melodiesofeternity | Apocalypse || Sen Riqeaux Castle

"You don't need the Supreme, Naoto. Show 'em what you got!" He'll just provide cover.

With the Black Ice sword given a twirl, he called upon a Vengeance to up his defenses further, and maybe give a little 'right back atcha' if Ramaa wanted to pull anything funny. The next five doses of medicine would be pretty fuckin' tasty, wouldn't it?

"Ready! RAAAAAAHHHHH-" He advanced.

Terra tried not to show how devastated he was by the Empress's - Kalki's - revelation. Still, the words burst from him like an explosion. "We trusted you!" They'd trusted her, and then - this whole world -

Terra was no more than half in the present, his eyes unable to stop seeing another shattered world, another broken trust, almost exactly a year in his past. Still, he was there enough to charge forward, aiming his Holy Blade - and thinking, horribly, that this may be the time Desperation becomes of use.

When the Empress's demeanor changed, Kenichi quickly mounted his chocobo. The white aura of the Pestilance Stance glowed around the duo. He considered going in on the offensive until he saw Sylvarie and he cursed out loud.

"Oh for the love of--Let's go, Kohaku!" Kenichi spurred his Chocobo to quickly close the distance before attacks could hit. He didn't wait to hear any objections as he bent down to grab Sylvarie by the waist to get her out of the way from the incoming attacks. A second person hanging off the side of a giant bipedal bird made balancing an issue, so Kenichi could only move about 15 feet away before skidding to a halt.

When he's finally able to catch his breath, he carefully helps her back down on solid ground. "Before you get angry with me, I'm sorry but I'd rather not lose a fellow ally by friendly fire. Also, something tells me she can take care of herself just fine."

Kisegawa had been ready to lash out, to summon something to wipe that smarmy smile off Ramaa's face. That plan was instantly thrown out the window when Sylvarie ran into the fray.

"Wha--" She didn't even manage to get the word out before Patches forced his way into control. "Varie!"

Thank the heavens for Kenichi and his chocobo. Patches dashed up to the bird, the battle forgotten, to support Sylvarie as she was lowered to the ground.

"A-Are you okay? Don't scare me like that!"

The Empress didn't make a move as Undyne threw her spear at her. She looked confident as ever, all until Sylvarie moved to protect her. Her eyes widened in surprise and... Was it horror? But it was too late as her skill went off. Within a split second, Undyne's position and Ramaa's are switched: practically speaking, this means Undyne ends up being on the receiving end of her own spear. Meanwhile, the Empress is safe at the spot where Undyne used to be.

Ramaa scowled from her new position, muttering as she saw Sylvarie and Kenichi in a safe spot.

".......Idiot!"

But soon her smile returned, and every attack aimed at her met with the same fate: she swapped her position with whoever her attacker was, resulting in them being on the receiving end of their very attack.

”DEAR SYLVARIE, YOUR FAMILY SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOUR PURE HEART. AND SHAME ON YOU, LADY RAMAA, FOR DISHONORING THIS ACT OF KINDNESS!”

Ganeshan lets his voice boom as he moves in front of Terra after he got hit with his own holy blade, and uses a Cura on him to heal his wounds.

Nozomi resisted the urge to facepalm. She was right on the money - Ramaa had a resistance to everyone's attacks. "Everyone, stop attacking! If she's doing that, then we're wasting our time!"

Having already transformed into Cure Dream earlier, she ended up running to Corrin's aid and using the Precure Dream Shoot on her, healing her slightly.

With a moment of quick triage- whose attacks seem likely to have inflicted the most harm on themselves, and who's not already being helped- Plague Knight pulls out a second so he has one for the next injury, and rushes over to Tyzias, shoving it into her hands after she eats her own attack, or even right into her mouth if she knocked herself down.

"Drink this, quickly now- those weapons of yours seem deadly indeed, heal up before the pain really sets in, hee hee! We're not even at the main event yet it seems!"

Edited (Forgot what mega potions do, definitely not using one of those right now.) 2019-03-12 13:40 (UTC)

"Unless someone has a clever solution, it looks like talking and defense are what we have," S'reee said.

So. That's what it felt like.

Ow.

