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

[zodiac_brave]

“No!” Ramza cried as his allies struck a killing blow on the fallen man. Kurma would not get to say goodbye to his father. The surviving Herans would have no body to bury in their royal tombs. Garland would never be allowed to see the world he had protected delivered from the Calamity’s shadow.

And then his world exploded in fire. The wind-elemental weakness of his newly acquired bending job made the rushing gale of flames throw him even further, and it was probably only the friction of his armor against the platform that slowed him enough to not fall to his death.

He lay on the ground, stunned for a few moments, unable to hear the roar of battle through his ringing ears. Opening his eyes was a monumental task, and it took a few halting, blinking tries before he could make it stick.

“…Delita…?” he slurred. The feel of skin cracked with the heat, of the rasping burn of smoke in his lungs, the ache of having crashed to the ground…these had all happened before, the day the pillars of his life had crumbled around him. It took a moment of bleary searching for a fortress that no longer existed before his muddled mind returned him to the present.

He had so little strength left, even with Kaji’s spell, but he could not surrender, not until his heart stopped pumping his father’s blood through his veins and his soul crystallized. He spent his turn forcing his beaten body to rise up. Ramza managed to get to his knees.

[forcegalactic]

"Hey!" All things be damned, the young man that the Barkeep personally took responsibility for was near death, and that was not allowed. With part of his robes sliding off his shoulder, he Levitated himself above the ground to get out of the way of other Heroes and flew across towards Ramza.

There wasn't time to speak, so with one hand, the Barkeep gripped Ramza's shirt too pull him up and away from Chaos, and with the other he snapped his fingers. The index finger pointed at the monster's head. That instant, a Combustion spell went off.

[neverfirstclass]

As the flames went up Cloud began to move. His fingers flicked a catch on his sword and he pulled away a blade that did not resemble any of the ones pulled from it previously. If he was going to use this weapon he had to make it his own, and this was the first modification he had planned. There was no telling if there would be time for more but this blade and his shield were His Own.

He slashed the blade at the flames, Runic failing to absorb them it seemed but the effort made him feel better about running into the inferno. Another slash and the jagged blade whirled about, taking the rough shape of a gun. He opened fire with a salvo of Ice element magic bullets, shield still raised as he ran against the flexing wave of the ground and the fanned flames.

When the distance finally closed and Chaos loomed ahead of him he didn't falter. He swept with both arms now, the shield telescoping back into his bracer while the gun unfurled into a blade again. He leaped up and delivered as strong an Amped Strike as he could muster, pulling the trigger on the gunblade as it hit.

(ooc: hey, Lightning ripped off his style in LR, turnabout is fair play)

[21stcenturyguy]

“Ow! Hot hot hot hot hot!” Santa hissed as the flame pillars turned the whole platform into a blazing inferno. This Garland guy was really pissing him off now. Singed hair and pink scalded skin was going to ruin his dark overlord aesthetic.

Santa used a Drain spell to siphon some of his lost health back from Chaos, and then follows it up with Blind to see if he can hinder the big guy with it. He doesn’t have any spells to protect his allies, so he’s gonna do what he can to pester his enemy instead.

[rialynn]

Whoops. Guess who was just dancing around back there by the edge! Guess who just went over the edge with a startled squawk?

Hint: It starts with an 'R' and ends with an 'ialynn.'

Frantically she scrabbled at the floor as the hot flames washed over her, and the pain was so intense that she almost lost her grip and dropped. Gasping short, shallow breaths that tore at her raw and dry throat, Rialynn grit her teeth and swung her legs, trying to pull herself up onto the platform once more. She could see that several others had been hit hard as well.

Singing was somewhat difficult, and in her state, she didn't think she could manage layering two songs at once. One would have to do, and the one it seemed they needed most was 'You're Not Alone.' It would allow them to use their Limit Breaks at a higher level of health.

Coughing, she just clung to the platform and started to sing. Pulling herself up would have interrupted the melody with her breathless grunting and straining, and it seemed imperative that they hit hard and fast before another attack like that wiped them out entirely.

Fae you're such an enabler.

[bloodypast]

Vincent, though invisible, had also been near the edges and back given he was not suited for melee and it did not affect a gun's range much. The wind and flames were decidedly unpleasant in his already weaker state--and if he hadn't been aware of Chaos within him stirring before, he very much was after the Bard's song.

He knew that voice; Lucrecia was not here but there were others of those he counted as friends and allies in danger. Driven to his knees and knocked from his Stealth position by the attack, Vincent curled in on himself further as his Limit Break took over. Darkness seeming to engulf his figure before two great wings burst from it, lined in red. A demonic figure emerging that bore a faint resemblance to the foe they were now facing, though not nearly so large nor as dangerous.

