melodiesoflife | Endgame || Apocalypse

Entry tags:

Endgame || Apocalypse

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That attack hit Selphie like a ton of bricks. She can feel her health plummeting as she eventually falls to her knees. Not all of her strength is gone as In the Red kicked in for a boost in strength as Selphie looked around at the people standing nearby. She noticed Tazendra already getting ready to make an attack as the perky brunette shot a Dualcast of Cura toward the woman with a firm nod.

"Cover me," Selphie said as she pointed toward Kalki before she moved her hand in a wide arc. "I've got an idea."

If Tazendra was on board with playing a decoy, Selphie would take off to dart around behind Kalki to hopefully launch another Dualcast of Holy Light at the woman. Selphie hoped that because the Avatar was using darkness based attacks that something of the opposite alignment would have a powerful effect. If physical attacks weren't going to be effective, then magic would hopefully do something, right?

Hyne, let this work, Selphie thought to herself as she began preparing to cast her spells.

Johnny is knocked down to all but the last bit of his life. He didn't want to start a fight with Kalki, but he wouldn't stand by, either. Especially when Reno was running at her. There was no way he was letting him go alone.

"...Damnit."

He didn't have any Cure spells, but what did it matter when Kalki was this powerful? Johnny removed the rum flask from his pocket and slapped it to Ramza's chest as he walked by. Someone else could use what little was left. Instead, for the first time ever, he willingly decided to use his Limit Break, Symphony of Destruction. In a matter of seconds, he was charging at Kalki with a fierce roar, with nothing but blood on his mind. If he managed to even get close to her, he'd do everything he could to tear her apart with his own hands.

And if she managed to take him or Reno out while he was like this, he wouldn't realize what was happening.

"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life... Revitalize..."

Hisui didn't have that spark to his step. He just listlessly muttered the incantation, healing himself and anyone around him, but he couldn't muster the energy to even do anything. This was all pointless, wasn't it? The fighting wouldn't stop until they were all dead. There was no future. No going home. No Kohaku or Innes or Galando or Calcedony or Beryl of even that shitstain, Xing.

There was going to be nothing.

He just knelt there, healing. As a faint defiance of anything to come.

Ow.

That hurt.

"Banquet of Flames!" She cried, her paper talismans fluttering about her body. "Concerto Infernus!" With that, flames (hopefully) enveloped the battlefield, at least singing her opponent no matter where she warped to. Before she was even finished, she made eye contact with Chrom.

Before Chrom could even say her True Name, Lailah once again merged her being with his, enveloping him in flames. If she was mad before, she was furious now, her crystalline eyes burning with righteous anger.

It didn't matter if this was the last battle or some trial before the main event. This woman was going down. Mikleo's sacrifice was not to be in vain, wherever he was. She was going to make him proud, as he was her precious Sub-Lord.

Yuri's eyes widened in surprise when the unfortunate Hero got sent off into the Abyss on behalf of his attack. Damn that woman for screwing things up. Yuri muttered an apology to Deadpool and would do everything in his power to make sure that he made up for the mistake. The worst part was being hit with the attack and sending him back a few feet with lethal damage.

"Afraid of getting hit huh? Are you made of glass then?!" He shouted at her angrily as he forced his battered self to retreat as quickly as he could to Flynn's side. He wasn't going to let her keep doing this and using other Heroes as a scapegoat for her attacks. It was low and he was going to end her if it's the last thing he did.

He lowered his tone as he spoke to his friend, "Yo, Flynn," he breathed slowly and raggedly, "Remember how you sometimes wanted to smack the living hell out of me?" He paused with a smirk on his face, despite his injuries, "How about we make that fantasy of yours reality?"

"Yeah," Flynn responded, catching up on his breath after protecting some of the people in the back as Yuri stepped ahead. "I'm all for that!" He grinned. Quick-stepping forward, he raised his blade to the sky as a flag being waved for announcing one's domination. "Ultimate..." Flames erupted from his blade, thanks to his bodhi blastia. "Hell Pyre!" Slamming the blade down in front of him, he vaguely aimed for their opponent - the fireball burrowed into the ground as bits of stone and dirt erupted into the air.

As if on cue, Yuri leaped up into the air, landing on the flat of Flynn's extended blade. With all of his strength, Flynn tossed Yuri up once more, and spun around, his sword caught in the heel of Yuri's boots, and propelled him forward.

Yuri was now flung straight at Kalki through the debris, sustaining damage as he made his way over there, and executing his Limit Break Savage Wolf Fury in hopes of catching Kalki off balance by the other attacks. Thanks the Regen, he barely survived the damage but Natalia's heal would probably hit him as soon as he finished his Limit Break. At least that was the strategy. Yuri was reckless and he would put his life down for the better good of everyone. It was a small sacrifice to make in order to fix things with his fellow Heroes. Not that he'd ever admit to being one.

