The 13th Hour, The Zeroth Hour, of the 17th of Three

[strangerfromthedesert]

Who: Zero & OPEN
Where: Sagittarius Ward, mainly
Summary: Zero tasks himself with defense of the city during the 13th Hour. He wasn't expecting old ghosts to persist in chasing him here so soon, but maybe he should have.
Warnings: Base level of violence dealing with constructs, up to who is there really.

The new phase of the moon shifted into its crescent the other day, removing peaceful nights for the rest of the month. It's Zero's first day of active duty — or night, rather. The night sky became blood-red, matching parts of his armored body. The world felt still for but a moment, engulfed in ruby hues and bloodied twilight.

It was then that what was left darkened black by the shadows of the industrial sector gleaned their own red, this time by the light given off from materialized things. Things not native to Hinoto-Ri. Things that should have stayed back where Zero came from. He readied his working Z-Saber from his holster, turning it on and brandishing its green glow in front of him as he took it with both hands.

If they're going to come that far to take him down, he'll see them to their own end as well.

---

Should you be anywhere around the Sagittarius Ward tonight during the 13th Hour, some new monsters have appeared to assault the city... except they don't seem to be interested in you. They trudge or fly along as if searching for something, or someone. Attacking them will cause a response in kind should you decide to bother them. Otherwise, they move toward an unspecified location that changes through the hour, where they find their eventual target: A lone warrior.


Enemy Roster
LVL 1
Pantheon Guardian x ∞
Pantheon Hunter x ∞
LVL 2
Golem (Head) & (Body) x 1+ depending on player activity. (Mention if you don't want to fight such things, wards have a lot of space in them. At least one WILL eventually find Zero's location in his own section.)

There's a section for characters getting caught up in the battle alongside Zero, and a section for those that want to pre-emptively attack the enemy forces. Have fun!

Comments

Fighting with Zero

[strangerfromthedesert]

He knew this sort of fight very well: Outnumbered, not in quality but in quantity. The swarm of Pantheons approached, well known for their ideal of strength in numbers, readying their arm cannons and electrified pegs. Zero tensed his fighting stance, sliding his legs apart for a flexible balance of mobility and raw power.

These weren't going to be very difficult on their own, he thought, but he had to be careful: While his body was repaired, he still didn't feel in full control of himself anymore. To be certain, he allowed a Guardian to enter his space and attempt to attack, easily avoiding it and countering with a single slash from his lightsaber that took most of the Pantheon's left torso and arm off. The Reploid in red, white and blueish-black hopped backwards to gain some distance away from the rod while more approached to assist their injured comrade.

This was going to be a very drawn-out hour.

[gegege_no_ge]

Another one approaches him, but before it has any chance to attack, something flies in from somewhere, colliding with the machine's head with enough force to cause an indentation. The robot staggers as its inner circuitry tries to readjust...

...and then something else collides with its head, and that's all she wrote. If you're carefuly, you swear you see... are those traditional wooden geta? And are they... actually flying BACK somewhere?

[strangerfromthedesert]

Such force. Zero watches the air, tracking the direction of the returning objects that he couldn't quite make out while the robot falls over in disgrace. The half-broken Guardian from before tries to take advantage of the distraction, but attention was never lost on it. Zero cut the Pantheon clean in half with another slice, refocusing on the source of the assistance afterwards.

"Who's there?" A raised question hung sharp on the air, urgently attempting to identify whether the newcomer was friend or foe as he shifted his viewpoint between where the geta returned and the advancement of the other Pantheons further along away from them.

[gegege_no_ge]

Nothing, for a moment. And then a child comes rushing out, what looks to be a long, brown spear in his hand, throwing it through another one of the machines before spinning around and launching his sandals again.

There's something about his energy that is... odd. It's very CLOSE to human in some regards, and yet not. Whoever he is, he's pretty ferocious.

"Lousy machines! Stop causing trouble!" he shouts.

[strangerfromthedesert]

Whoever the kid is, he's strong despite himself. Three Pantheon Hunters steady themselves, taking aim with their arm cannons to try and fight from a distance. Two of them get knocked out of commission by the wooden sandals, but another remains standing, firing at the new combatant seemingly assisting Zero.

