look towards Gwen. She pulls a trigger on the ARM. The machine begins to make a noise, a horrible noise; it is not the best maintained machine, and its method of operation is coming into display now. The trefoil drill spins on a central motor; each of the curving drill bits has a biting saw chain attached to it, those blue metal blades presumably able to carve through friable rock. The entire thing screams as it whirls to life.

SIDE BATTLE MUSIC INSERT! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAQnuW8iNm4

The Driller charges at Gwen. Gwen probably wants to get out of the way.

As for the Elf, she rolls to the side, pushes herself upright, shakes her head once and looks up - at Eleanor. She begins to jog towards Eleanor. This is a lot less dramatic than the Driller but Eleanor is angled to see the bayonet that the Elf has pulled out from somewhere in those fatigues, gripped firmly, and now holds up in a backhand grip.

Her eyes are the same color as Eleanor but there is not the same kind of person behind them.

GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Gwen Whitlock with A Friendly Time with the Recently Deceased!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Eleanor Klein with Equine Surprise!!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action.
GS: Eleanor Klein takes a solid hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Equine Surprise! for 97 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Erzebet Lefanu's A Friendly Time with the Recently Deceased for 85 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock's Force Guard activates!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans has adjusted their boss level for 6 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

Brad looks up as Erzebet arrives. He slams his Mechanical Glove down to absorb the worst of the blows. "Funions?" he mutters, finally catching up to Claude. He is not familiar with this Cursed Substance. Barely matters, since Claude proceeds to bash first against his Glove and then into a tree, which drops a log on him. It cracks against his broad back and then rolls off.

He bleeds red. For whatever that's worth.

Brad's rarely had occasion to move with quite this much aggression, but perhaps the Hero of Slayheim has never been called upon, in ARMS' employ, to really demonstrate the power he holds. Braced, he weathers the impacts Eleanor and Xantia, blasting against the energy shield projected by his Mechanical Glove. Xiumei's slash sheers into the shield, and then the shot from Clarine blasts right through it, boffing him straight in the eyes.

He scrabbles briefly, burning, but then stumbles two steps back, kicking a C4 satchel into the dirt made by his digging equipment.

And by his other foot rests a chest. He glances at it, then kicks it open, revealing a Heavy ARM Cartridge. He cracks his neck. "...right, my 'gift'," he murmurs.

He pops the control on the Mechanical Glove, and rips free the default module he had been using. He grabs the new one and slots it in, prompting the entire Mechanical Glove to BUZZ, alarmingly. He squares his stance and throws his arm out as the air beside him seems to solidify, an outline of a massive machine about the size of a horse-drawn cart starting to etch itself into the air beside him, filling up with that energy dust piece by piece. Sprockets and screws and stranger things turn gunmetal gray and lock into place, energy sources generated from energy, in flagrant defiance of God and Newton both. When it finally settles it is massive, and humming like the low hum you sometimes get from large dungeons with independent power sources - or in starships, and--

That's a laser cannon, is what that is. Not one of the big ones, blessedly. But it still beads with unimaginable power at the tip as Brad levels it across the clearing.

"NORA! GWEN! DOWN!" he screams, and not at the ARMS warriors.

Then the cannon goes off, blasting a ray of scintillating, eye-searing light that glasses the dust between him and a point, several miles out, where it bores a hole about 13 meters into a hillside before running out of steam.

GS: Brad Evans has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Thunderbolt!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Clarissa Arwin with Thunderbolt!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Seraph Clarine with Thunderbolt!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Thunderbolt!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Xantia with Thunderbolt!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Marivel Armitage with Thunderbolt!
GS: Mighty and Riposte expired!
GS: Brad Evans has completed his action.
GS: Seraph Clarine takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 177 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Seraph Clarine gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Seraph Clarine enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 94 hit points!
GS: Claude C. Kenny enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Clarissa Arwin takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 94 hit points!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Clarissa Arwin enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Zhang Xiumei takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 92 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Zhang Xiumei gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Zhang Xiumei enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 95 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xantia gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Xantia enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Be careful!" Xiumei calls out to Eleanor -- the real Eleanor -- and then she looks back at Erzebet. Her eyes narrow, as she looks angry -- and Marivel is quick to send Erzebet away. She feels a spike of fear, seeing their doppelgangers like that.

It makes her look back at Brad Evans and, for the first time this fight, start to wonder. Could it be that...?

Brad's glove buzzes, with that new module. Xiumei's eyes widen, and then a beam of burning light rips across the air. Xiumei hisses as she leaps, jumping high into the air and just over the beam. It scorches her boots, as she holds up a hand.

Cubes of light appear, forming a cross-shape. Xiumei wheels it back, then throws it. A beam barrier ignites around it, as the Barrier Cross goes flying out. It strikes at Brad -- slams into a nearby tree -- and then bounces back at him, before it comes back to Xiumei's waiting hand.

GS: Zhang Xiumei enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has attacked Brad Evans with Barrier Cross - Ricochet!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Slow expired!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Marivel Armitage takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Thunderbolt for 137 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Marivel Armitage gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Marivel Armitage's Force Evade activates!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Marivel Armitage enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

"Oh my Granas, Erzebet, how insufferable can you possibly be!" Clarissa vents, throwing both hands in the air.

