2023-08-04: Maybe I'm a...
- Log: Maybe I'm a...
- Cast: Rixia, Ruth Pauling, Eleanor Klein, Layna Manydays, Juni Vandrer, Josephine Lovelace, Acacia Saitani, Ida Everstead-Rey, Ashiya Khaimova, Goddess from the Stars, Ethius Hesiod
- Where: Klein Gardens
- Date: August 04, 2023
- Summary: The Goddess of the Stars has come to collect. What tragedy awaits the Klein Gardens?
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
The Garden in the Klein Manor is certainly a testament to some of the most beautiful, most meticulously curated and cared-for gardens within the Aquvy region. The Garden has been a place of reflection, rumination and repose for Rixia, who Eleanor invited to the Manor some months ago; since then, she's been to-and-fro, when assisting her with various tasks and Digs, and as an escape away from her troubles in Lunar too.
It is sunset. A beautiful orange gradients to purple, as the twilight hour approaches -- the end of the work day, as laborers, merchants and Drifters alike start thinking of where they'll settle for the night. The pubs, their homes, warm and waiting (hopefully). The clock tower within the city rings. Gong. Gong. Gong.
Gong...
--BANG--
Gong...
That was a gunshot. Very cleverly muffled underneath the loud gong of the tower bell.
Those nearer to the manor can more clearly hear it; when they rush there, they see the scene of the crime unfolding. Rixia, who half an hour ago said she was going to go read in the Garden on her own, is fallen on the ground in a puddle of her own blood.
The perpetrator is still here -- a very tall figure in a wide duster hat and long leather cloak, with dusty denim pants and tall boots. A smoking gunsmoke ARM is in their hand, and then...
Symbology rings emanate out of their wrist, drawing spheres of magic from Rixia's inert body. It's familiar magic -- the kind of magic Rixia uses when absorbing magic into herself.
Closer up, the figure is visibly female -- locks of black hair visible underneath the hat. She has a pair of aviator sunglasses on, which hide her eyes. "Looks like you've nurtured this quite well." A smirk on her lips. "Your Goddess gives much gratitude, Chosen One."
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
SOME DAYS AGO
Ruth roosts over some part of Azado. It's something of a favored place of self-care for her, in a time of growing peace on Filgaia following the fall of Odessa. A place she can find reasonable emotional equilibrium, even as she passively takes in the generated Malevolence of those feeling betrayed and helpless under the promised protection of the Goddess' absolute power. It hits certain notes for her, looking at her Granasian rosary around her right arm.
For the first time in a while, a voice comes in over empathite - Eleanor's. A request she come to Klein as soon as she can. A reprieve from her struggle to consider her place in a world promising to be more peaceful.
NOW
Ruth is within no less than two hours of arriving back in Klein when she - back within the shell of who she once was - just takes her place about one of the raised walls. The local guards - those who don't quite accept the idea she's considered a friend of Eleanor - are a little too intimidated to tell her to not be there. (Who wouldn't? It's Ruth Pauling, of the Celesti Civil War.)
Sunset. Ruth's eyes watch the comings and goings with her keen sight, uncertain as to what it is Eleanor might want her here for. She is watching someone move towards the Gardens in a way someone who's a friend of the families wouldn't, but the path has an obstruction blocking full line of sight.
She moves, as the clock tower goes off.
...
...
When Ruth has line of sight, she sees it - Rixia down in a pool of blood, someone siphoning something out of her. Ruth's heart starts to race, and she pays *zero* heed to the feedback going through her left arm when she hefts the thing she no longer has the strength to wield in the manner she was (in)famous for.
...Normally.
A distinct, deafening report of the rifle soon follows, and that very tall figure is at risk of taking a single sniper round.
Ruth doesn't yell over the empathite. The sound of that rifle going off is communicative alarm enough.
GS: Ruth Pauling has attacked Rixia with Door Knock! GS: Ruth Pauling has completed her action. GS: Goddess from the Stars takes a solid hit from Ruth Pauling's Door Knock for 124 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
There are downsides to the Klein Manor being largely open to the public; the benefits are obvious, given that it's the seat of much of bureaucracy in the city, but it does make for a problem in security at times. This is one of those times.
A gunshot sounds, and Eleanor stands up suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck prickling. She rushes from the room, towards the gunshot.
Eleanor is in an ordinary dress in orange, looking more the academic than the elite paramilitary operative. The Crest she pulls from her satchel is one emblazoned with Wing and Muse, and she takes it between her first two fingers, lifting it up before her face and turning it to the side. "Twilight reveals a shining curtain... Aurora!"
A brilliant, frigid blast rushes the figure, sending cascading colors in all directions and hopefully blocking sight for long enough for Eleanor to kneel down next to Rixia.
"Rixia!" she says. "Stay with us!"
If she flinches once at that terrible round from the sniper rifle, it's surely just that it's so very loud. It wasn't unexpected. She is the one who called Ruth here, after all.
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Aurora! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars takes a glancing hit from Eleanor Klein's Aurora for 53 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Blind and Jam applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Evade bonus activated!
DC: Juni Vandrer switches forms to AE-8 Tyv! DC: Juni Vandrer switches forms to Aldakhili Stalker!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna just happened to be in Klein on business. She's a sailor(well, a pirate, but she doesn't do much actual pirating these days) so Klein is a frequent stop for her and her crew.
It's a beautiful day. The bell rings.
Gong. Gong. Gong. Gong... Bang.
It's muffled beneath the gong of the tower bell - but Layna's always had a closeness to the wind, and it carries sensations to her others might miss. And, here fairly near to the manor - and followed by that second rifle round, this one from a rather familiar weapon...
...Well, no one can blame her for taking off running toward the source of the sound. And when she sees what happens -
Layna's eyes open wide in shock - and then her expression sets in a rare look of fury. There's a shockwave of wind as she rushes forward.
"Get the HELL away from her!" Layna roars, fist rushing forward toward the cloaked woman. Whether it lands or not, Layna stands up straight, cracking her knuckles.
"...You better have a damn good explanation, aye, lass? You've caught me in a real foul mood..." Layna mutters standing up straight and cracking her knuckles.
She looks back toward Eleanor, as she moves to kneel down next to Rixia. A look of concern crosses her face - but it fades just as quickly, as she shifts to put herself between the mysterious attacker and where Rixia and Eleanor are.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Dread Momentum! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Juni Vandrer has posed.
You don't hear a lot of gunshots in town. A rule she's actually pretty happy to follow most of the time. One split ear lifts from the work she'd been doing. A bore light down a barrel, checking for damage and residue. The cussing is a mangled mix of her own native language, punctuated by an almost growling sound and some Al Bhed. The barrel is put down and she stands up. Grabbing a first aid kit she keeps handy first. Figuring it was a negligent discharge. What else would it be? Who'd start something? Then she scowls. There are plenty of people that dumb.
Her harness is pulled on, her computer's slipped into the well worn spot on her arm and her goggles and rifle are grabbed. Set up as she hurries along. She's wearing a particularly bright Al Bhed outfit, work gloves and an alien combat harness. She'll joke about being dressed in the dark later.
Opening a window, she gets ready to hop out, down into the garden when she stops. There's someone down on the ground already. A newly familiar face and an unknown figure. She doesn't say a thing. The rifle is lifted and she shifts her stance. Resting her elbow against her knee and cradling the rifle's barrel in the crook of her arm.
Said barrel extends with the toggle of a switch. She briefly taps away at her wrist, used to doing this by muscle memory. Her goggles pulled down. Her cheek against the stock for a sight picture with the stranger in her scope. Center of mass. Finger moving towards the trigger with the image adjusting itself. Correcting and accomodating for potential movement, wind and collateral at this range.
GS: Juni Vandrer has attacked Juni Vandrer with Long Barrel Configuration! GS: Juni Vandrer has gained 1 Combo! GS: Juni Vandrer's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Juni Vandrer has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josephine Lovelace knows what the sound of an ARM sounds like.
Not that there's all that much to mistake it with, in a place like this. Maybe out in Damzen City, one might have cause to hear the shot of someone's sidepiece of another -- certainly in Guara Bobelo. But in Klein City?
Someone's up to no good. Call it morbid curiosity. Call it the professional in her. Call it a bit of ill-timed upstanding citizenship. Whatever drives her, precisely, Miss Lovelace is one of those who race towards the direction the sound had come from--
And is among those who come across the scene of a potential murder.
Eleanor is quick on the scene. But how could she not? Isn't this her home, or something like that? While Eleanor turns her attentions towards the fallen Rixia in the wake of her spell (familiar tactic, runs the thought), Josie's own is a little more pragmatic, perhaps:
Drawing her custom-made sidearm in one smooth motion, she shoots the woman with the gunsmoke ARM, not even bothering with a what's-all-this-then.
Nor is she the only one to do so.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Stinger! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Layna Manydays's Dread Momentum for 61 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Goddess from the Stars partially guards Josephine Lovelace's Stinger for 46 hit points! GS: Break applied to Goddess from the Stars!
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia is not above leaning on Eleanor to let her stay in Klein Manor whenever she comes to the city on ARMS business, but it's actually rather rare for her to do so. Sometimes it feels like she might be intruding just a little despite the size of the place, and sometimes she finds herself preferring to keep a little distance between her own work and that of ARMS. As someone who's protective of her own apartment and the personal space it provides, she's slow to broach anyone else's.
But with the memory of the attack on Meria Boule still fresh in her mind and Yue recuperating from the aftermath of the assault, the reporter has the self-awareness to realize that maybe it's not a great idea for her to be alone with her thoughts right now. Not that she's being terribly social, but there's reassurance in knowing that there are people nearby, and maybe she can help keep an eye on Rixia's--
The shot out of nowhere makes her jolt upwards, old fears crawling down her spine. She heard that, she knows she did. There's no forgetting that distinctive sort of muffled thump, not when the memory of it is seared in her brain alongside a desperately narrow escape. At least she can take solace in the fact that she's the sort of person who now runs towards that sort of noise rather than away from it.
