Private/Closed Bootleg Bros. Ultimate - The Sumeragi Campaign

[Psymallard]

Akira Howard
-Morning, NORA Wreckage-
The machine attempted to get away. Akira wouldn't let it. She noticed Boboiboy getting up, but was too tunnel-visioned to hear what he said. Her first priority was to neutralize the threat.

"Oh, no you don't!"

V1 was fast, but the police officer's stride wasn't half bad as she ran after him, firing the entire time. As a coin was flicked down, Akira recognized this, and sent her Type-R out to intercept it in a fraction of a second. After cutting the coin in half, it reached back and grabbed the Astral Chain, yanking its master after it.

Then, it rushed upwards and through the hatch to slash at V1 if he was still nearby. It repeated a previous action, yanking on the Astral Chain to boost Akira up through the hatch as well. She perched on the edge, sending bursts of energy blasts from her enhanced blaster. The Legionnaire's Legion was on standby to react to any attacks sent their way.

"I'm not through with you, yet!"

 

[Gamingfan]

Amaterasu
After Ghiaccio released her Solar Flare, it returned to her side. The man emitted another glacial aura, freezing the rooftop from the inside out. As the oncoming ice wave approached Ammy, the wolf buckled down, lowering her Solar Flare. Frost met flame and steam surrounded Amaterasu, the ice hissing as it attempted to creep over the shield, melted, and evaporated in seconds. Amaterasu moved to retaliate, but was cut off by a large crack appearing in front of her. Red light bled from it, giving the goddess a tingling sensation until it erupted, covering the wolf entirely!
In that instant, Amaterasu felt unusual, and began to change. It was as if she had been tethered once more to the celestial realm, to her godhood. Her form shifted accordingly, covering her neck in blazing mane of red fire, her red stripes growing longer more intricate as she ascended closer to godhood once again. Yet it was a different kind, one separate from the 13 brush gods. As the light disappeared, so did her mane, but her red streaks changed into a different pattern, with a prominent heart shape on her forehead, and seemed to glow.
The floor began falling out from under Amaterasu as the rooftop collapsed. Amaterasu didn't fully understand the current events, but wasted no time running across the crumbling floor, jumping from roof chunk to roof chunk to avoid being crushed by the debris.
Three streaks of ink splattered the air Ghiaccio, blood red in color. They acted near-identical to Frisk's bloodwounds, tearing through the air and debris and towards the italian. However, upon making contact with the stand-user, they would burst into a single intense impact like the Power Slash. The slash itself would be restrained, feeling more like being hit by a large blunt sword, but the burning determination would sear into Ghiaccio and his armor.

 

[Mokko]

Terrence Boom
What. The. Fuck.

Terrence wouldn’t have believed it- no, he was standing right in front of it and still couldn’t believe it. He didn’t think anything of it when Kiwi shared their interpretation of the plan- he didn’t even think anything of it when they gracefully plucked up the coffee cup. Terrence opened his mouth to correct them on what he’d had in mind, but then Kiwi walked directly in front of the guards.

DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE GUARDS!!

He wasn’t angry- flabbergasted, sure, but more than anything, quite impressed. Such an approach was not at all stealthy, but it sure took a lot of guts. Unfortunately, he had reason to believe said guts were going to get spilled if this went dicey. Instinctively, his shell manifested on his back and a thin layer of orange magic coated his wrists, as he turned toward Tracy as if to say ‘are you seeing this,’ but then she went ahead and followed Kiwi directly in front of the guards.

DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE GUARDS!!!

He exhaled, fearfully. He understood what Kiwi was doing, really, and he liked that energy a whole lot! That being said, they truly could not afford for these guys to be sending out any kind of alert- and, well, this was going to get pretty loud and punchy if this went in the direction he felt like it was going. T could be stealthy- he didn’t FIGHT stealthy, though.

But his concern was quickly replaced by even more disbelief. WAS IT WORKING??

Well, he was glad Kiwi and Tracy were not being attacked. And if Kiwi actually could pull off one of those songs of theirs… this could just be crazy enough to work. That guard raising his hand toward his helmet was a problem, though. A very baffled Terrence snapped out of it as he quickly manifested a fist, a deep-orange magical one that hovered in front of him. Wasting no time, he reached forward and plucked the tip of the index finger off, before flicking it across the room- he went high, the projectile moving in a tall arc, Terrence hoping for it to remain out of the guards’ views as Kiwi and Tracy provided a distraction, before plummeting down toward that guards’ helmet. This wasn’t a damage-dealing move, exactly- rather... well, Terrence’s experiences leading up to this in Messiah HQ had been filled with machinery- a lot of screens he couldn’t make sense of. Importantly, though, he’d learned how delicate the relationship between magic and machine was, and combined with what Crescent had taught him about controlling the movement and elegance of magic, and it cooked up a recipe for what would hopefully prove to be a microphone-and-alarm-disabling finger-bullet.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


His concerns for Akira's wellbeing fell on deaf ears, as she broke out into a run after V1. Alarmed, the teen reached out for her.

"No, wait!"

Taking a step to give chase to her, he collapsed on the ground, his muscle fatigue being unmistakeable. Gritting his teeth, he slid himself back to prop his spine against the wall behind him.

