Conquestum Paradisi

[stringmods]

Conquestum Paradisi

☢

What: Closing Arena Ceremonies, Part 2
Where: Aries Arena & Televised
Summary: 1/24/10AC
Warnings: This could get serious...but who knows.

Finally it was time for the mayor, Kazuki Sakahagi, to speak up. Not even an thirty minutes left to the celebrations, but seeing him go appeared to be lighting up a spark in the citizens. It wasn't too hard to see why; his enthusiastic grin and way of walking could easily melt anyone's worry away.

He walked to the center stage as cheering broke out, two men in black and Junko Tanako behind him.

[OOC - GO FORTH AND TAG FREELY]

Flat view | Latest page

Comments

[hinoto_ri]

As the mayor walked up to the stadium, the Visitors could hear the rest of the force preparing, as they had been connected to the security channel they were all using.

Kiyoshi Suou spoke up first.

"Everyone stay on alert. It might be close to over, but who knows what might happen. Mrs Tanako, how is the situation on your end?"

[hinoto_ri]

"Green. I haven't detected anything either."

[hinoto_ri]

We now return you to Close Ceremonies! Mayor Kazuki Sakahagi about to give his speech!

After a small cough, the mayor looked up in silence, as the giant screen behind him shows his face. Dramatic effect, after all.

"Citizens of Hinoto-Ri, distinguished Guests, ladies, and gentlemen.

Together these past week, we’ve shared some wonderful days, haven’t we?

Days when incredible people have performed feats we hardly thought possible. Days in the Stadium when our minds opened to what people can do, to what they can achieve by the power of Persona and determination..."

[hinoto_ri]

"And there he goes..."

[hinoto_ri]

"New stars were born. Stars from past Games amazed us again, and overcame all to become Champions. Your new Head Chapmion! Royal Red Lion!"

He raised his hands, as the crowd did the same, cheers breaking out even louder and screaming his name over and over.

[hinoto_npcs]

"Red Lion Sir, the camera is all yours for the next ten seconds."

Indeed, the video behind the mayor was already him.

[hinoto_ri]

"We shared their joys and their tears, and we marveled at their ability. We will long remember the achievements we witnessed here!"

Again, he paused for dramatic effect and let the citizens cheer some more. When he continued his speech, his voice was much more loud and dramatic than before....If that could be possible.

"And as we celebrate the success of these Games, let us realize what we have accomplished for the past ten years! They said that the tournament should be canceled! Because of the Anoli!"

The crowd booed and hissed. He raised his hands in the air, shaking his head.

"We have seen their kind before! They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of this world. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism and Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends, in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies!"

[hinoto_ri]

"...Mrs Tanako?"

[hinoto_ri]

"We are perhaps the last remaining part of the civilized world. They MUST understand that if this terror goes unpunished, we will all live in fear. Terror, unanswered, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what? We're not going to allow it.

I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS! AS YOUR MAYOR! AS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND VOICE!

They warned me that I should not come here, to speak to you. But you are my citizens and I will NEVER bow down to threats of any kind!

I believe in truth!

I believe in freedom!

I believe that even a simple man like myself, with no power of Persona, just ideals and courage, CAN make this city into something wonderful!

FOR WE ARE HINOTO-RI!!

We are a city united!

We will never bow down to anyone!"

By now it was near impossible to hear yourself think from all the cheering.

[hinoto_ri]

"Hmmm?"

[finalbossformula]

["forgotten" - THEME OF ANOLI]
Luckily, the cheering died down when the giant video screen behind the mayor went dark. There was only a moment of stunned confusion before a decidedly different person popped on to the feed.

"Citizens of Hinoto-Ri, I am the leader of the Anoli. I fear we have not formally been acquainted."

His voice was calm and collected- not to the point of being monotone, but he just didn't have any distinct qualities. His clothing was equally simple. Just a loose, off-white collared shirt that looked lived in, an oddly-colored tie, and black slacks held up by suspenders. There was nothing amiss with his appearance, except one thing.

