Endgame || Apocalypse

[melodiesmods]

Characters: Anyone
Where: Pandaemonium
When: March 05th
Summary: The first phase of endgame begins! The Heroes of Light are on their way to deal with Garland as they’ve left their unfinished businesses in the hands of their friends amongst the NPCs. How will it end? The mingle threads shall not be modded, only The Guardian will be modded. Please do not start individual threads for The Guardian, reply in a single thread. Starting from now on, the game is officially in endgame. Please do not post any new posts on Mognet or in the Log Community, unless they’re backdated to before this event. The second phase of endgame will be posted once The Killer Of World thread will have been unlocked and completed.
Warning: ̩̼͋ͬͅ.̷̳̗ͦͣ͐ͭͣͬ̈́ ̤̙ͫ̉.̨̯͖̗͓̥̭̣̂̄ͣ̏ͯͫ ̶̼̻̳ͫͧͥ̆.̭͎ͮ͂ ̳̤͓̖̫͌ͪͥ̄͗̐̌.͚͍̀ ͈̻̠̥̜ͦͦ̆ͨ͋.̼̹̹̠̟͚͎ ͙͇̲̘͖̉̌̒͂̈ͮ.͇͙͑̍̽ ̪̭̹̤͓̯̜ͦͣ̒̾͆͗ͦ͟.̝̯̲͗͊̽ ̛̙͌̈ͤ̚.̪̮̰̘͚̏ͦͤ ̲̼̺͓̣̝̐.͗ͨ͜ ̧́̑̄ͥ.ͬ͊̋ͣ ̝̠͍̭̯̽.́ ̊̽̈.̡̥̖̣͓̬̠̰͗͑͂ ͍̭̩̝̉͊̑̃̓ͤ̇.͆̔̀̈́̐̋ ͇̬̤̲͉̜͙̓̍ͦͯͤͥ̔.̯̻̺͔̰̞̙͋͡ ̻̼̣̮͖̮̋ͬ.̖̝̞ ͕̦̙̞̹̲̖̓̃.̌ͯͯ͟ ̺̘̪͊̊.̲͖ ̧̼̙̋ͦͧ̂́̑͑.̷̼̬̭͔͙̹̫ͦͧ̔̄͐̏ͫ ̱͎ͥͥ̈͝.̲̣͖̪͓̯ͩ̓̈̿ͧ̅́ ̪͈͚̺̦̝͎̒ͦ̇̚.̂̆ͯͦͩ̃̀̀ ̬͕̼̆.͎̃́͐̄͒̑ͪͅ ̠̳͎ͬ.̛̭͓͗͌ͪ ̴͉̱͉̘̯̟̔͐.̫̣̥̔͑͛́ ̝̭̤̜͖͎̙̈ͪ̿̓ͯ͂̚.̟̲̥̥͈̭̳̈̋ͥͦ ͔̩̈͋͐͗̚.͓̝̼͍̈ͧ͊ͅ ̥ͥ.̷̬͍͙ͥ̓͋ͅ ̪̯̠ͨ́̂.̱̙̘̫̰͕͈̎̓̊ ̧̻̃̎.̬̇̄ ̘̣̺̼ͯ͋̀.̯ͬ ̆͗͆̆̋͝.̴̞͖̫́ͬ͌̉̍̿ ̪̹̥͙̑ͅ.̵̻̮͓̉̃ͯ͑̊̈́̚ ͚̽̒̚͘.͇̮͇̻͍͈̠͂̓ͣ̀͡ ̩̠̖̋.̺͎͈̦̺̈́ͮͬ͌̋ͧͩ ̳̠͕͙̎ͩ͜.̛̆ͥ̒͑ ̘̠͓͚̱͗͜ͅ.̢̠̠̥͍̬̂̊͋͊̂̄̐ ̦͛.̰͚̫̱͙̩̅̓ ̲̜͌̒ͭ͑͠.̠̆̈̏͆̉ ̰̹̳̻̥̮̬ͨ̍̐̆͗ͫ͜.͕̥͔̳ͩ͞ ̣͓̥̑̍͊̽̄̀.̳̘̭ͭ̔̎̍͜ ̟̞̯̏.̙̯̦̞̱̘ͬ͐ͩ ̯̠̣͉̪̅̅ͣ́ͅ.̡͗̍̿͊͐͊ ̲̙́̽̽́.̝̟͇͈͚̿͝ ̑͜