And with the noise of people running in the halls she opts for the quicker option, barreling out onto the balcony that overlooks the Garden. Her hand is already at her jacket, reaching for the melted lump of slag that sits there like a comfort blanket, and she's preemptively drawing in a breath.
"--HEY!" Acacia yells at the top of her lungs, the sound echoing across the courtyard and off the opposite walls. She hasn't even given herself time to take in the scene yet - there's someone standing over someone else and the colour red, and in the split second she has to act that's enough information for her to do so. Ether pools through her frame along with the sound of stressed metal as the melted pistol start to vibrantly shine with heat.
"Incoming!" she adds as she fires the bolt not at the figure standing over Rixia but up into the air above them. The makeshift signal flare glitters and twinkles as it hangs in place, and then explodes outwards in a dazzling burst.
GS: Acacia Saitani has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Paparazzi! GS: Acacia Saitani has gained 2 Combo! GS: Acacia Saitani has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars takes a glancing hit from Acacia Saitani's Paparazzi for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Disrupt, Entangle, and Shieldbreak applied to Goddess from the Stars!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The gardens are one of Ida's favorite places to go when visiting the Klein estate. Everything is well cared-for--maybe a bit too manicured for Ida's taste, but gardens are a luxury where she comes from. Having spent the day socializing with the Klein family and their staff, she wants to do nothing more than sit on a bench and sketch some flowers. It's a peaceful, centering activity.
Ida approaches the garden gate at a lazy walk, her leather-bound journal in a satchel under her arm. She sees two figures, one half-hidden behind an elegantly-sculpted topiary. The bell chimes.
A gunshot, between the chimes, as loud as nearby thunder to Ida's enhanced hearing. Fight-or-flight kicks in immediately. Ida charges through the garden gate, instantly identifying both Rixia (injured at least, dead at worst) and the woman who just shot her.
There's no cry of alarm, yet, just a look of rage on Ida's face as she launches herself in a tackle. If she can grab the woman, she'll try and lock her gun-arm, and then disarm her.
<Pose Tracker> Ashiya Khaimova has posed.
A shadow flits over the rooftops and through the alleyways of Klein City with feather-tip touch. The nimble Fellpool girl carries two cups of shaved ice, gaze focused several seconds ahead as she comes whistling over the edge of a keystone wall and lands with both feet on the brass railing of a long stairway. Her shoes glide on the slick metal as if it were coated in hot oil, and she casually watches the dumbfounded stares of curious onlookers--mostly people taking the real, pedestrian mode of travel down those stairs.
*Gong...*
Ah, hell. I'm running late.
The story of her life, isn't it? An appointment sliding here, taking her sweet time there, and before you know it, the top of the hour's come and gone. Late! Late, you're running late! Why can't you be more punctual, like your brother?
*Gong...*
Ashiya departs the Stair Line before it reaches the final station--so to speak--with one stiff-legged leap that sends her hurtling back to the rooftops on a straight-line angle. There's not even an apex to her jump, no arc to speak of, she just zips off at fourty-five degrees and arrives at her new vantage point. Now, where were they supposed to meet up again...?
*Gong...*
Ashiya's oversize ears twitch with every ringing of the clock's bell. In one moment, they twitch twice as the sharp note of a gunshot rustles hidden beneath the peal of that bell. Were it not for her fine hearing, and the proximity, it would have gone unnoticed. But that's that, and this is this. The lanky cat-person's eyes quickly narrow and she scans her sectors for signs of trouble. Who's dumb enough to pop off a gun in the heart of the city? Her computer's link bleeps in her ear.
>> EMISSIONS DETECTED:
> KNO3 - 69.92%
> S - 11.12%
> C - 12.77%
> ??? - 6.19%
*Gong...*
From her vantage point she can see a few curious things play out. For starters, someone in a leather duster has just shot her best pal in the world, Rixia. Second of all, the person who just shot Rixia is emitting very obvious Symbological energy, and in fact using one-of-a-kind magics that belong to only one person that Ashiya could possibly know. By the time hurried onlookers and first responders are rushing to Rixia's side to provide aid, the Fellpool girl has vanished from atop the rooftop. Two cups of shaved ice remain carefully stashed there, in some vain hope they can enjoy them later.
***
The Mysterious Figure(tm) with glasses can also feel the windup of familiar Symbology, if her senses are particularly keen, giving her a moment or two to react before a rapidly approaching spell fires. What's happening here, you see, is that there's a blue comet of person-shaped mass falling towards Rixia's aggressor from directly above, who is cradling a glowing sphere between two hands. Said sphere is the most flagrant Look At Me, I'm Violating The UP3 use of symbology because it's not even attempted to be disguised.
"I've found you... Stella Starmann!!" Ashiya's cool surfer attitude is nowhere to be seen as she hollers her challenge and executes her spell. The glowing sphere is crushed between her fingertips, and dissolves into a million glittering characters of magical code. Gravity, the Strong Nuclear Force, entropy, you name it, all those underlying forces of the universe suddenly start to creak and groan around the mysterious woman's position. What will give first? The pint-sized singularity? The congealing of momentum? The binding of nerve transmission wavelengths?
(TRICK QUESTION ITS ALL OF THEM AT ONCE SUCKER)
GS: Ashiya Khaimova has attacked Goddess from the Stars with CODE: Hazard! GS: Ashiya Khaimova has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ashiya Khaimova has completed her action. GS: Formation! Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Lunging Tackle! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars partially guards Ashiya Khaimova's CODE: Hazard for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Blind, Interrupt, and Shieldbreak applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Hyper applied to Ashiya Khaimova! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated!
GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Ida Everstead-Rey's Lunging Tackle for 56 hit points! <Pose Tracker> Goddess from the Stars has posed.
The deafening sound of the Gae Buidhe/Dearg DC4 is the starting pistol that heralds battle to be joined -- the "Goddess" not so much moves as she raises two fingers, a Symbological barrier largely absorbing the strength of the shot and letting the rest whizz through underneath her cloak. "Hmm. Aren't you all fast."
The head of the house arrives in short order, Wing and Muse conjoint and forcing the assailant to take a step back and hide behind one of the Garden's hedges with a smirk.
It's difficult to tell, especially in the immediacy of combat, whether Rixia's still breathing or not -- but she's not awake and there's a lot of blood spilled.
"Ah, the lady of the house herself! Apologies for the mess in your garden, but it was just so convenient, you see."
Layna is on the scene soon after, and the Goddess is pressured in close-range; surprisingly, there's deftness and knowledge in the forearm parry, even if Layna's wind-powered fist is difficult to withstand entirely. "It's just business, lass. No hard feelings, hmm? I just had something I had to retrieve--"
It's hard to tell if the Goddess has noticed Juni moving into position out the window, but her sense of what's around her seems impeccable... enhanced, even, perhaps. It's all just doubled up when Josie enters the scene and opens fire, prompting another evasion into the hedges once more.
"Now this is a proper Filgaian party, guns and all!" she shouts, rather excitedly.
Acacia joins the gunfight, but she cheats the gunpowder and everything in favour of Ether -- there's a bright laugh from the assailant as she leaps onto the top of another hedge in turn, only to be ensnared in the burst; it's difficult to tell how much she's affected, given the aviators she's wearing, but... Ether is Ether.
Ashiya's arrival isn't unexpected, not in the slightest. Symbology is recognisable, and when the super-powered tracer comes crashing in on her, the grin hidden underneath the sunglasses only gets bigger as she clashes against that same Symbological barrier of hers.
"Ah, there's a name I haven't used in a while," she sneers. "Hello, Ashiya. Enjoying your planetside vacation? I'm here to pick up your wonderful invention. Don't mind me."
Ida minds, however, and actually scores the tackle and grab -- she gets her in a twist and the gunsmoke ARM drops to the floor in a clatter, before--
<"Warp.">
--she disappears, reappearing a few feet after, hand raised... and in a familiar shower of blue datacubes, a new pistol forms in her ARM. "Can you really afford to waste time with dear old me? The poor girl you involved in all this is bleeding out. But, since you're all so raring to have a good time, I'll just have to be a good host and oblige!"
Her body flashes, as Magic junctions within her; visibly, she's faster, more resilient, and no doubt her reflexes are sharper. She rises onto the hedges, laughing as she lands atop them as if they were solid as ground, and with a spread of her arms the one gun becomes--
Two--
Four--
Eight--
Eight individual pistols hovering over her, each automatically aiming and taking fire in a wild and indiscriminate rainstorm of gunfire. "But I'm a busy woman, so you'll have to excuse me if I dip early!"
GS: Goddess from the Stars spends 1 Combo on Inspire! GS: Goddess from the Stars has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Shatter the Hourglass! GS: Goddess from the Stars has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Goddess from the Stars accepts Goddess from the Stars's Shatter the Hourglass for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz and Hyper applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Goddess from the Stars gains 2 Combo from Inspire!
GS: Goddess from the Stars has activated a Boss Action! GS: You have activated the Boss Action Extend!
GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ashiya Khaimova with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Acacia Saitani with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Juni Vandrer with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Layna Manydays with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ruth Pauling with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Eleanor Klein with Let the Fireworks Fly!! GS: Goddess from the Stars has gained 1 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired!
GS: Goddess from the Stars has completed her action. GS: Eleanor Klein suffers a terrible blow from Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 109 hit points! GS: FP up! Countermeasures activated! GS: Layna Manydays suffers a terrible blow from Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 130 hit points! GS: Acacia Saitani partially guards Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 116 hit points! GS: Ashiya Khaimova solidly guards Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 49 hit points! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Juni Vandrer accepts Juni Vandrer's Long Barrel Configuration for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Juni Vandrer! GS: Mighty and Quick applied to Juni Vandrer! GS: Juni Vandrer takes a glancing hit from Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 66 hit points! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a glancing hit from Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 60 hit points! GS: FP up! Countermeasures and Evade bonus activated! GS: Ruth Pauling solidly guards Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 100 hit points! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a glancing hit from Goddess from the Stars's Let the Fireworks Fly! for 55 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth flinches as the Symbological barrier comes up. Heightened feelings of fury, anguish, and shock fill the space of her senses. It may be an element of conceit, but she has particular ideas and preferences as to what happens when she shoots someone.