On his face was a plain white mask, which offered no emotion or detail.

"My silence has gone on for too long, and for this I apologize to you all. You have lived in fear and confusion for months, and I will now attempt to right the misconceptions your government has given you about us.

We do not seek to oppose you, Hinoto-Ri. We do not want to eliminate those without personas. We desire one goal- to dismantle the government that controls you, and keeps you locked away."

There was a pause, brief enough to let his words sink in. All throughout his 'speech', he kept his motions to a minimum, speaking with a surprising amount of passion, but without a fanatic's edge. Perhaps it was simply confidence.

"We are a coalition of Persona users, as well as the Personaless, who want to stop those that keep you oppressed within this bubble. They would have you believe that there are dangers out there, and that the only way to be safe is to give your freedom to them- this is a lie. We have gone outside the barrier that surrounds this town. We have seen the land outside of this city. And we will not allow others to decide our fate for us.

The Anoli refuse to die within this city- to allow resources to become tight, to wait for demons and humanity to reach their breaking point in such small quarters. We have been trapped here for nine long years, with our children being forced to attend cramped classrooms. While others, due to a lack of viable housing, are forced to live in the streets. While the quality of our hospitals dwindles due to an increase in population, without the increase in space to accommodate it.

Our glorious government ignores these issues. They turn to Visitors- those who have been brought here and been given allowances, homes, and jobs that you have been denied -as their own 'Private Police', unleashing them upon our streets. Do you know where these people come from? Do they earn this level of trust? Do you know that they will not slit your throat? No. And they stalk your neighborhood, with the government's full approval. We have been accused of believing that Persona itself is the evolution of man- but who is it who grants special privileges to these 'Guests'?

The danger of Hinoto-Ri is not demons, or us, as the government would have you believe. The danger is that they will never let you leave here."

His posture abruptly relaxed, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As he continued, his voice was less authoritative, but still just as sure and confident.

"We were called out here today, Hinoto-Ri. Your government knowingly lured us to this competition, and they used the Prix itself as bait. They put you all in danger for a chance to remove us as a threat. But we will not back down from our belief in a free city, and we will not allow them to paint us as the monsters when they forced our hand.

I'm sorry it's come to this, but you've given me no choice Sakahagi."

And just like that, the feed cut off.

[hinoto_ri]

"...SHIT! HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?! Code red, code red! All cameras are offline!"

"Miss we've lost complete control of the media!"

"That's impossible! Get the backup online!"

"Sakahagi, Tanako GET THE MAYOR OUT OF THERE NOW!"

[comedyandtragedy]

A sour silence lingers in the air once the feed cuts off; it couldn't have lasted longer than a couple of seconds, but the tension could've fooled anyone into thinking it lasted longer.

When something does happen, it happens in only a few seconds more.

A laugh erupts throughout the stadium; a recorded one on the tail end of the Anoli's broadcast? Take your eyes away to look for the source, blink even once and suddenly the whole scene in the middle of the stadium changes.

Where once the two men in black stood behind the mayor, they now lay fallen on the stage, each with a knife wedged right under the crook of their jaws. Taking their place standing was a man clad in black and white, completely hooded, and-- for those with good eyesight-- a gold Tragedy mask covering his face. But unlike you, fair viewer, it seems the Red Hawk missed this man's audacious dress, because he came up behind the man, pulling a gun out from the folds of his jacket. With his right hand, he brought the firearm up and swung the butt of the it into Sakahagi's right temple before the man even had a chance to turn around. In the same motion, he brought his left elbow up and buried into the small of Sakahagi's back, pushing him with enough force to send him right off the stage.

The mayor's enthusiastic grin was no more, replaced only with a whirling sensation and a feeble attempt to retain his former confidence as he sat on the ground.