Mingle Thread
The Guardian
The Killer Of Worlds

Comments

[shinra_dog]

"That was a dirty trick," Reno complained with a cringe. He had to give credit where credit was due, though, if he were in Garland's place he would have done it. Whatever works, right?

It just sucked to be on the receiving end.

Everyone's attempts to build back their original stats helped, but it was all still dangerously restricted in effectiveness.

"B-R-B -- don't die or I'll kill you," Reno informed Johnny lightly before darting forward, using the benefit of Camoflauge's mist. Using every scrap of experience he'd ever gained as a Turk, both here and at home, he attempted to sneak up on Garland and lay a mine behind him for some Homemade Fun.

[water_meebo]

"If that is what you choose to do," Mikleo replied closing his eyes as he quickly casts Prayer on the Heroes in his general premise. That would be Lust and whoever was standing a few feet from him. The assault did not bode well with him but if that is what he wants to subject himself to, the Mikleo had no right to stop Garland from doing what he wanted.

He will honestly fight him with all he's got. Following Prayer, he quickly takes advantage of the haste to cast Divine Carress on Lust.

Thanks to everyone using all the buff and support spells, he was starting to feel a little better.

[just_want_normal_knees]

Ruby yelped as the wave hit. Reno was right, that was a dirty trick. Only made her heroic resolve stronger, though.

"You think we're just going to let you win! You're nothing but a villain to defeat! You might think you're a good guy, but when you take the lives of innocents, that doesn't make you a good guy anymore!" she called out.

She charged forward, bringing Crescent Rose to the forefront and performing a Chaos Thrust.

[shepherd_prince]

Chrom bit back his frustration. It shouldn't have come to this, there was still more to say! Nonetheless, if it was a test of strength and conviction they had to pass before Garland would recognize their determination to defeating the Calamity, then there was simply no other alternative.

He drew Falchion, spinning it with a dexterous turn of his wrist before grasping it firmly with both hands.

"Lailah!" he called out to his seraphim partner, focusing his attention on the merging of their power.

That blast had hit all of them hard, but Chrom drew strength from the cooperation of his allies. Those who stood with him this day, he would protect with his life. Rather than taking the opportunity to attack this round, he instead raised his Sentinel ability and stood protectively in front of Yuna. If the reports were true, and Garland did indeed fear the Eidolons, then he would certainly target the summoners of the group first. Chrom would not allow that to happen, not to her.

"Yuna, I'll be counting on what you can do. He won't touch you so long as I remain standing." That was a promise. In spite of the reduced potential of his strength and abilities, he looked back at her with a confident smile. "All of you, stay focused. We'll carry the day!"

[needsteaplz]

"Alright you bastard, you've really done it now," Saori braced herself with her sheathed sword when the attack hit. She refused to give in now after coming this far. If beating Garland to a pulp was the key, then so be it. Without missing a beat, she cast Shushin on herself in the hopes of raising her chances of dodging and closing the distance.

As she got closer, she pulled out Laguna's machine gun and started firing at Garland. Sure the damage output would be weaker, but it's a start.

[gorgeous_sin]

The Chaos Wave overtook Lust in a way that was agonizingly similar to being exposed to the remains of her former human self. She was momentarily paralyzed on the spot, her breath seizing in her throat, and the sounds of various people breaking out into a cacophony of different songs, shouted abilities, and calls to allies. The din was deafening.

Then she felt the soothing wash of Mikleo's Prayer as it swept over her, banishing the momentary web that ensnared her senses and allowing her to breath. For her, her physical defense was boosted. Pity, she'd hoped for attack or magic power, but this would keep her alive a while longer yet, she supposed.