Her left arm continues to scream within the confines of who she once was, jaw tightly clenching as she hurls herself down from her perch - ankles be damned - as the bayonet blade of her weapon drags into turf and masonry. She's coming in hot from where those fighting in melee are taking their swings as she slices into uncomfortably close space where the mysterious attacker soon disappears.
Her breathing labored as she stands in the company of two Seers with a bleeding-out Rixia nearby, she makes her peace that the kindest thing she can do for her now is only in the wheelhouse of being a frightful, dangerous person. There are kinder people here worthier of Rixia's gratitude and trust should she be saved.
Her fear, she'll take.
Ruth hurls herself ahead to the laughing intruder as pistols discharge. The bullets don't seem to really even be stopped, compared to the Symbological barrier the enemy put up. Through grit and spatters of blood that are (thankfully, odd as it may sound) still a familiar red, the Hellion sweeps up towards where the cackling troublemaker presently stands.
The strange cat-like beastfolk over there seems to know her. Somehow she's able to take that detail in while she's riding out the heightened call to violence, and she's always been more of the mind to mourn the sin rather than ask for permission, as it were.
"Why hurt her...?" Ruth's voice chokes, discordantly, in comparison to her barely restrained violence against at least two confirmed gunshot wounds and debilitating chronic pain, overcompensating into the upwards slash of the bayonet blade.
GS: Ruth Pauling has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Scarring Blow! GS: Ruth Pauling has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ruth Pauling has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Apologies aren't enough when you assault one of my guests," Eleanor says, her golden eyes narrowing at the 'Goddess' before them. Then she looks down to Rixia, feels around despite the blood for a place to apply pressure. If she's still alive, Eleanor's healing abilities should help--provided that she's afforded a chance in this battle to use them.
Layna's protection is appreciated in the moment, as is Acacia's anger--everyone here is quick on the draw. However--
"Ida, be careful!" Stella Starmann!? "Who-!?"
Planetside. Ah, so that means...
Eight individual pistols ring out, and Eleanor interposes herself between Rixia and the gun meant for her, rather than dodging; it impacts her dress hard, the bullet flattening against her with a bruising impact instead of sinking through fabric and flesh, thanks to the enchantments of her clothes.
There is plenty of blood, though; it's all over Eleanor's delicate hands, red and cloying and sticky. It makes going for her Crests un-ideal, but she has a few tricks of her own up her sleeves still. "Hang on," she murmurs.
Then, "Tricks and spells won't be enough to hold us at bay for long," Eleanor warns. Her eyes glow golden as she adapts the trick of Crest Sorcery that is most basic to her, passing a free hand over a ring on her finger and enacting a surge of Mystical energy empowered by her sage skills. Golden light washes over the group, empowering and supporting everyone but that woman. Her hair floats as if gravity briefly ceases to apply to her--
And then she's back to tending the wound.
GS: Eleanor Klein spends 1 Combo on Reload! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ruth Pauling with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ashiya Khaimova with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Acacia Saitani with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Juni Vandrer with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Layna Manydays with Mystic Surge! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Layna Manydays accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Burst applied to Layna Manydays! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated! GS: Ruth Pauling accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Blitz applied to Ruth Pauling! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Burst applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated! GS: Ashiya Khaimova accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Burst applied to Ashiya Khaimova! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! and Gleam activated! GS: Acacia Saitani accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Surge applied to Acacia Saitani! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated! GS: Josephine Lovelace accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Hyper applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"A proper Filgaian party, eh?"
Here, Josie's lips quirk into a lopsided smile. There's no true mirth to it, her smile: it is at best an acknowledgement of the remark her current target has gone and made.
"Would've had a better time findin' the like in Guara Bobelo, if that's what you was seekin'!" she calls back, racing for the hedges herself.
...Ida's plan, she notes in passing, as she's overtaken by the younger woman and herself skids to a stop, might have even worked.
Under normal circumstances, that is.
"Hey, now-- that ain't sporting!"
Their dance partner of the moment can outright teleport, it would seem. Small distances -- unless she's playing around that is -- but enough to make this one tricky.
Shouldn't they see to their wounded girl? "Heh. Ain't really my forte, that," she tells Rixia's mystery assailant. "But I imagine I've enough to keep you occupied while Nora--"
Are those all ARMs? How is she doing that?
...Josie would love to learn how to do that.
Rather quickly, both this line of thought and her earlier statement regarding Eleanor are sidelined. Josie first ducks, then leaps forward in a roll as bullets ring out all about her, one scoring a glancing wound across her lower back. "I just bought that jacket," she complains, rising to her feet even as Eleanor's magic swirls and blooms within her. Now, if she were a woman with an eightfold gun, where would she be hiding about in?
At times it's best to let experience and instinct take the wheel. Rounding a hedge and then another, Josie sights her prey. "There-- got you!" she calls out, snapping off another shot.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Grasshopper! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 2 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars takes a solid hit from Ruth Pauling's Scarring Blow for 116 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Disrupt blocked! GS: FP up! Evade bonus and Gleam activated!
GS: Gamble: Moderate! Goddess from the Stars takes a glancing hit from Josephine Lovelace's Grasshopper for 66 hit points! GS: Cripple and Jam applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Juni Vandrer accepts Eleanor Klein's Mystic Surge for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Surge applied to Juni Vandrer! GS: FP up! Eleanor Klein's Reload! activated!
<Pose Tracker> Juni Vandrer has posed.
Her AI chirps, albeit at a level only the other, other, other alien will likely hear. She lifts an eye (The central one) and ducks into cover as the pistol materializes. Catching part of the ricochet, but ignoring it. She resumes her position. "I'm not much of a medic so you get all the attention unfortunately." There's a distracted tone to her voice. With the amount of movement, the chaos. It would almost seem like she were talking to herself. She may very well have been. The mess of it all. She doesn't want to risk hitting any friendlies and when you're talking split second shooting when you've got a split second delay between trigger pull and your linear rifle firing off. She taps her head against her rifle. Clearly toggling something as the AI chirps once more and data begins to filter along the inside of the lens. Filtering up, tracking. The sort of thing she'd normally keep for long range shooting. Truth be told, in her mind she's thinking the carbine might have been more useful, but with her darting around and being clearly.. flashy. Maybe one good shot will be what's needed right?
Either way, the system's spinning up. All fancy and far from her old habits of improvised munitions and gunpowder.
"Never did see the idea in pretending to be some glorious figure from the stars. So much easier to move unseen going mundane and local." Not that she had an easy time here, but hey. That's neither here nor there. "My homeland sends their regards too. We liked a good brawl ourselves!" Shooting here soon. Maybe.
GS: Juni Vandrer has attacked Juni Vandrer with All Systems Nominal! GS: Juni Vandrer has completed her action. GS: Juni Vandrer accepts Juni Vandrer's All Systems Nominal for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify and Lock state applied to Juni Vandrer!
<Pose Tracker> Ashiya Khaimova has posed.
Like any good magical struggle, there's more going on than the clash of glowing fields and the sizzling clouds of sparks that result. It's a battle of wits, equal parts chess match and kickboxing tournament taking place simultaneously on different playing fields. Neutralizing breaks interrupt Ashiya's attempted rewrites of the local rules of physics, but bypassing payloads triggered by the early halt commands turn the mysterious Goddess(?)'s energies back on her--BUT SHE WAS ALSO PREPARING FOR THAT AND PREPARED THE RIGHT COUNTER AHEAD OF TIME AND--
Imagine the sound of a tape being fast-forwarded as we pull back from this microscopic investigation of future-magic combat and resume the showers of ethereal sparks.
"Hey teach," Ashiya has her fangs out with her grin as she's knocked several lengths away, smoke drifting from the sleeves of her jacket. Her symbology tattoos are glowing gold-white, emitting light on some kind of freaky wavelength that burns right through her sleeves. "Gonna have to take that back, sorry," she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm gonna trade it when we get back, buy you a nice vacation. The Feds have this slick resort near Sagittarius A. Heard once you get in there, you never wanna leave."
There's some false bravado, of course, not that she's lacking in any real bravado. Her gaze flits back to where Rixia lies -- she makes the split-second decision: can she help? Will she hinder? What action here has the most significant chance of improving the girl's chance of survival? Her decision-making centre is seven decision-trees in when the Goddess invokes another symbological trick and vanishes, to reappear several feet away.
The decision is helped along for her by the next suite of actions. The otherworldly catgirl takes one step back--at first--then skips and hops the rest of the way to her fallen companion, as the enemy sorceress conjures a whole fire-team's worth of guns. Similarly... the agile hellraiser slaps both hands together and several swords of blue-white flame spin into being around her. The astral-hued blades scythe and shriek through the air into the oncoming fusillade of gunfire... but perhaps more focused on preventing anything that might hit Rixia, more than Ashiya herself. Luckily, her efforts here aren't alone.
Speaking of which, Ashiya holds two fingers to her forehead like a total Ninja, but then curls her pointer finger into her fist and extends her middle finger towards the Goddess. "You still gotta sign my leave form for my trip here, bitch!" and all those spiritual swords spin once, their blades pointed towards this strange lady from off-planet, before charging for her. A return volley, if you will.
(Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, someone help, someone help, someone help, someone save her, someone save her, what the HELL am I DOING--)
Ashiya immediately turns her head to regard Eleanor. Like all things in life, she has no clue of her station relative to this other person's, and likely doesn't care. "If you save that girl's life I swear I will be your damn servant for life so please, PLEASE--!" she pleads wholeheartedly, even as golden force roils over her and suffuses her with magical might.
GS: Ashiya Khaimova has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Waxing Moon Strike! GS: Ashiya Khaimova has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ashiya Khaimova's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Ashiya Khaimova has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia was expecting to get shot - but she wasn't expecting everyone to get shot, and not so suddenly. Just as she's not above staying in the Klein Manor, she's also not above using it as cover from gunfire, and her plan had been to simply drop to a crouched position and use the stone railings to her advantage. But the anger that runs through her as details of the scene become clearer leaves her a little too slow, and her lunge to one side leaves her clipped in the shoulder, hissing in pain.