Not to the other Heroes of Light anyway, as they were counted allies. Crimson-eyes that were familiar and not surveyed things as a different Chaos took wing. Guided loosely by Vincent's will, the first priority was gliding and swooping to gently grasp and help Rialynn, currently singing, back up. Holding her carefully, placing her away from the flames but near the others, before heading for the boss, Chaos, to attack with Chaos Saber.

[im_pancake]

Twilight let out a yelp as she was blown away and off the platform - the heavy wind being quite powerful against her little frame. Thankfully, her wings allowed her to catch herself and fly airborne. This was going to be a rough fight, that's for sure.

With a grunt, Twilight opted to do something desperate. Concentrating, she ended up making a golden tiara form on her head, a jewel shaped like her Cutie Mark forming, accessing the Element of Harmony: Magic. With the power boost, Twilight took aim as she charged up and fired a Magic Bolt at Chaos.

[rialynn]

Rialynn's eyes widened in panic. Oh no! Chaos was targeting bards?! It did seem to be one of the few jobs that would prove to be effective, so it was no wonder. Her gut tightened in fear, and her throat nearly closed entirely as a shriek threatened to rise and choke her song to a guttural stop. But a panicked glance to where Ramza was weakly climbing back to his feet strengthened her resolve, and she kept singing. She had to! She'd sing even after she was dropped into that cold abyss, until--

--Wait, Chaos was helping her?! Wildly she glanced around, her muscles tensing. Perhaps he thought to fling her off the precipice as a show of strength to demoralize those who were watching, but...

...oh. Chaos was over there. Way, way over there. Then who was this?

Rialynn squinted. There was something very familiar about those red eyes. ...Vincent?! Where were his clothes?!?!?!

Slowly she forced herself to relax. These were her allies. She was safe, if singed. Looking up at the winged beast once more, she let the corners of her mouth twitch into a little smile and she nodded. Vincent or not, he was on her side. Her boots touched down on the floor, and her song continued.

[silencesfate]

Oh Ramza, once again, they had come to this situation of despair, like the vision they had of the future long ago. Minato too felt a pang from the death of Garland, wondering if there was no other way; he was bound to a fate that made him unable to truly live, as a human being--Minato had seen this in two individuals back home. Minato wasn't as obvious about it, but he was as much as an idealist in Ramza. He didn't want it to escalate to this. But it was too little, too late for giref, he had to look out for the people who were beside him now.

Casting Curaga on himself after sputtering from a cough--fortunately, his magic resistance was at its peak with his job combo, he then casts another on Ramza. Though he wasn't of a leadership role in Crystallis, Minato wanted to do his part in keeping their morale.

"I've got you. Everyone... keep going!"

[unalive_them]

"MY BUTT IS FLAMING!"

After the fire and the winds died down, Deadpool spent a few moments running around, holding his rear as is caught on fire. He quickly put it out, leaving the unbearable look of his scar-ridden butt poking out of his damaged Cyber Ninja outfit. "All that flame and I didn't have a fart lined up!"

He activated his Nanomachines to start healing himself up as he continued talking. "Okay, seriously, why did you guys let him transform? Huh? If someone tells you that he has a second form and to stop him, the right thing to do is to not let him transform, you bleeding hearts! Seriously, I will gut the first person who decides that best thing to do is to give a puppy to the Calamity, because at that point, your world deserves to get wiped out!"

Pulling out his Gunblade, Deadpool let out a grunt as he faced Chaos. "Alright, you walking tabletop game reject. Time to face your Judgement!" he said, unleashing the attack on Chaos.

[revitalise]

Having taken her natural place in the back as both support and protection, the blast emitted by Chaos was enough to nearly send Tear over the edge to her own death as well. Already vulnerable to damage as she was, in trying to avoid falling over the melodist had no choice but to take the full brunt of an oncoming pillar of fire, falling down on one knee as the pain seared over her body and she stifled any sound of pain.

But the damage was done, and she couldn't hide her heavy breathing or the fact that she wouldn't be able to follow up with a song immediately. Yet the girl forced herself to stand upright, if unsteadily, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Chaos defiantly. She wasn't about to allow him to keep the upper hand, closing her eyes then folding her hands before her to channel sheer stubbornness and desire to protect into a prayer. "That's enough."

In a flash of light the girl's Limit Break is activated, surrounding her in a sphere as she was lifted from the platform and fell down around them, massive intricate glyphs forming on the ground below and the area above. "Oh light that rains down on Heaven and Earth, bring my enemies to their destined annihilation..."

Opening her eyes, Tear sharply extended her hand in the direction of Chaos at the exact moment the glyph above her opened up to unleash massive pillars of light to meet its partner below, concentrating heavily on her opponent. "Fortune's Arc!"