Ugh...you've done in now, Bo. Alone again. Akira off to fight that thing in unknown territory and Miracle's health unknown. If you stay here much longer you'll be a goner too. Just move...you've got to move!

Although he thought this, his body didn't move forward at all. As if his muscles already knew it was futile effort. Bringing the watch to his chest, he clicked a button on it.

"Yaya, Fang...Ying...Gopal...Ochobot. Come in. I need you guys..."

No response.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Crash Site – NORA Station
​

Once Jennifer and Eva left for the safe house, Miracle decided to take a slight breather, soaring into the air for a bird's eye view of the slums, assisted by his spyglass.

Zooming into the ruined streets all around him, the magician didn't see much movement within a couple miles of the crash site. A little further out, however, he was able to spot a particular structure – a fifty-foot tall facility with a series of industrial chimneys at the top, spewing dark fumes into the air. Based on the information he'd been given earlier, he could recognize it as the factory that Sumeragi was using to produce weapons, mechs, and the like in the slums. Somewhere several of his allies had headed off to.

While it was a bit difficult to get a clear shot of the streets around said factory, Miracle was soon able to see several trucks grouping up near the structure before heading out. Some branched off to other locations, but it became clear that a few were headed in the crash site's direction, carrying soldiers and machines alike.

They were quite a ways from this location, but from the looks of it, that group would be arriving somewhere between fifteen and thirty minutes.

Back inside the station, as Akira gave chase to the fleeing V1, leaving Boboiboy alone and exhausted next to the security bot's remains and the unconscious Hunter, there was a boom coming from the laboratory door.

The door had taken quite a bit of damage from the battle, with buzzsaws, bullets, and stray elemental attacks having all pummeled it. It was crumpled inward slightly, with some stress cracks running along its frame.

Another boom resounded, and a hole was blown into the center of the door, scattering pieces of it across the floor. Out of it stepped Kane Gardner, the grenade launcher on his armguard at the ready, as was the rifle-like weapon on his hand. He looked around for a moment, slightly surprised to see no combat unfolding in front of him, before his eyes locked onto the lone Boboiboy.

"Hey! Are you alright?" he called, rushing over to the teen. "Where is everyone else?"​

Q.U.I.L.L. HQ – Ruins
​

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the ice covering the rooftop was overtaken by crimson cracks of volatile Determination. They spread rapidly, the building glowing with red light, before––

CRASH!

Q.U.I.L.L. HQ suddenly fell apart, each crack spewing out beams of light that rapidly burnt through each surface they touched. The facility's walls gave out from the destruction, shifting much of what hadn't been immediately obliterated to one side, the roof itself quickly collapsing. Frisk and Amaterasu quickly cleared out of the falling rubble, the latter already putting further pressure on Ghiaccio, empowered by a sudden surge of holy energy.

As the crumbling debris began to settle, there was some slight movement amidst the building's ruins. A few pieces of rubble shifted out of the prone form of the Forceburst Hunter, seemingly pinned some of the data center's remains. His armor had suffered devastating damage, leaving practically nothing but a torn-up bodysuit underneath, while the Adept's exposed skin seemed to have received some burns. Not quite like ones from a flame, but rather frostbite.

He appeared to be barely conscious, not quite in a state to free himself from his predicament with his Septima.​

Armament Factory – Assembly 1 2F
​

Kiwi continued to talk, going off on their unfamiliarity with factories and the like. The Gunner's head gradually tilted more and more to the side in confusion, trying to keep up with whatever the Bard was trying to get across with their melodic words.

At the same time, Terrence's subtle snipe with Bravery magic hit its intended target. The projectile dissipated upon impact, and there was a slight fizzle in the soldier's visor, tiny sparks flying off the side of the helmet, the same one he was raising his hand to. Fortunately for the not-so-stealthy-anymore squad, he didn't seem to notice.

Then, Kiwi proposed singing for the soldiers. There was a moment of silence again, the second soldier pausing and lowering their hand.

In a bewildering turn of events, they nodded.

"...Guess it'd liven things up in here a bit..." the first Gunner muttered, awkwardly gesturing with his weapon for Kiwi to start doing their thing.​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

V1

V1 was chased by the officer, who continued firing. After having parried the first shot, the machine- remembering the red revolver in their hands- spun it up again. After a moment, they fired it at Akira, right as she fired another shot. The projectiles collided, detonating violently directly next to the officer. If the officer continued to fire, they would do it again, though not a third time- they only had 3 uses.

Akira's Legion chased after the machine as it escaped through the hatch, though the robot was already sliding away when the slash came. As Akira came up with them, V1 had pulled out the Core Eject shotgun, firing it at the pair. Then, swapping to the Malicious Railcannon, they detonated the shot, causing ANOTHER immensely powerful explosion.

Annoyed at the officer's persistence, V1 swapped to the Firestarter rocket launcher, and... spewed an enormous amount of oil on the path between Akira and them. Jumping and firing a rocket, the machine ignited the oil, creating a barrier of flame between the blood-fueled robot and their assailant.

The machine slid away once again, tossing another coin backward- though clearly with no intention to shoot it, as they turned away as soon as they could.

