Operation Azure - The Collision of Thunderstorms

[shockingblue]

Who: Gunvolt, Desidera, Vivi, Lia, Rex, Jailbreak, Ky Kiske
What: Putting a stop to Asimov and rescuing Monarch one last time.
When: December 16
Where: A mountainous region of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Warnings: Fighting, violence, revenge, imprisonment of an AI, and foul language. Probably death too.



Briefing:

Gunvolt had taken the time to put together the materials he had, and procured one of the smaller rooms for it. Unlike Asimov, his briefing wasn't going to more professionally in depth, as he didn't have the time or resources to craft it. All he really has is a map of Germany, and a few printed out pictures taped to a whiteboard behind him. Normally this probably wouldn't be a job given to a student, but GV had insisted on being allowed to present this, seeing as he was the one who gathered the intel. And was the... well, former, now, QUILL agent. He pulled a mundane metal pointer out from behind the lectern and circled a location in the southwestern portion of Germany, in the mountains.

"So, what I got from my contact is that Asimov and a handful of QUILL agents from the German branch of our group have procured an old broadcast tower that's been mothballed for several years. Apparently, their activity there has spiked since Operation Icarus, with agents and small quantities of materiel being moved there every day since. It looks like Asimov is taking his time, probably not looking to draw too much attention to it until he's ready. My contact believes that he may be trying to reactivate the broadcast tower, though he didn't know why. I didn't tell him about Monarch's AI Core, though. The fewer people that know about her at this point, the better."

Frankly, he was sick and tired of people wanting to use her, so keeping her presence on the down-low off of campus was probably a good idea, unless Monarch herself wanted it. Either way, he then pointed to an old black and white photo of the broadcast tower, probably taken when it was still relatively new.

"But I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what he's up to. Most of you will probably remember that Monarch's AI Core has a limited broadcast range for her ability to detect Candles, and that Sumeragi are trying to keep that sort of thing quiet themselves. We at QUILL thought that Sumeragi didn't try to broadcast Monarch's sonar over long range because it could be detected by outside forces, including possibly mundane ones. It'd draw a lot of attention. ...But given how far off the deep end Asimov seems to have gone, I think he's all but stopped caring about that. Or maybe he's got some kind of explanation ready. Hell if I know right now. All I know is that he's probably going to use Monarch's sonar to locate every Candle within a few thousand miles of here. Given Asimov's goals, he'll probably try to indoctrinate as many of them as he can before Nightfall."

Gunvolt's expression darkened at the thought, though he did his best to keep that much hidden. Even just thinking about Asimov was angrying up his blood, and he had to keep it under control for the sake of the mission.

"Speaking of, he's one of our targets for this mission." GV pointed at a series of pictures taken of him while he was at Daybreak Academy. "You already know who he is, but I'm here to tell you what I know about him. Which, as it turns out... wasn't much." There's only a little bitterness in his voice as he says it. Just a little. "What I do know about how he fights is that he's a master-class marksman. He's the one who taught me how to shoot. He can shoot just about anything, from a pistol to an anti-materiel rifle and everything in between, and hit his target with ease. Honestly, he's so good, it's... almost scary. Remember when I mentioned that he shot out the leg of a Mantis tank with one shot? That wasn't an exaggeration.

Also, I found out the hard way that he's also a Candle. And apparently has been as long as I've known him. He never once told me about or used his powers in combat. The only thing I know he can do with his powers is channel some lightning. ...Looked a lot like what I can do. But I don't know how much he can really do. So we're going to be finding that out the hard way. Expect him to at least try to zap you. And if he's not zapping you, he'll probably shoot you.

His normal combat loadout is his personally modified anti-materiel rifle, which can fire normal rounds, as well as custom-tooled magical ones. I've only seen him use lightning rounds to disable machines and overload power grids from a distance, but I'm sure he's got more than just that. He's also at least got his personal revolver, which... it's chambered in .357 Magnum. It's no joke. Don't get shot by it. It hurts. A lot. And he probably has orichalcum bullets."

He grimaces as he says it, and while he tried to keep it in a sense of dark humor, it still rubs a mental wound that's still raw.

"There will also be at least a few QUILL field agents deployed with him. ...Most of them won't be a threat. Zeno and I were the top-tier agents beyond Asimov himself, and most of the regular guys are probably just there to work on the tower. They might try to stop us. Maybe. If they do, try not to kill them. I don't think they're anymore in the know about Asimov's true nature as I was. Just... try to disable them nonlethally. I'd rather not hurt anyone unnecessarily." ...Except Asimov. He wants to hurt him quite badly.

"Anyway... the most important thing is that we free Monarch again, and get her out of Asimov's hands. That takes priority over everything else. Free Monarch so Asimov can't use her, and then we can deal with him at any time." That's the plan, anyway. But... Gunvolt knows very well there's probably no way to get to Monarch without going through Asimov. "We're moving out as soon as all of you are ready. Let's get this over with."