"Funny how much you can tell about someone when they say 'it's just business'," Acacia growls almost to herself as she finally manages to take in the scene as a whole and identify who exactly it is lying in a pool of their own blood. There's a grimace on her face, and her body is twitching to leap straight off the balcony - but she's not a medic, nor even very good at first aid. Joining everyone else in rushing to her side isn't going to be of any help.
Instead she's used the momentary flash of light for a purpose that is uniquely hers: her camera is in her other hand, the shutter rapid-firing as she ignores how much film she's using in favour of trying to get a clear shot of the assailant. She's halfway through the roll before her mind reminds her that this might be an empty challenge - if this is someone from offworld they simply might not care about being recorded, especially after a stunt like this - but she doesn't know until she tries it.
Besides, she still has some tricks up her sleeve, and the carefree way in which their opponent is taunting them has already given her an idea as to how she can use that to her benefit. She keeps up the assault of photography a little longer than you'd expect from someone who expects to have to fight for her life, tracking the Goddess' dancing evasion. "Hey! Smile for the camera!" she yells, relief edging at the back of her voice as she feels Eleanor's power wash over her--
And the next click of the shutter has power exploding out of the flash bulb, a small cloud of energy bolts suddenly tearing across the intervening space and lighting up the courtyard as they try to corral the figure's movements. Acacia has to immediately grimace in concentration; she hasn't tried this before, and it's more effort than she expected to weave around Ashiya and maintain a coherent chase. That's okay; it's more about trying to harry her as much as possible, if only to buy Rixia some time.
GS: Acacia Saitani has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Boxout! GS: Acacia Saitani has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The sound Rixia's would-be killer makes as she hits the ground is satisfying. Having disarmed her, Ida prepares for a more intense joint lock, when--
'<Warp.>'
She's holding on to nothing. Ida hisses under her breath--Eleanor's right, and she doesn't want to give her a second person to be terrified for. Rather than dart after the woman immediately, Ida hangs back, studies the strange cube patterns. They remind her, first and foremost, of what Azoth does when he's about to summon a weapon...
Her guess is right on the money. Ida blurs to the side, hitting the grass and tumbling through a footpath. The round that should've hit her in the head grazes the side of her cheek, quicksilver and crimson welling up in the wound. "Get her out of here!" Ida shouts, to Layna--she's making an assumption, of course, that their assailant will allow her to do that, given she was draining something vital from Rixia.
'Stella Starman'. 'Planetside'. An invention.
This is a situation that came here from another star, and Ashiya's brave (bravado-infused?) words only confirm that. Ida sucks in a breath, and whips her left arm around behind her back, as if drawing something from a holster that's not there. By now, the sensation of her flesh splitting open--cleanly, bloodlessly--and extruding tendon-tendrils to help eject a stored ARM--is getting more familiar. In a few heartbeats, her left hand is back to normal, and clutching her Devil's Arm. "Gunfight, is it?" Ida growls. "Whatever brought you here, you're going to have plenty of time to explain it." Her lips pull back from her teeth as she aims and fires at the 'Goddess', sending a hail of quicksilver shards at her center of mass. The damage from the shot is fairly light, but any shards that impact burrow in, carrying a debilitating, Malevolent curse.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Burning Quicksilver ! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Ashiya Khaimova's Waxing Moon Strike for 67 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Mighty applied to Ashiya Khaimova! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
GS: Goddess from the Stars suffers a terrible blow from Acacia Saitani's Boxout for 122 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Dispel! Blitz and Hyper removed!
GS: Please react targeting the attack number in
GS: Goddess from the Stars suffers a terrible blow from Ida Everstead-Rey's Burning Quicksilver for 82 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Goddess from the Stars gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!! GS: Shieldbreak applied to Goddess from the Stars!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna's fist meets a practiced defense. Her opponent might wield a gun, but she's no slouch up close, either... She'll have to remember that.
"Just business! Aye, aye... business though it may be, I'm afraid you've made it mine as well!" Layna replies. Others are starting to move in onto the scene, too.
"...Aye, ain't that the truth." Layna mutters as an aside, in agreement to Acacia.
A lot of familiar faces - and one has a name. And, the mysterious assailant(once Stella Starmann) knows her, too.
"You know her? What's her deal?" Layna asks, glancing back at Ashiya before -
The woman warps. And, magically, eight pistols float around her.
"...Damn." Layna curses. She hates that she thinks that's kind of cool - even as she has to brace herself as the pistols unleash a hair of gunfire.
Layna grimaces - but golden light washes over her. She's feeling energized!
"Thanks, lass." She replies with a grateful nod toward Eleanor's way, before listening to Ashiya. ...Some of their connection fits in. But for now...
Layna hauls her right fist back, and the bracer on that wrist ignites. Reciting an incantation she punches forward, sending a miniature tornado rushing toward the Goddess - a tornado that soon erupts into flames, courtesy of the bracer's magic.
At Ida's suggestion, though, Layna shakes her head.
"Too risky. Best not move her right now, aye? Which means... we better finish this quick." She suggests.
The Goddess seems eager to leave. They could just let her, of course - but Layna isn't keen to let her go without a parting gift, not when her motives beyond 'picking up an invention' are unclear.
GS: Layna Manydays spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Searing Tempest! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Layna Manydays's Searing Tempest for 80 hit points! GS: Poison blocked! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Goddess from the Stars has posed.
"Of course not. I'll have to leave a larger impression," the Goddess answers Eleanor, as the Sage of Light works to staunch Rixia's wounds. Her life is rapidly draining, but it is still there -- and her healing reaches out for her soul at the darkest of moments, pulling her out of her journey towards the end...
"Indeed. You are all decorated warriors, heroes of the Odessa campaign and all," she's almost effusive with her praise, though the sneer just seems to coat her words with a faint measure of sarcasm.
"The parties in Celesti are something else, but it's all meaningless without the party-starter here," answers the Goddess, as Josephine snaps off another shot, which whizzes by very close even with her adroit movement. "That's some pretty good lead shooting there!"
Her grin just cracks wide as she stares to Ruth, sniffing for a moment to say, "There it is. That good, classic smell of gunpowder..." But Ruth doesn't answer with gunpowder, instead hurling herself into melee range with a SWEEP that threatens to tear her asunder where she stands.
So she doesn't stand there, twisting a practiced move to get out of dodge -- cuts appearing on her denim pant leg with blood drawn underneath. "Well, I was hoping to make a clean getaway and rid myself of the witnesses, but you're all so on the ball, so that plan's a bust!"
A pause, as she spits to one side, grinning.
"You're straining there, lady. Why don't you take a rest?"
Ashe tells her she has to take that back. "No can do. You made such a wonderful toy, and I've been a good girl all this time, don't you think? I. Want. Dibs." The Goddess snorts as she adds, "Oh, sweet girl. You still think you're getting off this planet anytime soon? You think the Feds want anything to do with this corner of the universe?"
Ashe's summoned several ghostly swords to assist her, which descend down in one fell swoop -- the first of these phantom blades cut, then--
She's not there anymore, warping once more as the circle of blades pierce thin air; it costs her, however, since she's arrived near Acacia and her exploding flashbulb, which once more blasts her with light and energy as she--
She's literally posing for the camera, blowing a kiss before leaping to evade the worst of Acacia's energy bolts. Just gotta be flashy, doesn't she?
"Make sure to get my good side when you write your article."
The Goddess perhaps expects Ida to continue to rush her, skilled as she is as a martial artist; however, she chooses a ranged option instead, her arm transforming to withdraw a stored ARM within her. A whistle. "Nice special effects--" Another barrier comes up as she continues on the move, though the wide cone of the shot makes total evasion impossible. The barrier dulls the impact of the quicksilver shards, but one cuts through, and the curse starts to seep in, and there's a thoughtful 'hmm'.
"Dirty ammunition, hmm? How unheroic, for ARMS!"
It's now Layna's business as well, and, well, the Goddess acknowledges that. But Layna's not to be outdone either, since her Screw Straight-esque punch creates a tornado that threatens to buffet and tear into her, and even catch flame! She's forced to withstand the entire attack, with a freshly laid barrier and a boxer-like guard, the sleeves of her jacket worse for the wear when they dissipate.
"Well well. Now that's a real nice trick."
There's a smirk towards Juni where she can see her, and perhaps even hear the faint noise of her machinery spinning up, and she remarks, "You should try it sometime! Lots of perks for an otherworlder to enjoy. Dramatically transform someone's life in a single night!"
She answers force with kind, as those Eight Pistols dramatically transform into something akin to Laser Cannons in a showman-like feat of nanomachines, ancient technology and Symbology; she snaps her fingers as she shouts, "If you're tired of fireworks, then I've got a light show just for you!"
The Laser Cannons work in tandem, taking advantage of their flight to create blast zones that're simply unfair at times, and patterns that're truly difficult to evade. But every device has its limitation, even as she continues to back away...
Meanwhile, under Eleanor's care, Rixia's body rolls over as the Sage treats her; the wound at her heart seems fatal at first, but upon closer inspection...
There's a thick book there, where she's wedged it underneath her top. The bullet's gored its way through all three hundred-something-odd layers of vellum and its leather cover both, and still drawn a lot of blood; but it's done its job to turn something instantly fatal to just severely wounding.
"Your foresight..." Rixia whispers very quietly, a very weak grin on her face, "... is true, Eleanor."
�
GS: Goddess from the Stars spends 1 Combo on Inspire! GS: Goddess from the Stars has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Shatter the Hourglass! GS: Goddess from the Stars has gained 2 Combo! GS: Goddess from the Stars accepts Goddess from the Stars's Shatter the Hourglass for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz and Hyper applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Goddess from the Stars gains 2 Combo from Inspire!
GS: Goddess from the Stars has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: You have activated the Force Action Full Clip! GS: Goddess from the Stars has activated a Boss Action! GS: You have activated the Boss Action Extend!
GS: Goddess from the Stars spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Layna Manydays with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Acacia Saitani with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ashiya Khaimova with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Juni Vandrer with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Eleanor Klein with Blasting Zone! GS: Blitz! Goddess from the Stars has attacked Ruth Pauling with Blasting Zone!