V2

V2 was on the ground, Ghiaccio was blasted away, and other hostiles were attacking them- as the ice below V2 began to split, glowing a red energy. The machine, at first not comprehending what was happening, immediately moved to flee as they realized that the entire building was splitting apart. They dashed, slid, did everything they could to-

CRASH!

The entire building fell apart, V2 falling with it, as the force hit the red machine like a truck. Cracking much of the machine's plating, the energy seeped in, where it immediately began to have the inverse effect. V2's blood, granting them sapinence, had immense power due to it's origin being the World Tree. This power spread to the other blood it contacted- which was why the machine was still able to talk.

This also, apparently, meant that holy energy hitting the blood caused it to multiply. The energy was absorbed and duplicated the blood, filling V2's tanks to the brim. As the machine hit the ground, their systems worked to undo the damage done by the explosion- filling cracks, fabricating plates, even making more ammo for the security bot.

Looking around, V2 would see Amaterasu already putting pressure on Ghiaccio, who was looking worse for wear. Getting up and pressing forward, the machine chose to go back to basics with a few shotgun blasts, the heat attempting to prevent the ice elemental from repairing his shield and once again attacking the robot and their allies.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


He jolted alert when the door was blown open, his head momentarily racing with ideas to defend himself. After a few seconds, he came to recognize the face as someone he momentarily saw on the monitor screen in the room: Kane Gardner.

"Hey! Are you alright?" he called, rushing over to the teen. "Where is everyone else?"

"Akira gave chase to that robot, going off on her own, she has to stop...!" He caught himself, cringing a bit in pain. "And Miracle...I assumed he was trying to help you and anyone else evacuate the site. Don't tell me he didn't make it to you...?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Ghiaccio​

Q.U.I.L.L. H.Q.​

V2 evaded both of Ghiaccio's attacks, launching itself into the air and ricocheting a shot off a coin. The bullet struck Ghiaccio's right arm, but was stopped by White Album's armor. V2 attempted to jump off Ghiaccio, but the assassin was too quick. He grabbed V2's ankle, slamming him down into the roof. The robot had swapped weapons, firing at Ghiaccio with its shotgun-weapon. The shells exploded into White Album's chest, forcing Ghiaccio to release V2 and pushing Ghiaccio back. A small crack appeared in armor from the attack, but it quickly vanished as the armor repaired itself.

"I told you! Useless!" Ghiaccio yelled as he skated after V2. The robot opened fire with his nailgun. The metal spikes struck White Album's armor, but bounced off without even leaving a scratch or even slowing Ghiaccio's charge.

Then, Frisk unleashed her Retribution attack. Cracks of red light began to emerge from the rooftop, and the sensation was immediately apparent. The light... it was somehow melting through White Album's armor! Impossible! The air around him was lower than -100 degrees Celsius! An attack from that brat couldn't possibly-

"Graaaah!" Ghiaccio yelled in pain as the light struck his leg. But it wasn't a searing heat that hit him, but instead... well, Ghiaccio wasn't sure how to describe it. But it wasn't heat based, that much he could tell. The assassin spread his arms, and the crackling of ice could be heard as the light from Retribution attack enveloped him fully!

The light from the attack faded, the roof of the Headquarters collapsing in on itself. Amaterasu expertly navigated the falling debris, jumping from piece to piece. But as the wolf looked to target Ghiaccio with her newfound energy burst, she would find that Ghiaccio was nowhere to be seen. For a moment, there was silence at Q.U.I.L.L. H.Q., clouds of dust hanging in the air.

With a loud clatter, Ghiaccio heaved himself out of a pile of rubble. The debris tumbled around him, kicking up even more dust into the air. His armor, while damaged, was not in as bad of a shape as it should have been from the Retribution attack. And with a loud crackling noise, it quickly repaired itself back to completion. The assassin cracked his neck again. Somehow, the air in the area had gotten still colder. Much, much colder.

"What a pain." He grumbled. "The intel never showed these brats had that sort of power. And this whole place was leveled. Still. If they waited so long to help out V2, I bet that brat took her time gathering whatever intel she could get from this place."
The assassin scanned the area, but found no sign of Frisk. Must have made it outside the Data Center. His eyes fell upon Amaterasu. There was something different about it, somehow. The way it was holding itself? The energy it had? It hadn't been harmed by the brat's attack in the slightest. Ghiaccio came to a conclusion of his own. This dog's stand, septima, whatever, must be similar to his own. One that had no form, but augemented its user. And this bitch seemed to have just activated hers in full. Well, so had he.

"Come on, bitch. Don't tell me you're getting tired now!" Ghiaccio taunted Amaterasu, before skating towards the wolf in a cloud of dust! He aimed a slashing kick with his skates, attempting to cut and freeze Ammy's flesh on contact!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Crash Site – NORA Pre-Lab Security
​

"Don't worry, he did," Kane reassured Boboiboy, kneeling down in front of him. "He warped both my wife and daughter out of the station, and they're both en route to a designated safe area. Miracle said your group would be meeting up there later." he added, gesturing with a finger to one of the large earpieces he wore, signifying he'd been able to remain in contact with Jennifer and Eva. "I'm not sure why he hasn't returned, however..."