The Tragedian lifted his gun up, pointing it down at the mayor and placing his finger delicately on the trigger. It was almost as if he was grinning behind that sad mask.

"Ciao, Mr. Mayor!"

[hinoto_ri]

For all the mayor's bravado during the speech, he sure was singing a different tune, now that he was being attacked. He scooted away from the gun pointed at him while still seated, one arm covering his face while he, shockingly, remained silent.

[stringmods]

In the blur that follows, the Visitors would suddenly find their skills increased, as their Persona burned with new-found energy.

>OPEN POSTING AFTER THIS POST, GO! MUTATION SKILLS ARE NOW UNLOCKED.

open, if there's a chance/need for this??

[doesasordered]

Everything happened pretty quickly, and Nik wasn't able to get a good eye from his vantage point when the violence started. But now that it has, his focus was as strong as ever, and he watched the event play out through the scope from his new MAGI-given sniper rifle. He was really hoping he wouldn't have to do this, but it seemed like he was going to find out what this gun was capable of tonight.

He waited calmly for an opportunity to take down anyone instigating violence, finger on the trigger.

[[OOC - Nik's in a tall building across from the arena. It is possible for someone to find him, but he hasn't let on his location to more than 2 or 3 people.]]

[second_destiny]

Despite the drama unfolding on the stage, Asem did not run toward it. No, he ran away from it.

But he wasn't going to run away. The Gundam AGE-2 sat outside the arena, parked in Strider mode to be a little less conspicuous. Depending on what the Anoli had, it may or may not have been overkill. But Asem was hoping that the presence of an 18.3-meter tall robot will be enough in terms of sheer intimidation to make a difference.

Apologies for a minor mix-up

[hinoto_ri]

Unfortunately for Asem, as he runs, a masked man darts into his way, effectively blocking his route. His arms spread wide and there's a maniacal ring to his voice.

"Now where exactly are you going? The party's just getting started!"

Open if you feel like helping the NPC

[hinoto_ri]

"L-Ladies and gentlemen!"

Tomokazu Tokudome screams as loudly as he can over the shrieks and yells of the crowd. His perfectly swept hair is unkempt; his suit hangs limply off his sagging shoulders. There is an expression of utter panic on his face....

Despite this, he remains in position.

"Reporting live from the scene of this unfolding drama, this is the brash-as-all-hell Tomokazu Tokudome with the Hinoto-Ri Daily News! Excitement has turned into terror tonight as for the first time in our city's history, the Anoli openly reveal their insidious nature for all to see! Footage of the speech from the mysterious Anoli leader has been captured and will be made available at a later time; at the present, we are urging all viewers to stay inside your homes. The situation outside the arena is uncertain, but for your own safety, we at Hinoto-Ri Daily News strongly encourage you to remain indoors and away from all windows and exits! There's no telling what the Anoli may yet be planning; we urge you to seek shelter and stay put!"

"The situation here at the Grand Prix is rapidly deteriorating with citizen and Visitor alike lost in complete and total panic! Several of our brave citizens are attempting to swarm the stage as we speak, rushing towards the site of the multiple tragedies that occurred at the hands of the Anoli tonight! The remainder of the crowd has been caught in the chaos, and it appears as if all hope to prevent a mass riot has been lost. Due to the placement of the exits, many in the crowd are already attempting to escape by leaping over the balconies and railings! I have early reports that there has been at least one civilian casualty; if this continues on, we could be seeing a major disaster, a massive tragedy of the highest scale! Regardless of what happens, this will be a day remembered for months and years to come! The Anoli -- ..."

For a moment, he breaks off, his normally handsome face set in a grimace. "The... The menaces who have long shadowed our lives, the terrorists and murderers that walk amongst us, the perpetrators of utter... chaos. The Anoli have finally played their hand! And tonight, we watch these events play out, helpless like puppets dangling on their strings."

Tomokazu cuts himself off in the midst of his fervor as he lowers his head; a hand is quickly raised to his ear. After a few moments, he slowly lowers it with a sigh and a shake of his head.