That won't do. Reaching behind his back, he produces a rectangular-looking gun with his other hand and quickly shoots three plasma shots to give cover fire, one of them hitting the right mark and crashing into the machine's head, making it stumble backward and lose its aim.

[gegege_no_ge]

The kid seems oddly unphased by the fire. In fact, he removes his vest in response. A cocky show of machismo? Actually, as a matter of fact, he's actually blocking the shots with it (isn't that thing made of cloth or something?!) as he moves forward, pulling what seems to be a hair off his head. It rapidly expands into a more sword-like blade, which he subsequently uses to cause his own damage against his assailants.

(Golem Fight eventually Y/N?)

[strangerfromthedesert]

Zero watches with his peripheral vision while the scene unfolds. It's becoming more clear over time that the "kid" is more than a normal human being, doing things that begin to defy logic. The hair-sword in particular defeats the Hunter with ease, and for the moment that's all of the Pantheons immediately nearby, though the distant movement of more can be heard with good hearing.

Holstering back the gun, Zero checks himself over to assess his battle strength, taking a safe swing in the air with his Z-Saber. Why couldn't he push all his power into his attacks? Strange. That's when the glint of crystals catch his eye towards the floor. He picks up one of them, the red of the sky overpowering the natural light blue coloring of its container. Energen. Storing the piece he found, he says with a volume measured to be sure the other party heard him without catching too much attention from the machines.

"They seem to be more after me than anyone. Thanks for the help."

THIS PARTY'S GETTING CRAZY!

[not_that_scary]

As the Pantheon horde makes its approach, the sound of an engine hitting its stride could be heard in the distance and rapidly approaching from behind the legendary Reploid. It wouldn't get the Pantheon's attention away from Zero until the source of the noise made itself known.

"You fuckers came to the wrong city to cause this kind of bullshit!!!" A strange motorcycle makes a flying leap off of the building behind Zero and crashes itself into the horde. The rider, a strange young man in white, jumps off of the bike in mid-flight as he opens fire into the crowd with his guns, using the force of the recoil to guide his landing over to the man in red.

He throws the guns away, the weapons disappearing in a flash of white, before drawing a scythe with an ethereal blade in a similar flash from behind his back. "You look like you could use a hand."

Sure is!

[strangerfromthedesert]

Well that was a spectacularly flashy entrance. What the motorbike didn't level over, the weapons took the trash that was damaged by the attack out and peppered those that weren't, many of the front ranks getting bowled over and crumpled in a collective heap.

He shifts his eyes from the deadly scythe back to Haseo after the newcomer lands nearby and switches weapons from his guns. Something about the person made Zero feel uneasy however. (Damn that Death Arcana being an Unlucky.) He couldn't tell exactly what, but had no immediate reason to doubt his intentions. There wasn't any time for dwelling on that or talking at the moment, as Hunters from the back ranks moved forward past the pile of scrap, taking aim. The Reploid gave a simple nod to him, readying himself for the next onslaught to jump out the way of the barrage as the shots fired.

Well then, let's make it one to remember!

[not_that_scary]

We appear to be outnumbered. Such a shame. For them. Have to admit, not even the Cubia incident compared to this. Still, these guys are cannon fodder, let's show them how badly they're outclassed!

Haseo reached outward, manifesting the card that contained his Persona in his hand. "SKEITH!" He broke the card with his scythe, the Terror of Death manifesting as Zio was cast on the Pantheon coming closest to them.

Sorry for the delay, busy day.

[strangerfromthedesert]

Zero notices the scene unfold, jumping through the air towards the group while Haseo commits his attack. He takes a swing as he lands through another Hunter nearby the one that got instantly electrocuted and melted to scrap, but it is only after he completes the attack and ensures his target is split in two vertical halves and destroyed that he rights himself to standing, looking behind him to make sure of what he sees.

This "Skeith" looms above the both of them with its floating and stylistic form. It's something that looked like it could be a mechanical thing, but also organic. It's doing a pretty fine job being a Terror of Death, but what is it? Is that a power the person holds from his own world, or something else?