And then, just like that, Erzebet... is gone! Clarissa gasps and jumps back a little, her attention once more jerked away from Brad. Or is it Brad?

This entire thing suddenly got far more confusing than it has any right to be. Clarissa brings one hand up to her forehead, grimacing as she looks back towards Brad and his laser cannon.

Clarissa blinks, once.

"That looks hurty," she says, before diving for the deck.

The blinding light tears through the space she was just standing. It cuts so close that it just about burns the shirt off Clarissa's back. Only the fact that she went down saves her more than a singing glance and a rough landing on her chest. Rolling onto her hip, she stares after the huge bolt for a moment before following back along the blinding length of it towards Brad.

Is it Brad? There are definitely a fake Eleanor and a fake Gwen on scene, but is Brad the same? And can they believe whatever answer he or the other imposters would give?

Lies compound upon lies, filling Clarissa's heart with both confusion and indignation. When she rolls up to a knee again, it's to brace Strahl Gewehr in both hands. Blue-green eyes spark with desire and intent as she focuses entirely on Brad, trusting Eleanor and Gwen to handle themselves.

"I have a lot of questions I want to ask you," she says. "But I couldn't trust anything you'd tell me, no matter who you are. Not anymore." Her scowl deepens.

"I hate lies."

She opens fire. Strahl Gewehr brightens, and Clarissa answers Brad's long beam with a wide, long-ranged beam of her own, one that will travel clear across the battlefield and on into the distance.

GS: Clarissa Arwin enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has attacked Brad Evans with Dandelion Shot!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Erzebet is gone. Gwen shoots the doubles which Eleanor is not quite sure how she feels about but it isn't great. "Oh...!"

But any sympathy she might have had for The Elf goes away at that look in her eyes, paired with the bayonet. Xiumei calls to her to be careful; Eleanor looks one more time to Brad.

Then, she has to focus. Shifting her grip on the rifle, Eleanor pulls a Crest while the Elf closes with her. She places it inf ront of herself, Muse and Fray, and light begins to shimmer around her in gold. She makes no chant this time as she settles into place against herself--she completes the spell without, and a barrier grows from her feet to surround her, shielding her from harm.

"Gwen!" Eleanor calls. "I take it back, definitely shoot them!"

In moments she'll be in melee, trying to block with her rifle more like a staff.

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Eleanor Klein with Arcane Reflection!
GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
GS: Eleanor Klein heals Eleanor Klein! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Surge! applied to Eleanor Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude C. Kenny's tricorder has been gathering data on Brad and his fighting style for some time now; it is spitting out all sorts of data into his eyepiece that he can't really understand about how the Gauntlet works, and what it's doing. What the most advanced scanning device in the system tells Claude is what he has already figured out: it makes guns. Thanks, tricorder. But then as Brad switches out modules and starts summoning something big, the tricorder actually gives him something new. Something that causes Claude to freeze, blood draining from his face.

ARMAMENT IDENTIFIED AS FEDERATION NAVY SQUAD-LEVEL AREA SUPPORT WEAPON FA-78 TH--

"THUNDERBOLT!" Claude suddenly screams, breaking into a short run. "CLEAR THE BLAST--" The cannon fires, barely missing Claude, but the force of the displaced air sends the young man hurtling into - and through - a nearby poplar, which falls on him to make matters worse. Claude comes to his feet coughing and teary-eyed, the air full of smoke and the acrid tang of ozone. He holds his left hand over his mouth, blinking. There was something that Brad said before he fired: a warning to Gwen and others. But Gwen's here, fighting him. Why would Brad... suddenly Claude blinks through the smoke, seeing... several people who shouldn't be here. Including two goofy mail girls. His eyes widen and then narrow as it clicks together.

'Clones.'

Cloning technology in mega-illegal in the Pangalactic Federation, because 10,000 years of galactic civilization is enough time for several terrible object lessons to have been learned, forgotten, and then learned again. Still, it happens from time to time - whether because of some mad scientist, or Symbological experiment, or shapeshifting alien race that hasn't consumed quite enough Terran media to understand the evil twin trope, or why it's a bad idea to pop up as someone's dead best friend. As such, the Federation Navy has instructions for dealing with possible clones, as they do for any number of unusual situations. Federation tactical doctrine on clones runs about 30 pages, and covers a wide range of hypothetical scenarios.

Ilia Silvestri-Kenny has her own version. It is one sentence long.

Claude draws his sword - a double-edged arming sword rather than the ironwood-hilted Ragnell-killer he's been lugging around recently - and grips it in both hands, held in front of him. And then starts screaming a wordless battlecry, accompanied by a sudden pulse that ripples out across the battlefield, both as a whisper of energy and an actual physical wave of air. Streams of blue and yellow energy spear out from Claude's body - each held separate rather than blurring into a brilliant green - and then arc down into the length of his sword blade, which begins to shine with an intense and almost painful light. The power gathers in waves - each timed deliberately with a pulse of Claude's own heartbeat - and each is accompanied by a surge of air blasting out from his body, as though the force of his chi is manifesting physically on the world itself. Claude's hair whips wildly around his head, his jacket flapping madly in the self-induced breeze. Gone is the goofy, slightly confused look of a lost young man on an alien world. Here and now, he knows what he has to do - and it will take literally everything he has.

