Apocalypse || Sen Riqeaux Castle

[eternitymods]

Who: The Heroes of Light
When: April 11th, 16:00
Where: Sen Riqeaux Castle
What: Bahamut's summoning has been determined to occur above the skies of Sen Riqeaux. An airship piloted by Biggs and Wedge will be picking up the Heroes of Light at the Curti Center before stopping by the major locations where other Heroes of Light are, finally taking them to Sen Riqeaux Castle. Multiple NPCs from the Curti Center are with the Heroes of Light for this expedition.
Warnings/Notes: The end of the world.

Comments

[bladeofconquest]

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.

[eternitynpc]

"...."

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.

[eternitynpcs]

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.

[hatejakku]

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?

[alborada]

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...”

[plagueofshadows]

"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?

[saint_sami]

“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.

[strawberryredgrave]

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..."

[einspine]

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.

[rivieran]

Ena had been standing near the back, near the airship this entire time, mostly frozen in place. Dreadfully oblivious as she always was, she saw how things were unfolding, and how painfully obvious this outcome should have been. Ramaa had been a fellow ruler, someone she could empathize with and blindly trust in.

And once again, her naivete was coming to bite her in the ass.

When Ganeshan dies, it triggers something in her. It reminds her of helplessly watching her brother die--desperately wanting to do something, but feeling much too powerless to make a difference. But the part of her that had grown and learned from that experience was screaming at her. It repeated like a mantra in her head as the scene unfolded before her--

do something do something do something do something do something do something do someth

Before she knew it, she found herself casting a spell. She didn't know what it was, she wasn't quite in the right of mind to make rational decisions.

In the end, it turns out to be Melody: Dragonform--a medium-sized silver dragon bursts into existence near the back of the crowd. "Get on," she growls, turning to the nearest person and literally tosses them onto her back. She wasn't all that big, and any more would be too much for her to carry, but she didn't care. She was panicking. She could at least get herself and some people out of there, or die trying.

[boomchucka]

Despite her best attempts, Selphie isn't able to move. Kalki's earlier words, regardless of the SeeD's conviction of the opposite, had struck a deep wound that no-one could see. She watches as heroes are struck down, Ganeshan dies and is helpless to help anyone when she finds herself being hauled onto Ena's back.

Selphie clings to Ena's back, unable to watch the carnage any further.

[topgun_textiles]

"Tactical retreat! We got bigger fish to fry!"

Naoto may complain about it later, but he stooped and gathered her up onto an arm. He hoped like hell Suzette was getting a capture of everything...

Time to back off and ready up for their guest, right? But not without sending a wordless message to Ramaa on his way out. Ever the gentleman.

[mech_and_mutt]

Doggone it, Kanji, of all the ways you could have said that...!!

...But however shocked and outraged Red may have been, and however much he wished he could satisfy that anger here and now... the others were right. They had to run. And not everyone had the armor to protect themselves.

"...You heard 'em. Go!! We'll think of somethin'!"

He'd •Magitek Force himself in the meantime. Just until the others made their exit.

[songbird_slayer]

"May your walk in the Queen's Woods be a peaceful one..." Poor Ganeshan.

She would not waste the time he'd bought for them, however. They needed to stop the entity first before handling the reality-bender.

"Papyrus, dear, take care of Undyne and the children!" Meanwhile, she would make a jog for Matilda.

"Let's go shake hands with a lesser dragon, eh?" Tha tiefling reached out to link hands, and opened up the Dimension Door.

[musicinmysoul]

Everything went to shit way too fast and she's still reeling from it. If she had any shred of her necromancy, she'd ensure Ganeshan's spirit would find peace...if he didn't stubbornly stick around to help anyway. He's the type who would.

She turns to the approaching tiefling and nods. Bahamut is the one they've been planning to deal with anyway. Kalki was a taunting reminder of what the heroes were up against; she'll get hers soon enough.

"I'll watch your back." She couldn't muster up anything witty; the affirmation is the best she can manage as she hops through the dimension door with Madhuri. Part of her was happy she didn't have access to her magic right now, admittedly; all of the despair, anger and death in the air would've made it too hard for her to breathe.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Watching Ganeshan die -- so suddenly, so quickly -- left even Kisegawa speechless. The shock was felt equally strongly by Patches and Uendo. The Zora had always been such a reliable presence... and now he was gone, just like that?

This wasn't supposed to happen. They'd expected a challenge, of course -- but it wasn't supposed to be impossible. The previous Heroes had defeated Kalki. Why couldn't they do it now? What were they supposed to do? What was it they were missing?

