00 - Prologue - New Game Start

[Aphelionquasar]

His point had been indeed acknowledged, though in truth it might have as well fallen upon deaf ears as nothing came of the affirmation. Or perhaps more accurately, only one other presented had deigned to listen. Hmm, had he not spoken clearly? No, he doubted that, it was perhaps more so due to the nature of this gathering that had rendered his voice useless. It was not an easy ordeal, to be ripped from one’s home dimension and to maintain the clarity needed. He had the fortune or misfortune of being thrown into other dimensions tangential to his own and these mishaps no longer came as a surprise. Well no longer, there may have been a time in the recent past where he might still be reeling from such an experience, but this would be the fifth time. A small spark emanated from Galaxia, ‘Naivety does not suit you.’ He could almost perceive a tut. There was of course another explanation entirely, yet, for now, he had no reason to consider its merits. ‘I would nearly count this as progress except you haven’t... grown.’ That was... a low blow. ‘... Perhaps it was low hanging fruit, yet, this willingness to listen is not born of trust. I know you far too well dear champion.’ Never the less, there was truth in that statement. He had not yet asked Galaxia to dematerialize, nor would she have likely listened. For now it was calm, yet, there was still the presence of the ship that remained unexplained. Glancing up at the sky briefly, his concerns were for the moment allayed as he could not perceive any threats though admittedly he was still ill at ease conducting these affairs out in the open. Shaking his head slightly, he for the moment placed these unnecessary feelings aside, he had made his point, in time it would hopefully be proven unfounded. This small spotted creature began to tell them the story of why they had been summoned here.... It was a simple tale, a hero kept rising to repel invaders from his home and restore order to the Kingdom. Or so the spotted creature implied. Yet, it was odd, he did not know any Marios or Bowsers, or Peaches, but he felt as if he should recognize the names from this little story. Perhaps if he had lingered, actively tried to remember, he would not be... as confused as to the familiarity of these names. The ... enthusiasm of the black haired beorc... was a more pressing matter. While he could not find fault with her apparent intentions, the folly lay in the eagerness in which to extract these friends of their... guide. Civilian extraction, was complicated... he knew this to be true. That was not to say that he disagreed with the sentiment that removing civilians from combat should be the first priority, he did. It was... more so that they would be operating blind. They did not know the number of civilians that were trapped, they knew not whether or not the infrastructure of this... seedling rebellion could support refugees, they knew not even their location let alone whether or not these civilians were of any worth. It was a delicate balance. No, it was reckless and foolhardy... they did not even possess a method of transportation and civilians would slow them down. They were vulnerable... they required protection and placing refuges with a military only meant that they would become targets once more even if the opponent was honorable. It was perhaps heartless, but, the attempt with the resources and information they had available would be folly... it could change a crucial dynamic that they could not be aware of. The value of civilian lives. He did not know Bowser or ilk... he could not suggest this as an acceptable course of action. ‘You may have moved on, but you have not forgotten. No, of course not.’ He had come back once before, it could happen again. There was a low whine, but the sword fell silent on that matter. Shaking his head slowly, he began to speak... though he was unsure if his words would be enough to dissuade, “No. we need....” The sky rolled and his objection lost in the midst of the sudden chaos... for upon it was now a giant displaying proudly a sickening combination of colors that much like the air seemed to seethe. With a cutting mocking voice, anything he might say would be overshadowed. This... flair for the dramatic did not impress him, and his instinct was to stand tall against such a presence. He would not be cowed so easily, yet, to react at all would give a certain level of satisfaction. No, he would not give any satisfaction to this Lord of the Underworld. It was the principal of the matter, though admittedly it was more so the playful tone rather than the towering image that prompted him to refuse so adamantly to show anything at all. Think of the devil and he shall, inevitably appear... in another guise. Instead of focusing too long on the newest arrival to this whole... disaster, which was the appropriate word. He, instead, gauged the reactions of those around him. It was entirely intentional, refusing to react to him, feel anything. Surprise, disbelief, ignorance... annoyance, the whole spectrum was present. There were some striking similarities, which invoked a sincere sense of disobedience though the utter levity was a tad new and a bit more disorienting. The tone was more or less the same, this new Lord of the Underworld did not perceive them to be threats, oh, no, the attention they received was a gift unto insects... though it seemed one amongst them did not truly understand the inherent mockery. It was admittedly surprising that there was no lash of visible anger as he suspected when the accusations left the beorc’s mouth, but, it was not the same entity. Lowly glowing, Galaxia chimed in at last ‘I will admit, I’m not entirely sure where we’d get a large enough chest’ Oh? Yes, well, that was the least of the concerns, considering that he was unsure how the last Ruler of the Underworld was sealed away, just where the creature had ended up. Wasn’t this a tad more... ‘Somehow this Lord of the Underworld managed to have equally as poor of a fashion sense.’ Pressing? ‘I’m not entirely sure I’m suited to deigning which one is in fact worse.’ Where was this...? ‘Coming from? You are doing a poor job of disregarding him, this is not the past.’ ... Thanks. ‘Even using the same tricks, hmmm this one is... boxed?’ ... ‘No?’ No. With a faint hum that hung in the back of his mind for a few more seconds, for once since she had been drawn Galaxia dimmed entirely, falling silent as she did... satisfied though displeased. There had been a certain level of normalcy until now... or so he would claim, but now, there was a certain implication hanging in the air. There was no reason for any of them to be here, there was even less reason to trust each other. He had not entirely tamed the unease from before. It had only grown since... Hade’s appearance and the subsequent reappearance as well as disappearance of the gunship he had spotted earlier. It was difficult to feel fully at ease when the sky before him was lit up with a veritable light show of space time anomalies. Mayhaps it was a mistake to give the pair a bit of breathing room, but, he didn’t see any harm to it though he really couldn’t make heads or tails of the scene other than some sort of reunion. Cept the gallah girl didn’t really seemed all too stoked about it which struck him as strange. Point wasn’t nobody got hurt more from the bit of room, though his pride was still another story. Should have known better, nothing really tended to stay all nice and relatively quiet. First thing he responded to was the voice, he hadn’t sheathed the blade just yet, but, it took him a second or two to realize it was coming from the bleeding sky. The two little birds were sort of phased, not surprising really, but he had realized on the move that now he really couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not that he wasn’t aware of that before moving. Must have looked really silly trying to balance himself... was more so habit at this point. Problem was, the whole trying to move in front of these two? Well, he wasn’t shielding them from nothing, wasn’t actually tall enough to uhhh block the sight. And might he add, he was one of the taller blokes back in the Corps... this had turned out to be one wicked pissah of an idea. Err... well he had tried... more so than a certain uhh foe who had tangled with his lord which a quick look over his shoulder had told him enough. She was gone. Just like that. Erm... well for some reason he couldn’t blame the fighter for skipping out. Didn’t have to worry about it now though. Though honest, surprised most of them didn’t just scurry off, probably would have to if he were a mite younger and hadn’t been here on the account of the sir. Thing is, this scene? Familiar. Not in a good way, no, not at all, but familiar. He’d give an arm and a leg for a gravity disrupter with a plasma beam... not that it had been all that effective before, but, well least it happened to come with shields and all that. That galah bird though? Didn’t seem to be bothered all that much. Was she really a civvie? Wasn’t acting like one... that was for sure though honestly he couldn’t keep track of all these noodle arms. Sword piped up, trying to keep the galah bird distracted, because that was really the only the only explanation he had... and they sounded like they were in shock, “Well yew have been called here. Yew heard it. Were called here fer a reason, sounds like it was ta lend a ‘and.” Probably, he wasn’t really sure how this all worked. Well with the wishing business, he probably couldn’t talk much since he got summoned pulled here through Galaxia. Speaking of which, he was unsure if his orders still held, “Sir? Same ordars?” He wasn’t questioning them, it was more so things had changed with some wizard up in the sky replaying a real bad memory right before both of their eyes. Gave him the willies this one did. Though it seems his orders hadn’t changed, a quick glance over his shoulder made that perfectly clear. There had been one advantage to pointedly ignoring the Underworld Lord who deigned to call himself Hades. He had noticed that there was yet another Beorc among their numbers now, who had taken to observing this... motley crew of theirs. Another pulled here by the wish? Perhaps, but, he had pushed it towards the edge of his awareness, watching without registering. It was Sword’s questioning tone that once more brought this fact to the forefront of his awareness. How utterly careless of him. With a shake of his head, he commanded Sword to continue on as he had, not that there was much either of them could do at this moment. The newcomer’s flippant question did not seemed to be aimed at anyone in particular, and for the sake of time... he answered, ”The Mushroom Kingdom.” There was no need to repeat the entire conversation again, at least not again out in the open. That had went so well.