Arrival

Touchdown near the broadcast tower was actually fairly easy, thanks to one of the stealthier Rune Wings in Daybreak's employ. Though it wouldn't be a surprise attack, as it happened. Even if Gunvolt was one of QUILL's best agents, that didn't mean the rest of them were stupid either. Once the team got close, a few of the QUILL agents would approach them, weapons out but not raised, and motioning them to halt. ...Most of these people looked like kids. Except the shifty looking woman in the gas mask, which brought a lot of curiosity.

The lead of the three agents stepped forward and spoke in German. "Excuse me. This is a restricted area. We're going to have to ask you to leave."

"Stand aside, Hartmut." Gunvolt replied, stepping forward out of the group. All three of the guards turned white as a sheet, all of the blood rushing from their faces at once. They looked like they just saw a ghost. "...I've got an appointment with Asimov. Right now."

"GV?! You're alive?! My God, we all thought you were dead! Asimov said you were killed in action by a Glaive Soldier!"

"Yeah, well. I'm in front of you, aren't I?"

"Aw, man! Asimov's going to be thrilled to see you okay. He's been out of sorts since Operation Icarus. We figured it was because he was taking what happened really hard. ...To say nothing of Moniqa and Zeno. Moniqa's been putting on a tough face, but we know she's not been doing well. And Zeno? Man, I don't think I've ever seen him so serious. Do they know you're okay yet?"

"No. I'll tell them once I'm done with the boss."

"GV... are... are you okay? You seem pretty upset. You've usually been reserved, but not this short. ...What even happened to you, anyway?"

"...It's a long story. I'll tell you later. For now, I need to see Asimov. Take me to him."

The agent looked between the two others and nodded, an actual sense of relief building between them. They legitimately seemed relieved to have their comrade back, alive and well. "Yeah, sure. Come on, you and your friends are welcome to see him. Man, he's going to be psyched that you're alive. I really can't wait to see his face."

"Yeah. Me too." Gunvolt did his best to conceal the bitterness and anger in his chest in that statement, but the sentiment was genuine; just not in the way Hartmut had intended it. Either way, the three soldiers led the group past a couple of more agents who quickly folded into the group once they saw Gunvolt was alive and well. They too, wanted to see Asimov's reaction.
Asimov, for his part, was standing in a paved area just outside the broadcast tower; there looked like a large console had been hauled in, with several, long thick wires running from it to the base of the broadcast tower. At the moment, it looked like Asimov was speaking to someone over the console on a video call, a small hologram broadcast in front of him. On the call were a young man and young woman, both wearing QUILL uniforms.

"Yes, the operation is almost complete. Looking forward to it being finished. If it works, it will give us better communications coverage. I know you've been looking forward to that, Moniqa."

"...Yeah."

"Boss! Boss! I know you're on a call and all, but we've got a surprise for you! You gotta see this! It's GV! He's alive!"

Both figures on the hologram practically jump out of their seats in shock when they overhear Hartmut talking. "What?!"

"...Hartmut, April Fools' Day isn't for another four months, and it still wouldn't be funny." Asimov bitterly replied, without turning around.

"I'm serious boss, look!" The agent motioned to Gunvolt, and his group of friends.

"...You greatly exaggerated the rumors of my death, Boss."

"Oi, GV! Wha--"

"...I'll call you both back." Asimov unceremoniously hung up on Zeno and Moniqa, and glanced back over his shoulder at Gunvolt, as well as the crew he brought with him. And his other agents. "...What sorcery is this, GV?"

The QUILL guards all looked instantly confused by Asimov's reaction; they surely hadn't expected him to sound so... cold. So... hostile. What was even going on here? Hartmut, for his part, could feel the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

"Boss... uh... what's. What's going on here?"

"Detain them. Now."

"Boss? Why...?"

"What's the matter, Asimov? You not going to tell them how you shot me, left me for dead, and took Monarch for yourself? Or are you just gonna keep up this horsejitt forever?"

Asimov turned around fully to stare down at Gunvolt, his expression hardened, his body tightened and tense. The five QUILL soldiers all looked agog at the accusation Gunvolt just leveled against Asimov... and more to the point, that Asimov didn't immediately deny it, but instead, kept silent for a number of unpleasant, heavy seconds.

"Well?!"

Comments

[alreadyhuman]

Those words are enough to set his whole world spinning. This man knows what he is, or at least, what he might be - or where there are others like him.

He's not alone. But at the same time, there are those like him who are being used, or pushed, or manipulated (he can't bring himself to consider any other alternative, otherwise it's the same as being alone anyway), who didn't get to choose the way he did.

(Did someone like Asimov push their own ideals onto them, punish the ones who resisted, the same thing Asimov is doing to everyone else?

Such a waste, says Asimov, and that rage burns, stokes itself higher.)

He pushes it down for now. But that swirling anger, that strange fog in his mind, is getting harder and harder to ignore; he's not sure what will happen if it 'bursts'.