Cloud let out a cry as the spell hit, his kneels buckling as he was trying to rise to his feet. He clutched at his gut, knowing the pain wasn't on his person but more within in the magic sense, but it was a reflex he couldn't deny. And much like that pain he couldn't shake the sensation that there was something at play here. She was toying with them. Nothing she'd done had aimed to kill them, just to disorient and injure.

As much as wanted to join the wave of attacks against her he forced himself to keep control. When he pulled his blade from his back, it was Runic he focused on.

Sheena had turned when Vincent placed his hand on her arm, and only he could see the pain mixed with the anger in her eyes. Albel was gone. The others were gone. She had heard the others saying they were alive, and hope grew in her heart, but until she saw them...

Once again the pain at losing someone she cared about fueled not only her anger, but her strength and determination.

Until Kalki decided to play dirty, sending Sheena to her knees as half of her slowly restoring health was taken away. "I thought you said you didn't want this fight to be like the one with Palitutu," she said from her kneeling position, her sword dug in the ground for support. "If I remember correctly, she started off with a dirty trick, too."

As In the Red kicked in again, the ninja once more Dualcast Zelda's Gift on herself and Vincent. But she wasn't done there. Thanks to Haste she once more used Dualcast once more, casting Goddess's Blessing on her sword and Zelda's Gift on Cloud.

"Kalki, let me ask you something," she said, taking a step forward. "If your son or daughter was gravely injured, would you want the doctors to give up? Or would you rather they take one look and say 'forget it' without even trying? Because that's the situation you're in now. This world isn't too far gone to save and let flourish again, but you won't know that if you tell the doctors to not even bother. But there is one thing I have to know." And she paused for dramatic effect.

"Just who--or what--are you waiting for?"

As one playing a delaying tactic, she recognized one when she saw it.

The abrupt sensation of his energy being drained was unpleasant to say the least, but at least Jade was still stable. He moved to stand in front of Rukia, to shield her from attacks as best he could until she was healed.

"Well, this is getting fun..."

Chrom was the first to get a Curaga cast on him. It was then that Jade's attention was drawn to the sheer spectacle of Supernova being unleashed. It was risky to be sure, with the way Kalki could switch places with them... but short of jumping into the abyss themselves they had no way of retreating, nor could they keep playing defensive forever. Going on the offensive was about all they could do.

Even if the attack didn't land, at least it would distract Kalki from all the thieves coming at her.

While the Limit Break was still ongoing, Jade cast Curaga on Sephiroth. Hopefully he'd survive any counterattacks that might come his way.

Though Tear winced terribly when she felt her health being depleted yet again, she was still determined to keep her focus on the situation. Focused as she was, the wave of healing magic that washed over her caught her by surprise, prompting the melodist to briefly look up at Asch and nod in gratitude.

Then looking around and taking note of who was being healed as best she could, her In The Red ability continued strong as she took advantage of Dualcast again to cast Curaga upon Rukia and Santa. With another glance she also saw Johnny rushing toward their opponent, and hastily casted Curaga on him, too.

Which left her with only one action left. Breathing in, she mouthed a silent apology to her partner and anyone else who might think her foolish for opting out of continuing the song that would make her invincible. But with this many people hurt and putting in the effort to protect her and Akane, she couldn't sit back helplessly. So began Happiness In My Hand, increasing their defenses by half and hopefully providing some protection from any darkness that descended.

Attempts at stealing the Black Crystal - or anything - from Kalki all failed. That said, in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter. Indeed, Kalki made no attempts at defending herself this time around, nor did she phase out when the Heroes of Light attacked her. Every single skills directed toward Kalki hit her, leaving little more than a bloody corpse that collapsed onto the floor before she could answer any question or do anything. Unlike Garland, it seemed Kalki had whatsoever no defenses aside from her phasing ability and whoever had delivered the final blow was unclear, but there is only a certainty:

Kalki is dead.

The black crystals fell onto the ground as well, a dark and purple aura surrounding it as it rolled to rest against the corpse of the fallen avatar. A dreadful sensation still emanated from it and anyone approaching it would feel compelled to run away-- And should they fight the sensation, they would find their hand burning upon attempting to grab it.

The stairs leading back to Pandaemonium and the Imperial City re-appeared shortly after Kalki met her demise. Similarly, all spells or limit breaks allowing for a quick escape were now working as well.

Edited 2017-03-15 11:29 (UTC)

"Th-that's it?!" Sonic said, absolutely confused, recalling his Magitek Armor. Curiosity got the better of him and he started to make his way back to Kalki's fallen body, just to make sure this wasn't a trick...