What was more, she received an extra boost to her defenses with the Divine Caress. She drew her sword and began to Focus, preparing to enhance her spells. "Don't you think you should cast that on yourself first?" she said, albeit not unkindly. She was wearing a little smile, which was perhaps the equivalent of saying 'thank you' under the circumstances.

[impatienttraveler]

Well now, this certainly was an enlightening exchange. Not only were some of his fellows so childish they resorted to petty attempts to degrade an opponent, but a 'hack'? How delightful.

Alas, he had very little he could contribute to the cause, as flawed as their reasoning was, so he simply had to make do with copying Santa's Lightning Storm with Imitiate.

"The kind of king who lies... at it's source," he replied to the rhetorical question with a vague hint of both amusement and annoyance. Ah, the downside of having just recently awoken. Such a pity, really.

[arcward]

If there's one thing Jaune's learned while he's here, it's that most of the other Heroes are much more capable fighters than he is. Tied in with his current lack of strength, it's probably best to let them handle the frontlines for the moment.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this in the middle of a fight."

He straightens up, takes a breath, and begins his Prom Dance. He still doesn't get how it works, the whole dancing to debuff an enemy, but he's willing to run with it. He stays behind Pyrrha, ready to jump in if things get more physical; the two fought seamlessly together. Besides, there's no way he's letting his teammate out of his site, not now.

((ooc: Prom Dance halves the enemies' attack))

[hiddentruth]

Parasraya stood behind Jack when he used Sentinel-- She didn't have defenses high enough to survive one of Garland's attack if it were to hit her after all. Of course there was the life spell, that quite famous spell that could revive Heroes of Light even if they were killed, but... That wasn't something she could really rely on.

To be on the safe side, she used a healing spell on Jack. She looked quite stern as her fellow Heroes of Light tried attacking Garland with what skills they had at their disposal, but she smiled for a split second when she noticed Nanami was attempting to summon the Knights of the Round.

[damn_juicebox]

Rukia smoothly slid her Soul Slayer from its sheath, the palm of her hand caressing the slim blade from hilt to tip as she spoke the command.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

A pure white light changed the katana, shifting its shape to something more slender and elegant with a long white ribbon trailing from the base. While loss of her physical defense didn't matter much, being incorporeal, the sharp decrease to the rest of her defenses could prove troublesome depending on what came next.

She raised her sword to stand at the ready, elevated just over her shoulder with the point aimed at Garland. Rather than attack with her shikai, she instead elected to use High Summoner instead, as those effects didn't feel as if they'd diminished.

"O masked ruler of all that has shed mortal flesh, who navigates the dark river of Hell." The summoning power stirred the black robes of her shinigami uniform as she concentrated. "Bring forth thy cauldron of corruption and awaken as our shepherd in this time of need. Hades!"

One Eidolon chosen, and one more to go. Rukia's expression sharpened as she continued her chant, her voice gaining strength.

"Lord of Eidolons, astride the stallion that cracks the sky with chiseled hoof and shrouds the sun with a baleful eye. Wielder of that terrible spear that strikes down the unjust, heed our call. Shatter the heavens with brilliant light! Odin!"

[novacrystallis]

The following buffs and healing spells are only 20% as effective: Camouflage, Gift of Crystallis, Brave Vesperia, ShinRa Guard, Stats Lore, Enlightenment, Sentinel, Runic, Hylia's Prayer, A Healing Spell, Stealth, Love Power, Waltz, Shunshin, Charge Shot, In the Red, Nanomachines, Divine Carress, Prayer, Focus, Prom Dance. Boss Theme, The Final Fantasy and Pac-Man Theme all worked normally however.

Demi, Proton Particle, Magical Telekinesis, the Telekinesis’s Stone, Magnetic Semblance, Armor Break, Aero Blade and Absorb Stats all hit Garland but had zero effects on him. Stasis Sword managed to hit, dealing low damages to the Guardian. Final Fantasy hit Garland and dealt heavy damages in spite of the debuff, as much as a final Advanced Job skill would in a regular situation—On its own however, it isn’t enough to take down Garland. Power Surge, the Lightning Storms, Shock, Homemade Fun and Chaos Thrust all hit Garland as well, but the damages these skills dealt are negligible and don’t appear to affect Garland at all.