"I... I have received preliminary reports that our champion, Royal Red Lion, whom we saw earlier taking a bullet whilst defending our Mayor... Our brave champion has been confirmed as having lost his life in the struggle tonight. Let me caution, the truth of this is uncertain, but I fear it is what Hinoto-Ri Daily News is burdened to report at this time. The condition of Miss Junko Tanako, personal aide and savior of our beloved Mayor, remains unknown at this time."

He is cut off again before he can continue; to his right, a flash of light announces the summoning of a Persona. The reporter's eyes flicker quickly towards the commotion before he violently recoils back, stumbles briefly, and begins to run. The smile he flashes to the camera as it follows him is ghastly; his words come spilling out one after the other.

"T-T-That's all for the moment but stay tuned f-for further on-the-spot, minute-by-minute up -- "

Without further fanfare, an explosion sends Tomokazu crashing to the ground with an anguished cry. The camera clicks off with a whir.

Rune might get in on this too, hope that's k

[technomaturgist]

Ferrus is here to help, motherfucker!

He was probably dragging Rune along, but that was sort of irrelevant now - he was moving forward, heading for where he saw Tomokazu hit the ground as best he can. He wanted everyone who could possibly survive to survive - and that was what propelled his feet now. Regardless of the risk.

Have a Ferrus by your side quickly, Tomokazu, offering a hand to help you up - and if you don't take it, he'll try and drag you up by your shirt.

"Are you okay?"

[maybe_a_king]

"Everyone evacuate now!" Arturia cried.

The moment trouble had started she'd made a run for the exit and was trying to direct civilians out of the arena, shouting at the top of her lungs for people to get out as fast as they could. She was a small girl, yes, but she could apparently command a crowd as she called for people to follow her voice, to get out as safely as they could and leave the fighting to those who could.

Whoops, changed things around a bit. Let me know if you're okay with a possible attacker, though.

[thelordsage]

A voice would drift in from behind Arturia. "Would you like some assistance?"

Sephiran then walked into Arturia's field of view. "I can help you escort these people out, if you'd like." Suddenly, someone came up behind Sephiran, a Persona ready to strike with a physical attack. He spun around, and a woman appeared, firing a blast of light back at the person. It was a direct hit, and the person stumbled off after taking it. "Ashera...?" After a moment, he turned to Arturia and asked, "Was that my Persona just now?" He had to make sure his goddess hadn't just jumped the dimensional divide to help him, after all.

OTA

[technomaturgist]

Aw hell no. Ferrus was already standing, hand going to his bolter and drawing it in one smooth movement. Despite his earlier awkwardness with Rune, he was in the moment now - and he started gesturing towards everyone else in the area.

"Get out! Evacuate!" His voice was amplified by his vox, and he could only hope everyone properly listened.

If anyone wants to help him evacuate everyone, hop in and roll with it.

[pistolsakimbo]

"You heard him! Go!" Rune exclaimed by him, helping up a woman that was having trouble getting to her feet. She could feel her heart doing flips in her chest, that same sort of fear she always got when she was about to enter a battle hitting her. There were too many innocent people here... it would be hard to tell who was a friend, and who was an ally.

She felt a stirring in the back of her head, and let out a rather loud curse, pulling out her guns instead.

[dreamprotector]

Riku presses his lips together, retreating from his position near the entrance as the crowd starts to panic and make a rush for it - pinkish light enveloping him as pushes off against the wall and launches himself onto the emptying stands above that point; hopefully serving as better vantage point to have at least some overview over the area, over the quickly spreading chaos.

He narrows his eyes, grips tightening around Way to the Dawn as he glances around. For all that Anoli had caused so far today, they are quite hard to pick out still.

Well... that will probably change more quickly than he likes, won't it?

[islandshore]

[His younger self stops in his tracks when he spots his double passing by. His grip on the Soul Eater tightens, and his jaw clenches. He's... strong.