"I'm-- I'm okay." Rex took a bullet, after all, when protecting him. He's worried, so he'll stick close. "I'll try to protect you this time."

He tries something different this time, with his new staff - trying to establish a connection between him and Asimov so he can start leeching all that power off him. He's misusing it, he shouldn't have it - he needs to do something about it, make that lightning less so.

[buddinghopes]

What she's doing seems to be working--well enough, at least, so Lia's not especially inclined to stop. When her pistols are empty, she chucks them both in the air. The weapons shatter in mid-air into white shards, which rain down on Asimov. She summons another pair of guns to her hands to resume her rain of gunfire.

She's trying to not focus too hard on what Asimov's saying--she needs to keep a clear head. She's not sure what'll happen if she lets that slip.

[bejustorbedead]

As rifle and sword met with a loud ringing clang, he presses forward - a hand suddenly lunging for a punch against the side of Asimov's face before he's forced back - grunting as he could feel the blow, though it was lessened by Rex's timely intervention.

"His ideas are his own, Asimov." The blue lightning crackling around him suddenly turned a violet hue as he throws his head up, bangs falling from his right eye, the blue-green morphing into a volcano red-hue. "As his instructor - no, as a decent person, it is my duty to render unto you due punishment for betraying him." His voice rumbles, as his blade vanishes under a crackle of violet glow before unleashing it - instead of an orb, it moved like a serpent, darting and jerking towards the man.

1/4

[shockingblue]

For Jail, breaking out Monarch turned out to be only about half of the puzzle. The AI was out of the machine, for sure, which meant the immediate danger of her possibly being activated by Asimov to locate Candles was gone. However, there was one small problem.

Her voice was still singing that uncharacteristic tune; its off-putting dissonance carrying over quite a long range, and still reaching Asimov. It also appeared like the AI Core itself wasn't quite itself; it wouldn't display its hologram, and still didn't appear to be responding to outside stimuli as it had on campus.

A safe bet would suggest Asimov hacked her somehow; not enough to hinder any of her abilities, but probably bypassing her personality and will.

Taking a moment to examine her would reveal such a hack was done quickly and in a brute force manner; most likely when he shocked the machine at the start of the fight, suggesting Asimov's power offered him some dominion over electronic devices too. But given it was a slapdash job, a skilled hacker could overcome it; or perhaps, simply rebooting Monarch herself might even do the job.

[shockingblue]

When Gunvolt lands from his attack, he gets a good moment to realize what's happening as Ky and Lia both press an offense on his instructor. Vivi looked unhurt, thankfully. But it wasn't good news. Closer to Rex, he was able to see that'd he had taken an injury. It actually startled him; more that GV had seen Rex as some sort of indomitable force as a peer, between the actions in the past and against the Mind Flayers. Worrying about him seemed like foreign concept because he always seemed like he had things under control.

...Combat had a funny way of doing away with that sort of foolhardy thinking. At least whatever injury Rex had didn't look immediately life threatening... and it looked like he was already treating it.

"Rex... what about you? Are you okay? Hang tight, we'll all make it through this. Call if you need help."

He might be able to wait for Rex's answer, though there's not much more time than that, much less when he finally catches sight that it looked like this time Desidera wasn't so lucky in her dodging. Gunvolt muttered a barely audible curse, trying to keep his head together. He can't afford to lose it now. Angry as he was that Asimov had hurt his friends, going too far off the rails would only endanger them all further.

He could guess what Asimov's next move would be. Instinctively, he knew, based on what he said before. Gunvolt wasted no time rushing off with the speed boost Rex provided to eventually intercept Asimov.

3/4

[shockingblue]

Vivi's attempts to move magical energy around, to siphon it away from Asimov, would prove to be successful, to a fashion. The young mage would be able to pull plenty of radiant energy away from Asimov... but it seemed like his supply of it felt bottomless. The song and the former Glaive Soldier's raw depth of power made him feel... anomalous, to say the least, and he barely paid any mind to the draining effect, if he noticed it at all.

Especially not with the annoyances Lia kept dishing out. He successfully prevaded against most of the shots, but... that splintering gun trick proved just as obnoxious to Asimov as it did to Viper. Worse yet, her teleporting made it very hard to draw a bead on her; predicting where she would show up would take more time and focus than he could devote right now, especially with Ky bearing down on him again. All he could do is throw spheres of lightning around, trying to seek Lia as she went. If nothing else, it'd give her just another hazard to worry about.

"And yet... I cannot help but wonder if you still were in part responsible, Professor."

Ky's attack struck home, sending Asimov skidding back several feet, and the runes on his armor skittering wildly on impact. The snake definitely bit him, and the Soldier could feel its fangs as foreign lightning magic surged through him.

"Hah, not bad. Not bad at all. That one actually hurt. Been awhile since I've fought someone like you. I'd be much more entertained if I didn't have other things to do."

