this day should be for me

[promittere]

WAXING GIBBOUS FINALE

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...?

[promittere]

Interesting question, isn't it? A hard one for Ahito to answer with the loud boom! that rings across the clearing, missiles launching from the mech. Everyone present gets caught in the blasts, but some are more protected than others. Kurapika (19), Ahito (14), and Cid (14) take some heavy hits from the explosions and shrapnel, but Jing Yuan (20) and Day (20) get the very worst of it, being so close to the mech.

The man is getting desperate, though, with the chaos that's descended over the battlefield. The man is also still horrifically clever, adapting on the fly as fast as he can. The lamp appears, flicking a dazzling array of colors. It rapidly flickers between blue, green, yellow, red, and purple before the colors eventually blur together and a bright light shoots up into the sky.]

/???

[promittere]

[Every wizard present has been silenced. Their crests are gone, as well, which means Tatara is no longer capable of giving any of them a boost... assuming their magic is left at all. The other two wizards seem unaffected, somehow, though they still seem keen to attack despite their injuries... Bolts of fire and lightning rain down towards them, the frenzied mumbling of the engineer and the wizards' laughter ringing through the air, and the mech prepares to strike again. Again and again until every wizard is crushed under his heel.

There's no way out of this. Without magic, they have no way to defend themselves. The air grows heavy, an ominous pressure weighing down on them. It's not the same feeling as the corruption of the moon rocks, but it's a similar sense of being exposed to something so powerful it makes your knees feel weak. It's not the world screaming out in pain, but the primal feeling of something dangerous right there, at your throat.

Death is coming for them. It's coming for this world. The destruction of this world was always an inevitability and there's nothing you could have done to stop it.]

/???

[promittere]

[An innocuous wooden door appears in the clearing.]

/4

[promittere]

[The door swings open with little fanfare, and through it there's the glimpse of a frigid, snowing wasteland. G'raha runs out, staff in hand. He raises it in his hands, calling upon all of the magic at his disposal. Translucent, ethereal lilies bloom around the wizards, restoring their health and their energy.]

We're just in time!

[The door steps behind the other man, with brilliant red curls and sleepy green eyes. Stitches mar his body, and a crystalline skull rests in his hand. He gazes over at the mech, at the lamp.]

How annoying...

[He sighs, sounding absolutely exhausted, and holds the skull aloft. The spirits bend to his will, and the power that radiates from his near absolute.]

Arthim.

[And just like that, the lamp shatters.

G'raha keeps his staff raised, looking at the assembled wizards and his lilies.]

I think it's time you turned the tide on him, don't you?

[Everyone gets a magic boost, hooray! Don't say I never did anything for you!]

@ everyone

[lighthaus]

[ time to @ everyone with his lighthouse. ]

Get the robot, Robin and I have the other two! [ zoomin on up to the dragon, let's play 4d checkers! ]

PAIR SPELL USAGE - ROBIN AND KHUN

[fellheart]

[ that sure was an entire-ass cutscene. how quaint. so the rest of them will handle their mess (the moon), yes? well, as for the current one...

he's still circling, an ominous shadow lurking amongst the storm clouds above, even after all the explosions. as khun approaches, he'll remark, musingly, as he gazes down on the northern wizards: ] Dɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟᴠᴇs ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀᴇ...?

Hᴇʀᴇ's ʜᴏᴡ ɪᴛ's ᴅᴏɴᴇ. Wᴇ'ʟʟ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ! Oᴍɴɪᴀ ᴍᴏʀs ᴀᴇᴏ̨ᴜᴀᴛ— Cʜᴇssᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀ!

[ he's already flying, so it's not like there's anywhere really to be raised to— but twin bolts of divine lightning strike down upon both of the hapless Northern Wizards, sharply bright and briefly illuminating the moonlit night to claim them for the would-be chessmasters' own control.

pitiful beings, they really didn't know what they were getting into, did they...? ]

[lighthaus]

[ well that's suitably dramatic. khun's perhaps surprisingly not the type to gloat over a battlefield, he's more the 1-1 type and it's not like his opponents can really hear him anyway. even still, a few choice words is fine. ]

Impero—I'll control you until there's nothing left.

[ okay you two northern wizzies--for the movement, khun will have them abandon their targets and get in range of the mech. for their action, he'll have them combine their magic to make a rainstorm above the mech, more specifically a salty rain that should corrode machinery within minutes as opposed to days.

and then for his action because Avrae has not let him actually hit all game, he'll be reaching into his pocketspace to grab a spear that he then enchants with ice and lightning which he then launches at the mech. there's absolutely no magic involved besides the enchantment, because sometimes getting down and dirty is way more satisfying. and he's still using some magic on his shields/lighthouses.

his aim is perfect and there's raw power behind the throw that he's never used here. oh, and salt water is an excellent conductor of electricity, so along with his own attack, he's buffed jing yuan's at least too. ]

[1145pm]

[ omg!!!!!

