Light up the Arena [Closed]

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Who: Four Chosen (Nikolai, Masked Man/Claus, Yurick & Garviel) [Closed]
Where: The Great Arena
Summary: The city is able to detect the newest Astrology Monster before it can spring properly into action. Or has it?
Warnings: Battles
Music: Choke

September 7th was nothing out of the ordinary. A day after the celebration of the Visitors, the town was back to its normal activities. No skirmishes, appearance of the Anoli or demon backlash as the citizens had feared. Breathing a sigh of relief, they had all gone back to concentrating on their efforts at making the life here easier.

But once 13th hour hit, an overly large reddish button suddenly lit up the office of Swords in town hall.

"Shit! The hell is that?" The chief of staff that night nearly dropped his cigarette from his mouth in surprise. "Since when do we have that alarm?"

"Strong energy coming from the Arena in Aries Ward! Switching to visual...we have contact! It's a big one, sir!" No time for jokes anymore. The chief was all business.

"Intel, what do you have for me?"

"I'm performing a scan as we speak, sir. From what I can see with my Persona, this thing's brand new! With the energy signature, I strongly believe it could be a new Astrology Related beast. As we are in the Virgo-influenced sphere right now, this would make sense. Currently we are dealing with nothing but a huge mass of black energy...but it's definitely strong enough to put any of us out of commission if it's attacked in the wrong fashion. And the energy is building up as we speak..."

"Damn. Good thing that the construction workers have a curfew, otherwise we'd be looking at a hell lot more of a mess. No one's affected either like the other times. Looks like our research might be paying off. If we can get that damn thing before it does anything. Get me in contact with Suou and the Mayor ASAP."

"Sir, should we send off our teams to intercept?"

"No. At least, not at first. Get the Visitors to deal with 'im, see what it's capable of doing before we send our own boys in. Get in contact with Q..."

"Already contacted us, sir. I'm talking with him right now. He detected the mass on his own as well." The chief let out an annoyed grunt, like a man who hadn't expected that, but was obviously very annoyed that it was happening. Yet he had to remain proper.

"...fine. Let him set up the whole brohaha. The Visitors need the exercise. Besides that's what they're here for anyway. We'll load up the cargo while they distract him. Those things need a test run, right?"


* - * - *



A short while later, a mere four visitors receive a call from Q.

"I do hope you weren't just dallying around tonight, there's work to be done!"

Quite to the point, this man.

"I've been discussing this with the Office of Swords. There's a monster growing in the Arena in Aries Ward. You all just happen to be close enough to be able to do the job. We need to make this as quick and efficient as possible. Our guess is that it may be the birth of the Virgo monster, as it matches the energy signatures of the previous three beasts. If we can nip it at the bud, we may be able to avoid a situation like the previous three completely! Do you understand how vital this task is?"

It sounded like something that could be very beneficial to everyone. Especially property.

"The sooner we deal with this, the faster we can concentrate on other important things for the city's survival. And without it time to grow, no rumors can take root. So do get there in any way you can, and attack that thing with all you've got! Oh, and do try to keep the Arena intact, it's still in reparation and nearing completion. It would be a shame to start over again. Go on! I will be providing backup as much as I can."

Wow, he was certainly pushy too. But he was right; if they could defeat this Virgo monster right here, right now, that meant it would be a simple blip in the city, and a very efficient one at that. Not having to worry about a monster causing issues for a city was certainly a boon as well...and with the moon nearly new, the monster would not be too much of a challenge for Visitors with Persona Powers...

....probably. Who knew what it had in store for them

Better get there as fast as possible.

Comments

[suppliesgadgets]

"Are we all ready?"

Q's voice broke through their planning.

"I'll be supplying my assistance as best as I can from out here. They've insisted that this operation be quick and quiet, so of course I'm expecting something to happen." He didn't become an agent of his majesty without learning a few tricks. "Once you're done, I'll open a pathway for you."

[doesasordered]

Nik gave Yurick a nod. Yep, right word. Nikolai always felt out of place among the other Visitors. A mage, a psychic chimera, a gigantic soldier, and... him. Vanilla human, save for his Persona.