Here and now, he can have no limits.

Suddenly, between one heartbeat and the next, Claude stops charging his attack and leaps upward, the earth rippling under his feet as he surged high over the battlefield. The blazing lights of his sword trail behind him as he soars upward - twin streams of cerulean blue and brilliant gold cutting through the air. As he starts to slow, reaching the apex of his jump, Claude twists his body around, gripping his sword in both hands. His eyes blazing, he regards the ground below, where clones of his friends are fighting with his friends. Each of them indistinguishable from the other. If he attacks one of them, he might hit the wrong one - which is unacceptable. So he follows his mother's advice to the letter.

The best time to figure out who's real and who's a clone is when you're the only one who gets a vote.

Claude's sword comes around, and brilliant beams of light shower down upon the battlefield - hundreds of Air Slashes, pounding the area, ripping through tree cover, striking entirely indiscriminately. "I'M SORRY TO THE NOT-CLONE YOUS DOWN THERE!" Claude shouts, still firing madly. "I'LL BUY YOU BEER LATER!"

GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated a Force Action!
GS: Claude C. Kenny spends 2 Combo on Gatling, loading 2 into Gatling!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Air Raid!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Brad Evans with Air Raid!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Air Raid!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Eleanor Klein with Air Raid!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Xantia with Air Raid!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Air Raid for 198 hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Zhang Xiumei's Barrier Cross - Ricochet for 179 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Air Raid for 182 hit points!
GS: Sneak! The true nature of Clarissa Arwin's attack becomes clear!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Clarissa Arwin's Extra Critical for 195 hit points!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Air Raid for 191 hit points!
GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Air Raid for 182 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xantia gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's Air Raid for 184 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo!
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

The truth is, Clarissa really hates lies. And Strahl Gewehr hates it when Clarissa hates lies.

The blast that rips from the mysterious ARM is not an ordinary shot. It burns hotter and more brightly - and within a few heartbeats, its light swells and expands. It's bright enough to sear even the eyes of the friendly - and as it unleashes, Filgaia itself rumbles under the sudden surge of power.

It's the sort of blast Clarissa normally finds herself unleashing when she's truly upset at a nemesis - or driven to fight her hardest when confronted with what she hates most.

<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

"She's a vampire. We're insufferable by nature," Marivel points out to Clarissa. Nevertheless, even as she's turning to face Brad once more--only for the cannon to unleash a spray off light that blasts through Marivel's left side. She howls. She drops into a crouch and grabs at--nothing. Her arm is gone. That was a LOT of light concentrated on that point.

Her eyes narrow and she's about to retaliate when--

...When Claude starts AIR SLASHING everybody and at random!

Her eyes widen as she says, "Claude, you...!"

And then suddenly she understands. "Ah... Ahaha... I get it now... Well two can play at that game..." She murmurs to hereslf.

She straightens up, cricks her neck and channels sorcery into her remaining fingertips.

"Everyone! Claude is a clone!!" She shouts. "Taking him down is top priority, he has some excessive firepower that could take us out if we're not careful!"

She then swings her hands to the side in a sharp arc, unleashing a powerful black aura that threatens to engulf Claude--tearing apart at his defenses and threatening to ooze about him and pin him in place!

"Hurry! Before it's too late!"

GS: Marivel Armitage has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Escape Down!
GS: Marivel Armitage has completed her action.
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Marivel Armitage's Escape Down for 0 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Claude C. Kenny gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Disease, Entangle, and Shieldbreak! applied to Claude C. Kenny!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"OH MY GOD I AM NOT A CL---"

*vampire magic*

"-oooooooooooooooooone" groans Claude as he starts dropping toward the ground

<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

"Spoken like a clone." Marivel sneers.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

Clarine watches as Brad stumbles back, but this seems to have only given him an opportunity to pick up something. Something that thrums with an ominous power, and when fired...

...Well, Clarine knows lasers. But that's a level of power beyond her capability to produce. With a look of shock, Clarine raises her mirrors to try and deflect it... but it isn't enough. The beam passes right through her. When the light clears, Clarine is collapsed on the ground, her mirrors scattered around her.

If she were mortal, and not a being of light, there probably wouldn't be anything left. But even so, it seems to have taken quite a toll on her.

"...Everyone, I can...still trust you all, yes...?" Clarine murmurs, looking around at her current allies. She seems to have reached a conclusion, though.

And that's when Marivel says that Claude is a clone! Oh no!

"In that case, I should..." Clarine murmurs. With those words, a Seraphic glyph sears itself into the ground at her feet.

"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!" Clarine incants.

White light spreads out from her position, settling over her allies to cleanse their wounds!

That's everyone fighting Brad except for Claude. Sorry Claude, the boss says you're a clone, and clones don't get heals.

GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Marivel Armitage with Revitalize!
GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Clarissa Arwin with Revitalize!
GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Revitalize!
GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Xantia with Revitalize!
GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Seraph Clarine with Revitalize!
GS: Seraph Clarine has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Slow expired!
GS: Seraph Clarine has completed her action.
GS: Seraph Clarine heals Seraph Clarine! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Seraph Clarine heals Xantia! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Restore! Break removed!
GS: Seraph Clarine heals Marivel Armitage! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Seraph Clarine heals Zhang Xiumei! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
GS: Seraph Clarine heals Clarissa Arwin! She gains 250 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        The horrible noise issuing from the masked Driller's ARM makes Gwen wince. Her clone can't even keep her ARM in tiptop shape? Sure, Gwen puts hers through the ringer in battle, but you have to make up for it _somewhere_. "Okay. So. Your other clue that ain't me is the ARM. Can't answer for Brad over there, but nothin'll replicate this ARM. Also, I hope my clone doesn't have hers connected to her the same way or she must be in a *world* of hurt."

        She glances towards Eleanor for a moment, seeming to sense the elf's unease with Gwen's violent reaction. "... I got a warrant on me because I screwed up. Havin' someone pose as me is gonna make business reaaallly bad for m--"

        oh yeah Ms. Driller is coming straight for Gwen, she should react to that

        Grunting as ARM meets ARM, drill snaking past to graze Gwen's side, the courier pushes the deadly drill back and hops backwards, her left hand holding the wounded area.. Hearing her name, Gwen ducks instinctively, the laser passing over her too closely for her to be comfortable. Sure, Brad meant it for the clones (or did he?) but she'll take the head's up. "Man, Brad, didn't know y'cared."

        He called the 'clones' those names. Could it be that he thinks of them as her and Eleanor? Just how should she deal with this information?

        Well, either way, Gwen would be doing decently about now, if it weren't for a mack truck called Claude.

        A wave of air slashes throws Gwen through the air, sending her skidding across the ground with a painful series of grunts and groans.

        Marivel issues her command, and Gwen, clearly, seems not at all enthused with this. Wheezing, she stumbles back onto her feet, and points a finger back towards Marivel. "_Nope_, the contract is *sealed*. Y'can't command me, I'm freelancin'!" The finger shifts to poor Claude. "Y'hear me? You OWE me beer AND food after that stunt, Claude! Beer, AND food!!"

        gwen is very angry right now, clearly she is the real one

        "But first, while I'm still standin'...." Sighting her double(?), Gwen keeps her attack simple, jumping in at her with a sharp punch to the clone's masked jaw. "CUT IT OUT."

GS: Formation! Gwen Whitlock has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Special Delivery!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Erzebet Lefanu critically Guards a hit from Gwen Whitlock's Special Delivery for 27 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

As pleased as she sounded just now, Xantia's face falls when something starts to dawn on her right around when the doppelgangers start fighting each other. "Wait... where did those lookalikes come from? Why are there imposters now?" Outrage doesn't happen, but discomfort certainly does. There could be others. She might have already met others without realizing it. Suddenly she feels a lot less confident about not being fooled.

By the time she's paying attention again to what she shouldn't have taken her eyes off in the first place, there's a freaking laser cannon pointed in her general direction. Thankfully not centered on her - that's the only reason why she's still able to jump aside in time to only get her side singed rather than suffering a far worse fate. Xantia winces as she gets back to her feet a bit unsteadily, the exposed areas on the left side of her body having suffered some rather unpleasant burns.

She doesn't get much of a chance to recover, as Claude Happens. Xantia isn't able to get out of the way of that many Air Slashes. There's not much she can do at all except simply weather the storm.

And when the storm passes... Xantia is left curled into a ball, surrounded by a barrier of crackling lightning that she created at the last second. Regardless, she looks... a bit of a mess, covered in cuts from the many slashes that she wasn't able to repel entirely.

Cuts which soon begin to vanish, as Clarine steps in. Instantly, Xantia's eyes fly open. Carried by adrenaline and newly restored vigor, she is on her feet faster than anybody who just got slammed down that hard reasonably should be.

"WHO DID THAT?"

Oh, there's the outrage. Marivel helpfully answers that question for her, too. Well then.

Without skipping a beat, Xantia creates an enormous hammer out of pure lightning, and with a loud yell, slams it down. She doesn't aim directly for Claude, at least. She hasn't forgotten about the laser either. She smashes the Ether construct into the ground between Claude and Brad, intending to get them BOTH caught in a massive burst of electricity as it explodes on impact.

GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action!
GS: You have activated the Force Action Extend!
GS: Xantia spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Xantia has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Megavolt Hammer!
GS: Xantia has attacked Brad Evans with Megavolt Hammer!
GS: Xantia has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Xantia has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Claude C. Kenny guards a hit from Xantia's Megavolt Hammer for 172 hit points!
GS: Hyper! applied to Xantia!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Xantia's Megavolt Hammer for 193 hit points!
GS: Hyper! applied to Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.