For a moment, all Tyzias can do is look down at the gaping hole in her stomach, her blank expression almost comical.

Then she falls to her knees, vomiting blood as the teal fluid leaks out of her wound. She's too incoherent from the pain to take Plague Knight's offered potion voluntarily, but as the wound slowly begins closing up she fumbles another hi-potion out of her pocket, gulping it down greedily. "Thanks," she gasps, the agony still too much for her to move, think, or say too much.

It takes a second for Finn to realize what just happened. He'd been deposited in another position and then hit with what felt like a rock.

Taking in the scene around him, he quickly realizes what it had been and how close that was. Shaken up more than he would have liked, his eyes found Ramaa or Kalki or whoever she was off to the side, unharmed.

"Okay." Finn shakes himself, gripping his hands to ensure that, yes, he's still alive. "Okay. I'm all for restraining her now!"

He moves towards Ramaa.

Terra's head spun for a moment as the skill took effect, and then he was dropping to one knee as his own Holy Blade sliced into him, the worst of it blunted by the armor but still more than enough to make him stagger.

He looked up gratefully at Ganeshan's healing and struggled back to his feet. "I'm fine," he insisted in the face of all evidence to the contrary. "Just - wasn't expecting that." And now he feels kind of foolish for thinking she wouldn't have some trick of the kind prepared.

He had his own Cura, and used it on Tressa, who no doubt needed it after taking her own shot.

As soon as the arrow pierced through her skin, Tressa let loose a cry of agony, falling to one knee before ripping the arrow from her wound. So the empress had a gimmick up her sleeve... honestly, she should have expected that, but it still took her by surprise. Honestly, who would think that would happen?

Though the pain had soon lessened greatly, thanks to Terra's Cura. Rising from her feet, Tressa turned to him and nodded.

"Thanks, I needed that."

Edited 2019-03-12 16:13 (UTC)

Undyne, now in a different place from where she was before, turned around, slightly confused, when her spear hit her right in her robotic eye. It malfunctioned a bit, flaring up brighter than it ever did before, and her vision was slightly blurry now.

Nevertheless, Undyne was determined to not let Ramaa win, though she knew after that, that she couldn't attack Ramaa directly. She decided to try to brainstorm possible attack strategies.

Blast. Of course she'd have defenses prepared; Ramaa would have been ready for them to make a move at her once she'd so casually revealed her true intentions to them. And now it's clear just how powerful she truly must be.

Megatron quickly summons forth an [Eos] to begin attending to the other wounded. They would probably need several Eoses out in the battle to come.

But he does note Ramaa's protectiveness towards...Sylvarie, was it? She had actually looked horrified for the brief second that the girl had interposed herself between the incoming attacks and Ramaa herself. Why would someone so hell-bent on the destruction of this world and every other care at all for the life of a single person?

"If you are truly as committed to this path as you say you are, Ramaa, why should Sylvarie's safety matter to you?" He asks. "Who is she to you except another victim to be sacrificed on the altar of your ambitions?"

Kisegawa took over once more, about ready to scold Sylvarie, but Megatron's point gave her a pause. She hadn't imagined it, then. Ramaa's composure had crumbled for a moment -- and it hadn't been just once, either...

They were missing something.

"...This is still an act, isn't it?" She turned to face Ramaa, eyes narrowed. "You're laying it on far too thick with this whole evil madwoman routine, then slipping up the second something unexpected happens. Like an amateur performer who can't stay in character.

"Just what are you trying to pull here, Your Majesty? You could just act natural and we'd have no less cause to despise you. Why are you making such a big show of how terrible you are?"

Getting struck by her own Mjölnir is a disorienting, not to mention painful experience. Fortunately, Nohr Noble's superior magical defense lessens the blow considerably, and fortunately the spell didn't really go off on her the way it sometimes can when it surges with power. And then Nozomi's Precure magic undoes the rest.

"My thanks, Nozomi." She says nodding to the other girl. Okay, so direct attacks seem to be out; Ramaa doesn't have any trouble switching positions at a lightning-quick pace. They need a new plan of attack, and fast...

Bahamut will be here soon.

"...."

She remained silent a moment upon hearing Megatron and Kisegawa's words, but then shook her head.

