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

Work your magic, I'll react as necessary.

[not_that_scary]

Cutting it a bit close there, weren't you? Like you were paying attention, either. "...There's more of them." Those sounds were similar to what he heard on his approach to this battlefield. "They'll probably keep coming too." Haseo turned his attention to the man staring at him from across the area. "Hey, is there some sort of leader unit we can destroy to disrupt their operations? If this keeps up, the entire area's liable to get destroyed, and I'd rather not give the residents of Hinoto-ri more reason to hate the Visitors."

In that case, Golem Fight Y/N?

[strangerfromthedesert]

The reploid turned his head to the side to check the overall distance of their foes, an eye still looking back at Haseo.

"The ones leading them are back in my world, unless they really are here. It'd be better for me to leave, I'm the one they want. Splitting up would be in order."

There were other reasons, but they weren't as important right now. More urgently, he was responsible for the horde of Neo Arcadia somehow finding their way here, it was easy to tell. Representation and accountability went hand in hand if he was acting in defense of the city. Somehow that notion felt familiar... isn't that why he attempted to distract the Pantheons from the Resistance in the first place back then?

*spams the Y key*

[not_that_scary]

"They're from your world?" If that was the case then- We got company. More already? Where-? BEHIND! Haseo shot forward, just in time to avoid being crushed by the Golem that decided to fall where he used to be. "This guy from your world, too?!" He was fucking huge! He could tell just be looking that it was on a completely different level than those mooks from before.

Just making sure!

[strangerfromthedesert]

"Damn. Not good."

Zero grimaced from where he was. The Golem was looking at Haseo, opening its mouth to reveal a short cylinder in its mouth. "Get out of the way!"

The cylinder gleamed a hint of green right before a thin laser shot out, trailing along the ground as it attempted to track Haseo. It indented the ground with sparks flying as it did so across metal and ground - touching it is definitely not a good idea.

Zero dashed forward to close the length of distance towards the gargantuan, unhooking the gun from his back in the process and firing a burst of three shots at it. Forget trying to lead them away, that thing had to be stopped now at all costs.

I understand completely. HEAVEN OR HELL, LET'S ROCK!

[not_that_scary]

A fucking laser!? Don't just stand there, dodge! Haseo zipped out of the way of the beam before it hit him. "The hell is this thing?! Another machine from your world?!" he took to the air and fired into the Golem's armor to little effect. My shots aren't working? It's like back at the Arena. Send me out! "ZIO!" An electric shock is unleashed by Skeith and sent to the giant mechanaloid, only to see it shrug it off. "Oh come on!"

[strangerfromthedesert]

The laser ended its trail, but the cannon still stayed outside. It wouldn't get a chance to repeat its attack on the one in white and the one named "Skeith".

The first two shots from Zero's Buster Shot barely impacted the top of the Golem's armor, yet the final shot rang true, lightly pinging the back of its head. The giant reacted visibly, as if from backlash, wobbling its metal cranium for just a second before rotating around in a broad fashion on its hoverlegs to face Zero.

A green glow emanated from the reploid's body, an audible sound could be heard in accompaniment. It was something akin to a metronome, in time with the pulsations, but more like a suctioning noise in rhythm.

The mechaniloid appeared to have other ideas than waiting there, however. It began to charge with full speed in its thrusters, aiming its mouth-cannon squarely at one in red. Who would fire first?

[not_that_scary]

Neither would get there chance to fire in the end. The head is the weak point! "CHAOTIC STRIKE!" Haseo jumped at the Golem's head while its back was turned to Zero, dismissing the guns in favor of a pair of triple bladed daggers, and began mercilessly cutting at the weak spot of the Mechanaloid!

[strangerfromthedesert]

The Golem's thinner metal alloy of its head gave way easily to the punctures and gapes, and the severe damage to its control system made it stop in its tracks, helpless against further attacks. Soon enough, the head's casing caved in entirely, revealing its slashed-apart internal circuitry while critical damage was being dealt.

A distorted sound could be heard, and pops could be heard along it. Those pops soon turned into blasts of fire coming from the neck down, bursts of light piercing from its body.

Zero knew what was happening. "It's going to explode, stop!"

[not_that_scary]

You heard the man, bail the attack and jet! Haseo does just that, redirecting the final burst of energy 60 degrees straight up and shooting backwards into the wall of an untouched building with a crash. He'd be sore in the morning, but he was clear of the explosion.

[strangerfromthedesert]

Tch. Zero will have to deal with that later, making sure to dash away from the meltdowning hulk before firing his kept charge shot at the remains of its head, ensuring its destruction with an explosion that at least was away from hitting any buildings nearby.

With the light from the blast receding, Zero dashes over to the wall and stops next to it, not saying a word.

[not_that_scary]

"ugh..." At least the wall didn't crater with his impact, but he was definitely going to feel that in the morning. Looking to Zero, Haseo said, "Thanks for the warning. I don't want to think about what would have happened to me if I was caught in the blast."

Heys, sent a PM a few days ago, you get it?

[strangerfromthedesert]

The least he could do was offer a hand to help the guy back on his feet. A question left him as he extended it, though. "I take it 'Skeith' is your Persona?"