More Hunters remained past them to be dealt with, sounding their presence with metal footsteps. Once he identifies them in his sights, Zero crouches and moves instantly, thanks to the propulsion from his boots, from where he was to the group — he was fairly more confident in taking out the shooting Pantheons with one sure strike than he was with the melee type — and promptly cuts into two of them close together in one broad horizontal slash. Meanwhile, some of the leftover Guardians are making their way towards Haseo, brandishing their electric rods for arms and ready to attack if they weren't noticed.

No, I understand

[not_that_scary]

We missed some, it seems. That's easily fixed! "REAPER'S TOUCH!" The two spins and counterspin of Haseo's body would work to swing the scythe into the Guardians and tear them up with relative ease. The ones with the stick seem to be tougher, but not by much. They die all the same. Come on! "CLEAVE!" and at Haseo's direction, Skeith swung its own scythe at one of the Guardians rapidly approaching Zero.

Disruptive CR fine with you?

[strangerfromthedesert]

Zero met the final Hunter in the pack, overriding the red of its headlight with the greeting of green light. He was focused, too focused, to not catch the impending danger himself. Was he getting distracted by something? No matter, the following would get his attention.

The whoosh came nearby far too close. Zero jerked to the side, barely missing the overall attack of the slicing measure given by the Avatar. The Guardian stood in place for a moment, and the next it clattered to the floor unceremoniously split apart.

The battlefield stood still with all Pantheons in the immediate area disabled. As distant whirrs continued to sound, one of the two that stood there stares over at the direction of the other. They're too far away to discern if it's a neutral or cold stare, should the other person give enough care.

Pre-empting the Pantheons

[strangerfromthedesert]

The army of blue and white moved along at a steady pace, turning this way and that inside the industrial sector of the city, their facelights shining along any surface to seek their prey out, whatever it was. Maybe you're right in front of their advancing path, or maybe you're off to the side to catch this parade of walking death. Whatever the case, the ball's in your court.

[ineedthemforanalyzing]

A small girl, in one of her typical perches on a fire escape, looked down at the strange new set of demons. Someone must have come in from a new world, since they didn't look familiar at all.

Well, except being kind of robotic.

Regardless, Latooni summoned her princess-like Soul Persona to scan a sample of them as they passed. If they were ignoring humans, it would be a good time to assess and record their strengths and weaknesses without having to fight.

Unless this provoked them, of course, but she still has her military training and high ground if it comes to that.

[strangerfromthedesert]

Indeed, if the Pantheons registered the aloft bystander, they showed no notice nor intention to harass her. They continued on their way, having an apparent single-minded purpose to congregate somewhere. Among them near the back was something that looked entirely different, covered in teal and gray and towering above the rest of the mob, hovering above the ground by a foot or so and matching their marching speed with guided thrusters on its back.

Results from the frog princess' scan turned positive: The walkers had no specific weaknesses aside from Mind and Almighty yet were rather expendable, but the metal giant appeared nigh-invulnerable aside from only the strongest of attacks. That is, at first. Scans at a specific location might reveal something more useful.

The distant sounds of fighting could be heard. Whatever their destination it was up ahead, and whoever was there was likely unaware of the looming threat that continued to create distance nearby Latooni.

[ineedthemforanalyzing]

Latooni silently focused on her Persona. The big one was interesting, but it was more important to warn anyone immediately nearby about their approach. She'd probably need to launch in Wildraubtier to fight it anyway.

She attempted to use CommLink, hoping one of the people up ahead would be someone she knew, but it didn't seem like she was that lucky. Instead, without a sigh or a shrug, she climbed down to street level, running along in the direction of the noise of fighting and hoping she continued to be ignored.

[strangerfromthedesert]

The way wasn't obstructed by much; the group was sparse enough to allow slipping around them on the side. She was incredibly lucky, for they still didn't attack. Some of the walkers glanced over, facelights shining from cyclopean heads in Latooni's general direction, but nothing further as they moved along.

Farther up ahead, a swordsman of some sort could be seen engaged with the very front of the lineup of machines. They wielded a luminous lightsaber, edges reaching below the top of the hilt to create a triangular design for the blade itself. He moved around the ones with rods for arms, at each opportunity aiming his attacks and backing off. Unfortunately, he was getting pushed back even with the progress he was making from the numbers slowly stacking against him.

Taking out his Buster Shot, he looked for an escape route while firing at the Pantheons trying to take aim from the back. That's when he saw the human running along the mob to the side. An astonished, warning tone raised in his voice to yell, "They're after me, don't get caught in this!"