Yet that wasn't the end of it—with another flash of light emitting from her chest, Tear folded her hands in prayer again before raising her arms and throwing them to her sides forcefully, another iridescent glyph resembling a cross appearing behind her and pulsing more damaging light magic. Breathing once, she called out once more.

"And grant us the divine protection of thine brilliance." Through a series of waves her life force dispersed into the other Heroes, not only healing them but also providing yet another boost to all their stats. At last finished, the light around her dissipated in shimmering motes as she descended rapidly—practically falling back down with how spent she was after all the effort, barely breathing.

[line_piece]

Chiaki is blown back mightily by Chaos' transformation, coughing up blood as she struggles to her feet. She wipes some from her mouth with the sleeve of her robe, breathing heavy for a moment to try to regain her senses. And as she does, her form shimmers periodically, looking like glowing source code is comprising her form. Recognizing the availability of her Limit Break, she nods.

"Second form... I expected as much," she whispers, nodding as a green energy radiates from her, washing over herself, Ramza, Cloud, and Sephiroth.

"Cheat Code."

(ooc: For the next turn, these four will be invulnerable.)

And now that Haste has its full effect restored, she also casts a quick Curaga spell on herself before beating a hasty retreat behind the front lines.

[scriptrix]

"We're not giving up here! We've only just begun to fight!"

Levy had wisely stayed away from Garland, but was still hit with the same fire and explosive force as everyone else. Still, it takes more than that to keep a Fairy Tail wizard down, and she's about to prove it.

"We! Are! FAIRY TAIL!"

(ooc: Anyone with the Fairy Tail guild mark has their attack and defense statistics doubled.)

"And now... Solid Script: Blizzard!"

As Levy gestures, the word 'BLIZZARD' forms in midair, settling above Chaos' head and pelting him with wind, snow, and hail.

[pole_position]

"Jaune! Ruby! Are you all right?"

Pyrrha's first concern is for her friends from home - after all, they were right in the middle of it all when Chaos had transformed. But once she sees they're still standing, her attention is soon focused on the task at hand. Stepping forward, weapon in hand, she activates her Aura Defense.

For as long as she can hold out, Chaos' attacks will damage her energy reserves rather than her body. She'll need to conserve her power and not use it too much, but she still has the Gunner's skills to fall back on.

And speaking of which, that Charged Shot from last turn is ready, firing forth from her rifle and headed straight toward Chaos.

[mindofathief]

Duster wasn't sure whether the fire attack was a good or bad sign. Bad, considering how hurt he became in the process, but good in the sense that he created a song just for this kind of situation.

For some reason, his concertina escaped the attack and knockback with barely a scratch, and it was very much playable.

The hum of the accordion-like instrument played the sound of Gentle Rain, adding a small Regen bonus but more importantly adding a defensive bonus to fire attacks.

[water_meebo]

The water seraph stops a moment when Lust grasps his shoulder tightly and stood in front of him. He had an almost confused look on his face, but he understood. Right now there was no telling what would happen and she was going to try to defend him from it.

He appreciated it but he wasn't going to let her do it all the time. For now, he'd concede. Of course Garland didn't give them time to react at all. The world started burning with massive fire pillars. Even though he was not up front he was being burned and it hurt!

He cringed, feeling the searing pain burn through his clothes and skin, only to be slightly relieved of it by those who were using water based abilities to cool everything around him. To protect those who were already up front and damaged, he cast Curaga on Ales and Nanami backed by the power of him casting: Focus earlier on himself.

With Tear's Limit Break, he seemed to have had enough time to actually get back on his feet and try to ignore the burning pain and furthermore, the help of defensive bonuses against fire attacks was also a plus.

[boomchucka]

A scream burst from Selphie's lips as she was catapulted from the explosion. She rolled multiple times before eventually coming to a halt just in time to watch Tear trigger her limit break. The perky brunette honestly feels like she's been burnt to a crisp as she pulls out a Hi-potion and downs it before struggling to her feet. She watched the melodist go down afterwards and scrambled to the other girl's side.

"Hang on, I gotcha!" she shouted before firing off a Dualcast of Cura on Tear. "Don't give up now! We're not done yet!"

Despite the pain, Selphie would eventually stand in front of the other girl in defense as she fired off a Power Break in Chaos's direction. She'd hold off on letting her own Limit Break loose before seeing what was going to happen next. For now, she fulling intended on defending her fellow hero until Tear was back up on her feet.

[just_want_normal_knees]

Ruby hadn't expected to be yanked away by Saori, but it was enough to save her from getting flash fried in the awakening. She still got hurt, though, her first concern being... her cape.