GS: Goddess from the Stars has completed her action. GS: Juni Vandrer takes a glancing hit from Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 138 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars!
GS: CRITICAL! Ashiya Khaimova suffers a terrible blow from Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 366 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ashiya Khaimova gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Eleanor Klein suffers a terrible blow from Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 262 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Ruth Pauling has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Ruth Pauling solidly guards Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 112 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ruth Pauling gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Acacia Saitani solidly guards Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 217 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Acacia Saitani enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Layna Manydays has activated Force Action: Accelerate! GS: CRITICAL! Layna Manydays takes a glancing hit from Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 160 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Layna Manydays gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey partially guards Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 157 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars!
<Pose Tracker> Ashiya Khaimova has posed.
>> "Oh, sweet girl. You still think you're getting off this planet anytime soon?"
>> "You think the Feds want anything to do with this corner of the universe?"
Fair questions, all.
"Hard to say, maybe I'll take an extended holiday." Ashiya teases back with teeth still clenched. One of her astral swords winks out as an energized bullet smashes right through it. She leans her head in Acacia's direction, shielding her eyes from the camera-flash. "Also, if you could not mention anything about the whole from-another-world thing, that'd be awfully swell of you. . ." she begs in a deadpan tone. Nevermind that some people here have already figured that much out, not mentioning any names, but keeping it out of the newspapers would be a boon. And maybe helpful in a future trial. Gotta think long-term, after all.
Layna also asks a fair question of this blue-skinned pugilist: what, precisely, is That Woman's deal? It's a fair question. Lots of those todays. Ashiya takes a moment's cover behind a big marble statue in the garden. Are there marble statues in the garden? There are now. Maybe this one doesn't belong. Eleanor can always bulldoze it later. It's her demense, after all. "Oh, me? I, uh..." a bullet pings off of the statue's head, flinging chips of stone into the distance. "She used to be my boss. Then she stole something and blamed me. Now we're here."
It's ... not that much of an explanation, but there's not a word of a lie in there.
"She's got a lot of magic and tech on her. I'd stay clear if I were you," Ashiya adds afterwards. Tch, always assuming Spaceman Stuff is better than the local flavor. How arrogant!
The time for talk has ended, however, as That Woman elevates her flagrant Tech Threat Level (yes, these are all proper nouns, I'm sure) with her summoned weapons unfurling like nanomechanical flowers into beam cannons. Ashiya mutters under her breath and begins her egress from her hiding place mere moments too late. The blast wave from the explosion where she once stood travels further and quicker than she does, and there are no witty comebacks in store as the wind is knocked out of her. Maybe there's a comical quality to the way she sails merrily overhead above Eleanor and Rixia, finally coming to an arrested halt as she lawndarts into the grass. Thunk.
Direct hit!! You've still got it, Boss!
GS: Ashiya Khaimova has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
'You're straining there, lady. Why don't you take a rest?'
The need for oxygen, and for her body to register what damage she just put herself through, might even make the invitation 'Goddess from the Stars' almost sound like something from a direction of compassion entirely contrary to everything else the rude visitor to this world has said and done so far.
"...No matter the sin or virtuous deed," Ruth's head lowers as the blade of her rifle starts to sink into the garden, to some flowers the exact shade of purple that someone's blood is (and also was, as some are now aware of), "I can't stop."
The light show comes live, and Ruth's one of the ones positioned as such that the fire from the Laser Cannons obscures her almost immediately. To the sense of sight, blinding light. To sound, a horrid humming. To temperature, white-hot heat. To any and all sense and logic to one from another world, it should be more than enough to simply erase an underdeveloped denizen without adequate protection on the spot.
Until those spiritually sensitive can pick up on despair, and hollow prisms of light from the searing light warping around the grotesque shape of a single-winged gargoyle whose features slowly fade in through the blast zones, wing sweeping outward to deflect a significant portion of it back as Ruth's Domain flares out.
"Sssso I won't ssstop!" A screeching hiss, her coherent language fleeting even as trailing flames swirl around her from the cannons' blasts. She rises, but does not hurtle herself anew. Even sheer will born from contradiction is hard-pressed to overcome thousands of years of refined reason into peerless weaponry, but the rain that starts to fall around her is its own promise and shield to those who would have a place for the likes of her.
Her breath is labored from the strain of withstanding all of that physically, and emotionally knowing what was already entrusted to her by another.
"If what it takesss isss to ssscare and bleed another world to get you to ssstop," bitter laughter, big words, but - thanks to her self-care at Azado - a renewed grasp on holding herself together - harnessing the despair of never having been anyone but someone who hurts and scares others if that's what it takes to save Rixia from this Goddess from the Stars and everyone else like her.
GS: Ruth Pauling has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Blitz! Ruth Pauling has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Inconsolable Heavens! GS: Ruth Pauling enters a Counter stance! GS: Ruth Pauling has gained 2 Combo! GS: Ruth Pauling has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Goddess from the Stars suffers a terrible blow from Ruth Pauling's Inconsolable Heavens for 214 hit points! GS: Cover applied to Ruth Pauling! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor is a healer; this is something she's practiced in, at least. Proper Filgaian party or not, she keeps her focus. A glance to Juni, as she mentions what's useful for her, and then to Ashiya--
"That won't be necessary," Eleanor says, perhaps surprisingly calm given that she looks like any other noblewoman for the moment. "I'll do my best regardless."
And her best is... good.
She agrees with Acacia and this talk of business, though. And the others... Layna's right. It's too risky to move Rixia right now.
She glares at the 'Goddess', who as far as she can tell has some sort of greed at her heart in this matter--the way she and she are talking...
Eleanor can't, as it happens, evade the blasts; she tries to deflect some of it with counteroffensives, but mostly jut ends up soaking it, her form steaming in places from the heat against her talismans. "Gh--"
But Rixia turns, and....
Eleanor doesn't smile; she's better at opsec than that. But she meets Rixia's eyes for the barest moment. That's enough. She can see she can get her through this.
But it means she has enough wiggle room to pull a Crest, red smearing on glossy gold--she can clean it later. This one is Geo and Muse, a powerful Crest infused with the Light Eleanor brings to bear. She takes it between two fingers like a playing card and lifts it up.
"O starry heavens, reverse your flow and send vitality where it was once lost! Anamnesis!"
Time magic surges outward, and in some cases wounds may well seal back up as if they were never inflicted in the first place. For Ashe, who flew over them; for Ruth, who...
"Ruth!" she calls. "be careful!"
There are in fact a few nice marble statues! ...They might need replacing after this. It's fine. They're probably not priceless.
The real attraction is the garden.
"Now, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ruth Pauling with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ashiya Khaimova with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Layna Manydays with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Eleanor Klein with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Acacia Saitani with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Juni Vandrer with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Anamnesis! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 3 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Ruth Pauling! She gains 172 temporary hit points! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Ida Everstead-Rey! She gains 172 temporary hit points! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Layna Manydays! She gains 156 temporary hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Goddess from the Stars's Blasting Zone for 325 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: FP up! Evade bonus activated! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Eleanor Klein! She gains 187 temporary hit points! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Josephine Lovelace! She gains 207 temporary hit points!
GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Ashiya Khaimova! She gains 173 temporary hit points! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Ashiya Khaimova receives 100 temporary hit points. GS: Ashiya Khaimova enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Juni Vandrer! She gains 213 temporary hit points! GS: Juni Vandrer enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Gamble! Eleanor Klein heals Acacia Saitani! She gains 177 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Juni Vandrer has posed.
A quick glance to Ashiya and Juni calls out, "That's cute that you think she's going to make it all the way home in anything other than a box." Seems she's not particularly thrilled with someone trying to rope locals into a problem when they've got enough problems. There's probably some hypocrisy in there and she's aware of it. Like any soldier she's got a myriad of excuses, but being trapped has made her a bit protective. Really though, that presentation of a mirror of her own actions, however different their methods are fuel into the harsher reaction.
Really though, at the moment, hse's got one eye on the scope, one eye on her target and her AI buddy is keeping an eye on Eleanor as she tries to stabalize Rixia. Occasionally giving status updates on both. Ready if the alien woman would try to go after her at this point.
Really though, there's a reminder that she should really brush up on alien anatomy and help and.. so many of the locals have better healing though. Sure tech would be nice, but that's long gone. Sure she has some basic first aid skills, but as her scars show, they're inferior to the magic and options available. Something for later maybe.
"Never bothered. If you want to flip the locals there are better options that won't get you tied at the stake and lit on fire." She once again rolls out of the way. Though when she resumes her position, grunting as she catches a solid chunk of it this time. The follow up though, she's got the 'Goddess' lined up far faster. her system tracking just about everything at this point.
"Smile bright." She says flatly as she pulls the trigger on the 'Goddess from the Stars'. The tone in her voice is nothing, but contempt at even the mental recitation of that name.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Says the woman who shot someone in broad daylight." Ida's lips twist in an ugly sneer.
'Too risky. Best not move her right now, aye?'
The heiress lets out a huff of breath, and glances back as Eleanor's sorcery washes through the garden--some of it clings to Rixia, which means... she's still alive. For now. Do they dare risk getting her to safety, or...?
Ida's eyes dart skyward to see the pistols transform. Shit, she thinks.
Rather than dodging through the pattern of saturation fire, she stands her ground. She raises her arms, and pinkish quicksilver pours down them, hardening into gold-and-blue exoskeleton. Shield-like plates snap out from her forearms, soaking the first round of blasts, then the second. The third blows through the right shield, trailing a blackened, bleeding line down Ida's arm. The fourth slams into her left shoulder. Ida grits her teeth, and fights through the pain.
There's a sudden, whole-body surge of that same silvery fluid. Eleanor's sorcery hits Ida about halfway through, and the blackened bits repair themselves halfway. Her shoulder is no longer metaphorically on fire. "I'll say it again, since you clearly didn't understand." Ida sets her foot with a mighty STOMP that shakes petals from a nearby azalea blush.