But before Garland could follow up with an attack—The Knights of the Round were summoned. This summoning happens before Rukia has a chance to summon Hades.


> As enough Heroes of Light were present, the summoning worked.
> Ultimate End

A large circle appears on the ground all around Garland and an energy field emerges from it, protecting the Heroes of Light from what is about to ensue. Any Heroes of Light who was close to Garland is pushed back outside of the circle. Following that, the Knights of the Round come one after the other, each dealing a single mighty blow to the Guardian. The Knights do not disappear after dealing their attack, but instead take their place in the circle around Garland. In their summoned form, they are twice the size of any normal human beings.

First is Lancelot, who attacks Garland with Ancient Break, then Gaheris who attacks with Ancient Barrage. Bors is the next one to appear to cast Ancient Firaga, followed by Galahad with Ancient Shock, Tristant with Ancient Life Thief and Gareth with Ancient Kick. Following this round of attack, Percival is the one to appear as he casts an Ancient Holy on the Guardian, followed by Bedivere using Ancient Throw, Kay using Ancient Choco Meteor, Geraint using Ancient Chaos Thrust, Lamorak using Ancient Armor Break and Gawain using Ancient Slice.

Finally as Garland is surrounded from all parts, Arthur is the last one to appear and take his place in the circle around the Guardian. The Thirteen Knights raised their sword together and with a final attack, Arthur used Melodies of Life.


Following this, the protective energy field disappeared along with the circle and the thirteen knights. Garland fell on one knee, using the sword dug into the ground to hold himself.

Garland is defeated! The battle is over for now.
The effects of Chaotic Wave are over.

[neverfirstclass]

As the dust cleared Cloud merely gaped at result and the aftermath of the summoning. If he hadn't fought them himself he might have wondered if he dreamed all of that, and even then he was struck with how they must have been holding back when they had their battle not to long ago.

"....wow."

When he realized that their foe was still there he called out. "Garland! This doesn't have to continue! Stand down!"

[unalive_them]

"I seriously hope that wasn't it, because I'm gonna feel blue-balled after this...!"

Deadpool got to his feet as Garland was defeated, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "I mean, we just kicked his ass like he was a 80-pound weakling... unless..."

[needsteaplz]

Saori may have put away the machine gun, but she swapped it for her odachi long sword. The blue hue of the blade shone as she walked over. If he so much moved another inch, he might get a bullet to the knee from the tiny gun in her hidden blade.

"No more funny business, Garland."

[not_most_days]

Mary was inclined to do Garland in. But as with the other pieces she'd wanted to clear from the board she stayed her hand. It was the fact that Saori got there first that stopped her more than anything else.

Even so, Mary and her clone stood by, grimfaced and ready in case he tried to make a move.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza had never been one to shy away from danger. Garland was not an unreasonable foe, and now that they had showed him their strength, perhaps he would be inclined to listen to them. He lowered his sword, stepped forward, and offered his hand out to help Garland back to his feet.

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Jack doesn't move from his spot, but he looks back at Parasraya and Nanami. "Nanami, you all right?" He isn't sure how much a summoning like that would take out of her.

"I don't know if this is over."

It's Palitutu all over again. Jack has never understood why there was any point to fighting her or Garland. But something in his stance relaxes when it appears that this may end the same way, and once again, his fellow heroes are willing to extend the branch of mercy.

They always get a chance.

One chance. But a chance, because that is how things are done. And if Ramza's offer is thrown right back into his face, Jack still stands ready. He's the Companion, after all. He knows the score.

[line_piece]

"Not just Crystallis..." Chiaki's voice rings out as she drops her invisibility. "You deserve to be free of the cycle, too."

Stepping forward to stand beside Ramza, she places a hand over her heart.

"Please help us end this. Once and for all."