"AHHH! My cape!" she yelped, patting out the red cloak before glaring at Chaos. "...I'm fine, Pyrrha, but he's not!" Getting back to her feet, she opted for two Mirage Dives, splitting into eight and attacking the beast with scythes flying.

[they_call_me_sonic]

"GYAAAH!"

Sonic buried Caliburn into the platform to keep him from falling over. Glaring at the beast and pulling out his sword, he got back to his feet and grinned.

"So, that's how you wanna play it, eh, Chaos?" Sonic said. "I fought a Chaos before and you're not him! He'd kick your butt in an instant! So, get ready to Open Your Heart, because I'm going to give you the butt-kicking you deserve!"

With that, he summoned the Magitek Armor and climbed into it before making it deliver a powerful Air Punch

[sesenta]

Akane, like so many others, uses Curaga to heal her wounds. Her brother seems to be taking measures to heal himself, easing her worries, and freeing her up to use her magic for something else...something that would definitely count as fighting dirty. But she's sworn to herself before she ever set foot in Pandaemonium that she would do whatever it takes to protect their worlds, and the people she loved.

Using Imitate, bolstered by her Crystal of Illusions, Akane no longer stood on the platform.

Kurma did.

She'd seen him at the meeting in January and when she had, knowing his ties to Garland, she'd been very careful to study his appearance and mannerisms. The imitation probably wasn't perfect, as she didn't know him nearly as well as Garland did, but the shocking sight alone might be enough to jar him and shake his resolve.

Akurma strode forward with a mix of anger and alarm. "You must stop this at once! There's no need to repeat these countless centuries of bloodshed and sacrifice. We have to fight for our future. Stand with me...with all of us!"

Whatever it took. Even if it meant breaking a tired old man's heart.

[partofthecycle]

This... this was hauntingly familiar. The fire, the sudden destruction of the landscape... Aang slid, forgetting at first that this world didn't allow for his earthbending. It felt like this was the lesson he would keep coming back to: fire and a foe that wouldn't, or couldn't stop trying to destroy what wasn't his.

Even this world's imitation of energy bending wouldn't work here.

"No. No more. No more of this." The last was said with a strong echo, sounding like not just one voice, but hundreds, both male and female. Aang's eyes started to pour put light, as the tattoos visible on his back, arms and head started to glow a brilliant white. He had entered his limit break, the Avatar State. Without thinking, he gathered up air in a bubble around him, gathered fire and shards of crystal in steams circling it, and launched them in a braided beam at Chaos.

[OOC: So massive fire, air and earth damage to Chaos, and Aang gains a persistent Protect, Shell and Float... the first two might be superseded by other buffs.]

[not_most_days]

Anyone who was close to Garland when he changed forms would have enjoyed the view of Mary's clone being consumed by the flames, throwing its arms up but fortunately dispelling before any gruesome image could be seen.

Further back the real pirate crouched, watching the battle shift. She had let Ira go when he charged back in but her own eyes lingered on Saori. She hadn't made the wrong decision precisely in going for a killing blow but she'd have to give her a talking to about the proper way to do it. It was a touch too reckless and without the proper care, but it's not like they actually had much chance to learn that part of the Brotherhood's teachings. To a point that was probably for the best. And it's not like this was a normal situation anyway.

But she was glad she took the time to pull Ruby out of the fray at least. She closed the silent admonishment with a nod and then ran to rejoin the fight, going through the handseals for Shunshin followed by forming a new Clone.

[fearlessherosheart]

Do you know who gives not a damn? Tazendra gives not a damn. Her armor and size let her avoid slipping off the platform, and now she is going to cast a quick Cura on herself, and charge the enemy, casting another Shock.

"Ah, I had thought he had gone down too quickly!"

[charming_jerk]

Johnny is knocked back by the fire, but manages to stay on his feet. The compulsion to take up his lance and jump into battle was getting strong, but he wanted to save it. He knew it probably wouldn't take long for his Limit Break to get set off, and then him consciously being able to help was over.

After a moment of hesitation, he picked his guitar back up and started on the Imperial Anthem. Fitting, considering their surroundings. Anyone whose equipped Jobs included Gunners, Magitek Knights, Ninjas and Illusionists would have their stats boosted by 75%.

[nomorecowbell]

Owowowowow! Nanami screamed as she scrabbled to her feet and away from the edge, clutching her staff in one had and her sword in the other. "Fine, I am putting out this fire." She started summoning again, quickly calling Leviathan, then, in an added fit of pique, added the call of Hades using High Summoner. Sure, status effects were petty, and the healing had brought her up to feeling better, but seriously, what the hell?

The downside was she was out of eidolons for the moment, but she'd make due. "How does that feel!"