"You're outmatched." This may not be true. It might be pure bravado. But Ida and her colleagues have faced down horrors from hell, and villains from Filgaia's past. "STAND DOWN!" Her anger is like the controlled twist of a gas nozzle, feeding more fuel to the flame. It is a sharp contrast to Ruth's unshackled, terrifying violence, but... they've been that way for a long while, haven't they?
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Third Method - Shaping the Battle-Forged Shell! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 6 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Ida Everstead-Rey's Third Method - Shaping the Battle-Forged Shell for 0 hit points! GS: Shield applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: Cover applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: Juni Vandrer has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Juni Vandrer has attacked Goddess from the Stars with End of the Line! GS: Juni Vandrer has gained 1 Combo! GS: Juni Vandrer has completed her action. GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Juni Vandrer's End of the Line for 120 hit points! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia's shots go wide - which were kind of the idea in the first place, admittedly, the attack meant more to lead her opponent around and restrict her movement rather than actually hit her. The reporter still clicks her tongue to herself when she can't land a solid enough hit to really prevent their opponent's grandstanding, and eloquently replies to the ensuing taunt by simply lifting up a middle finger as she shoves the camera back in her jacket pocket. Childish, perhaps, but her nerves are frayed enough that feels kind of nice to just devolve into that childishness for a moment.
If she gets anything out of it, it's the information that the offworlder dripfeeds to them. It quickly becomes clear that she's been on this planet observing them for more than a superficial amount of time - the reference to ARMS and their deeds, her knowledge of Acacia's newspaper, the recognition of Eleanor's title. It isn't information that she can do anything with long-term, let alone right in this moment, but Acacia still catalogues it away for later.
"Don't worry, I've got this weird thing called journalistic integrity. You wanna know how long it took me to write about Spira? My old bosses would have strangled me for sitting on it so long--" she starts to say back to Ashiya together with a humourless smirk towards Layna's agreeing to her comment - but the reporter cuts herself short as she catches the shift in the orbit of those eight pistols as their forms twist and expand.
"--shit--" she blurts as she dives aside, but the weathered stone of the balcony can't fully compete with the sweeping beam of an enormous blast, not least because the balcony has a railing and a railing is essentially a collection of holes and maybe Acacia did not fully think through this master plan. She's thrown back against the wall by the impacts of the shots, and it's only pure luck that means she's between two windows at the exact moment she gets flung back. The stone hitting her back hurts, but it's a lot better than shards of glass.
"Okay, screw you then," she growls under her breath as she forces her legs to haul herself back up. When she rises above the line of the balcony it's with a dangerous glint in her eyes and the almost comical sight of one hand making a gun with her thumb and index finger, the other bracing it in place as she sights down the self-styled Goddess. Her teeth grit, and in the blink of an eye a tracing line of light connects her and the offworlder - which flickers, and then explodes outwards.
GS: Acacia Saitani has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Acacia Saitani spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Acacia Saitani has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Mightier than the Sword! GS: Acacia Saitani has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna asks a question, and she gets an answer. She was Ashiya's boss once, before stealing something and blaming her(also, she has a lot of tech and magic). There's... a lot left unsaid there. But this is hardly the time or place to worry about that.
"...Aye, well... I know a thing or two about tussling with former bosses. Condolences." Layna replies with a nod.
...And, this Goddess from the Stars seems to know a thing or two about them. She's really done her research.
"I've got a lot more where that came from. Just keep watchin', aye?" Layna replies with a smirk, as the Goddess comments on her trick.
The Goddess, too, has a neat trick, as the pistols reconfigure themselves into laser cannons. Layna raises an eyebrow - and then, immediately realises the danger she's in. They're difficult to evade - Layna dives out of the way, and if she was a second slower, she would've been caught right in the blasting zone. Even as it is she's blown clear, rolling across the lawn before using the momentum to leap to her feet. She's a little unsteady - but Eleanor's magic winds back her injuries. She stands a little straighter, rolling her neck. She might have to thank her later - she would've been real sore for days after, otherwise.
...'Might', because depending on how the rest of this goes, she might end up sore anyway. This Goddess is no joke, to keep such a light tone even when so heavily outnumbered.
"Well now... let's see how you like it when you're the one who gets stolen from, aye?" Layna says. With a gust of wind boosting her forward, she moves to close the distance between herself and the Goddess, lashing out with a swiping motion - to steal away her strength and add it to her own reserves.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Plunder Power! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Goddess from the Stars has posed.
"That'd be making your life simpler, and besides, I'm no cop," smirks the Goddess to Ashiya, on the topic of not mentioning that they're from another world. Nevermind that a lot of people have figured it out, yes. Perhaps Acacia can do a media blackout? She's shady enough, right?
The air changes, though, and despair sinks in. The single-winged gargoyle rises, the silhouette of her figure fading in through the bursts of light as her Domain flares out.
"Be sure to show me a good time, Hellion...!" shouts someone who clearly has been anticipating more from Ruth, and Ruth does not disappoint, rain falling about her and forcing her back as Ruth rises and deflects a portion of that light back onto her, forcing a rather difficult evasion that cuts through her sides.
Eleanor doesn't betray that Rixia's still alive, but Rixia herself realises that she's putting Eleanor in a difficult position; still, she is the Sage of Light, and a very capable member of ARMS ontop of that -- and she chants the spell of Anamnesis, and Rixia -- so intuitively attuned to time magic -- can feel it surging and weaving about her body.
"Hopefully there's nothing irreplaceable in this garden!"
Juni's shot is finally lined up -- and there's a low whirr as the bullet seems to cut through everything -- and the Goddess isn't in position to evade it. There's a daredevil smirk as she throws her hand forward, catching the bullet in a barrier -- it keeps driving forward -- and then threatens to rip through her hand, slashing across her palm instead in a last minute deflection.
"That's me. I'm smiling bright, all the time~!"
Ida points out that she, too, is unheroic, shooting someone in broad daylight. "I've no obligation to be a hero! I'm your stock villainess character, in the flesh!" she cackles, witnessing further as Ida further transforms, her flesh hardening into exoskeleton. Like Ruth, this seems to excite her further.
Ida makes known her position with a shattering STOMP that threatens to rattle earth and commands attention. This would deter lesser villains, but...
"A consummate villainess like me thrives when they're outmatched. Don't you know...?"
The Goddess doesn't seem too interested in Acacia's Spiran piece, but there's an amused smirk on her face as Acacia forms a fingergun and tears away at her with her reigun (so to speak), which socks her straight through and sends her crashing through a hedge with a grin and a gurgle both.
"It's so boring when you don't even bring a real gun to a gunfight!"
Layna gives pursuit, the winds at her back as she chases after her just as she rises -- and with a swiping motion, some of that power of hers is stolen, her limbs weakening and the regulatory flow of magic disrupted. "A particularly clever transfer of power, I must say! But that won't be enough!"
Meanwhile, Rixia watches how the Cannons overwhelm Ashiya, however, landing near them, and it spurs her into... not quick action, but she does look to Eleanor to say, "Thank you... for protecting me." Then she rises, even though she looks as if she has heard four knocks from Ruth, bloodstained and unsteady.
"You're still up?" questions the Goddess. "Truly befitting my Chosen One. But I'm afraid your role is over. Rest now."
'Stella Starmann', the Goddess of the Stars, international woman of mystery, fires once -- the fateful bullet racing across the gardens, cutting through an errant flying leaf as it seeks Rixia's heart a second time.
It never touches her.
The last vestiges of Malevolence that Rixia needs... is right here. In the smallest traces in Ida's quicksilver shards. In the vast wellspring that is Ruth's active Domain.
The bullet hovers, suspended in midair, a mere inch before the foxgirl's chest -- and she reaches forward to hold onto the metallic sphere...
"... Ruth ... I need to let myself out now."
... and crush it with her fingers.
In that instant, an EXPLOSION of light overtakes the Klein Gardens--
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Suit yourself," Josie says with a lopsided shrug; she had furrowed her brow briefly at the mention of 'heroes of the Odessa campaign'. Odd 'praise', especially for the likes of her.
"Tryin' to butter me up, are you? ...I ain't got anything kind to say to them what gets their jollies shootin' little girls. You had this one planned, right? That business," and here Josie jerks her head towards the belltower, "with the bell."
It would have even have gone unnoticed by her if she hadn't been so close. If she weren't well-acquainted with the sound of an ARM.
Josie is a lady of decidedly loose morals (...if not in the usual way that turn of phrase is applied, thank you very much) but if there's something she can't abide, it's this.
There'd been a lot of blood.
"Ain't you a piece of work," she tells the woman as she goes on, trading barbs with her... former employee, there?
"Another one from the heavens? Heh... pretendin' to be a goddess and all, just 'cause you came from the stars," Josie remarks, ejecting empty shell casings as she ducks behind a tree to reload.
Hopefully the Kleins don't mind the bill for the plants. Some of those hedges and trees are never going to be the same again.
Ducking out from behind her cover, she realizes too late the full weight of what Ashe had been trying to war them about. "Holy Hell--"
There are lasers. There are very many of them. And there's not anywhere for her to go except, well, 'into the light'.
Josie slowly works to right herself from where she's landed in the aftermath, having been blasted a good distance across the garden plaza. "Damn, damn, damn--" She's hurt, she can tell that much. And there's that miracle of metalwork of hers, a good distance away.
Fortunately, Eleanor has their collective back.
And Josie has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. "O, thou--"
Usually, she barely bothers with the incantation. But she ought to make this one count. Electrical charge coils down the length of her good arm, converging into a sparking javelin in her grasp. "LIGHTNING!" Josie roars, hurling it for their mystery lady with the lasers, hurtling herself for her fallen ARM in her spell's wake.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Goddess from the Stars with Bolt Lance! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
GS: Goddess from the Stars solidly guards Acacia Saitani's Mightier than the Sword for 95 hit points! GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!! GS: FP up! Guard bonus and Gleam activated!
GS: Goddess from the Stars takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Plunder Power for 0 hit points! GS: Weaken applied to Goddess from the Stars! GS: Mighty applied to Layna Manydays! GS: FP up! Guard bonus and Gleam activated!
GS: Goddess from the Stars suffers a terrible blow from Josephine Lovelace's Bolt Lance for 175 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Goddess from the Stars has posed.