[heartofthesword]

Kenshin announced his presence next, after a grateful pat of his hand upon Jack Harness' shoulder. For lack of strength to add to the others' combined assaults, Kenshin had done his best throughout the fight to simply pose the nuisance of a moving target to their foe. But it was Jack's spell of warding near the beginning of the fight - taking the initiative to accept blows others, Kenshin himself included, might not have withstood - that had helped to make such a tactic possible, and for that, Kenshin wished to show his thanks.

But as Garland sank upon his sword. Kenshin had not yet sheathed his sakabatō, but did now lower it, the blade glinting along with so many others within Garland's line of sight, as Chiaki now lent her earnest pleas to the effort to dissuade him from further battle.

"This battle is decided, Sir Garland," and Kenshin was most sincere with those words, for whatever else Garland was, he had fought worthily enough to be so called, "and no more pain need be inflicted. This cycle of death and destruction has repeated itself often enough. You have the chance now to choose a better way...a chance you may never know again."

He nodded approval toward Ramza's outstretched hand. "Choose well."

[nomorecowbell]

"We did that? I did that?"

Nanami was tired, but more just shocked. Sure, any one of them could have summoned the Knights, but she had been chosen as the Summoner who had helped defeat them. And what had turned from a terrifying battle had suddenly been mostly over.

[they_call_me_sonic]

Something wasn't right. Something wasn't right at all. He's spent years fighting Dr. Eggman - if Garland went down this easily, this is just the beginning!

"Guys, back off or take him out! He's planning something! This is just round one!" Sonic called out, bringing Caliburn to bear.

This was posted before sonic. Threading got messed up otherwise he might have heeded his warning

[arcward]

Damn, just when he was getting the the good part of his dance, too. Jaune stops dancing when he sees Garland go down and stares dumbfounded for a moment, never having seen a summoning before.

Coming to his sense, he pushes his way to the front when he hears the other Heroes try to talk their opponent down. Jaune may be new to town, but he's a fairly likable guy. At least, he thinks he is. He stops next to Ramza.

"Garland, it doesn't have to be like this. You're fighting because you think this is the way it has to be, but you're wrong. Destiny can be changed. Look around you; all of us are fighting together to stop the cycle and the Calamity. You know more than anyone here about the way it all works. Work with us, become our ally so we can stop this once and for all. Together."

[grandsummon]

There was something heart-warming about Chrom's protectiveness. Yuna had assumed a defensive stance as well when he had stepped in front, though her eyes lowered with determination. She wouldn't just stand by and be shielded either, and the Shepherd likely knew that.

"Don't worry about me, I— I'll summon too!" her footing changed, shifting to the offensive as a glyph beneath her began to glow. She was a summoner, the one thing that had been consistent in her life from Spira to Crytallis. Seeing the Knights come alive before her was nothing short of inspiring, but what came after... threw her completely off-guard.

The mighty emperor... was defeated? Lowering her father's staff, the glyph she had started to command faded, as she stepped up alongside Chrom, not yet lowering her caution entirely.

"Garland..."

[ninjainviolet]

Once the Knights had started their attack, Sheena had stopped hers and turned to Albel next to her to give him a knowing smile. She hadn't seen his hand reach out to her, but she knew it had been there. That he had been there, and that's where her strength and determination had come from.

Now, her smile faded as she turned back, her sword still held in readiness and guard way, way, up. Garland was on one knee, sure, but how many times had she faced a foe that seemed defeated--only to not be?

"This isn't over, guys. Remember other battles fought." Remember Palitutu--the one who raised Garland.

[jadethenecromancer]

As satisfying as the summoning had been to watch, Jade was alarmed by how quickly others were dropping their guard. Of all the times to offer mercy...!

"All of you--! Don't forget Palitutu's reports!" He should have reminded them before the battle. Damn. "This isn't his true self! Before he became Garland, he was akin to an Eidolon -- we have yet to see his true form as Chaos!"

One of the ending lines in Palitutu's final report came back to him. Chaos will never let the cycle end and any that should oppose him will become an enemy of Crystallis. There was no doubt in his mind. Something very, very bad was about to happen.