As he spoke, gunfire and explosions rang out from the hatch above the two. Kane looked up at the opening, barely managing to spot the Akira as she attempted to stop V1. His brow furrowed, the commander aware that he had no means of making it up there. He focused on Boboiboy instead, reaching a hand into his pilot jacket. "We'll have to move out soon before any more trouble shows up... Hold on. This should help slightly."

After a moment of rummaging, he pulled out a fist-sized capsule, which glowed slightly with green energy. Holding it up close to the boy's body, he put slight pressure on the capsule, and it seemed to dissipate in a small flash of light, the residual energy swirling around Boboiboy. Almost immediately, he could feel a bit of the accumulated fatigue fade away, any wounds on the teen's body healing up somewhat.

Having administered the healing capsule, he looked to Boboiboy. "How's that?"​

 

[Gamingfan]

Amaterasu
Unfortunately, Amaterasu could not land the first strike, as Ghiaccio vanished from sight. Instead, the wolf saved her ink and ensured she would land in the middle of the floor, atop the rubble. Her eyes swept the area for any sign of Ghiaccio, her eyes flicking towards the sound of moving rubble. There he appeared, pulling himself from what used to be the roof. Their eyes locked. The air chilled even further, frost covering all their surroundings. Even the newly vitalized plants growing under Ammy's feet were swiftly covered in it...although they did not die.
Despite, or perhaps because of, her newly increased power, Amaterasu felt hesitant to attack the italian any more. They had retrieved whatever they needed, fighting this man was not part of the plan. As if to communicate this, Amaterasu sat down, pointedly breaking eye contact to look around for Frisk and V2. She wondered if it was too late to escape together.
All it did was infuriate Ghiaccio, prompting him to spit a venomous taunt before skating towards the wolf, faster than before! Amaterasu reacted in kind, swinging her Solar Flare in time with Ghiaccio's leg. Both weapons clashed, and Amaterasu was pushed back, but only slightly. Or rather, her momentum was suddenly cut by the floor freezing her feet, anchoring her to the spot. Even when her Solar Flare left her for a moment, Ghiaccio left the environment so frigid it was as if the air solidified!
Though it had been a while, Amaterasu needed another heat source. It was one of her weaker weapons, but...
The flames around Amaterasu grew brighter as Amaterasu pulled out another reflector. Her first Divine Instrument, the one that remained even after her death as "Shiranui".
Divine Retribution.
How fitting.
Although its usual power was weak, the dazzling flames covering it, made large and red by Frisk's influence, more than made up for it. The combined heat of it and her Solar Flare melted the ice around her, allowing the wolf to jump at Ghiaccio.
Amaterasu moved fast, unwilling to waste the chance she was provided. She swung her flaming reflectors one after the other as naturally as if they were her own limbs, gracefully striking at Ghiaccio from different angles. She pushed forward, aiming to pressure Ghiaccio towards one of the crumbling walls. If he attempted to distance himself, the italian would be followed by twin streams of burning determination!

 

[DevVoid]

Mr. Miracle

"I'll tell you why I haven't returned yet, alright."

The familiar voice rung out as, moments prior, the gentle fluttering of a swivellin cape rung through the air and right there, Miracle himself re-appeared in the same spot he'd teleported from initially to rescue the Commander's family. Though he still held the spyglass in one hand, the magician was swift to press it together, collapsing the looking glass, and let it smoothly run past his arm and into his sleeve where it seemed to disappear entirely.

"..wow, did I really miss that much?"

Terry had muttered to himself with quiet shock as he took a look around, hovering through the air and assessing everything that had happened post-portation. The cop lady was gone, presumably chasing after that blue murderbot that was equally chasing him earlier. Ice and Fire had also vanished, though he knew they'd just returned to Boboiboy so no need to worry much about.. no, wait, there WAS need to worry! At least a bit as it seemed Kane already had things under control. The entertainer flew on down, landing on both his tippy toes before the rest of his soles fell flat on the ground.

"I decided to take some extra time scouting ahead and.. well, it's not looking good."

Hagen started with re-telling his assessment of the perimeter outside. Even though the convoy he spotted off in the far distance was.. well, far, it wasn't any good news regardless. And honestly, Akira could not have picked a WORSE time to give chase than now but- no, he was getting ahead of himself. Stay on the straight path, thoughts!

"There's a whole bunch of manned troops coming our way. I'd say we've got about twenty minutes tops to pack up and skip town. Where'd our third party disappear to, I wonder?"

 

[comic]

FRISK DREEMURR​

—QUILL HQ Ruins, Day 2 Morning—​

Chara was right, it had been a little overkill. Frisk probably could have figured a way out of the ice that was less... abrasive than that. It’s not even like the attack itself was super effective, just an AOE in a pinch. Topping that off, it was only the second time she’d pulled it off successfully - and the first had been a training exercise.

Still, it seemed to take care of the last hunter, and maybe the grandma.

Frisk pushed herself back up and let out a breath, regaining herself in time to feel a cold chill rolling through the air, growing dramatically cooler. The sky itself seemed to earn itself a pale blue hue, growing more bleak by the second. Her breath came out as a heavy billow of mist.

“Okay, granny’s not takin’ a nap...” Frisk muttered - earning a snort from Chara. Frisk frowned. “What?”