Asimov spun his revolver on his finger, spent cartridges dropping out and just as fast reloading it with some sort of device at his wrist. He then took aim at Ky, firing four shots in his direction, his gun barking loudly with each shot. No orichalcum rounds in that volley either; it was hard to tell if Asimov was playing, or if he might not have had any left in the first place.

"And that's dealing with something that's been bothering me since the train op."

The soldier wasn't aware of the shadows pooling on the ground, having spent so much focus and time on others, but he was acutely aware he'd caused an injury to Desidera, and that wasn't enough. She was a power hitter, and he knew it. And if she went unchecked for long, he'd be made to regret it. Using the last two shots in his cylinder, he turned to fire at Desidera again; he didn't much care if those shots hit. He wanted to spook her and keep her defensive.

"You. You're a blight. A daemon, a mage, wrapped up into one. A wolf in sheep's clothing."

Asimov's Flashfield roared to life again, surrounding him in brutal blue lightning. He didn't wait. He lunged, full force towards Desidera, like a missile, his radiance burning like a fireball.

4/4

[shockingblue]

Turns out, Gunvolt's call proved exactly right. Just in the nick of time, GV managed to get between Asimov and his partner, and threw up his own Flashfield, holding it fast against the seemingly unstoppable Asimov as he barreled into it. The two Flashfields ground together, sending lightning sparking everywhere in chaotic patterns. Neither buckled, but Gunvolt could feel the radiant pressure building up on him quickly.

"GV... do you really intend to continue this farce? Protecting this monster? I don't know how she got into your head like this."

"She didn't. I made my choice, Asimov. I know which monster needs to be put down here." Gunvolt struggled and strained keeping his Flashfield up against Asimov's, digging his feet in place and bracing hard.

"She's playing you. That's what daemons do."

"She's not a daemon, you bastard! ...And even if she were, she cares about me a hell of a lot more than you ever did!"

In that moment, both Flashfields broke, sending Gunvolt and Asimov recoiling back. Asimov, still wreathed in a cyan flame, was much quicker to get back to his feet, ready to go another round. Gunvolt though, tumbled away and was knocked prone on his front. He pointed his Dart Leader at Asimov and fired again, though Asimov's prevasion again seemed to be working again.

"It's annoying being on this end of it..."

[buddinghopes]

Ah, hell. Lia's irritated that Asimov's giving her another hazard to dodge around, but she should've figured this wouldn't be easy. She pauses to get her bearings. She eyes the lightning spheres with mild disdain. Damn it, she's going to have to keep track of those...

She quietly watches the two Flashfields clash and break before collecting herself and starting the process all over again. She has no idea how many of these shots are actually going to hit Asimov, but she has to keep going. Knock him off balance, keep him distracted.

[unlogic]

Desidera expected those last shots, and so they were blocked easily not by any shadows, but a wall of ice that shattered after the two impacts. Once that wall was gone, though, Asimov made his approach, trying to rush her down with his Flashfield active, and that was when Gunvolt intervened.

After seeing both of the Azure Strikers knocked away from one another like that, seeing the way Gunvolt's and Asimov's individual powers had seemingly cancelled each other out for that moment, she started getting An Idea. How effective it would be, she didn't know, but it was worth a try.

After Lia started working at making herself a distraction again, Desidera readied and then loosed the meanest lightning blast she could muster, putting as much as she could into it, such that if it did any harm beyond what she was hoping it would do, it would hurt far, far worse than what she had done in the fight against Viper.

[alreadyhuman]

The moment Asimov talks about Desidera like that, the moment Asimov makes it clear that trying to kill Gunvolt and everything else coming after it is something fun, is the moment that something inside Vivi snaps.

While Lia and Gunvolt - really, everyone else - are being careful not to get angry, to keep a clear head and precise aim, Vivi's thoughts are consumed by it in a sudden, molten burst.

It's almost refreshing, in a way. Thinking so much about everything all the time clutters up his head, makes him worried and unsure. Now he doesn't feel like he has to think about anything except letting all this anger out of him by the most direct route.

Mist seethes out of him uncontrollably, warping his appearance briefly. Looking at him is like trying to stare at a bright light for too long, leaving blue and white afterimages; he shines brilliantly.

"I don't care how right you think you are. You shouldn't hurt people like that. You shouldn't talk to people like that."

His voice has an echo to it; it crackles like a wildfire, sizzles like lightning. He raises his staff and white-hot fire builds and builds as it climbs, an explosive torrent that makes him shimmer like a mirage. The light it creates makes every shadow darker and deeper, creating greater fuel for Desidera's abilities.

"I don't care what you think I am, either! If you think I'm some kind of bomb or I'm just gonna destroy everything, then that's fine, as long as I can stop you!"

He pushes forward into close range, too furious to back down and cast from the sidelines. He swings his staff and fires at Asimov, causing a torrent of flame to bloom where his fireball strikes.

[bejustorbedead]

A sharp cry escapes, he was faster - almost inhumanly fast, but not fast enough to step out of the path of the bullets entirely, violet bursts lightning instinctively shot out, intercepting the rounds.