"A planned murder? My, you're giving me too much credit. If it were truly planned, I'd have added at least one locked-room mystery--!" the Goddess calls to Josie, though she looks rightly surprised to see Josephine go through the light and land through, summoning a spear of lightning in her grasp to throw towards her. It pierces her on the side and sends her further backwards, with a grimace and a grin both.
<Pose Tracker> Goddess from the Stars has posed.
There is all-encompassing Light, washing every shadow out.
Where Ruth's Domain heralded in Despair...
There is Stillness).
There is Stillness in that Light; no rustle of any petal upon the flowers, no movement of the bees and bugs that rest upon them, no rustling in the hedges and arrangements that adorn the garden. Everything... is at a standstill.
Then there is Malevolence.
The Light does not so much subside as cling onto every surface and detail it finds; the result is unsettling as it is disorienting, as if the world is seen as a film negative. An errant leaf is mid-fall, suspended; every particle of gunpowder discharged from the ARMs. Every discharge of Ether and Crest Magic. Every speck of dust and debris kicked up. Even the individual little raindrops from Ruth's Domain, and somehow, even Despair has been stilled in place.
The Time within this Garden has stopped, save for everyone -- the effects of a newly birthed Hellion's Domain.
And within the centre of that stopped Time, that Domain...
There is a creature of Malevolence there, wearing the image of Rixia. A pair of sweeping horns grow from the sides of her head, and two more closer to the back of her cranium. Light-aspected scales continue where those horns stop, erratically covering patches of her body.
Where Rixia had hands and feet, hers end in long, sharp purplish-black-tinged claws instead, extending to where black lion-like fur covers her forearms and shins. The same purple marks streak onto her cheeks, and her eyes possess an unsettling black sclera. A long, thin tail lashes out from her back, and leathery wings shoot to either side of her.
This is not a lion.
This is at best a maybe-lion, a chimaera, an ecclectic collection of creatures affixed onto the guise of a Beastfolk girl.
But also, maybe... maybe...
Maybe she's...
"... a Hellion," the Goddess concludes with a smirk, lowering her arm from where she's covered them in the burst of light. "My Chosen One has fallen into darkness. The Goddess is disappointed--"
"You have something of mine," the Hellion speaks quietly, and then whispers: "Sleeping Lion Override ATTX 11367 b3, User Code -- G R I E V I E."
The Goddess' body convulses for a moment, and those spheres of magic suddenly violently shred out of her body and back towards the Hellion's. The Laser Cannons are gone in an instant, nanomachines transferred from one body to another. She breathes sharply for a moment, then shakes her head.
"Well, look at that. A simpleton like you figured that function out," she sounds impressed for a moment, though irritated nonetheless. "Fortunately, I never rely on only one trick!!"
She throws a half-dozen good old-fashioned smoke bombs onto the Garden, laughing all the while as she flits to-and-fro, still enhanced with her own magic, to the sides of the garden, down the streets, disappearing into a Guild Galadian car and rushing off at high speeds. ... it's okay, a strange man dressed like a bandit with an interest in outworlders is likely giving pursuit right about now with his hot air sack. Probably.
DC: You switch forms to No matter how hard you try to hold onto it...! DC: Rixia switches forms to No matter how hard you try to hold onto it...!
DC: You switch forms to Time will not wait... it escapes you. And...! DC: Rixia switches forms to Time will not wait... it escapes you. And...!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Stillness overtakes.
Within that space, Ruth becomes very much like a statue. She has only fractions of a second to heed Rixia's spoken need to let herself out, jaw slackening open while processing the further trust and kindness of the Sage of Light despite... not being that careful about the decor.
This is a subtle sign. To Rixia's emergent form, Ruth may yet be proportionally larger in the physical sense.
In the spiritual sense... what is being seen speaks for itself. Every raindrop, every wisp of foggy miasma, held in place as Rixia's time-stopping Domain seems to simply freeze the lesser Hellion in place with the environment, for a spell.
Ruth is not a weak Hellion.
The gargoyle-shaped Hellion wrests back movement little by little, even as smoke bombs go off around them. Her senses transcend sight, at her worst, beholding who it is Rixia has chosen to become. She who withstood the presence of an era-defining Lord of Calamity, and further absorbed the Malevolence of a father figure that seemed to spurn her, driven by the cruelty of the world upon her - and what was asked of her in turn...
"Rixia," Ruth can muster no more, other than assert she still sees her as Rixia as even the feeling of blood going through her becomes weirdly foreign and uncomfortable in a brief moment of stasis.
GS: Ruth Pauling has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
It was planned. It was intentional. THe whole thing--using Rixia, then shooting her. It's enough to make ELeanor very angry, though she dosen't show it in the same way another might. The young elf instead focuses on her healing for the moment, channeling her power into bringing the others back, into keeping them in the fight. Because Josie is right. Shooting young girls...
"There's plenty irreplaceable in this garden," Eleanor assures the Goddess. "Like the people in it!"
A 'good time'. It disgusts ELeanor, frankly. Talk of boring, of good times. But quickly, there is an altogether different feling at heart. "Rixia," Eleanor starts, and then--
To let herself out.
Time stops, and the all-encompassing Light surges forward. From within Eleanor, a different, opposing Light surges, an aura around her immediately shining there golden and brilliant to protect her from the Domain so close to her. The Malevolence comes, and Eleanor has no power to dispel it, only to protect herself.
"Rixia!" Eleanor calls in dismay.
Stella makes her way out, Eleanor coughing from the smoke. "Rixia, I--"
This much Malevolence, this close, Eleanor feels dizzy. It exploded right by her, and while she is safe from turning... The exhaustion catches up.
"Don't...."
tThe Sage tumbles over, already seated on the ground making it a short trip to fall unconscious nearby.
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
"I don't care about your expectations of what a gunfight should be," Acacia notes grimly. One hand grips the railing as she watches the Goddess roll backwards, her eyes narrowed tightly; ready to press the attack, but not particularly willing to if she doesn't have to. "Bravado doesn't mean a damn thing when you're dead. Here on this planet, we learnt to fight elbow, tooth and nail if we have to."
That's all she can say before the single snapshot rings out, and there's a gravity and weight to the crack of sound that makes her stop dead in her tracks.
She is a reporter; she wouldn't be in this line of work if she couldn't develop a sense for the flow of events, and the importance of the bullet winging its way across the courtyard and towards Rixia is not lost on her in the split second she has to watch it go by. It's a terrifying certainty cast in metal.
Then it stops dead, and Rixia plucks it out of the air.
She is a reporter; she wouldn't be in this line of work if she couldn't develop a sense for the flow of events, and the importance of the bullet winging its way across the courtyard and towards Rixia is not lost on her in the split second she has to watch it go by. It's a terrifying certainty cast in metal except physics just decided to go home and take a nap.
"Oh, hell--" are the only two words she manages to get out, combining her intuitive sense of when something is wrong with her sheer ability to stick her own foot in her mouth. It might only be two words, but it maximizes how much she's going to regret them later. Then she is overtaken by light and the creeping feeling of Malevolence; she expects chaos and fear and confusion, but what she gets instead is an odd sort of stasis.
It's possibly even more disorienting than she would have expected, and the feel of it makes her respond in kind. Not sure how else to react, she freezes in place, taking in whatever it is that Rixia has now become. She hardly dares to breathe in case it somehow upsets some sort of delicate balance and pushes everything over a tipping point.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida feels paired, contradictory impulses of her own--rage at the Goddess for treating this like a gella novella when Rixia's bleeding on the ground, and... some admiration for her willingness to commit all to the role. But then she remembers this is another crime that came here from out there, and the needle tilts back to rage again. Someone from the stars, using and lying their way through this world...
"Yes, a consummate villainess. A perfect foil for a group of /backwater--"
Ida's head whips towards Rixia as she rises. "GET--!"
That's all she gets out before Stella fires. Then things...
start...
going...
wrong.
"Ghhk," Ida chokes out, as time comes to a standstill for a moment. She recognizes what's happening, in that instant; this is a newborn Domain, Rixia's Domain. She crosses armored arms in front of her. Her will focuses, and a bright, pure flame erupts from her, a sphere of mystical fire that consumes only Malevolence. Clean smoke, scented lightly with burnt wood and incense, rises from the perimeter of her own defensive shell, which starts to gradually expand, forming a barrier to keep the Malevolence from seeping deeper into the Klein estate.
"Layna!"
But Ida can't keep it all contained on her own. She can tell right away that Rixia is... like she was, at first. New to this state of being, but with the potential to grow fearsome. And Rixia has the cathartic rush of release on top of that.
<Pose Tracker> Ashiya Khaimova has posed.
Ashiya's climb back to standing upright is difficult enough to make after being blown through the air by a talkative villainess's directed-energy weapon system, let alone the delay imparted by the sudden freezing of time. In short, the Fellpool girl's early removal from the fight takes longer to come back from than most. As time's flow resumes, she's up on her hands and knees at first. Her vision swims, but the spiritually sensitive don't need eyes to see the scope of how something marvelously Wrong has taken root.
By the time the spirited spacefarer is able to tug herself back onto her feet, thanks to a handy bird bath that hasn't been blown away yet, the air is thick with smoke and Ashiya's tormentor is nowhere to be seen. She covers her mouth with a hand and wanders forth, waiting for the world to cease that annoying spinning feeling.
She can see a silhouette that looks somewhat like Rixia's through the haze, trying to waft it away with her other hand as she walks. "Rixia, are you back up? Did you get heal...ed...?" her questions circles the drain and then disappears, upon drawing near enough to spot the difference.
Alas! A newcomer with no knowledge of the mechanics behind Malevolence and the Hellion transformation phenomenons can't hope to diagnose this one too quickly.
"Did--the weapon malfunction? It's changed you... this is bad."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie gets a moment's satisfaction. She might have gotten a moment more, in a kinder universe, once she reclaims her fallen ARM.
But, alas, this universe can be quite unkind.
"--Shit!" Josie utters as the woman from the stars takes that shot, the shot that flies past her, flies towards where the wounded girl has begun to come around. "NORA--"
A barrier. A magic shield. That's what they need, right now.