“Oh nothing, nothing, carry on with your monologue, don’t mind me,” the shaytan snickered knowingly.

The cold was unbearable, it had to be worse where the grandma was—

Chara giggled.

—which was easy to deduce, based on the fact that the center of the new debris field where the HQ used to stand was rapidly coated in ice and snow. Even the debris in the air had been rapidly dragged down by the cold. Ice wasn’t something Frisk had fought before. She learned her lessons best on the fly, though - preferably if she didn’t die in the process.

“So it’s just the hole in her neck?” Frisk asked, recalling Chara’s advice.

“Well, it was,” Chara shrugged nonchalantly, smirking at Frisk’s chosen pronoun.

“What?” the teenager turned to look at the spirit. “What do you mean ‘was’? Why is it past tense now?”

“Window of opportunity’s closed,” Chara said. “Sorry, it’s phase two now. Or three, if you want to be hyperspecific.”

Great. So much for that piece of advice. Frisk shivered, and immediately a film of translucent red surrounded her in the shape of a large, conveniently-shaped lamp. Or, the shape of Frisk, take your pick. This was the method she planned to use to get to Demon in Russia, devised by both Dempsey and Alphys as more ‘theoretical’ before put to the test. The magic acted as a barrier against virtually anything non-hostile. Radiation, weather effects, even the burning light of the sun couldn’t touch Frisk inside. A very useful tool - though pretty flimsy against an actual attack. To keep it up, she’d have to play defensive and evasive, focusing on those aspects over power and aggression.

The cold was blocked, for now, Frisk glad to not be feeling its biting chill as bursts of flames erupted from the wreckage of Q.U.I.L.L. HQ. That was Amaterasu, so the wolf seemed fine...! That was a good sign. Gunshots fired, compounding the air. Veetoo as well?

Also a good sign. Her allies could handle an attack like Retribution well, it seemed. The grandma—

Another snicker.

—Didn’t stand a chance.

“What is so funny?” Frisk sighed, glancing again at Chara.

The spirit laughed before she crossed her arms. “Well, you’ll see when you meet the Italian ‘grandma’ up close.”

“Is she not a grandma?”

“Not necessarily, persay?” Chara mused.

“Like... she doesn’t have grandkids, you mean?”

Chara laughed again. Frisk shook her head and looked away, deciding that this conversation wasn’t worth continuing. Like the shaytan said; she’d see soon enough.

“Well, grandkids or no, I’m gonna be a real pain in her ass in a few seconds,” Frisk said, which seemed to continue humoring Chara. Frisk hurried her way closer to the battle, putting some magic into reinforcing her body shield, just to protect against stray debris flying from attacks, cresting over a collapsed wall to find the battle unfolding.

Frisk couldn’t really see the ice granny through the armor, but she was moving like someone much younger than an old lady, locked in a tense close-up fight with Amaterasu, who looked different. More... majestic.

Frisk felt a rejuvenation in her limbs and her core. A moment of warmth that tingled through her body, from her heart out to the tips of her fingers and toes. It was nice... but her health had already been almost full, so it really did very little for her.

Still, very inspirational!

Frisk raised her arm and began to summon basic barriers, slim shields of magic to start intercepting the Italian grandma’s attacks as they were launched, or getting in her path to slow her down when moving, trying to kill her momentum in movement and delay attacks, also trying to give Ammy further openings to retaliate and deal damage.

“You are so ignorant,” Chara chuckled. “I can’t wait for you to see ‘her’ face.”

 

[Psymallard]

Akira Howard
-Morning, NORA Wreckage-
The robot fired back, desperately trying to get away. Luckily, each of V1's shots were extensively choreographed as the machine decided to twirl its gun before firing for whatever reason. The first bullet came just as the Legion came out. The otherworldly entity quickly cut through the bullet on its charge forth. The second shot was even simpler to avoid; Akira slid under it while returning fire. She was dead set on getting to this robot.

The Legionnaire followed him up the hatch, still firing. Her Legion, as aforementioned, was on standby to play defensive. That ended up working out, since another attack came their way. The core was identified as some sort of grenade, and the Type-R sprang into action posthaste. It lowered back down the hatch, jammed its blades underneath a section of floor, and then tore out a large metal panel to use as a shield for the explosion.

Akira had to stop firing for this part, as the explosion knocked the sword Legion back, and she had to assist by throwing her shoulder into the panel as well to fully stop it. Then, the captain continued her pursuit. This was only stopped by the splattering of oil, which was soon ignited. As the fire roared, Akira came to a sudden halt, raising a hand to shield her face from the overwhelming light and heat of the blaze. There was no real way for her to get past the inferno in these tight corridors.

"Damn-! COWARD!!"

The Type-R hurled the damaged metal panel through the blaze after the robot, right after it had disappeared around the corner. Akira cursed under her breath- she was going to win that fight! If not just to prove herself, it would've taken another killer robot off the streets. Speaking of, she wasn't unaware of that thing's striking resemblance to V2. That... was going to be the topic of discussion if and when Akira saw them again.