"You damned bastard... the world is not yours to reshape in the hideousness of your self-righteous visage. Every one you rail against is a better being than you will ever be." His footfalls went heavy, stalking close, fingers curling before he launches an arrow-like bolt before following it up with a sudden closing of the gap, striking at Asimov with the pommel of his sword.

[heromedal]

GV has enough time beside Rex to see him rotate his left arm at the shoulder, the side he took the hit, and the bullet to fall to the floor- it had been caught by his suit, no penetration- but it was still like getting punched by a heavyweight boxer if a heavyweight boxer could focus all that weight into a fingertip.

"Barely felt it," he says to both GV and Vivi. An exaggeration, naturally, but he says it so flatly it's hard to imagine he's saving face. The rib will need a little more attention and he's going to have one heck of a bruise, but no new scars for the collection- which means Rex considers it a minor injury. "Don't worry about me. Pay attention to the electro-megalomaniac."

That's all he gets out before Gunvolt does exactly that, darting off in a flash. Flash seems to be the word of the day- except for Rex and Jail, everyone seems to be throwing out big, messy attacks every which way. All the bright lights and loud sounds are giving him a headache, even with his helmet's visor polarised. He doesn't need a migraine on top of everything else.

"That's fascinating," he comments on Vivi's transformation, his equivalent of going slack-jawed and shouting 'what- impossible!?' at the data readings from his scanners. Rex ends up following behind Vivi as he rushes in, though for Rex it's a much more sedate pace. On the way, his black box ejects Blue Moon, the shield part collapsed so it's a gauntlet. With his arms inside of his cape, he looks something like a giant, looming shadow behind the young mage, somewhat formless. Within the confines of his cape, his fingers are flying, adjusting and preparing the first spell of the battle that has needed both hands, as well as more than a single gesture. It's not surprising- he's inventing the spell as he goes, putting together something inspired by all the chaos. He hopes it's not necessary for him to stop and start again with the trick he's working out, but if need be, he'll pull out Blue Moon to guard Vivi against retaliation. By now at least Rex has a good idea of what Asimov is going to do before he does it, but not enough of a lead to communicate that to anyone else before it happens.

[nor_iron_bars]

[She doesn't have much time to figure out what's been done to Monarch- but she doesn't need much, either. On the train, she'd been examining an entirely unfamiliar design. This time, she knows Monarch's core and how it works.]

[Bringing it closer to her mask, she whispers, almost inaudibly:]

We're gonna fix this, okay? Just follow my lead...

[While the fight rages on, she works. Distracting as the struggle is, and as subtle as she's being, there's very little hint that she's out there and plotting something until suddenly-]

[Monarch's song cuts off.]

[In the sudden silence, a voice calls out from the tower.]

Also? [She could add her two cents to everyone's furious denial of Asimov's beliefs, criticize his path and his morals, come up with an insult or two... but in the end, why not just go straight to the important bit?] You lose.

[Jail tosses the AI core up and catches it casually, one-handed, like a kid playing with a rubber ball. She clips it securely to her belt, spreads her arms wide, and grins.]

[Everyone's kept Asimov's attention so well, giving her more than enough time to get her work done. Now it's her turn to be a distraction, if only by virtue of her... sparkling personality.]

Come at me, bitch!

1/5

[shockingblue]

"He really does sound like you, Professor Kiske. ...Though GV's much less eloquent. If you didn't do that to him, maybe you're both just birds of a feather."

Asimov's tone quickly grows more menacing, his energy surged back through him; he was beginning to lose patience with this fight, though not yet to the point of making a mistake. Ky's rather relentless offense, along with the constant interference of everyone else, keeps Asimov more than distracted enough to keep him less aware of two wild cards. Jailbreak's sneak-thieving being one, and the subtle motions Rex makes beneath his cape as another.

Asimov's Flashfield flares back to life as Ky lashes out with the arrow lightning; his own field interfered with the direct shot of magic, but it certainly did its job as a lead-in poke. As the professor wound up for the second phase of his attack, approaching in, Asimov was simply content to allow prevasion to dodge it while he turned his sights elsewhere...

That is, until he caught sight of Desidera's incoming huge lightning surge. It makes contact with his Flashfield, and a quick flash of light had the field break again, leaving Asimov stunned and rocked; it was hard to tell if the bolt itself managed to do much damage to him specifically, but it sure did look like it overheated his powers, especially after using them to interfere with Ky. His powers effectively interfered with, that prevasion Asimov was about to use?

Simply didn't work. In his staggered state, Ky was able to easily rush him down and hit him hard with the pommel of his sword connecting squarely across his jawline. A streak of blood came from the point of impact, and Asimov growled as he staggered back further. He raised his rifle to defend himself from the sword again, but that led to something far worse heading his way.