Stronger than him.

But that doesn't mean a thing! He's not gonna let his older self snag all the glory.

So, yes. This'd be the younger Riku similarly dashing towards those stands.]

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"ELAINE!"

Guybrush is nothing if not a one-track mind, and right now that track is headed for Wifeville. His embarrassment over his giant chicken ignored for now, he tries to take advantage of its abilities. "Tries," mind, being the operative word; he can SEE strings, but he sure as heck can't tell which one's which. "Darn it, why are these things so samey?!"

He can pick out his enemies, at least. And... ho boy, there are a LOT of enemies right now. He's beginning to think he should've whipped his chicken out a little sooner. But he's gotta find her and make sure she's okay! Well, she probably IS, but he needs to make sure she's Okay-ER. Or something.

Which is why unlike some people, he's not running directly to the stage, instead running about trying to locate a certain beautiful redhead.

[plunderbunny]

Next stop: Wifeville, located at the arena's side entrance, trying to herd a group of panicking NPCs outside to safety. She looks up from her current job at the sound of her name.

"Guybrush!" Elaine called back. "Where are you? Are you all right?"

She of course didn't have the ability to sense where someone was, and she was just shouting in hopes that he could hear her over the chaos.

OPEN, Pain level Green!

[justjustice]

Apollo gaped at the chaos around him. What just happened?! He came after the memo had been sent out, so he didn't hear that the Grand Prix was luring the Anoli. For all he knew, all hell was breaking loose in a completely unexpected fashion (which was true, more or less). Suddenly, he felt a strange, stirring feeling inside him, and somewhere he heard a gunshot go off...

"Ah... aaaah... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Following absolutely the stupidest scream in the world, a man in ancient-looking robes suddenly appeared above Apollo's head. He waved a scepter, and Apollo was bathed in the light of a Rakukaja shot. Apollo did feel the effect as a slight brimming of energy, but he had little idea what had just happened. It was kind of like what he saw during the fights, but only coming from him...?

There was no time to think about that, though. Apollo wanted OUT of this mess. He was just a lawyer! He didn't have any fancy-schmancy powers! (Not including his Perceive ability, of course.) What was he doing here? He began to struggle through the crowd towards the exit, praying he wouldn't be trampled.

[hinoto_ri]

"Man, Patheeetic."

There's dark a burst of light under the crowds in front of Apollo, and over half of the people drop as they're running. They're not dead, but they're certainly no longer conscious.

The source of the Mudo spell, a masked man, steps over the unconscious people, leering at the ones the spell missed, Apollo, the crowds still behind him.

"This is all just way too easy. C'mon, gimmie a challenge!"

[demifemme]

Dammit! Normally Shura would have made a beeline to hit the Anoli in the face, but something in that speech has spoken to her. Wait, shit, that's no time to be thinking about that! She tried to hurry to the mayor's private balcony, but with the panicking crowd, it was slow and difficult to get anywhere een by elbowing everyone out of the way.

[selfgodded]

Anant abruptly barrelled into Shura, making them both stagger about a bit before Anant grabbed onto Shura's arm as if to steady her.

"Oh! It is you!"

Anant's voice was different. Usually it is quite controlled and flat, even when loudly or rapidly talking. Now, however, it was high pitched and wobbling with emotion, sounding deliriously jubilant. Even their eyes were burning bright in the holes of their mask, giving them a quite inhuman look.

"Are you seeing it? Flashes and Bright and swirling, emotions, chaos! It is all chaos! The primordial instincts! It is unlike the controlled fights it is the exposure of true fight of self-preservations of pure human chaos!"

It- sort of look like Anant was either hysterical or high off of the adrenaline and emotions of the crowd. They can sense and see emotions in auras, after all...

Open!

[otakuro]

"Seiten Taisei! Badb Catha!"