 
The Elf approaches Eleanor and raises up that blade. An initial stab is deflected; she steps back and immediately advances again. It's a silent, dreadful behavior, the grip on the bayonet changing as she circles round and --

SHRANK!!! Rays of intense power fire; the Elf steps back warily, sinks into a crouch, still staring with those flat gold eyes at Eleanor. The blade is held ready when several more things happen. Rays of force smash down - their originator is bound - and declared to be a

clone

The Elf's head turns left, right, left again, and then she abruptly pivots on her heel and stalks towards Claude, turning her back on Eleanor immediately and conclusively. (This is accented two seconds later by a careful and precise flicking of the weapon over her shoulder - perhaps to discourage pursuit, perhaps simply out of bloody mindedness.)

The Driller is committing herself to the enormous thrust of her rock-breaking tool. The device strikes the surface of Filgaia, parried, left to hit the world and dig in like some sort of bloated tick proboscus. The Driller grunts, powers down a switch - the rotating engine within the machine stops - and at that point Gwen punches her in the mask.

The protective cowling breaks. It's like a welder's mask - it was clearly meant to keep off friable chunks of stone and generally avoid being blinded by your own light, your own dust. The tinted glass falls partially away revealing one glaring, bloody-minded eye.

And then the Driller swings the entire apparatus to bodycheck Gwen.

GOOD NEWS: That thing would probably one-shot a cow if you hit dead-on while it was running. IT IS NOT RUNNING!
BAD NEWS: It weighs a lot and has sharp edges.

GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Eleanor Klein with Haborym!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu spends 2 Combo on Headshot!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Code 7-3rdEyeBlinder!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

Claude knows what it is, which is interesting. Brad'll have to follow up on that, he decides.

That's if he lives. Conjuring the Thunderbolt has taken all of the Mechanical Glove's resources, and his defenses are well and truly down. The device is still disassembling itself - turning to inert dust as it dissolves. Brad rips his Glove free after a few seconds, but it's not fast enough to let him evade; the Barrier Cross slams into him, skips through him, and then bounces back into him, staggering him left and then right. His prodigious weight sends him stumbling, right into Clarissa's blast. It takes him square in the chest, and he screams as he boils. When that light fades, he's clenching his fist to his chest, wheezing. "Heh heh," he chuckles, joyless. "You're gonna have to grow up someday, Clarissa. Lies...everyone lies. The best man you ever met has lied to your face. I guarantee you." He levels the Mechanical Glove, and the side cannon CLUNKs out.

Then Claude blasts him, too, Air Slashes sending him tumbling. "Gh," he groans, slowly righting himself...just in time for Xantia's explosive hammer to dome him right back into the ground.

"Haha...and he probably thought he was a hero for doing it," he laughs, slamming his fist down, levering himself up. He whips the cannon up and FIRES, one, two, three shots, before he slumps back, and...

Wait. No, he's not reclining. Another construct is coming, resolving into a long, large rifle, a width the thickness of a fist and braced on both the front and back so the user doesn't have their arm completely separated by the recoil. Brad sights down it.

"Like everyone," he mutters.

And then he starts firing - loud, roaring blasts of an anti-armor rifle. Shells that miss tear trees completely in half.

GS: Brad Evans has activated a Force Action!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Clarissa Arwin with Bazooka!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Seraph Clarine with Bazooka!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Bazooka!
GS: Brad Evans spends 1 Combo on Link!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Marivel Armitage with Anti-Gear Rifle!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Anti-Gear Rifle!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Xantia with Anti-Gear Rifle!
GS: Brad Evans has launched an attack Link!
GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Bazooka for 139 hit points!
GS: Claude C. Kenny has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Marivel Armitage with Cover Your Ears!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Zhang Xiumei with Cover Your Ears!
GS: Brad Evans has attacked Xantia with Cover Your Ears!
GS: Cripple and Weaken expired!
GS: Brad Evans has completed his action.
GS: Eleanor Klein takes a solid hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Haborym for 109 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Pierce!! Brad Evans's attack breaks through 100 temporary hit points! 150 remain!
GS: Zhang Xiumei takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Anti-Gear Rifle for 162 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Code 7-3rdEyeBlinder for 73 hit points!
GS: Gwen Whitlock enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Zhang Xiumei completely evades a hit from Brad Evans's Cover Your Ears!
GS: Seraph Clarine takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Bazooka for 97 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Seraph Clarine gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Clarissa Arwin takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Bazooka for 52 hit points!
GS: Pierce!! Brad Evans's attack breaks through 89 temporary hit points! 161 remain!
GS: Marivel Armitage takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Anti-Gear Rifle for 89 hit points!
GS: Reaction bonus! FP up!
GS: Marivel Armitage takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Cover Your Ears for 181 hit points!
GS: Marivel Armitage enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Marivel Armitage has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!
GS: Pierce!! Brad Evans's attack breaks through 100 temporary hit points! 150 remain!
GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Brad Evans's Anti-Gear Rifle for 174 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xantia gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action!
GS: You have activated the Force Action Accelerate!
GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Brad Evans's Cover Your Ears for 89 hit points!
GS: Xantia has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude C. Kenny is struck by the justice of Marivel's observation re: his potential clonehood. But he isn't a clone, which means she definitely is a---

Claude - who has not even hit the ground yet - gets smashed by a giant hammer made of electricity. And then blasted by a bazooka, which sends him flying away through the trees, trailing smoke and fire and no small bit of blood.