It's Walmart King— I mean, Mithra!! Tatara's face lights up and he waves! Not that he has any faith in Mithra remembering who he is...

More importantly, this means it worked. It worked. All they have to do is take this guy down and then...? ]

[promittere]

?

[bro he is just

he is just standing here]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan sure got blasted and felt some existential despair, but fortunately he is used to that.

Also, heals happened, so here he is, rising to his feet. ]

It's time to finish this!

[ There is the appearance of something behind Jing Yuan for a moment, and followed by that, there's the size of a very large spear, encircled by electricity - at least more than four times his size, fit for someone who is 626 feet tall - being dropped, sharp point first on top of the enemy's mecha.

...Then this 'spear of lightning' is dispersing right after. ]

[dadsandals]

Ah-!

[ That must be...! Yamato's glad to see their new mentor, and judging by how powerful that guy is...is he one of the original wizards? Who knows? Either way, they have help, and he can use his magic again. He feels incredibly invigorated, so he rises to his feet quickly and gets ready to get crafty with his own magic. Khun doesn't have to tell him twice, he's done with this guy and his shit and now this fucker's going to pay for it.

Yamato isn't going to copy anyone this time. If he's going to contribute now, he's going to do it on his own merit, using everything he's learned over the past couple of months and channeling it all into a darkness-based curse. ]

Good night.

[ The curse will lower the mech's overall durability, and it will leave a mark on it that will detonate in ~10-20 seconds from the time Yamato has casted it. The mark is on the window of the mech. The mark is not an instakill or anything like that, but it will do damage and hopefully break through it...!

To the rest: ]

I'm going for the window, so don't get close!

[annihilator]

[Is this really how it's going to end? Without their power, without a chance...? No. No, this can't be how things end, because Malice has fought tooth and nail to be here, and he isn't going to give up now. Not even when it feels like it's the end of the whole damn world. He has something to fight for now - the people here he's grown close to, the future that he so desperately wants, and of course, the revenge he hasn't yet gotten - he will claw his way through whatever the hell is causing this and he isn't going to give up no matter how bad things get.

But then G'raha shows up with backup and between the heals and the magic boost, Malice is back in the fight. With that support, he's summoning his broom and taking back to the skies, laughing (evilly) as he goes.

So you know how Malice usually uses fire-and-lightning bolts of magic that move quickly (even if they keep missing)? Well, he's not playing around now and instead once he's close enough to the window on the mech, he summons a much larger, brighter bolt of fire that can really only be described as casting meteor.]

Let's put an end to this! Haec dominium mea est!

[This is his Domain - fire, bright and blinding raining down on the window of the mech. Did someone say Red Mage flashbang? If that window can survive meteor, then Yamato's blast mark will detonate and hopefully put an end to it.]

[fallingsand]

[ Talk about a wild ride of emotions. First, he's knocked off his feet by the explosion, unable to use his magic, and forced to watch people he's gotten to know for months now get terribly injured; then a door appears out of nowhere, and everything is fine again? God, he wants to go back to bed, thanks, this is a lot. Too bad the bed is probably on fire somewhere...

Regardless, Bruno does scramble back to his feet and he reaches for some kind of spell he could use. Something, something, but what? He doesn't do offensive but other than healing and shields, he does do repair.

He's learned how to put objects back together. Who says he can't take them apart? ]

Su futuro espera!

[ Bruno brings all his magic to bear, pocketwatch token clutched in hand, and focuses it on the mecha. Rather than trying to repair it, he's trying to erode it instead, trying to curse it with rust and malfunctions, loose panels, broken parts, frayed wires. ]

[serenesinker]

Turn the tide, you say? Can do, can do!

[Renewed both physically and magically, Yodarha once again raises his focus high in the sky, channeling a massive amount of water from Lake Tycho.]

OUGI! SOUTHERN DOWNPOUR!!

[A wide pillar of scalding hot water drops from the sky onto the mech!]

[impacter]

[Jing Yuan takes the blast, and without his magic, there's nothing Solomon can do but watch and brace and feel the burn of the explosions and the dreadful weight of Something, Something, looming, waiting, never ending.

The break of G'raha's voice through the thickness flows like air through the lungs after too much time underwater, and even as that healing is passed out, Solomon's eyes are to a select few. First to Jing Yuan, where his feet lead him, then to Bruno, to Akira, to Tatara, to where Khun shouts for attention--

--to one unfamiliar, that radiates like the sun in a snowstorm for the magic he holds.