The boy had already begun pushing and shoving his way towards the stage the moment the Tragedian had appeared; sadly, his mind had been too unfocused to utilize his full capabilities when the drama began, and it was over almost too quickly to process. As the sound of gunshots roar through the air, unbelievably loud, Atsuro grits his teeth with a wild expression of disgust and rage. They talked a good talk but at the end of it all... How dare they talk of saving lives as they casually took them without a care?!

Gunshots? He had taken gunshots before.

The COMP flares to life as a humanoid monkey atop a cloud appears beside him; a second flare announces the settling of a raven upon his shoulder. He is oblivious to the fact that he is contributing to the screams and shrieks coming from the people around him. With a nod to Seiten Taisei, he takes the demon's hand and promptly disappears into thin air.

With a delay of three or four seconds, Atsuro vanishes and reappears repeatedly, each time drawing closer to the stage... He would reach it within the space of a minute.

[misery_hates_company]

Oh, blast this boy. Moving without warning, what is he thinking?

Misery has her own interests in dealing with the masked man. The Anoli, she's certain, are no friends of hers. Unlike him, however, she takes her time, first summoning a giant stone creature -- she's not competing right now, she doesn't need THAT man -- and following along, trying to trace his blinking movements. It's not like she cares about him really, but he's on the way to where she wants to be, so she might as well tag along.

She'd teleport but, well, with the chaos, it's a little risky.

[hadronknight]

Unlike anyone else who's yelling over the chaos to get everyone to evacuate, this man is actually wading through the huge amount of people trying to save themselves as he tried to ascertain the locations of some of the operatives within the panicked crowd.

Sure he isn't the best investigative mind around, but a man can try, right?

[hinoto_ri]

A young woman suddenly bursts from the crowd beside him to punch Mordred's jaw. Said punch is reinforced with brass knuckles.

OPEN - THREAT LEVEL HIGH YELLOW/RED

[camoflage]

Clothed in a short black trenchcoat, army fatigues and combat boots, with a black mask, balaclava and gloves to complete the ensemble, a man suddenly appears on the edge of the chaos.

Spades has teleported away from the stage, and was currently making his way to a now-secluded area under the stadium seats, the gun returned to its holster. Everyone would be too worried rushing the arena to notice him, but that wouldn't last long. He had an ally to retrieve.

Once he had found them, they could help the effort.

"Hitsuji?"

(OOC: Anyone tagging can assume that Spades has returned to the main stadium with Hitsuji. Tagging them has a very high probability of getting your character severely injured, so please keep that in mind!)

BRING IT

[demifemme]

"HEY YOU!!!" Shura bellowed out in her Grand General Voice as she spotted the masked men, rushing toward them, as she had decided that accessing the balcony via the main stadium, the arena and the underground facility was most likely faster.

red pain level; open to all player characters; NPC battle reserved to katie and plus

[charmedbymemories]

All of her senses went into overdrive and then sharpened into precise focus as everything around her went wild. The citizens-- they were her first and foremost priority. Protect those unable to protect themselves at all costs. She nodded to Kairi, separating to cover more ground. Flinging her cloak aside, Naminé leaped up onto a bleacher railing, planting both feet down before pointing Oathkeeper upwards. She swiftly cast small fire guiding lights one after the other into the sky towards the exits.

"Everyone leave as quickly and calmly as you can! Follow the lights!"

She started scanning the crowd, looking for people who had fallen or needed assistance getting out.

83

[til]

The lights caught her attention and, with a gasp, Garnet - Dagger - was running towards them. She skidded to a halt at Naminé's command and pushed her hood back.

"How can I help you?" she gritted her teeth and climbed onto the bleachers, "I don't want anyone left behind!"

In the face of such turmoil, even a Queen in disguise should be in the midst of the struggle. She was no better than her people, after all.