[ineedthemforanalyzing]

"What? You can't fight all these things alone! And there's a big one coming, too!" she called out, trying to move around to a more defensible position herself. She didn't know what was going on here, but she knew when someone was in trouble, and she knew how to deal with swarms of aggressive AIs.

She didn't have anything with her that could hit their weaknesses, but she could still find cover and get Omoikane ready to start raining lightning. "If you know what a Mind- or Almighty-type attack is, use that!"

[strangerfromthedesert]

Repeated firing from the Buster Shot took down some of the Hunters, but not without taking a hit or two himself. No noticeable damage was done, but the wince was obvious. He protected the attacked area on his chest with a guarding hand, edging further away from the mob but more to the side in case he needed to come to the girl's defense.

A big one? ... Either a Golem or another large Mechaniloid. That's going to make things more complicated on top of being distracted. He's used to fighting alone and usually not having to consider others potentially getting hurt, no matter who or what they are, human or Reploid. That's on top of other thoughts going through his head at the moment.

"No, I don't understand, all I have is my saber and gun!" It's too bad he isn't his fully-leveled self though, he'd at least have an Almighty attack to work with... though if he was he'd be tearing through these robots a lot faster than he is right now. Truth be told, he wasn't considering all his options, but some of them weren't available anyway with being unable to make use of his Element Chips.

[flyonadog]

Y'know, when Rock decided to try out this whole 'patrolling for monsters' thing, he didn't expect to find robots. Especially not ones that bore a strange resemblance to the Sniper Joes. And especially not this many of them. At least he wasn't totally alone - Rush had come along.

"Oh, man," he mutters to himself, shifting his right arm into its buster configuration. "We might be in over our heads here, boy." Rush growls, lowering himself into an on-guard position. "Wouldn't be the first time, though."

[strangerfromthedesert]

To be fair, the congregation Rock and Rush see is what happens when an entire Ward of "guests" all decide to gang up in one spot, and against one target. It's not too bad yet, as the density is sparse enough to walk amongst or around them...

Their target thankfully is neither of them, and so they continue on their way. Some of the "Sniper Joes" look in Rock's direction and stop, staring for a time, but continue on after a few seconds of that. It's something to note that what shades of blue can be seen on them against the glow of the red sky is an uncannily similar set to the Blue Bomber's own, whether that means anything or not.

Looks like my slump's timing worked out well, ahah.

[flyonadog]

The tension in the pair slowly eases up as it becomes apparent that the group isn't after them, getting a confused look from the pair - which is given to each other at least once.

However, curiosity becomes too great to resist, and in short order, Rock's flying overhead on Rush, trying to figure out just where these things are going.

Indeed o/ Hey there.

[strangerfromthedesert]

Quickly for them, the nexus of their congregation is found — a glowing green beam of light can be seen on the ground below up ahead, it being swung to defend the one holding it from becoming overwhelmed.

The Pantheons advance, slowly but uncompromisingly, bunching themselves up in a manner that makes it difficult for the warrior on the ground to make a significant dent in the wall of metal without getting hurt himself. Many of the Hunters shoot overhead the hunched Guardians, firing a salvo of bullets for him to dash around and time his attacks on the melee in front. During one such exchange, a shot nicks him in the shoulder, causing him to flinch and cease his attack, forcing him to jump backwards away from the crowd.

He noticeably breathes exaggeratedly from the strain, holding his shoulder with his free hand while holding out the Z-Saber in his other hand in defense. Oh, but he does notice the Pantheons from behind also coming for him, so he can't retreat too far. Searching the view above them for an improvised escape route, he can't help but notice the glint in the distance of a moving floating object heading in his direction. Whatever it is, he can't trust if it's friend or foe yet.

[justanothermachine]

Upon getting close enough to see the one outnumbered, there's a quiet 'oh no' that gets muttered. He straightens up a bit, readying his buster. "Guess we're not the only ones outnumbered, Rush - let's lend a hand!" The dog answers enthusiastically with a bark, and swoops in toward Zero. Rock jumps off, and Rush makes a swing around to transform back to dog mode and stand beside Rock.

"Looks like you could use a hand, Mister!"