And now they'd just have to run away, with their tails between their legs?

Kisegawa swallowed her pride and turned her attention to the two people she needed to look after first -- Sasami and Sylvarie. "Come on, you two. She will not get away with this."

[bladeofconquest]

Corrin also covers the retreat as the Heroes fall back. Ganeshan's death hits her hard, but she doesn't have time to mourn. Another death she failed to prevent...she'll have to deal with it later. "The airship! Fall back to the airship!"

It was the only place she could think to fall back to at this point. In the meantime she'd do her best to cover the retreat of Serge, Kid, and Nozomi.

[neverbeamemory]

Being one of the last to disembark from the airship gave Sephiroth time to better survey the whole situation in and around Sen Riqeaux Castle; Calamity monsters having breached what was supposed to be one of the largest cities on the Planet - it just about summed up the entirety of Vaikuntha falling to despair before Bahamut had even begun to run the sky that dark-red hue.

Magnificent to behold, in an of itself, yet Sephiroth's particular taste for such devastation and despair is jilted sourly enough to make him feel sick; he's caught up in all of this and if something isn't done, his entire existence will be forfeit!

As others engaged with Ramaa and inevitably combat was provoked, the silver-haired swordsman hadn't even drawn his blade. Watching with a mildly un-impressed gaze as secrets were spilled, as blood was inevitably shed. Letting the betrayal that only confirmed his suspicions from the offset stoke at a simmering stew of inner fire as he drew his own silent opinions.

The swordsman's grip only tightened on the handle of his katana, when Ganeshan made his sacrifice. Sephiroth offered a disgusted grimace at the act -the only Curti staff member that had proven of any use- before swiftly turning away; briefly stopping and half turning back before raising his voice.

"We've no time for this!"

He's not going to force anyone, or even make a headcount though, as Sephiroth strides back towards the airship. They need to get in the air for when this Eidolon finally manifests itself.

[tiredcharmer]

Tyzias, wordless and grim, limps back to the ship, continuing to drain her potion reserves to mend the hole in her guts. Mind blank mind blank mind blank mind blank--

--couldn't do anything then couldn't do anything now useless useless--

mind blank focus on the mission focus on the mission

[modelcivilian]

Adrien had been staying back from the fight since his best attacks followed after a counterattack. Still, watching everyone go in, trying to attack her but attacking themselves instead... and then she just took out Ganeshan so easily.

There was a chill in his spine... but Sephiroth's right.

"Come on!" But he would stay on ground and count everyone. He'd go last... or close to it, just to make sure no one was left behind.

[sassafrisk]

Frisk had been ready to leap in and join the fray. As much as they loathed fighting humans, or human-adjacent things, this... this was different. She wanted to destroy the entire multiverse and had inflicted so much pain and hurt on everyone on Vaikuntha.

And then everybody gets hit with their own attacks.

And then Ganeshan dies.

Frisk freezes, eyes wide. No no no no no no no no no

Somebody's going to need to drag them back to the ship at this rate.

[singerofspells]

"I can carry a few out!" S'reee started moving towards anyone who wasn't moving back to the airship, or who was having trouble. People like Frisk who seemed so overcome by the sudden death of one of their party that they wouldn't act to retreat.

Now was a good time to push her Teleport to the limit to move people around.

[saint_sami]

Sasami didn’t need to be told twice to run, she was going to do just that. But, then she saw the catatonic Frisk. She had to go back, grabbing her hand and dragging her along.

“C’mon, we gotta go!” She said

[bleating_heart]

Sasami isn't the only one. Asriel grabs Frisk, lifting them bodily up by the underarms as he floats back towards the retreating crowd, gritting his teeth as he tries to speak as quickly as possible.

"Come on, come on! I know, it's bad, it's horrible, but we can't do this here, we need to get out of here, then we can fix this. We'll come back, I promise."

DON'T FALL TO THE DARK SIDE FINN THE COOKIES ARE RANCID

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa grits his teeth, his hands squeezing tightly into fists. He looks away to the sides. That hit everyone hard. Poor Ganeshan...

He shuts his eyes tight, tears forming at the sides. When he opens them again, the tears are still there--but his gaze is clear, and focused on the one person that he knows just took the heaviest emotional blow out of anyone. He's seen what sorrow will do to a person. As well as anger.

Finn feels a hand grip his upper arm, and Klonoa gives a gentle pull, trying to turn him around to look into his eyes.

"We have to go. Right now, Finn."

If such a thing is possible, his expression almost seems to convey.. understanding. As well as free-flowing sadness. If Finn isn't going, he's going to be pulled.