This must be one of the originals, then. There's no hiding that sort of power.

Once he's assured that they're all restores and able to climb to their feet, Solomon's stance squares below him with the effortless circle that spins its way from his feet.]

No more running.

[The temperature of the air drops heavily around him, as the magic circle opens up beneath the robot, very similar to a spell he'd used out on the Northern snowfields. Phrases and circles and passages and seals.]

Manu Propria.

[The circle opens with the stretching out of countless hands reaching up with twisting dark energy, gripping and tearing for purchase, as though to drag this foolish soul to hell.]

[troublereduction]

[ Wow, that sucked. Day has not often had to taste being caught in an explosion and it hurts like hell, with him hanging limply from his broom, but even before the arrival of G'raha and one of the previous wizards, there's a lopsided smile on his face. Maybe it's a bit of self-deprecation, considering he just ate shit, and now he's without magic. It would be a bad joke if this was how it all ended. How long has it been since he felt danger press up against his throat like this?

And then all that happens, which perhaps was fated, in a way. Day hoists himself back up on his broom. He's laughing, a beautiful, serene sound. It's not exulting in the thrill of battle but in the joy of overcoming peril and despair. ]

Ahahaha! Thank you! It's time to give him an unforgettable night! Amor manet!

[ Then, because Day is feeling exceptionally nasty, he decides to rub in the salt in a way that would make his seniors at the Division of Serenity proud, or at least amused: he curses the pilot with temporary blindness. It'll probably only last this round, but that's fine. Day just wants to have him experience the terror of knowing horrors are happening to him without being able to tell exactly what it is. ]

[mirristry]

[In that instant when Phil saw Day catch that blast full-on, he swears he felt his heart stop, his blood running cold. He's too stunned to even make a sound, just staring in horror and waiting for what he's sure will happen next (Day and the broom plummeting to the ground, because that's the only thing that can happen next)... until he hears the unmistakable sound of Day laughing.

It's the most beautiful thing he's ever heard. And even watching Day unleash a curse without the slightest bit of hesitation - with a grin that's almost feral - is beautiful in its own way with how full of life and spirit he is.

It's dazzling, and Phil finds that he can't look away even if he wanted to.]

1/2

[shadowkin]

Hmhmhm.... Heheh.... HaahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAH!!

[Okay, so maybe in between the knock to the noggin (or like, the all of him? but he's been blown up before, it's fine, and the shadows of his cloak are between him and anything particularly substantial anyway -- so long as magic is in his grasp as well) and all the stuff that came after it's time for a good ol' fashioned Shadowy laugh to round out the cutscene.]

Interesting... How very fascinating... It's been years and years since I've felt this! For this, I thank you!

[Who knows what he's hollering about over there. It's probably not that important.




That being said, once he's done holding his face like a two-bit villain Cid calms down pretty much instantly, hops back on his broom from where he got blasted off of it and quite sedately chases down Phil wherever he is. I mean, he can recognize a boss phase change when he sees one, and the NPCs showing up signal it loudly, and everybody else starts busting out some sick moves. So:]

2/2

[shadowkin]

Hey, you know, didn't we have that one thing? The double spell-power-consequence thing?

[It sounds like they're discussing the weather but between all the lightning giants and lightning dragons and whatnot in the background maybe this is a bigger storm than Lake Tycho??

Actually, he should probably talk louder.]

THAT ONE THING WE BOTH HAVE TO DO.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Releasing a soft breath - as long as his real magic isn't active, it's fine, he'll be fine--

Fine enough to concentrate, to cast, to bring an end to this.]

The End of the World.

[How about we add to the storm even more? Because as he says that, a sheet of ice seems to form in the air, only to break apart into wickedly sharp shards, glinting in the low lighting light deadly diamonds. They hover for a moment, almost like an executioner's blade, before flying down with the force of a rain of bullets, all aimed straight at that damnable window.]

[revengier]

[ There's all sorts of whiplash—no longer having the sage crest and being suddenly blasted by the mech and nearly toppling over. It throws him for a loop, and for just a brief moment he thinks he might be in dire straits and he's ready to pour everything he can into healing himself. After all, he does have a promise to keep.

But then it's as if that blast never occurred and he's standing upright with no issue, finding himself healed up by one of what Kurapika can only assume is one of the original wizards that disappeared. Good timing.

He hangs back for just a moment, watching as everyone seizes the moment to dole out their strongest hits. It's odd, the way his chains for once don't feel quite right. That's why he keeps his gun in his hand, steady as he holds it up and readies to aim. ]

Pro populus meus.