Now that the machine was gone, she decided to go back and focus on what, admittedly, should have been her first priority. Akira dismissed her Legion, sheathed her baton, and then walked back towards the hatch. She dropped down, landing like a superhero, and then stood. Miracle was back, Kane was here, and Boboiboy was looking better. All good. The cop removed her helmet as she walked back over to the group.

"I've never seen a robot just... give up on its mission like that. Who even makes a machine with self-preservation? That's just asking for trouble."

The policewoman was clearly perturbed by this- but even moreso what it might mean if these parallels could be drawn to the other droid. She already didn't trust the thing, and this just gave her even more reason not to. They needed to get back first before anything. Akira turned to Kane and Miracle.

"The others are safe?"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


Now, he wasn't quite sure what he expected when the healing capsule was presented. He expected some sort of advanced first aid kit, but when the light washed over him, the results were far less rudimentary than that. He felt...more energized. His muscle fatigue began to dissipate, struggling to his feet became more natural until any signs of difficulty were removed. He wasn't 100%, but he was much better than what he was.

"Surprisingly better...!" He remarked, thankful for the treatment as he looked over his body. "Wow...that's some technology."

He was tempted to ask if they had extra supplies of those when a figure made themselves known. Enter Miracle, who was thought to have been missing in action. Bringing in the new info of enemy reinforcements coming soon, be followed up with asking of Akira's whereabouts.

"Shes following that robot you described running into before, likely straight into enemy territory. With those reinforcements incoming we shouldn't delay, we have to get out of here with her. We also need to see V2...we have to talk about this new robot. We need to find her and-"

And suddenly, Akira landed down from the hole above, being the final piece reuniting the squad.

"Oh, you are safe! I take it the robot was taken down?"

 

[Fraseandchico]

The Bard

"Alright, this shouldn't take too long..." Kiwi pat their hand to their chest, before closing their eyes.

It was like the words popped into their head, words brought upon from past melodies tempered by what must have been a growing wisdom. His hands and arms moved around, as if following the note the Bard sung, whether going high for higher notes or pointing to the floor for lower notes.
"My whole life, I thought no one noticed~ They didn't expect, much from me~ I'm a simple silly singer, and I'm glad to be me~"

"But as I look upon, existance far beyond me~ I see people in their strife, in pain~ So I will sing and sing, my simple songs~ To provide, them just a bit of happiness~"
Some of Kiwi's body moved to the rest of the music, a small shake here and there like the parts of a dance that weren't quite fully connected.

"I'm just a Bard, but I work hard~ Make the difference~ Give them chances to say goodbye, heal their hearts~"

For a second, though, their force...Shifted. Otherworldly, for that moment, a language of the divine - To describe it to those who did not understand would be to say you would hear shapes.

Spoiler: What was said, to those who understood

"My world almost fell, so I must work~ To hope that no others~ Suffer just the same..."

But the voice returned, as if nothing had been odd.
"I wanted to be The Hero, control my life's events~ I'll use these words, within your hearts~ To show you, you did too~!"
They opened their eyes after that, smile still present and wide.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Crash Site – NORA Pre-Lab Security
​

Right as Boboiboy's condition was somewhat improved, Miracle suddenly reappeared behind the two. His absence had been due to a short break for recon, the magician determining there were Sumeragi reinforcements underway. Twenty minutes or less for them to evacuate. Kane had no qualms with leaving, but if they could just gather up with their last ally––

Akira dropped down from the ceiling hatch at that moment, remarking on the robotic attacker that she had just faced off against. At the mention of machines with self-preservation instincts, it seemed the commander was about to speak up – but he remained silent, only later replying to the Legionis' inquiry.

"Yes, thanks to all of your efforts," Kane nodded. "It seems we don't have much time to spare, so we'd best get moving before reinforcements reach our position. My family should be reaching the rendezvous point at the bank fairly soon."

He looked back to the laboratory for a moment, taking in the damage one more time, before he turned to Boboiboy. "Are you able to walk?"​

 

[Mokko]

Terrence Boom
…Terrence knew better than to question a good thing. He wondered if the success of this plan of Kiwi’s was more due to their charisma, or incompetence on the part of the guards. Really, it felt wrong not to give Kiwi full credit though, sticking their neck way out in order to get them all through to the control room and the assembly line.

That meant… this distraction was going to need to be utilized to its fullest. He couldn’t let this chance get wasted. The guards seemed surprisingly into it.

As Kiwi sang their song, Terrence listened, preparing his own little treat for the guards at the same time. He thought about each word carefully as the sword in his hand erupted silently, both dripping and flaring up with a deep orange color- though, it wasn’t solid as it usually was. This would require a bit of a… mixture of magics. It was quite strenuous to tap into styles that other souls were better accustomed to, but Patience and Bravery were effectively two sides of the same coin. There was a simple rule, that you wanted to pass through orange magic, and remain very still when staring down cyan magic. Terrence breathed in deeply, before about half of the magic on his katana took on a sparking blue hue.

He closed his eyes beneath his blindfold. Kiwi really, deeply, truly wanted to help and support people- even these dastardly Sumeragi guards, who many would probably not even think twice about.

For their sake, he would be extra careful.
Of course, he didn’t dare interrupt their concert- but once the Sumeragi would give their feedback, he’d make his move. This wasn’t going to be super stealthy, but they were past that at this point for this particular group of guards, and he at least had an idea to try and ensure that they wouldn’t just alert every other guard on the premises.