The strange, alien-sounding voice from the Black Mage only gets half his attention with the professor in his face taking up most of his attention, but he can still hear it, and out of the corner of his eye he glimpses Vivi's newfound transformed state, and sees the flaming torrent coming his way. Too large to prevade through, and even if it wasn't, his powers still refused to respond in that brief period.

The fireball strikes, exploding violently and leaving a massive pillar in its wake as ash and embers cyclone around the point of impact. After the flame clears, Asimov still stands within, the cyan flame erupting back to life, but it's very clear he took a nasty hit from that. His skin burned, hair singed, and armor charred enough that some of its runes were flickering helplessly as it somehow tried to recover from the damage strong enough to overcome them. It even looked like it made a right mess of Asimov's anti-materiel rifle, melting the barrel down into slag.

"...Different from the others of his kind, maybe? Interesting."

2/5

[shockingblue]

Lia's attacks from her guns initially looked like they weren't having too much effect on Asimov, but that quickly changed after Vivi's assault. Though his powers had restored and with it, his prevasion, it looked like her relentless attacking was starting to overload it. With Asimov's armor damaged, the shots that did make it through started punching into it, causing him to recoil violently from the occasional shot. He quickly grew more annoyed by this, and actually took a counter-shot back at Lia at one point with his revolver.

"You are most obnoxious, Cordelia. A shame, seeing as how you would've had a place in the future if you'd embraced it."

Of course, Gunvolt was doing more than watching this unfold. He decided to take a page from Lia's book on this one, and follow her lead. Green energy began to build around the barrel of his Dart Leader... until it started being almost blinding to look at. Still, he waited, held his aim on Asimov from the ground, using it as a brace for the coming shot.

Once he saw two of Lia's shots breach the Prevasion and connect against his armor, he snap pulled the trigger on his weapon. The blazing light at the front of the weapon erupted into a blinding muzzle flash as it launched a shot at Asimov, the crack rapport happening well after Asimov had been struck by the dart. What little was left of his armor's enchantment stopped the shot to his back from being lethal, given it was launched at what seemed like hypersonic speed.

Gunvolt jumped to his feet, smoke curling from the Dart Leader like never before. The light on the side brightly flashed red, and with that the boy tossed it aside. He'd overloaded the weapon by sinking so much power into the shot, and at this point it was basically useless. He instead drew his lightning saber, which flared to life and aggressively crackled with azure lightning. GV wasn't about to approach at this point, nor was he about to remain unarmed.

"The professor's right, though. For someone who talked a big game about liberty, you really don't give a damn about anyone's freedom, do you?! Bet you would've kept using me, Monarch, Lia, or anyone else you could if you got your way. I'd rather be dead than see the world you want to build!"

With that Asimov staggered around, though eventually stood upright, and his power surged; enough that you could feel it in the air all around. Static formed between even the blades of grass nearby. He was done with this charade, clearly... and his voice was quiet, and oddly serene, despite the chaotic storm raging around him.

"Have it your way, then. ...Oversurge. Azure Striker."

Gunvolt's eyes widened, a pit in his stomach forming. Oh no. He knew that move too. It's something Gunvolt had never had to use in combat before, but he could just feel it coming.

"Everyone! Move!!"

3/5

[shockingblue]

Monarch doesn't respond to Jail's first comment; the Core seemingly unaware of her presence, or if nothing else, unacknowledging of it. Of course, as Jailbreak worked and overcame Asimov's tampering, the Core's AI managed to break through; the song still played out of her voice, unwilling, but the lens flickered in Morse Code quickly:

"H - E - L - P" and "J - A - I - L" as the thief went to work.

But as Jailbreak continued, Monarch quickly caught on that she had something in mind, still playing the song; but knowing she had the control to stop it. And once Jail inevitably gave her the signal, the music halted.

And of course, it halted right before Asimov unleashed his attack, and feeling much of that power drain out of him almost at once made him confused, until he heard Jail call out from the tower. That thieving bitch, that rogue. Somehow he'd lost sight of her during all the chaos, and scarcely had time to notice her absence. He stewed in rage for a brief instant before Jail's taunt, though.

Of course, Monarch might've been less happy about being tossed up and down like a ball.

"Ahh, Miss Jailbreak, please! Be more gentle!" ...Yes, she said that primarily to irritate Asimov and play along with Jail's antics. She didn't exactly like being handled like that, but frankly, she could roll with it for a show. She was a performer, after all. As soon as she's clipped to Jailbreak's belt, Monarch beams her hologram form in front of her, and gives the biggest shit-eating grin she could manage in the moment. "Hey, Asimov! How about an encore?!"

She closed her eyes, threw her hands out, and started singing a bright, inspiring tune with all of her heart. ...People who know Gunvolt well probably will recognize it as his favorite.

Gunvolt could swear he heard something, deep within his mind: "Let this song be your wings."

The boy erupted in the same cyan flame that once covered Asimov, and now Gunvolt's power surged; along with any friendly Candles in the area.