It doesn't happen.
It isn't necessary.
"What in the-- shit, what are you...!?"
Josie's father was a powerful archmagus. And she is no stranger to Malevolence's grasp, rising up to close its talons about them all. That girl-- that girl has become--
Time slows.
Stops.
Driven to a knee by the spiritual force, it's all that Josie can do but watch as this plays out. As the girl, whole and hale, rises up. As she takes what is hers. As that woman is driven away.
"Shit. Shit, shit!" Josie utters, letting her ARM fall from her grasp. With her free hand, she pounds the paving stones of the garden, once.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
A lot happens... and though they keep her occupied for a time, the Goddess's weapon soon turns on Rixia again. Layna notices it a second too late.
"No!" She calls out. It's too late. The bullet is fired.
But it never hits the mark.
The bullet is crushed, and light consumes the gardens. And when it clears... it's as if the world has been engulfed in stillness. Around them, nothing moves. And, Rixia...
Layna grits her teeth. This is her Domain. Rixia steals her power back, and the Goddess flees.
"...Right." Layna calls back, as Ida calls to her. She draws on her powers of purification, swirling waters joining the flames in an attempt to keep the Domain from growing out of control. It's taking all her effort to do this and remain standing, but there's still one last thing she can do.
"Rixia, lass! Are you alright?" Layna calls out, through strained teeth.
<Pose Tracker> Juni Vandrer has posed.
Juni's a pragmatist. The gun's still winding up, preparing another shot. One that most definitely would have gone wide and she avoids pulling the trigger for fear of both a miss and severe overpen even at limited charge. She may have leaned into the discharge to get the most bang for her buck, so to speak. She smacks the side of the rifle instead to eject something. Realizing too late the thing was bone dry. Another concern for later. Catching it in a gloved hand and setting it down nearby. Slotting a replacement in from the webbing she's wearing. The goddess is gone though. And there's a new problem.
The AI in her system is throwing multiple alerts, confused signals, requests to reboot and a myriad of other things. All ignored.
The fugitive's tagged in Juni's system, myriad of errors aside. She'll do something with the information later. Keeping an eye out for her. Maybe just.. going hunting.
The bigger concern is the newly minted monster and peoplein the so called splash zone. Once a girl caught up in something wildly over her head.
There's some additional guilt there. Nothing she's talked about outright, but some of her earlier commentary and even previous attempts to appeal to anything, but nihilism might hint at it. "Just leave." She mutters to no one in particular, technically.
As the malevolence drifts towards the manor though and puts her at risk, maybe. She reaches instinctually for her filter mask. Pulling it from the webbing and sliding it over her face one handed. A practiced action. A tilt of her head, tightening it, another tilt, another tighten and she's back on sight.
Quiet as it is. Muffled. Turned mechanical by the mask's filters and equipment, she appears to be offering something of a prayer for the girl. Former girl?
The rifle is slowly brought back to bear. Lined up on the Hellion. Ignoring the strangeness of everything. Determined to protect at least Eleanor as she goes down, though Ashiya was given consideration and then a quick snap of her rifle upward, "CAREFUL." She calls out, voice distorted. Before setting the rifle down and hopping the window. Determined to just pull people at this point if it comes down to it. Or maybe she can do.. something.
As she's out the window, tail hooked to break her fall she has a grim thought that she's going to get tuck in the air too and this was a bad call.
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia was a largely animated figure; she balked and complained loudly, she ate loudly and vigorously, she was excited about little things like red velvet cake and comfortable shoes and warm fresh bedsheets and sitting down to let the majesty of Klein's Gardens overtake her and had heart to hearts with Ruth and Ashe and Eleanor and Magilou and other people near and dear to her; she didn't hold her tears back when her father left her, she didn't bottle her frustrations in when she fought a noblewoman and got arrested for it; she was needy and impulsive, which was how she latched onto Alwaid as her father figure, and Magilou as her mentor over parfaits.
We're speaking of her in the past tense now.
By contrast...
This Hellion is sedate.
She looks as if under the influence of a powerful anaesthetic, barely clinging onto wakefulness.
But there's deliberation in the way she looks and takes in the scene around her. As she feels Ruth's very presence, and her Domain, against her own, as if she never quite realised what that interaction felt like. She looks up to her, as she calls a foxgirl's name.
Rixia...
The Hellion looks as Eleanor calls, in her dismay, coughing and overwhelmed by the sudden explosion of Malevolence. She was sensitive to it. She didn't... even realise. All this time, as Malevolence built up within her, she never rejected her from Klein Manor. Even now, when she protected her -- even warned her of her death -- all she could do was...
"Eleanor..."
It seems hard for her to be worked up, even though the distress and shock is evident in her eyes. She hears Josephine's cursing, and steps away from the fallen Eleanor, to allow people to have space to rescue her. But it's also symbolic, a step backwards out of fear. A scorning of the hand of help that's been offered...
"Please help her."
The Hellion doesn't miss the reactions that people have, because Malevolence isn't something to take lightly. Acacia's disorientation and difference in expectation; the uncertainty in the stillness of it all. Josephine's disbelief, at what she's become. Ida's cut cry, and-- the way her sphere of fire, Moor Gault's fire, burns away that Malevolence. The way swirling waters that cut through the Domain manifest from her. There's an instinctive fear in her at that; the fear that what she feels, deep inside, might be taken away from her.
That's right. Ida is a Seer. And so is Layna, under the auspices of Lanval and Schturdark.
...
Are they now her enemy? Is this her fate? The path that people don't take lightly, as Ruth puts it.
Ashe walks through the smoke, and witnesses it all with confusion in her face. She hears that name again. "... no," the Hellion answers. "No, the Sleeping Lion didn't do this to me. But I did take it back."
"I thought I would feel... some kind of release, when I let myself out." Rixia didn't know the word 'catharsis'. It's not in her vocabulary. It's not in the Hellion's, either.
Her voice sounds faintly clammy, as if mildly muffled as if someone with a cold. She withdraws into herself, draping her claws around her upper arms in a self-hug.
"... but I don't feel any ... satisfaction. I don't feel any new insights."
... that's right. She can't learn anything new, because she (at least, in her mind) has already learnt everything there is to know. The enormous contradiction that she carries within her, not just her own, but that of her father's, of Ruth's, and everyone else along the way...
The contradiction of wanting to protect oneself from the uncaring whims of the world...
... and still needing, still craving, still desiring, interaction with the world.
That's right... her presence puts others at risk, because of her Domain. The way Malevolence spreads from her, like a taint. Juni exits her perch, rifle still trained upon her, as she tries to pull people away from the proverbial fire.
What is she? Josie asks.
"... I'm a hellion," she answers, as if the truth wasn't already evident. As if there's nothing more, and nothing less.
Layna calls for that girl's name, too. If she's all right. The Hellion lowers her head for a moment. "... I'm fine. But you and Ida should purify this Garden. Eleanor doesn't deserve this."
The hellion casts one look back towards those gathered, and then turns, spreading her wings to fly into the distance; her Domain contorts with her, and slowly but surely, Time starts to resume around the Garden, though the touch of Malevolence remains. It won't be difficult to purify a space of this size, with time.
As she flies away, words Ruth spoke to her float to the fore of the hellion's mind.
That no matter what she becomes, she'll still be Rixia.
Rixia...
That name sounds so foreign to her now. But...
...
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth remembers the first time she truly encountered a Domain far stronger than hers - a sensation she simply wasn't aware of on virtue (...sort of) of having been the apex predator of her Malevolence ecosystem out in Zoara. A fact that might still be true today. How difficult it was to really keep herself lucid and aware when the vast quantity of it emboldens the worst of oneself. It may speak of her strength of will that her shape has barely changed at all for all she's taken in by proxy since.
Her posture tenses as she holds herself from giving into the despair that she would be expected, demanded, to bring harm to a scared young woman who has hit a few too many similar notes to herself. To watch as Rixia immediately hits the crash following a high - a period of time Ruth has come to understand is critical - and how she immediately removes herself from the world, from everyone.
An urge among several Ruth fights, as the gargoyle-like Hellion's glowing gaze follows the flying Rixia.
"I'm going to follow her." Ruth can't fly. She only has the wing. She doesn't look anyone in the eyes, turning her back as the rain picks up again. She disappears in a burst of mysterious fog, as she sometimes does, removing the presence of two powerful Hellions from a garden now befouled by despair and stillness alike.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
ELSEWHERE - BUT MERE PARAGRAPHS AWAY
She's eluded him.
Her movements looking from the outside in seemed knowing and professional, like someone aware of the techniques and tricks involved in his line of work. What level of access this 'Goddess of the Stars' must have, for those very few places where Ethius' departmanet crosses over with others. Flametakers skirt the hardest line the Federation sets in the name of having that line kept drawn at all, after all.
She must already have been aware she's been seen and may now be toying with him - and anyone else who could possibly be aware*.
(* She may also have seen a certain Blaude B. Benny, NOT NAMING NAMES, in uniform just keepin' on, keepin' on, and at that point pretty much everythings out the window, but there are some things about this situation Ethius needs to hold onto for his sanity.)
He can ascertain a number of things from there. Enough things that add up to a threat greater than the sum of both her theorized and confirmed parts... and not just to the people who have come to live (and/or be trapped) within the forbidden system Kepler-186. With laser-like focus and unerring judgment as he weaves through Klein in a hurry... he completely misses the Goddess from the Stars' escape route. (What?)
Because his first priority lies elsewhere, as a strange cloaked figure with half their face hidden by a cloth mask expertly navigates the garden's walls. Almost everyone here can recognize who it is by the staff in hand and the stare from underneath their hood. Someone who has played (and, sometimes, embodied) the role of a brigand, an 'other,' whose overall intentions were far less malicious or... uh, theatrical.
"Miss Juni. Miss Ashiya." That's Ethius. But Juni and Ashiya aren't the only ones there. The Malevolence here is thick and awful in the wake of two Hellions... but possessed of purpose tested, renewed, and recommenced, they don't register as much. "Everyone."
"Where is Miss Rixia?"