lostcarnival | ⇨ WISMUTH ENDGAME

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⇨ WISMUTH ENDGAME

Who: Everyone!
When: Evening Day 27
Where: The Wismuth Super Dome, Round 2
What: On the verge of creating a world ending army of Harbingers, CY-Ren and her followers are challenged by the carnival and the Star Guardian team. It's time to stop.
Warnings: Singing

THE LAST REQUIEM↴

CY-Ren's planning of a charity concert has been well received - news of bomb threats and harassment from fans have painted her as a victim in the media spotlight, and her generous attempt to make amends is getting plenty of attention. She's been busy spinning things for as much focus as possible, and the threat of potential danger has the news focusing in on the proceedings. The date is set for Day 27 in carnival time. You won't want to miss it!

► BUILD UP: In the last couple days before the concert, CY-Ren will be reaching out to all of her Harbingers, regardless of where they might be at the time - yes, this means that even if you ran off, she'll come to find you! (Unless you're in the carnival like Taako, then you're fucked.) She'll tell you that her plans are coming to head, and that if you help her with one last task then the planet will be on its way to destruction. There are multiple ways you can aid her: you can help amp up her performance as evil backup singers/musicians, or you can set yourself up around the perimeter at specified locations, using your sparks as a beacon to her magic. She's certain that she's perfected her musical formula, this time - when the concert gets underway, all those present with the capacity to be a Harbinger will awaken, and the end of days will begin.

► THE CONCERT: By the time the concert arrives, the Star Guardians will have the idea that there's something unnatural about the way the new Harbingers were made - this isn't how it usually happens, and that sets them apart from someone like CY-Ren. Maybe that means that they can be pulled away with less drastic measures as well, given that the Void didn't have the full right to their souls in the first place. Anyone coming to help (and those who aren't Star Guardians will be encouraged to come as well, given that if they are making attempts at friendship, super powers aren't required) will gather in the area early, determined to stomp this one out before it can get too far.

► HARBINGERS: This is when they will be encountered by Harbingers guarding the perimeter, as well as a small army of void creatures defending CY-Ren's last performance. Star Guardians will become aware through the power of Creation that the Harbingers on the perimeter must be neutralized in order to disrupt the concert - CY-Ren is feeding on their negative energies, and it will make it too dangerous to attack her directly. Confrontations with any Harbingers can be worked out on an individual basis via plotting - just make up a location around the concert and have your Harbinger providing a beacon of their own design.

As the concert ramps up, however, the excess of Void energy will cause the newly made Harbingers to destabilize - mentally or magically, their powers will be harder to control, and their negative emotions will be running wild. However, with that instability, there is also room for a breakthrough - for someone to blast the darkness from their Sparks with friendship and light. Now is the time to reach out.

► STAR GUARDIANS: If a Harbinger is successfully turned away from the darkness, they will briefly regain control of their Sparks, and be able to manifest as a Star Guardian for the first time. This will allow the Guardians to outnumber CY-Ren's forces. Their look and powers will still be based around the same Spark, but purified by Creation and aimed towards positive things. Time to win.

► DANCE OFF: Given that the Spark of Music and the Spark of Dance are colliding, it is perhaps not a surprise that this all manifests as a big ass musical number. As CY-Ren and Noa have a music battle, everyone present (even if you aren't a Star Guardian) will find themselves magically inspired to join in. You can dance, sing, or anything in between - the more people who support Noa's side, the stronger she will be. There will be a megathread for this part of the conflict, and at this point any unturned Harbingers will awaken and be able to turn their Sparks towards the light. As CY-Ren begins to lose power, what the players do with her will be up to you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lambert's not mobile right now, but Pig certainly is, and neither witcher nor Pokemon-turned-familiar are about to let Childermass roast their allies. It happens in a split second, Pig screeching forward to put themselves right into the path of Baker's flames to shield Rita, and Lambert only has enough time to raise an arm to cover his face, a flash of metal sparkling in the light of spectral flame.

Do Peridot's magic-absorbing bracers work against Pokemon fire? Lambert hasn't got any idea, but he's about to find out the hard way.