The katana was driven directly into the ground, and every bit of the magic spread forward through the floor- though it only remained there for a second or two. By Terrence’s count, there were four guards in total, and each one would be treated to a special edition of Magic Jail™, as blades of colorful essence came shooting out of the ground en masse, more and more cyan-orange swords continuing to split off, branch off, built off of the originals. The end result would be a very colorful and very sharp network of crude, twisty tree-like springs of dense, durable magic to trap these guards, the type of magic alternating with every inch or so of blade.

And as a final precautionary measure, he moved forward- out and away from cover, giving away his position, raising a cloaked hand and firing a triad more of tech-scrambling finger-bullets since the first had seemed to work so well. If all of this went according to plan, Kiwi’s peaceful concert had enabled the four guards to effectively be neutralized, with no way to call for assistance, without so much as a drop of blood being drawn.

“Don’t move, and you won’t get cut,” he told the guards simply.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Armament Factory – Assembly 1 2F
​

And so, Kiwi's carefree interaction with the Gunners had devolved into a full-on song. It was certainly a wonderful performance, impromptu as it was, the guards by the other door drawing slightly closer to presumably better hear the display. While their expressions were difficult to read past their visors, they did appear rather invested, as Terrence had noted.

"Woah, that was... pretty great." one Gunner complimented once Kiwi's concert wrapped up. "Nice to see you upliiftin' folks. Kinda reminds me of this popular singer I've been getting into recently..."

Soon enough, Terrence sprung his trap upon the four unsuspecting soldiers. Blades of cyan and orange burst around each soldier, forking like branches to surround them from all angles, preventing any one of them from moving very much in any one direction. The following projectile barrage easily struck the SOUL-user's targets, similar fizzles and sparks to before emerging from the points of contact. The furthest Gunner of the bunch had properly put a hand to the side of his helmet, but as he tapped his communicator... nothing happened.

"Don’t move, and you won’t get cut,” Terrence spoke, having finally stepped out of cover. The soldiers had no real choice but to oblige, remaining as still as they could to prevent any harm from coming to them, as they didn't appear to have any means of overcoming Magic Jail™.

"Geez, gotcha. Guess I slept on the job, listenin' around to entrancing songs..." the nearest Gunner sighed. "This the part where interrogations happen, or...?"

"Somebody'll come and see this whole mess soon enough, y'know?" another called.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Ghiaccio​

Q.U.I.L.L. H.Q. - Ruins​

Contrary to being tired from the battle, it was as if the dog had found some sort of second wind. It used that floating shield to block Ghiaccio's attack, and quickly conjured a second one. The dog lunged at Ghiaccio, swinging her reflectors to attack him. Ghiaccio stood his ground, striking the reflectors with punches and kicks and using his armor to tank any that slipped past his defenses. Amaterasu would notice her reflectors moved sluggishly through the air, as if it was thicker than normal. With every punch Ghiaccio struck the reflectors, Amaterasu would feel a blast of cold wind from the assassin.

Ghiaccio caught the Solar Flare reflector, ice forming around the magic shield instantly. He slammed the shield into the ground, ice forming around it and keeping the shield stuck to the ground. V2 dropped nearby, opening fire with his shotgun. In the freezing cold air, the burning hot shots quickly lost their heat before vanishing entirely, not even making it close to Ghiaccio. The assassin continued to ignore V2, keeping his focus on attacking Amaterasu.

Ghiaccio pressed down on Amaterasu, meeting her pressure with his own. Striking away the Divine Retribution reflector, Ghiaccio threw a punch at Amaterasu- Only for a red energy barrier appear to block his attack. The brat. Out of the corner of his eye, Ghiaccio spotted the kid. So it hadn't been a suicide attack, and like V2, she had come back for more.

The opening had been made, and Amaterasu's reflector slammed into Ghiaccio while he was unprepared. The attack knocked him back, making him stumble over some rubble. He rolled back to his feet, knocking away another attack from Amaterasu's Divine Retribution. Time to change things up. Ghiaccio suddenly turned, skating towards Frisk at full speed! Frisk created walls and barriers to try and slow the Italian, but Ghiaccio was able to clear them and evade them with surprising athleticism and agility. Amaterasu's attacks of burning determination struck some of the barriers Frisk had constructed to stop Ghiaccio.

And like that, Ghiaccio was before Frisk.
"You should have ran when you had the chance, brat!" Ghiaccio exclaimed, punching down at Frisk. Even if his attack missed or was blocked, it would unleash a painful blast of cold wind!

Tracy Rinehart​

Armament Factory - Second Floor​

To Tracy's utter surprise, the guards allowed Kiwi to sing. And the song that the Bard sang... like the guards, Tracy found herself to be utterly distracted by it as well! The teen could feel tears welling up in her eyes as Kiwi finished his song. The song had been so incredibly beautiful. Tracy felt... well, a whole lot of feelings. Sadness, hope, determination, happiness.
"Kiwi... That was..."