OTA; Green Level

[all_wound_up]

Nano isn't much of a fighter, but she can at least try to make sure that people make it out of the area alive. She can be found busily running through the crowd with her Persona, Pinocchio, helping up people who have been caught in explosions, Persona attacks, and other mayhem, and healing their wounds with some careful applications of Media before sending them on their way. Unfortunately, there's just so much going on that not even Pinocchio's Relaxing Wave can keep up with the amount of energy the robot girl has to expend to keep this pace up. Eventually, she's probably going to need just as much help as the people she's trying to save.

[otakuro]

"Nano!"

In a flash of light, Atsuro, a monkey sitting astride a floating cloud, and a raven appear before the robot girl.

"You've gotta get out of here! These guys are everywhere!"

((Misery will be tagging along if that's OK!))

[poorfueleconomy]

Palutena had actually been expecting something like this would happen, and she started moving toward the stage as soon as the masked men had appeared. Running straight through would be too hectic, so instead she's trying move around the crowd, to the side of the stage.

It's still pretty hectic. People are panicking, pushing and shoving, and it's all she can do to stay out of their way. But she's managing to make steady progress for now.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

She probably has no reason to look above the crowd, but if she does, she'll see a certain angel flying towards the stage.

He doesn't get too far, though. It's not that there's anything up there that's stopping him. No, it's what he sees on the ground.

"Lady Palutena!"

He dives down towards her, having no choice but to somewhat land on her to avoid colliding into anyone else.

OPEN, Pain level Green!

[thelordsage]

Sephiran's brow creased at the sight of all this chaos. It was hard to seriously concern Sephiran sometimes, but despite his apparent calm, he was definitely ruffled. His leader instincts kicked into high gear (he was, after all, the Chancellor of Begnion), and he began to guide people towards the exit. "Come with me! Come in as orderly a fashion as you can, and proceed carefully to the exit!"

OPEN - THREAT LEVEL VERY RED

[hinoto_npcs]

[Throughout the event, multiple copies of people dressed exactly the same with a notable mask -- or wait, is that the same person??-- pop up all around the event in a crack of light, some floating in the air with a faint aura and some among the crowd. All brandishing the same polished white wands, they begin to shoot at things in the arena, explosions ringing loud with multicolored flashes of light. Pillars fall, wood cracks, and citizens run in a panicked frenzy to avoid being crushed by the wrecked objects, both the strobe-like effect and loud noises causing extreme disorientation. Some of them disappear with a crack of blue light after a few hits, but some stick around to fire a few more shots.

Dare you approach one?]

(ooc: not a killable npc; magic is extremely destructive, though if you approach her she will likely just fire a shot or two in your direction before disappearing to where she came. if you go talk to her alpha self, though...)

[echo_of_a_jedi]

This wasn't going to stand.

With so many threats popping up in the stadium and the whole area surging with panic with her in the middle, it was impossible for Meetra to step back and be a general. So instead, she was a Jedi, charging toward one of the masked figures to interpose herself and, in a flash of movement, her lightsaber between a masked figure and nearby panicking civilians.

She wasn't sure if she could deflect whatever this person was firing, but she could take the few seconds between her and her target to experiment between that and dodging.

THREAT LEVEL RED, GORE

[tyrantball]

The instant the Anoli started attacking, Desco's eyes lit up. Literally - her red eyes are glowing subtly like a pair of banked coals as she scans the crowd.

She's not going to bother with her Persona right now - despite how cool it is, it's just a little too weak for what she wants to do. She lets out a wordless roar from all twelve of her tentacles as she lunges at the nearest Anoli, her crimson claws shearing through their throat. She brings her other arm around to cradle the back of the Anoli's head, and with an effortless little twist wrenches their skull clean off. She tosses the head over her shoulder, grabbing it by the hair with one of her smaller tentacles in order to free up her claws for the next one, already scanning the crowd for a new target.

[bakegarasu]

... Well that's one way to get rid of them fast. Otoha grabs a mook by the collar and tosses him towards Desco, ignoring his screaming.

"Here!"

He's happy to provide if that's what she needs.