Edited ( ) 2018-03-16 02:55 (UTC)

"Rita!" Yuya's easily distracted by Baker's coming attack, but Lambert moves before he does. It's probably a good thing, because it gives Yuya the time to realize that Childermass is up, out of the way, and they need to bring him down.

So he swings his wand hard, one way and back in two sets of bubble that start to blend together. They float towards Childermass--some of them still explode into goo, while others will make that same deafening crack that happened in the museum.

Of course, he's only able to focus on it for that much before his worry drags his gaze back to the other two.

It's a good thing that Pig moves fast, because Rita freezes when she sees Baker back and on the offensive once again. Even if she did react immediately, the attack comes too quickly for her to conjure a spell in response...

It's only when Lambert lands himself in the flame's path that she snaps out of it. "Wait, you--!" He didn't have to do that, damn it!

But he kind of did, and even though she doesn't know if Lambert's okay, there's only one thing to do now: keep fighting. Anything else would be a waste of this opportunity he's making for her.

Cursing under her breath, Rita flips to a new page in the book and calls forth another spell: "Arc of Judgment!" A crackling bolt of electricity shoots out of the book, twists and turns in the air above Lambert and Baker, and zigzags its way toward another minor arcana card. "I'll meddle as much as I please!" she adds, now that she has a chance to breathe. "We've all got too much to lose to just let this happen!"

Sorry, Lambert, but they don't. Baker may be changed by supernatural forces but his fire is the same as ever, a natural ability, or as natural as one can expect from a Pokemon, anyway. The witcher and his loyal bike will meet the flames in the worst way possible as they ignore the bracers entirely, though they do block Rita from the blast.

It also has the strange perk of immediately distracting Childermass. He'd meant for Baker to attack Rita, not Lambert, and with CY-Ren's influence long since purged, seeing that idiot shove his way into the line of fire has a flicker of panic crossing his face. He grabs for another card, but there isn't enough time to do anything, whatever it is he may have wanted to do.

"Lambert!"

Lambert, you idiot! He would have added the rest, but the loud bang from a bubble jerks his attention away. He floats backward on instinct, away from the sound, and right into another bubble. This one pops on one of his wings, immediately weighing it down with goo rather than letting out an exploding sound. He curses again and falters in the air... All of which gives Rita free rein to interrupt that second card. She zaps it right out of the air, breaking its connection with the central card.

It's been a while since Lambert's been on the receiving end of a fireball, but it's not like it's never happened to him before. That doesn't make the flame that sears across his arm and side any less agonizing -- being able to tolerate heat doesn't mean being fireproof. Neither is that flimsy Guardian clothing, though at least it doesn't go up entirely in flame, just ends up blackened and singed, filling the air with a sharp, bitter smell like burnt hair.

Gritting his teeth, the witcher waits out the rush of flame without a sound of complaint, and only once he's certain there isn't any more coming that he raises his other hand -- the leeward side, the one shielded from the flame -- and casts a rushed, sloppy spell in Baker's direction.

"Stay down!" he orders, the crack in his voice betraying the pain. As soon as the spell's cast, he uses the same hand to beat out the small flames licking up his clothes, hissing as he brushes reddened, blistering skin. It's not by any means as bad as it should be, for such a direct hit, but fuck if it doesn't sting.

The last of his bubbles area still floating up towards Childermass. Yuya's running towards them as Lambert ignites, hand thrust out to cast the shield around them as he skids to a halt. They can't attack from under it, but it buys precious time from another attack by Baker.

"Lambert, are you--" he stops as his nose scrunches a little at the scent. "How bad is it?"

That agitated voice just now... Was that Childermass?

Rita didn't expect that to get such a reaction out of him... Maybe Yuya was right. It's still possible to get through to him...

With the barrier around them, Rita takes a moment to breathe... then walks to Lambert's side, opposite Yuya. She looks at him, taking in the sight of his burnt skin, then glances away with a wince. It's not the worst she's seen, but it's hard to face the fact that he's only hurt because he was shielding her.

She keeps her book close and watches Childermass, prepared to attack again should the barrier between them go down.