"I believe this is far enough playtime for today. Bahamut awaits. If you are not satisfied with my performance thus far, pray allow me to make up for it."

The Empress raised her hand, dark energy gathering into an attack and suddenly going for Finn.

> Calamity Oblivion
Severe dark attack to a single target.

Rarely in his life has Ganeshan ever felt helpless. Even in his youth, when he was a frail young Zora barely able to take on one asterisk, he’d relied on his fervent belief in the power of the jobs he was training to take on. Though he’s tried to hide it, seeing the apocalypse draw near, he has felt truly helpless.

In this moment, however, he is not. He sees the attack aimed at Finn, and for the first time since the sky began to change colors, everything is clear. There is something he can do. The job skills passed down through the generations of Vaikunthans, they are for this moment. They will give the Vaikunthans the strength to act in their time of greatest need.

Ganeshan cannot stop the End of the World. But he can save those who can.

Without hesitation, he activates his Cover skill. As he swaps places with Finn, he gives the party a brightly flashing grin and a thumbs up.

”DON’T GIVE UP! YOU CAN-
…
…
win…”

Ganeshan is dead.

Finn stopped his jog when the Ramaa raised her hand, a horrifying light escaping her almost reminiscent of what happened in the Dream Width. Just like then, it was too late to do anything. He flinched back and closed his eyes-

-but felt the displacement again.

It didn't take long for the scene before him to register, though it felt more like years. Trying to rationalize it was-

"NO!"

There was nothing they could do. They couldn't attack or trap her. Running away would only cause more problems. What could they do? What could he do?

With everything happening so quickly, to say Sylvarie was disoriented was putting it lightly. The expected pain from the attacks hadn’t come, and Ramaa’s reaction—what was going on? Breathless, she was too confused to even be properly upset with Kenichi, muttering a weak, “I’m fine...”

With trembling hands she gripped her staff, silently performing Medica on who she could reach. She wanted to protect the Heroes, but she couldn’t allow Ramaa to die either.

And then the Zora shone one last smile at them.

“G-Ganeshan...” She was a child again, unable to do anything as again someone’s light was extinguished before her very eyes. Trembling in her shock, she looked to the Empress with Desperation.

“Please, stop. I know you’re tired—“ Sylvarie was tired. “But this isn’t the answer...”

"Oh."

Plague Knight says nothing further. The mask he wears betrays nothing, whatever emotions Ganeshan's heroic sacrifice inspires in him.

He simply stands there, tossing the hi-potion in his hands up and catching it again. And he'd spent so long preparing these items, thinking they'd be actually useful- only to watch one attack from the Empress erase someone from the battlefield so... Ruthlessly.

He feels... Hopeless, in that moment. Shocked. Uncertain. But worst of all, he feels outdone. What does one do, in this situation? How do you respond to such an overwhelming display of power?

“Mr. Ganeshan!” Sasami cried out. He couldn’t... he shouldn’t...

But, he was. And the Empress hadn’t cared at all.

“You... I’ll never forgive you for this!” She cried out.

So much happened all at once that Dante could only stop and watch it play out. Everyone's attacks were completely ineffective, Syl nearly got herself killed, Finn nearly died...

...and Ganeshan...

No item in Dante's inventory could mitigate what Kalki threw at him, what he took to help protect the Warriors of Light. The zora was...shocked, to say the least. He'd been a bright figure in the Curti Center, so passionate about what he did and his belief in the offworlders. He's a mess of emotions of right now, but one thing remains clear: he's not letting Ganeshan's last act be wasted.

The chemist does his best to rush in and take hold of his friend's corpse. He doesn't plan on leaving any hero behind.

"...We gotta go..."

No! No, no, no, no, NO! Papyrus shakes. To see someone die so abruptly before his eyes. His eye sockets squeeze shut. His head whips back and forth, but...

No. It doesn't have to be this way! When he spots Undyne running in for another attack, he rushes for her and, without even thinking, tries to drag her back.

"WE CAN'T JUST RUSH INTO THIS! WE HAVE TO USE OUR HEADS..." And he adds, after a moment's hesitation. "WE HAVE TO LIVE!"

For that reason, he goes a step further. He casts Bone Barrier on his friend.

Edited 2019-03-12 19:23 (UTC)

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