[ With the utterance of his incantation, the bullet transforms into something that explodes on impact. So, with breath that allows him to focus, he finds a particularly vulnerable spot on the mech and fires one of those explosive bullets right at it. ]

[fullspbar]

[ Better late than never, as they say.

Slipping in on Jing Yuan's heels, here's Shinjiro, none the worse for wear. That being said, there's something irritating in watching everyone scrape by when the worst they've got is a set of bruised knuckles.

Regardless of G'raha's healing touch, and the ominous pressure of their unexpected guest, Shinjiro prefers to turn his eyes to more important things; preferably, beating this mechanical asshole till he's a smear of mana dust and engine grease on the ground. ]

Meminero.

[ He may not have had the axe before, but it materializes in his hand now, scorched and smeared with ash as it's pulled from the smoking ruins of his room. When his fingers drag across the metal head, sparks follow in it's wake, the thrum of magic embuing itself deep in it's core as lightning cracks and coils around it's surface.

And then his arm rears back, shadows dancing across the curve of his features as he shifts.

He aims-

Go to hell!

And Shinjiro launches it, blade whipping through the air with a practiced finesse. It lodges, like a knife into butter, near the neck of the machine...and soon after, a flurry of electricity will burst forth from the axe itself, made worse from the splash of Khun's saltwater as it travels down the full length of the metal behemoth to try and short-circuit it from both the inside and the outside. ]

[jorunna]

[ Since the Old Sage is back and there's quite a commotion from the battle outside, there's no need to stay anymore and they slip away. That boost of magic given to all the wizards is also felt, so.... Might as well. Comet rides their broom up high, hands clasped together. They have their special outfit on, now blessing their talent with the true element they were good at.

A huge glowing circle appears above the mech, decorated with patterns of craters and circles inside its border. ]

The largest sea of the moon, darkened and scarred by the early heaven's downpour...

Mare Imbrium. Crash down with the heavy rains.

[ The magic circle summons a phantasmal shower of blades, pinning down the mech with powerful gravity magic weighing upon it. ]

/2

[lustro]

[ The old-young sage is back and in good hands with Urianger and Ithaqua (or the other way around), but Ginger, who has been itching to join the battle and contribute more than just the very little he has, decides now’s the time. The sage gets a distracted nod and smile from him, but Mika’s the one who has his attention. ]

Shall we, my love? [ Between the two of them, Mika’s the fighter. So he suggests a plan, hashed out in murmurs between the two of them.

There’s a lot going on in the air when Ginger flies them out through the window: lightning and darkness, water and heat, gravity upturned and so many swords - and from below hands itching to drag this scant leftover of a man to hell.

He flies them even higher than that, where it feels like they could touch the Heavens, where he’s always been the most comfortable with his power, and then -

One by one his mirrors - his barriers - spiral below them like a staircase of cards. A crimson ratio of red, the carpet unrolling for… ]

[shortleash]

( ... Mika, light as a feather, his rapier pointed down.

Like a drop in his stomach, Mika had been afraid when he'd felt his magic sealed. His vines withered black, the roses turned to ash and dissipated— leaving behind only the faint scent of blood and decay.

He is not powerless without his magic, but he was not powerful enough, and if he was not powerful enough, people would die— again, as they always did; and, worse yet, he might not be among them— as always, as always. Death's shadow settles across his vision, and he hears it ask him, again, if he is watching.

He has not felt so chill since he had died.

But hope appears like a spark. Not in the form of a hero, maybe, but he feels the gentle hymn of spirits in the rustle of nature about him and how that song swells within him, and that is enough. He is steady enough to plan with Ginger, and he is empowered by the strange blood that courses in him like a roaring furnace - one that'd fought against his reason telling him to stay in place and protect the former sage. But with Bruno and Ithaqua behind them, Mika and Ginger could step forward, and act.

Shall we? Ginger asks, and Mika's answer is, as it would ever be: Always, my heart.

He is someone born startlingly incomplete. He feels the balance in his step, descending Ginger's mirrored steps from heaven, to act as two halves of a whole. And in the night, beneath the heavy moon, he feels - light, and at home.

His mind feels clear.

Mika's vines overbloom from the earth below: the thorned tendrils sprout massive and thick as they shoot upward to seize the body of the mech and spiral 'round it, vast roses blooming in overtime. They hold it still, or close enough.

And down comes Mika.

In concert with everyone's attacks, Mika lets gravity - impact enforced with magic - guide his blade downward, its point aimed into the face of the juggernaut, seeking to fatally pierce the human within. Wound around his blade are his thorned vines and roses, grown from his own blood and energy. The logic: if these can provide an absolute defense, they may make his blade unbreakable enough to shatter through the cockpit, and through the bloody heart of the pilot. )