At Lambert's order, well, of course Baker backs down. He goes from snarling beast to puzzled to flopping down on the rooftop in the span of seconds, idly panting and watching Mr. Guardian of Freedom over there curiously. Baker knows Lambert. Baker isn't sure why they're attacking Lambert but if he doesn't have to now, hey, whatever.

And Childermass isn't even going to fuss over his familiar suddenly becoming useless. He's busy landing heavily on one of the big metal A/C units that sit up on here with them. Partly due to his wing being disabled, partly due to wanting to avoid further bubbles now in the air as well.

He gives the three behind the shield dome a torn look, but it doesn't last. He raises an arm towards what's left of his shadow crows and gestures them towards what's left of Yuya's bubbles. They dive for those, popping them and winking out of existence with each bubble they take out, leading to a series of splats (of goo falling to the rooftop) and bangs.

Lambert, perhaps to no one's surprise, curses foully when the other two Guardians group up on him. He'd probably appreciate the sentiment more if they weren't in the middle of a fight here, and he forces himself off Pig with a slight stagger. The bike's shiny gold finish that was facing Baker's assault is slightly blackened with soot, but she's otherwise unharmed.

Instead of actually answering Yuya, he steps forward to the edge of the bubble barrier, eyes fixed on the goo-afflicted Harbinger.

"Are you an idiot!?" He bawls at Childermass, lungs clearly working well enough to be heard even over the splat and bang of Yuya's other bubble's popping. The beacon's still going, though even he can tell it's begun to partly falter.

"I'm supposed to be the one who sets people on fire! Not you!"

Yuya's eyes snap between Childermass, Lambert, and Lambert's wound. Things have slightly calmed down after that initial burst of violence (of course, they just came up on Childermass out of nowhere), but Yuya's reluctant to drop the shield just yet. So he doesn't, waiting out whatever Lambert wants to say to Childermass.

With any hope (or a whole lot of luck), maybe he'll get through with this. Maybe they won't have to fight any further.

"That’s what you're concerned about!?" Rita snaps at Lambert in disbelief.

Well... at least he pacified the pooch. That’s one of Rita’s biggest worries out of the way.

"...Taking out those cards seems to be effective," she observes after a moment, her voice quiet. "If we get rid of them all, we might disrupt the beacon entirely." Rita still doesn't know whether to believe this can be resolved with words. If there's a way to use logic and magic to fix things, why not do that?

"Of all the things to complain about...!"

Yeah, Childermass thinks that stupid, too, Rita, but he honestly has more important things to do than get in an argument over who can and cannot set people on fire. He tries to clear his wing of the goo one last time but, failing that, he pulls a face and simply dismisses the damn things. If they're getting in the way, he won't keep them around.

From that point, he turns his attention back towards the beacon, drawing a new card to point towards it. Chances are the means to fix it, but the energy — down two cards to help it focus — has begun to go haywire. It's reaching for any form of corrupt Spark to latch onto and Childermass drawing a new card is like holding a lightning rod up high in the middle of a thunderstorm. Void energy arcs away from the beacon, grasping not only for the new card but up his arm as well.

Which hurts.

He lets go of the card with a shocked jerk, staggering back a step and struggling a bit to shake his arm free again. He manages, the energy turning its attention to the card he's left in its grip instead. He shakes the pins and needles of the contact out of his hand and then holds it out towards the now floating card instead, focusing, willing it and the energy back into the circle from afar.

"Now look at what you've gone and done," he mutters, "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to break a circle like that?"

What's equally if not more stupid is Lambert takes a step forward when Childermass jolts like that, pushing past Yuya's bubble with hand already half-outstretched -- and scowling. That's a useless gesture -- what is he going to even accomplish?

"Dangerous--?! As if you're one to talk! You're trying to end the world!" Really, it objectively doesn't get more dangerous than that!

Yeah, yeah, he's supposed to be winning Childermass back to their side with friendship, but perhaps unfortunately for Creation, Lambert's friendship has always come with a fair share of fighting. If nothing else, at least, maybe he can provide a distraction to keep Childermass from focusing on the beacon, or any other attempt Yuya might make to tie him down. He takes one step closer, and another, the energy from the void making his skin prickle with discomfort.