...only to find himself stopping and backing off, incredibly uncharacteristic of himself.

"...that's... that's not cool at all. Guys, let's get out of here. Forget the crystal, something's not right."

"No…" K'pandolu flattened her ears back, gaze fixed on the crystal. That felt- not like the dropping of an aetherial bubble, but something like the raising of one. And the way Kalki had just taken those attacks, when she'd been dodging before-

Why? What had happened? What had changed?

"We should go," she said, tearing her gaze away- she wanted to keep watching it, until it or they were gone, see that nothing happened- but she tore her gaze away to approach the edge of the platform. Her steps were careful and wary, her tail out to maintain her balance as perfectly as possible as she knelt to try and see if there was anything to be seen in the byss.

"We have to contain that crystal," Levy says shakily, forcing herself to stand. She's weak from that attack, but thankfully her magic is still strong. "Let me try something. Stand back - I don't know how it will react."

Gesturing toward the crystal, she calls out a spell. "Solid Script: Bubble!" With any luck, she'll be able to safely wrap the 'word' around the Black Crystal for purposes of transport.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. The bubble immediately pops, and the crystal remains unmoved. Levy frowns, shaking her head. "Well, it was with a shot."

Edited 2017-03-15 13:13 (UTC)

"I know we're in a sorry state right now, but... We can't... we can't just leave everyone who disappeared." Minato grimaced, feeling like this was no victory at all, and he was sure others would feel the same suspicion.

"We didn't get any answers that mattered."

The world was still ending, and Kalki left no tip behind as to stop it. In such ease she had in giving up her life after hidden amongst them all this time, her presence had physically vanished, but it was not at all gone. The wheel of misfortune would continue to turn, they had to be prepared for anything.

Ramza blinked, then stepped forward toward Kalki's bloody corpse. "So, it came to this..."

He knelt beside the body, making sure to avoid the fallen Black Crystals, and extended a gloved hand to close Kalki's eyes. There was little to be done to restore dignity to such a broken shell, but that, at least, he could do.

"Now, the fight can begin in earnest." There was still so much to be done before the end.

Jack can only look on in horror as their attacks suddenly start working. There is a wordless yell of anguish when she falls, and he stares at his own hand. He wouldn't have cast if he had known it would work.

I couldn't save her. Again. What did she know that we didn't?

Jack sinks to his knees, and his sword falls to the crystal surface with a ringing sound.

Kalki, Garland, the names start to mingle with countless others in Jack's mind, some human, some not, all those who have fallen at his and the Doctor's hands, to prevent them from destroying the world. "Why do you always make us kill you?"

Ales did not move while the other Heroes risked their lives and others' lives to kill Kalki. He understood that was the only way to stop her and yet...she had become someone he trusted over the past year. She was Parasraya, the psychiatrist who wanted to him to stand on his own two feet. She was the only person he willingly spoke to about his past.

There was no point in lamenting her fate now. Keeping his distance from the corpse, he peered over the edge of the precipice. Eleven of their number was still there.

"Does anyone have the ability to fly?" He recalled Ashe's ability to fly around two Octobers ago. "We need to check what's happened to them, and I don't believe my machine has enough power to travel that far down."

Edited 2017-03-15 16:19 (UTC)

"No," Aang said, also looking the edge. "I can cushion my jumps with airbending, but that requires knowing I'm not going to land on something like lava. And I have a glider, but I don't know if my job skills will give me enough lift." And he wouldn't be able to get anyone up: even with the glider, he could at best take messages or healing items back and forth. Which would let them know if anyone was still alive down there.

He was also feeling not good about the whole thing. Kalki had demonstrated she could dodge: why hadn't she at least tried to? Because it would have gotten most of them killed?

Despite appearances, Sheena wasn't exactly sure their opponent was truly down. Kalki had proven to be resourceful and had survived "death" once before. Sword still raised slightly, Sheena slowly walked forward, her brows creased in thought, and only stopping when the urge to get away became too strong to ignore.

"Martel," she breathed softly, her head immediately snapping up in realization. "Martel! That's it!" She whirled around to face the others.

"Guys! I may be wrong, but I don't think Kalki's dead. I think her soul may be somewhere else." And she gave the Black Crystal a very pointed look.

"Then it would be more precise to say her soul has not departed," Tazendra said. "Her body is most certainly dead." She was very satisfied about this fact.

"But what does she intend to do about that?" Tazendra looked the crystal over. In theory, anyone who had confronted their Shadow should be able to handle it without possession, but that didn't seem particularly wise in this particular case.