It is a bad day to be a Claude. Or a clone.

A Claunde.

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"You can! You--" Xiumei mutters a sharp word under her breath as she sees Claude lay into them all, ki flashing. She stares for a second -- looks at Marivel, then at Claude -- and then back at Clarine.

She nods her her head, as light flashes through her, and helps to mend some of her wounds. Her armor, even, begins to mend from a few cracks left in it.

She looks up -- grimaces at Brad's cannon -- and doesn't leap in time. The shell impacts the ground, exploding and she vanishes in a blast of flame and dirt that fly upward. When she reappears, she is tumbling down, thirty feet up in the air.

And she hurls down the Barrier Cross. The weapon whips down, hurtling for Brad's front. It smashes at his chest, then bounces back towards Xiumei. "You--don't talk to Clarissa that way! Not everyone lies, and even if they do--"

She whips her hand back. The Pulse Saber extends outward, into a long beam whip. She slashes it down for Brad, as she comes crashing down at him. "--that doesn't make it right!"

The Barrier Cross vanishes. In its place, the Pulse Cannon appears. She rains shots down, blasting the ground around Brad and Brad himself. Then, the whip contracts, back into a beam saber. Xiumei grips the hilt of the weapon with both hands.

She does a diagonal slash, a brilliant afrer image left in her wake, as she comes down with one well-executed slash.

GS: Zhang Xiumei has activated a Force Action!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has activated a Force Action!
GS: Zhang Xiumei spends 1 Combo on Link!
GS: Formation! Zhang Xiumei has attacked Brad Evans with Soaring Cross Strike!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has launched an attack Link!
GS: Zhang Xiumei's  stance ends. She enters the Avenger stance!
GS: Zhang Xiumei spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Formation! Zhang Xiumei has attacked Brad Evans with Rushing Pulse Blitz!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Mighty expired!
GS: Zhang Xiumei has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Pushing back to her feet, Clarissa rounds on Brad with her weapon coming to bear once more. She's all too ready to keep firing on him.

When Brad fires back at her, the girl presses her lips together, a moment of indignant frustration flickering in her face. She breathes it out through her teeth. "The best man I've ever known is with me every day," she grates. "I trust Felius more than anything. He wouldn't lie to me like you did... whoever you are."

She's still not sure if Brad is really Brad, or if he's what Claude says he is - but when he breaks the bazooka out, it suddenly no longer matters. Explosive rounds tear the field apart, cratering turf and leveling trees. Breathing heavily, Clarissa begins to run, doing her best to keep ahead of the hail of heavy firepower. As much as Strahl Gewehr is an effective weapon, she can't match the degree of heavy artillery Brad can bring to bear.

A round lands just short of her, kicking up turf and throwing her to the ground - but this time she's able to roll with it. When Clarine reaches out, Clarissa kips up again, drawing a breath and letting the light shimmer through her. The Seraph's benediction gives her a surge of more than just physical power - it's a surge of confidence and companionship, the knowledge that even if Brad is either a clone or a traitor, at least Clarine is with her.

The blonde girl pushes back her hair with a sweep of her hand and moves to her feet. It's just in time to hear Xiumei rush to her defense.

Raising her chin, Clarissa clenches her free hand. "Xiumei, thank you!" she calls, her voice more firm now.

"And I won't be told to grow up by you," she fires off at Brad. "You can go ahead and be as cynical and dishonest as you want. But I'm going to live to a better standard."

Strahl Gewehr feels hot in her hands as she begins to run again. Her heart races as she takes aim. "And I'm not going to just give you the satisfaction of talking me down!" she shouts as she opens fire.

It's another big blast, fierce and furious. Turf kicks up in a trench beneath the wide, blazing beam that howls from Strahl Gewehr as Clarissa opens up on Brad with the force of her desire.

GS: Clarissa Arwin has attacked Brad Evans with Howling Shot!
GS: Clarissa Arwin has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Gwen does notice Eleanor's reaction in turn--and Eleanor hears her reply. "Ah, well--" But they can't just stand and chat.

"Well you'd better!" Eleanor shouts up at Claude, wincing as his air slash batters against her shield with a violent burst of force. Marivel may have new orders, but, "I'm a little busy!" Eleanor calls back to her. She's hurt, to be sure; blasted already, now hit with Air Slashes, and fighting off a much meaner version of herself.

It hurts, to hear Brad calling out to the other her, instead.

But what he says--Well, she doesn't have a retort, not immediately. INstead suddenly the Elf is going off and--oh.

The bayonet swings at Eleanor and breaks through the remnants of her shield, magical power still crackling around her but now some blood spraying the ground, too. She stumbles, lightly, and watches the other Eleanor... go. Leave her behind.