"Stop being such an ass! You don't want this!"

It is forceful, but it isn't like Yuya disagrees. Maybe Childermass does need to be yelled at, he doesn't know him that well.

Yuya watches Lambert push against his bubble, and that's when he drops it so as not to obstruct him further. His gaze quickly drifts around the beacon, considering its structure. Pulling it down by force is probably more dangerous than convincing Childermass to drop it, but he knows across the city that Noa is standing up against CY-Ren directly, soon if not now, and she could use all the help she can get.

He stares for a moment before shuffling closer to Rita, lowering his voice to a whisper. "There's something in the middle. What if we pull it out?"

Maybe the whole beacon will collapse with it. Or maybe they'll just blow themselves up with magical energy.

"I guess we'll have to find out," Rita replies to Childermass's warning, smug and satisfied with her own recklessness. Lambert's right; how dangerous could it be, compared to the end of the world? Besides, if this bothers him so much, maybe he'll let slip some details about how it works. It's win-win, as far as Rita's concerned.

Rita's book starts to glow, charging with Creation energy to prepare for a powerful spell. If Lambert can keep him occupied, maybe she can start taking out more of those cards.

But Yuya has another suggestion, and Rita listens as she prepares the spell. "I wouldn't risk it," she whispers back to him. "The energy's too volatile, and too concentrated at that point. You don't want to get in the middle of that."

"If you think I'm going to stop for one of your petty little arguments, you don't know me all that well after all," is the answer Lambert gets from Childermass. He shuffles through his cards for a second replacement, drawing a card once he settles on something suitable.

As long as they linger on their side of the rooftop, he's just going to carry on repairing the beacon.

"No," Lambert says, gritting his teeth. "You never stop for anyone else, do you?"

But he keeps striding towards Childermass, unarmed, hands balled into fists at his sides. Violence is the only solution he's ever really known, and he wants to reach for it now, except...

Except that really wouldn't solve anything, would it?

"But you're wrong. I do know you," Lambert snarls, stepping forward quicker now, moving to stand between Childermass in the beacon. " You say you're pissed because nobody's ever going to thank you?! Bullshit! You never asked for anyone's thanks in the first place! You're a selfless idiot who never thinks about protecting himself! You think you need to do everything on your own and never rely on anyone else, but you're a soft-hearted bastard who couldn't even leave a servant alone, who spoils his dog rotten when nobody is looking!"

Behind him, Pig starts to glow again, and her engine roars as she starts to drive in a circle around the roof -- where her wheels run, it leaves a wall of golden light, rising from the ground to banish the shadows -- and once she completes her circuit, she'll aim to come to a stop beside where Baker's flopped down.

Yuya nods. That's a fair assessment--Rita's the magic expert here, so he's going with her judgement. He looks at Lambert's back, pausing for a moment.

"Then you go for one side and I got for the other? Lambert will reach him--" Yuya sounds completely certain about that. "But I don't like what the beacon's doing, so we should stop it."

Rita pauses, turning to watch Lambert lay into Childermass. Selfless, soft-hearted... He's not wrong, but Rita never expected to hear Lambert say it like that.

Yuya's next suggestion earns a nod from her. If they keep waiting, Childermass will fix the whole thing and they'll be right back where they started. "I'll take the ones to our left," she whispers, then returns her attention to her book. It seems like it's gathered enough power to try this technique with.

"Come forth! Indignant Judgment!" Electricity shoots from the book once more, this time in multiple branching strands that converge above one of the minor arcana cards. The energy then crashes down hard like a bolt of lightning, with some sparks shooting off towards nearby cards. If she's lucky, she might take out multiple cards in a single shot.

As forceful as the spell is, it doesn't come close enough to harm anyone on the roof, though it may make a few people's hair stand on end.

Well, Lambert did have Childermass's attention right up until Rita started shooting bolts of electricity all over the place. He had paused in placing the last card, keeping an eye on the witcher from the corner of an eye, so... listening. Then the crackle of lightning rips his gaze back to Rita, then to the beacon's cards.