..."I do," Ace responded somewhat hesitantly to Ales' question, still trying to process what had just happened. He was getting ready to teleport the injured back to the hospital, but Ales made a fair point. Perhaps this was the only way to do it, and he seemed to be the only one with the Psychic Job.

Though it carried a certain risk, that wasn't the cadet's main concern by far. "I'll just have to ask that someone else escorts the wounded." He looked over his shoulder to exchange a quick glance with Tear. Quick being the keyword, for he knew she might not be overly fond of the idea. "Please."

He may have been wrong after all... Seems almost like she wanted to die. A feeling he could relate to, though as Ramza neared Kalki's body, he held out a hand. "Careful- don't get too close."

Something was rather ominous about that Black Crystal in particular... and he didn't like it one bit. After chugging the potion given to him by Saori, Ira pointed at an empty expanse, black and blue swirling to life before his hand in a large Corridor of Darkness.

"There. This will take you back to Aqures Ixen. Gotta warn you, though. It may sting a bit." Dark power always came at a price, but this one particular skill he knew would come in handy at some point.

Rukia slowly relaxed from where she stood behind Jade. The healing spell that drove away her weariness gave her strength enough to rise to her feet with a grimace. The fury of the assault had vanished so abruptly that she could not feel true relief, although her gaze did linger a little longer than it should have on Jade's back.

It was really no time for admiration, however, that she knew. Something was wrong. All the while Kalki gracefully dodged their attacks, forcing them to strike one another instead, instilled Rukia with a growing sense of dread. They were not prepared to fight her, especially not on the heels of such a brutal confrontation with Garland and Chaos. And it was over so quickly? Much as Rukia would have liked to believe that the woman had simply had a fatal moment of carelessness, it didn't fit the facts. She stepped forward to stand beside Jade, reversing the grip of her sword so that the kanji stamped on its pommel started to glow in anticipation of the konsou -- soul burial ritual.

"We were provoked," she murmured to Jade. Doubtless he'd arrived at a similar conclusion, possibly much sooner than she had. "She goaded us into attacking intentionally, and opened her defenses. Why?" Nearly everyone had reached out to her, and she'd been willing to openly announce her designs upon this world with a nearly lethal demonstration of power.

Nearly.

Glancing at Sheena, Rukia nodded. If Kalki truly was an avatar, then the presence of her soul would be unmistakable were it present. Garland's should have been close by too, shouldn't it?

Her sandaled feet carried her closer to Kalki's still form. None of Rukia's attacks had been made with the intention to kill. It should have worn her down until the battle was concluded, not slayed her on the spot. Her eyes tracked to that black crystal and lingered there. Even with that brief glance, beads of sweat began to line her pale brow. It couldn't possibly be safe to touch. The energy it radiated made it difficult to pinpoint any wayward souls, but she knelt down next to Ranma prepared to plant the konsou's symbol on Kalki's forehead to see her laid to rest.

"She was planning to die by our hand from the start, that much is clear." That was the only possibility that made sense. Kalki could have kept moving until the Heroes were out of energy and no longer able to cast healing spells, then finished them off. Instead, she had faced her death with the same confidence she always carried herself with.

Rukia was right. Kalki's attacks had been just dangerous enough to spur them into retaliating, and yet she hadn't killed a single Hero. And just when most of them had been weakened and vulnerable, she had given up. These were not the actions of someone whose plans were being foiled.

"This isn't over yet. Stay on guard." Jade hurried to finish healing anyone who was still at low health, starting with Aang and Levy. The aura radiating from the Black Crystal was unsettling. More than that, he knew it shouldn't be behaving this way. The one he'd held in the other future hadn't given off a feeling this strong.

Edited 2017-03-15 19:29 (UTC)

Cloud remained where he was, quiet and still. He watched Kalki's body as the others milled about. He watched the crystal. He waited for them to do...something.

But more time passed and it seemed that things were settled. No, not settled. He couldn't shake the feeling that they somehow played into Kalki's plans here. She'd manipulated them before. Why should this be any different? Why would her plotting have fallen apart now.

The crystal made his skin crawl, even from here. The glow of it just seemed wrong, moreso than the black crystals they encountered before. But it was Sheena's words that helped him bridge the gap. Getting back to his feet he approached the body.

"She wanted us to do this. I don't know what her plan is, but I think we played into her hands again. If she really wanted to fight us then she would have done more than just teleport away like that." He glanced down at the crystal once more. He didn't want to leave it here but he could feel every bit of himself pulling away from it.

"I'm worried about the others, but it's probably not safe to stay here much longer. If we don't have a way to take it with us right now then we should go." He made sure to catch Jade's eye. They could talk about their theories later but his gut was telling him it was time to go.

Re: Tazendra's another with two maxed jobs, and Nanami would only be at half, if she wasn't in the a

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