Terrence summoned the cages around the soldiers, shaking Tracy back into action. The teen shook her head, then looked around frantically. The camera- disabled. The guard's headsets- disabled. Terrence, pulling the heavy load.
"Thanks." Tracy said, nodding to Terrence. The guards were right, someone would be by soon. Especially if they noticed one of their cameras were out. Tracy took Kiwi's hand and moved past the guards to the 'Control Room- Assembly 3' door, seeming to ignore the rest of their comments.
"That was a good song, Kiwi. But next time, wait for us to approve of your plan! That was way too risky!" Tracy scolded the Bard. She reached the door to the control room, and was about to open it when she paused and looked to the nearest soldier.

"Um... Excuse me, sir." Tracy said. "What's your name? Could you tell me what a Kestrel is?"

 

[comic]

FRISK DREEMURR​

—QUILL HQ Ruins, Day 2 Morning—​

Slippery old timer didn’t seem so much like an old timer up close. When Frisk made her presence known, the Italian set aside her full attention, turning on the teenager and rushing forward, going for melee. In a moment, Frisk’s training with Katherine and Orianna quickly came to mind, particularly the latter’s teachings.

Ghiaccio’s punch came in, but Frisk weaved right under the arm, swooping behind the Italian, witnessing the follow-up cold blast that went where she’d been.

“You should have ran when you had the chance, brat!”

Frisk blinked. This wasn’t a grandma at all! Some kind of ugly guy with granny glasses and hair!

That explained the humor Chara had found in this topic. With her magic film, Frisk’s movements weren't slowed in the slightest by the heavy air, despite its blistering cold this close to Ghiaccio. An advantage magic had against physics.

Frisk didn’t attack, instead focusing on Ghiaccio. Veetoo’s bullets seemed to fade in the face of the sheer cold, and Ammy’s attacks were being met with overt aggression to overpower. There was another approach here, she could see it, and she wanted to focus on it, prevent the others from getting hurt any more than they had been.

Everybody operated based on some kind of stamina system, and since Frisk was still trying to build her own mana back up, using non-taxing moves was the key element here. So her strategy? To wear out the Italian not-grandma. It was the “ultimate strategy” according to Orianna.

“Works on every opponent,” the ex-MMA fighter had told Frisk confidently, tightening the bandages around her knuckles as a bronze glow surfaced from her veins. “They could be stronger, faster, smarter, but everything tires out eventually. Plus, playing the weave game REALLY pisses people off! Makes them get sloppy; undisciplined.”

“Big talk like that explains the plus-sized mouth,” Frisk said, almost nonchalantly, trying to get a rise from the man with schoolyard bullying, to accentuate his exertion through frustration. “Never met an Italian who could fit a whole pizza in one go.”

That wasn’t true, she had met exactly ONE Italian who could do that already.​

 

[Gamingfan]

Amaterasu
Steam surrounded her reflectors as they struck at Ghiaccio. Though the frozen air stalled their movements slightly, the fire surrounding both helped them cut through it like a hot knife through butter. But with each strike they blocked, Ghiaccio's winds snuffed out a little more of the burning determination, until the man could catch her Solar Flare, freezing it whole before slamming it into the floor. He attempted to capitalize on Amaterasu's surprise, but his punch was intercepted by Frisk. Ammy's expression briefly softened, looking at her teammate with a feeling of appreciation, before hardening once more as Ghiaccio jumped at the girl.
Amaterasu turned and followed Ghiaccio, flicking her tail in the same motion to lead the Divine Retribution's flames towards the frozen Solar Flare, melting through its icy prison and reigniting the reflector. It followed behind Amaterasu as she jumped across Frisk's barrier's.
As Frisk gave Ghiaccio sass that Amaterasu normally expected from Issun, the wolf goddess jumped overhead to slam both her reflectors against Ghiaccio in a pincer attack!

(9/10 Ink Pots)

 

[PaprusTeuton]

V2

The shotgun shells disappeared. Well, shit. As it stood, V2 had almost no way to hurt Ghiaccio. Bullets would slow down and be blocked by the armor, and the heat-based bullets would simply dissipate. The electric railgun was pointless, and the Malicious one would inevitably result in friendly fire. V2 calculated their next course of action very carefully.

Pressure. The most important part of Ghiaccio's armor was it's ability to heal. Constant, intense pressure would prevent it from doing this effectively. Pulling out the Nailgun, the machine began to slide in circles around Ghiaccio, blasting nails into the armor. The moment it was charged up, the machine would dash in, fire an enormous amount of nails, and dash out.

It would then circle again, and repeat this- though only one more time, as the Overheat Nailgun is limited in it's ability to create nails. From here, the machine would repeat the dash in, shoot, and dash out loop with the shotgun, blasting heat at such a close range that it would not be able to dissipate. V2 did not expect to do much in this way, but the pressure would have a limited effect.

 

[Psymallard]

Akira Howard
-Morning, NORA Wreckage-
"Oh, you are safe! I take it the robot was taken down?"

Akira pursed her lips.

"No. It was more slippery than I was ready for."

She was clearly irked about the topic, and brushed past it. The woman began walking at a brisk pace, expecting the others to follow as she retraced her steps.

"Before we leave, Gardener... why was Sumeragi crawling all over this? Did they want to capture you, or was there something else they were looking for?"