4/5

[shockingblue]

He'd been played. He'd been played hard. And he knew this one was his own fault, but he wasn't ready to lay down and surrender either; though Monarch's Anthem was taken from him, he had still gathered up plenty of power. And now was the time to use it. He was certain if he could get close enough to Jailbreak he could take her down without much fuss. She was skilled, no doubt, but taking him in a straight fight? That'd be where he'd have a shot against her, and stealing Monarch back would be all he needed.

He balled his fist in front of him, a blinding flash of blue emanating from it.

"...Azure Striker. Smite my enemies. Voltaic Chains!

Thunder rumbled as gigantic magical chains erupted from around Asimov, and lashed across the battlefield. The massive chains could not be stopped or cut, lashing out to try to trap the nearby fighters within them, and there wouldn't be long to react. Anyone might reasonably guess that metal conducts electricity... and even magically summoned metal would probably make for a conductor. Being in contact, or anywhere near the chains would cause the full fury of Asimov's radiance to connect, giving a shock that would probably splatter a daemon like it was a watermelon.

In the chaos of the attack, Asimov's flashfield re-upped, and he made a charge toward the tower.

5/5

[shockingblue]

But he didn't get far.

With Monarch's song filling him, Gunvolt used his seemingly boundless power to continually jump up and away from all the chains, illusion feathers fluttering all over the field below as he did so at incredible speed. In part, that speed was thanks to Rex's buff, and between that and the song, he felt lighter than he ever had before.

And in the voice of what could pass for an angry deity, GV let out a shout. "We're not done, Asimov."

At the apex of his jump in midair, Gunvolt unleashed his own Flashfield, the superpowered bolts lashing out at Asimov... or specifically, the Naga dart stuck in his back.

The surge overloaded Asimov's powers again, sending him down to the ground, leaving him incredibly vulnerable to counterattack.

[heromedal]

"I tire of this."

Rex doesn't sound bored, exactly. He sounds exactly as he says- tired of dealing with this. He drops the spell he was casting, throwing his cape back with his left arm and grabbing hold of a chain with the gauntlet on his right hand. Rex actually has no idea Blue Moon can absorb magic, which is exactly why the shield is impressed with him for his plan. Asimov provided ample material for scanning throughout the fight and Rex has been planning countermeasures. It's not perfect, of course, being untested. But Rex is familiar enough to force almost all of the energy that should be lashing equally between the chains to come right to him instead.

It's not a sacrificial leap in front of a bullet, though. It flows into him, through him, building in his opposite hand as a rapidly growing sphere that soon exceeds his palm and floats above his hand instead, crackling and squirming until Rex closes his hand into a fist, where it fizzles out in a pitiful 'zzt.' If it weren't for Blue Moon deciding the sheer amount of guts this required was commendable enough for her to assist directly, Rex would be sporting some new scars. He was expecting them. As it is? He comes out of it merely gently smoking and numb all over, as she easily absorbs what exceeded Rex's limits. There's enough power he couldn't catch to be dangerous- but it's hardly the ultimate attack it was mere moments ago.

"Shall we end this?"

It takes everything he has to stay standing. The way he scoffs and crosses his arms is just to help his balance, but a part of him hopes he's recovered that juggernaut image- there's no hint of wobble.

[bejustorbedead]

Ky smiles faintly, looking a little fiendish due to red cast given off by his right eye. "He's a sensible boy." With that, he pushes off the sudden surge in the air alerting him to the attack.

Even with Rex's interference, and swift movements, he still was struck - letting off a howl of pain as he staggers. The man staggers, shaking - nearly falling to his knees.

"Yes... let's end this." Ky hisses in response to Rex's question, as he grabs for Asimov's shirt, pulling him close. "Time to face judgment."

Then he tosses the man up with inhuman strength, before launching a bolt of lightning after him.

[nor_iron_bars]

First- [And Jail launches herself off the tower at a running sprint, moving with the timing of a born show-woman as she pulls out her sledgehammer.] -you're gonna have to face me!

[Compared to most inhuman beings, Jail isn't very physically strong. This is likely less of a comfort to Asimov than it could be, because by human standards she's fucking ripped and swinging her hammer down on him with all the force she can muster and the aid of gravity besides, spiking him back into the ground like a volleyball.]

[She uses one of her smaller smokebombs to cover her retreat, pulling one of her usual absurd midair acrobatic maneuvers to get herself back behind the front lines of her own team, touching down with a wink.]

So, who's having fun?

[alreadyhuman]

Vivi has nothing to say in response but a wordless cry of pure anger. It sounds, for a moment, more birdlike than anything approaching human.

It's part fury and part pain; even with Rex diverting energy and Vivi throwing himself out of the way in a desperate attempt to dodge, even a light scrape is enough to send far more of a shock than he's even remotely used to through his entire body. Only the fact that his powered up state absorbs and diverts some of the energy stops him from just passing out entirely from the shock.

In return for that electrocution, he lets that anger build, flowing through him. Rather than using his staff, he flings his hands out, eyes wide and burning brightly as fire explodes from them - hitting Asimov with enough power to push him away before he hits the ground.