Q brought him back to attention, though. "As ready as we will be, I think."

[psimera]

"I am ready."

Being on a team would probably work much better if they had some practice fighting together, but that wasn't really an option if they were going for speed. He'd just do his best to not get between any of the others and whatever monster they were going to fight. And that he was itching to see.

[mementodagger]

"As am I."

He gave the Commander a sidelong glance, concerned rather than the kind of look he'd given Garviel. He'd always had a soft spot for children, having been orphaned very young himself, and he worried about the young boy with the oddly flat affect.

[greyerrant]

Garviel nods, adjusting a few things on the autosensory links between his boltgun and his helmet.

"Let's get this over with."

[stringmods]

Q guides the four visitors thought one of the many doors of the stadium. As they arrive in the upper spectator seats, they can see a large blackish mass in the middle of the field. It doesn't seem to be doing much but growing in size at this point, emitting a strange sound that sounds like a distorted roar. Pieces of blackish hands and legs are forming, reaching for the sky and each as large any one of them but there is nothing concise. The mass keeps dripping and reforming, looking more like an unfinished painting than a true monster, a glob with no eyes.

"It appears to be around thirty meters in diameter for now," Q explains. "The energy keeps growing at a steady rate."

Whatever it is doing, you haven't been spotted. The creature appears to be occupied, regardless. Perhaps it would be time for a tentative first strike. Or maybe the Visitors have a better plan.

The choice is yours.

[mementodagger]

Something about the sight of that black, chaotic mass makes Yurick swallow back a lump of nausea in his throat. The things he's fought were solid, had logical forms no matter how massive or terrible the might be. This... this is raw evil, he can feel it. Somehow he steadies his voice, whispering to the others.

"We should be able to surprise it. This gives me time to charge. I'll lay down a circle at its left flank. That will give space to anyone who wants to charge their weapons while damaging the creature." He glances at Garviel. "You will have plenty of space to attack from the front, right flank, or rear without contacting my magic."

[psimera]

The Commander's seen... numerous slightly odd chimeras, but something about this seems much worse. Maybe it's that he's used to chimeras, likes even the odd ones as part of his kind; maybe it's that chimeras, patched-together monstrosities some of them are, are still made of things that look static, real.

Also, it's pretty huge for a single creature. So there's that too.

Under his breath, he mutters, "Shield Alpha," and a few glittering blue diamond shapes appear in front of him before fading. With that set up, he relaxes marginally; he doesn't know how strong the creature is, but a half cut in any damage he receives for a few hits should help.

For a second he nearly steps forward to start an attack, the thought in his head 'get the mission over with,' but then he remembers himself and stops, lowering his foot before it's even half raised. He folds his arms, keeping an eye on the swirling mass and waiting for the others to start forward so any surprise attack can hit all at once.

[doesasordered]

Nik watches it for a few moments. He can't really make heads nor tails of it, but whatever it's doing, it's not paying attention. Good.

He nodded at Yurick. "You hit it from the left, we can hit it on the right." He looked at Garviel to see what he thought. The biggest guy was also the biggest target, so he should pick which way he wanted to go.

[greyerrant]

"I"ll strike it in the front, the speartip to the throat generally works for me. Working the flanks while I distract it isn't a bad idea."

He guns his chainsword, and begins striding towards the beast, bolter raised, ready to fire.

[mementodagger]

As Garviel moved, Yurick began to charge Prominence. The mana rippled over his body, lifting him a few feet off the ground, the energy humming around him as he held his hands before his chest. Ten seconds and he raised his hands over his head, the air between them igniting in an audible rush of heat and light. He flung the spell like a small comet, the flames streaking past Garviel, striking the ground under the mass's left side.

The spell exploded in a brief but powerful wildfire, leaving behind a burning, smoking, perfect circle of fiery spell-light on the ground. Yurick had dropped back to his feet as he released the magic, but immediately began to pull more mana from the air and himself and floated up into another charge.