"No!" He shouts, furious, and draws a different card. One of the major arcana, supposedly, since he vanishes immediately and in the same breath of time, Baker reacts as well to his master's displeasure. Axii can only work for so long and the arcanine goes from curiously sniffing Pig the Motorcycle to lurching back to his paws and taking a snap at her.

As for Childermass, well, he reappears right behind Rita, even as her book's spell rips through three more of the minor arcana in the circle. He makes a violent grab for her hair, to yank her backward and away from her book.

Pig doesn’t hesitate: as soon as Baker snaps for her, she immediately slams a wheel right into his face. It’s probably half-nostalgic, considering the last time they had a real fight was back in Alola before they evolved, but Pig’s kicks never came with what it does now, another flashbang that fills the whole roof with light — and without warning, this time.

Lambert, at least, is spared the worst of it by his goggles still covering his eyes. He’s already pivoting, turning so quickly it’s painful — but he’s not quick enough to protect Rita this time. Unlike other people, he doesn’t have teleportation going for him, so he can only lurch forward, too slow, as he yells.

“John, stop!”

At Rita's confirmation, Yuya darts around to the right of the circle. His approach is less obvious, forming a larger bubble from his wand that he pushes forward in an attempt to trap the minor arcana within it--he hopes his will makes it strong enough that his Spark power cuts off Childermass'.

While he's doing that, Rita's blasting the other side. He's focused on trapping the card, but his gaze does drift just a bit sideways to her while he's doing so.

"Rita!" That's when Childermass comes up behind her, and their distraction and subtly are thrown out the window. Pig lights up the area before Yuya can make a choice, and he flinches and pulls his own goggles down before thrusting his reach forward to bubble the card with what time he has.

Edited 2018-03-18 18:06 (UTC)

Rita yelps in surprise and pain when she's suddenly yanked back by the hair, her hat coming loose and falling from her head as she struggles, then tries to wedge a hand between her head and the Harbinger's grip, trying to lessen the pain. There's no defense against that flash of light beyond squeezing her eyes shut, but she does it a moment too late, and it leaves her vision fuzzy.

"Keep going, Yuya!" she shouts through gritted teeth. "Lambert's right; he's soft." Her notion of exactly how soft has been challenged repeatedly in these last few encounters with him... but even if it's sort of a bluff, she'll run with it. "I don't buy this bad guy act. Not from the guy who helped me learn to fly... who tried to cheer me up when I was pissed off about changing... who never wanted to fight me in the first place!"

Yuya's bubble encases the second to last minor arcana, forcing the final floating card to take the brunt of controlling the energy arcing from the Fool, off towards the concert hall. It's a problem but mostly for Childermass, whose power it ultimately is being channeled in the first place. He cringes against the light from Pig again, taking a step back towards the edge of the building and dragging Rita along with him, grip on her hair only tightening.

Baker takes the worst of it, though, a whack to the face and that bright light? He yelps and staggers back, toppling over, dazed and down for now. Childermass, though...

"Shut up," He snaps at Rita, opening his eyes again to squint at what's left of his beacon's setup. It shouldn't be difficult to feel him shaking from the strain through his grip. His focus has been split for too long and he's having trouble at this point. Still, he'll carry on playing the villain, trying to buy just enough time. "Touch that last card and I'll throw her from the roof."

Lambert stops in his tracks, but his eyes aren’t on Childermass, but on Rita.

Rita, who has wings but who’s afraid of heights, who cursed and railed against the Prince’s poison leaching into their souls and refused to be broken even half-petrified. He’d shielded her from flame, but in this? There’s only one choice.

“I am the flash that cuts through darkness, the light that breaks the night!” Lambert raises his hand and the gilded sword he’d summoned before snaps into his hand again, blazing a trail of light — and he immediately turns to slice it through that last minor arcana. He’ll let his momentum keep him going as he lunges forward immediately after to try to rip the knife and the card it’s stabbed through off the roof.

Edited (TOO MANY IMMEDIATELYS) 2018-03-18 19:28 (UTC)

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