[buddinghopes]

Lia hisses as Asimov's counter-shot grazes her, only to almost growl when she's addressed.

"I don't want any part of your future, Asimov! I'll forge on ahead with my friends and like hell are you going to take that away from me!" A pause, before she adds-- "And furthermore, that's 'Miss Brooks' to you!"

Fortunately, when the chains come out, Lia is not too drained to get the fuck out of dodge--thank god for teleportation powers. For a moment, she perches on top of the broadcast tower, taking a breath as she feels the familiar power surge thanks to Monarch's song. Her outfit glows white as she leaps off the tower and activates Overdrive. She lets go of her current pair of pistols in mid-air, splintering into the same white shards. She summons another pair when she hits the ground... before throwing those into the air too and willing them to shatter. They swirl around her briefly as she smiles, perhaps a bit too sharply. She calmly extends one hand.

"You really should've thought through messing with us, Asimov."

She snaps her fingers. The shards from all four pistols swirl into the air before falling onto Asimov as a sharp, glowing rain.

[unlogic]

Desidera was certainly not in the mood to try making her best watermelon impression today, and so every chain that shot out toward her, she leapt away from, her movements assisted by some presently-unseen force; she was launching herself with the same shadows that she had been collecting throughout the fight and pooling into a single greater whole. Her landings were a bit clumsy, but ducking into a roll when she hit the ground allowed her to quickly get back to her feet to avoid anything else that was coming her way, although any pressure that was put on her right shoulder in the process hurt.

Not enough to break her focus, fortunately.

That greater shadow stretched all around the area by now, covering a majority of the ground, and what that meant for Asimov was that there was no longer any real escape, as a number of tendrils lashed out after the others had all completed their assault, wrapping themselves around an arm, or a leg, or whatever part of him they could grab, then forced him onto to his knees. With the way they had been strengthened by Vivi and then again by Monarch granting the team's Candles the same increase to their power that she did one week ago, there was very likely no breaking those shadows unless Desi allowed it.

Between that, and the knowledge that at least two members of the team were capable of stopping him from trying anything else with his lightning, there wasn't too much more that Asimov could try to do at this point, if anything.

Following all of this, she walked up beside him, stopped next to him, didn't even bother to look at him. If he managed to take a look toward her while being held there like he was, he would see the underside of her bracelet glowing a bright and furious red. Though he could make any number of assumptions about it, he wouldn't actually know what that meant—only Desi herself and the person who made that bracelet really knew.

She let out a tired sigh.

"Speaking from one monster to another, Asimov? I honestly hope you burn." She spoke in the calmest tone she could manage, despite everything that happened recently, and then she simply turned and slapped him—just slapped him, without any real strength put into it, aiming to make the gesture as insulting as possible—and then she walked away from him, doing nothing else but continuing to hold him there with that shadow.

Whatever happened next wasn't her decision to make.

1/2

[shockingblue]

Asimov launched into the air from Ky's throw rather gracelessly, with him trying to flail about back into position and get his Flashfield re-upped. For all the good it did him when Ky's lightning bolt rent into him again, further prolonging his powerlessness. And you know what Asimov didn't think he'd be doing today?

Being hit squarely in the chest by a goddamn sledgehammer by a gremlin thief in a gas mask while pirouetting through the air out of control. That probably broke a few bones, and very definitely knocked the wind out of him as he was sent plummeting back to earth.

Though he was in time to watch a storm of magical shards slam into him, tearing at his armor and skin, hissing in pain from those boosted radiant shards. One of them even wedged into his shoulder pretty badly. So a bad day was steadily getting worse. And it wasn't really over yet, considering as Asimov still fell, he got to watch a wave of flame rise up to meet him. He crossed his arms over his face and neck to protect them in the instant before he made contact.

Vivi's spell was like hitting a launchpad made of searing pain, smoke, and burning. The force of the magic finally brought down what little remained of his runic armor's strength, and again launched him back upwards before falling right into Desidera's trap when he get the ground. What strength he had left, he struggled against it, and his Radiance refused to cooperate... and certainly long enough for Desidera to give him that blistering retort followed by an insulting slap across the face.

But you know, his day wasn't over yet. He was left facing down his apprentice, hovering back down on his Flashfield and landing right in front of him, body wreathed in both his own power and what was gifted to him freely by Monarch, lightning sword flickering resolutely in face of his old master.

Asimov could feel searing pain in a lot of his body at this point... and in some places, barely could feel anything at all. The Candle coughed, spitting up some foul smelling blood. He all but knew...

"I was right... to believe in you. I still believe... with all your power and strength, you would make a great leader in the world after."

"I don't want any part of that. Never did. All I wanted was an actually free world. One where all of us could live together in peace. That's what I thought you believed in, all these years." Gunvolt balled his empty fist at his side, lightning crackling viscerally around it. "Was everything you did for me just like moving a piece on a board?! Is that all I ever was to you!?"