Eleanor let hersefl hit one knee, wincing, and looks about the chaos of the battlefield. Claude down; Brad and Xiumei locked in combat. So many people falling... Eleanor pulls another Crest, this one Fray doubled. She holds it up with one hand before herself, elbow bent, 'card' up before her face--and she turns it, such that she's looking over its edges. She pours extra magical energy into the effect, the Crest glowing brightly gold as rainbow colors burst around her.

"The power of destruction... Fire! Desert of Years!"

Carefully avoiding the stockpile of explosives, Eleanor casts her spell, and towering infernos that don't touch the trees nevertheless crash towards Other-Gwen, the Elf, and Brad. Eleanor herself is briefly obscured by the sheer light of the casting.

GS: Eleanor Klein has activated a Force Action!
GS: Eleanor Klein has activated a Force Action!
GS: Eleanor Klein spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Desert of Years!
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Brad Evans with Desert of Years!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

It's doubtful whether Xantia is thinking straight at this point. Even after throwing down that massive electric hammer, there's still murder in her eyes. Lightning shifts to Fire as her elemental aura changes, preparations for a follow-up attack well on their way as she next shapes the flames into the form of a lance. As Claude is sent flying off, she is ready to unleash her full fury on Brad...

When a giant anti-Gear shell is sent her way. Currently very much operating on impulse, she does what comes natural. She strikes at the projectile in whatever convenient way she can, which at the moment is with a spear made of fire.

The explosion when those two meet is spectacular. Xantia is sent flying like a ragdoll in its wake, landing on her back some distance away. If the groans are any indication, she is at least alive and somehow still conscious, but definitely not getting up.

<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel says, "Whew. That was a close one."

Unfortunately, dealing with CLONE CLAUDE--who is definitely a clone--means that Marivel, who may also be a clone?--is easy pickings for Brad's overwhelming firepower.

Squishy Wizard Meet Meat Miracle With Bonus Meat Artillery.

Marivel's body VANISHES in a series of explosions that would make Michael Bay shed a single oily tear.

And when the smoke and debris fade--it seems like it has become Marivel's turn.

...to be somewhere else. Even a construct powered by elemental shadow can only take so much.

GS: Erzebet Lefanu takes a solid hit from Eleanor Klein's Desert of Years for 202 hit points!
GS: Disease! applied to Erzebet Lefanu!
GS: CRITICAL! Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Eleanor Klein's Desert of Years for 210 hit points!
GS: Disease! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Clarissa Arwin's Howling Shot for 186 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Zhang Xiumei's Soaring Cross Strike for 184 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Zhang Xiumei's Rushing Pulse Blitz for 242 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Brad Evans has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

Clarine recoils back as the bazooka blasts into her, unable to fully protect herself from it with her mirrors. Modern-day technology is something she's still trying to get a grasp of - and the weapons it creates even moreso.

She looks between Xiumei and Clarissa, then. She's certain she can still trust them. She frowns, though, as Xantia nearby is sent flying away. It looks like she's still moving, at least, but she can't help but be a little concerned for her friend...

"...I would thank you not to speak for 'everyone'." Clarine replies, straightening herself up. "Are you telling yourself this to feel better about what you have done? Or do you truly believe it?"

She shakes her head.

"...Regardless. We will have the truth." With those words, another Seraphic glyph appears beneath her feet.

"One thousand divine lights, arise and light the path to tomorrow! Radiant Cannonade!" Clarine incants.

This is not the light of healing. Clarine brings forth her own laser assault upon Brad. Countless beams of light emit forth from her position, bouncing off of any reflective surfaces - Clarine's own mirrors will do nicely - and redirecting toward him from all angles.

GS: Seraph Clarine spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Seraph Clarine has attacked Brad Evans with Radiant Cannonade!
GS: Seraph Clarine has completed her action.
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Seraph Clarine's Radiant Cannonade for 210 hit points!
GS: Brad Evans has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        The ARM is badly maintained, but when it hits, it's not as if that really makes the impact any less painful. Gwen's ARM projects a force field to drive the Driller back.

        Somehow, Gwen still stands, but barely, judging by the way she struggles just to keep standing.

        'The best man you ever met has lied to your face.'

        Something in those words draws Gwen's ire away from the clone that nearly clocked her unconscious, just now. She turns, blood running down the side of her head, just in time to see Xantia blown away.

        "_That's enough_." Gwen steps towards him, the glare in her eyes clouding whatever guileless mirth she may have displayed at the beginning of the battle. "I don't know if you're a clone or the real Brad--" she croaks, her words sounded out without the lazy flavor of her usual accent "--but you do a major disservice to him."

        The companions that still stand rain their attacks on Brad, and Gwen continues ahead, not mindful of how close the blasts come to including her in them.

        "All this talk of heroes... the first time I remember really meeting Brad, face to face, he wasn't posturing like this. He just was what he was. He never referred to himself as 'the best man'. He was humble. I'd ask you about that, what you said during that meeting, but I don't even want to have to deal whatever insipid answer you give." She points the index finger of her left hand towards Brad, accusingly.

        "_You are a parody of that man_."

        Pulling her right fist back, Gwen smiles. "Even if this punch doesn't hit, and even if it doesn't manage to pierce through that stupid grin of yours..." She breaks into a sudden run, lowering herself down at the last moment to try to land an uppcut on Brad's stoic chin. "... it'll be *really* satisfying for me!"
        

GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Brad Evans with Shoryu-gwen!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
GS: Brad Evans takes a solid hit from Gwen Whitlock's Shoryu-gwen for 119 hit points!
GS: Shieldbreak! applied to Brad Evans!
GS: Brad Evans has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Brad Evans has posed.

Brad proves why they call him the Hero of Slayheim, releasing a bombardment that nearly brings ARMS to its knees all on his own.

But it doesn't actually do that, and therein lies his failure.

Xiumei whirls upon him like a dirvish, the thrown blade slamming into the Mechanical Glove's shield, and then pulse cannon rounds blasting it again and again, cracks running along the shield as it narrowly endures.

The Howling Shot and Clarine's blast strike at once, blasting directly through the shield and into Brad's face. He roars out in pain, reaching to conjure another weapon, but his hands wither mid-motion under the deathly heat of the Desrt of Years.

And then Gwen finishes it off by slamming her fist into his jaw. There is a horrible rattling sound of shattering bone, and Brad screams as he soars up into the air.

He slams back down, spitting blod.

And a sick smile comes across his face. "There are..." he says, his form seeming to melt, hideously.

"So many more..."

He wheezes one final breath as his face melts off in a shimmer of magic. What remains is a bone-thin thing, gaunt and too slender with a ghastly, stone-like pallor to its sickly flesh.

The Empathite radio beeps on.

        >>BRAD: Evans here. Sorry. Ptolomea wanted a dance. Heading to the battle zone now.

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei steps back from the thing that was Brad Evans. She stares at its sickly form for a moment -- pallid, stone-colored flesh and too gaunt. Many more? Her eyes narrow. She wonders about that; about what these might be. She feels, for a second, sick to her stomach. She shakes her head and glances away.

First, at where they were digging. Sunlight reaches down into a cavern below. Then, Xiumei's eyes turn back towards Eleanor, Gwen, and the rest of what was happening. She straightens her back up.

Brad's voice crackles over the empathite radio. "...this," she declares, "seems like it could be very bad."

ELSEWHERE

Deep inside of a control room, a console has three round lights. Two are lit, glowing a soft red; that illuminates the metal room. One is dark -- glassy, even -- but after a moment, and a flicker, a red light illuminates it, too.

<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.

 
Flame washes over the Elf, a searing and incinerating heat that the creature does not seem to recognize. There is an "uh!!" of pain and surprise as the flame washes over its back, but the creature stumbles forwards and any pretense of identity soon vanishes beneath the flame. What is left is better described as a carbonized streak of gristle; a comprehensive rejection of the Other.

For now.

And as for the Driller - Gwen's attention turns towards Brad, and there is a moment, in which the entity turns its head for a moment. Marivel explodes, sure, but apparently the Driller has read the boards: Marivel's destruction feels less like a rally than it might. The Driller's attention turns back towards Gwen and her own voice says to her -

"Thanks!"

Before she gimmicks the ARM to scream to life and hurls it towards the stack of explosives! Which it lands short of, but the grinding, crawling, PULLING chains drag it forwards - it is a problem that is easily stopped with a little heart-stopping action.

The Driller herself? She runs for the treeline.

<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Clarissa was shooting to hurt. Instead, they've shot to kill.

When Brad raises his head, a pale Clarissa keeps Strahl Gewehr trained on him. Felius moves up to her right, his halberd leveled towards the apparent turncoat. Both of them look on, one with a mix of horror and shock, the latter impassively.

That's about when 'Brad' melts into a hideous... something. Clarissa actually screams and cups her free hand over her mouth. Her eyes go wide with revulsion.

"That's a new one," Felius murmurs, seemingly unruffled as ever. He moves to kneel and peer at... whatever's left, then up towards Xiumei. "This is definitely a problem. We were all fooled. Their process was absolutely perfect."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

What emerges from Brad can only be called grotesque. Clarine observes it with a frown. She's... less impacted by the sight of it than a mortal might be, but it's still rather unpleasant.

"...So that is the truth." She observes with a frown.

It's about this time that Brad's voice, conveniently, comes over the radio. ...It's a relief to hear from him at this point.

"...We... may need to have a discussion about this." She murmurs, looking at everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        The courier stares at the melting thing that used to be a 'Brad'.

        "That was a clone." Gwen begins to laugh hoarsely, wincing as her body sharply disagrees with the motion. "I was right, I was right! Brad would never do that!!"

        The laughter almost becomes hysterical, until Gwen hears one small word.

        'Thanks!'

        Gwen turns, spotting the movement of the ARM in the air, landing dangerously close to that pile of explosives.

        Shouting some favorite explicatives for times like these, Gwen runs forward and, with a shove of her foot, tries to PUNT the damned ARM clear away.

        "Is that Brad?"

        She pauses. "Can someone fill him in? Or... ask him something he'd know, I dunno, uh, maybe call 'im over..." Her body weaves. ".... because slee--"

        The frame of the courier flops over, dragged to the sweet embrace of gravity by the weight of her right ARM.