[psimera]

The Commander moves as soon the others start to attack, sword sliding into his left hand as he advances to... the third person, the one who he hadn't caught either a name or title for, had mentioned the right, and with a 'we,' yes? And the Astartes wanted the front. So to the right is where he goes, relatively quickly. He can always shift to behind the thing from there if needed.

He calculates while in motion. No idea if the sword will work on something like that. It keeps shifting its physical form, it could just shift around the hit, even if the sword may still be useful for blocking or for channeling his electrical attack. So - energy? He wants to conserve his PSI for the moment, in case he needs to renew his shield or it comes to a PK Love for a finishing hit, and his electrical attack drains charge heavily, which at the moment he's being rather conservative about, so... blaster. He raises his right arm and it morphs into a cannon, one which shoots a beam so soon after it seems like the actions are almost simultaneous.

[doesasordered]

Nik didn't want to take out his Persona just yet. With the others using different sorts of weapons, he decided to open fire with just his pistol for now, running to the right as he does. His shots all his with expert precision. From his experience, he knows that the monster in Hinoto-Ri tended to have various weaknesses, so hitting it with an array of attacks would be helpful in narrowing it down faster.

PHYSICAL | ATTEMPT AT LEG GRABBING.

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Finally alerted of their presence, strange shrieking sounds are uttered of the center of the beast as its blackish mass is attacked from all angles.

The strangest thing, however is how the stadium lights began to open, and the stage settings are humming to life. There's the sound of some music, but it's hard to make out right now, the blackish mass is covering the main speakers.

The formed hands disappear, swallowed inside itself, before it makes a mad grab at all their legs in an attempt to pin them down, chasing where they go. It appears to be running on autopilot at this point, disregarding its current damaging that left a large hole in the middle.

Re: PHYSICAL | ATTEMPT AT LEG GRABBING.

[greyerrant]

Garviel snarls as it attempts to grab him, sweeping out his chainsword to try to sever the offending appendages, while opening up with his bolter as he fires center of mass at the strange zodiac beast.

FIRE | FIRST SUMMONING OF PERSONA

[mementodagger]

Caught in charging his second spell, Yurick doesn't notice the hands until one of them seizes both of his ankles, pinning them together as it yanks him out of midair. He loses the spell with a startled cry, the Virgo beast slamming him to the ground with jarring force.

It knocks the wind out of him, gray spots momentarily fuzzing his vision. Somewhere in that stunned state, he hears a voice like the booming of a massive temple bell.

I am thou, thou art I....

It appears over his prone form, a black sphere as big as a man with a dully glowing grayish-white pupil. The giant lidless eye fixes on the beast, its pupil dilating and flaring golden-orange. Cross-shaped lights momentarily glow in an arc below the eye as the Persona launches an Agilao at the arms assaulting its mater.

[psimera]

The Commander ducks and weaves, trying to throw in beams from his cannon whenever he gets the chance - but what he doesn't have is one to aim. A number of them go wide as he's forced to skid aside to avoid hands, losing his target halfway through beginning a shot. He's almost decided to try something else, if only to give himself a breather, when he hears Yurick's yell.

It makes him flinch, head jerking to the side; he's used to needing to know what state fellow fighters are in, and usually that's a good idea, but usually he's not fighting something huge with an uncountable amount of limbs.

He yanks his attention back in time to keep another hand from grabbing him, just barely, but not in enough to avoid getting tripped violently. There's a botched attempt at a recovery roll, something that does keep him from just slamming down but remains painful and steals much of his momentum - and then he is grabbed, before he can get back to his feet.

He struggles, twisting and kicking, but gives up within seconds - he can't get enough leverage from his position on the ground. Instead, he flings out a hand towards the central mass of the beast, shouting, "PK Love Alpha!" And there goes the weakest, but still rather destructive, incarnation of his PSI attack.

[doesasordered]

Nik's a fast runner, and he's fast enough to get away from the one coming at him from the back, but can't dodge the one from the front in time. He goes down, but he holds onto his weapon, and orients himself enough on the ground that he can fire nearly point blank at the appendage holding onto him. Hopefully that's enough to make it let go.

Though if that Agi-based attack Yurick is throwing out works, he'll call forth his Persona and do the same.