1958 Meta Knight Points: 3 There is much goddamnit in this post. Also we need a really large chest guys, where else are we going to put Hades? Also your slang today: Pissah (Bostonian) Awesome, excellent

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Kismet]

"Hmm" Hades intoned, producing a sound somewhere between a chuckle and something dark and contemplative. "I must say, you are a cool collection of cucumbers. You'll need those steely nerves here." He flashed his grin and rounded back towards the group, eyes gleaming like distant stars.

"Dimitri, is it? My oh my, it is nice to be recognized. But this whole 'Greek' business is Greek to me; I can't say that they ring a bell. Sunny, sweetheart, do stick close to that stick in the mud. Heaven knows we're short on responsible adults around here. And YOU, darling," he said, zeroing in on Luzia, still prostrating herself upon the ground.

"That is how you treat a deity. Goodness stop it, you'll spoil me rotten." His eyes swept briefly over Maxi and Serra, but they garnered no reaction beyond something cold and unloving in Hades' eyes. Finally his gaze settled on Meta Knight.

The god chuckled. "So cold! So above it all! Well...not actually above much, are you my rotund little Star Warrior?" Hades drew back, his smile filled with open malice and genuine mirth. A new portal opened up and deposited yet another wanderer, but Hades held his attention on Meta Knight. "Oh you poor thing; this is a bad dream that just won't go away! Just a never. Ending. Nightmare. Hmm hmm hmm." He paused, crossing his arms and looking pointedly to the horizon. "Just kidding. No relation."

"Now buckle up kids. They're coming."

And then Hades was gone.

[Maelys Arkana]

Toad

Practically everyone, the big blue guy included, switched their attention to this person in the sky while Toad cowered in fear. For some time this "god" would speak to them, some of them responding to it as it made jokes and such. Eventually Toad would bring his head back up, still afraid but curious about how nothing bad had happened yet. The sky guy seemed to just... talk to them, no thunderbolts and lightning, no divine judgement. Toad wasn't sure about if his offer of help was serious, but at least the guy seemed civil.

Another newcomer would appear out of some kind of hole in midair, walking through into the Mushroom Kingdom seemingly without a care in the world, or at least this world. What was rather spooky about this guy was the mass of tentacles behind him, writhing around as if searching for some poor toad to grab. Was he some kind of mutant blooper? No... he looked waaayyyy too different. Strangely enough, this guy would disregard the sky guy for the most part, though whether out of fear, ignorance, or obliviousness wasn't something Toad could contemplate.

All of a sudden, Toad would catch the last words of the sky guy just before he vanishes. Huh? Who's coming? The unmistakable choppy whir of the propellers of one of Bowser's airships would slowly grow louder and louder as Toad turned his attention to the direction of the noise. Bearing down on them, rather close, in fact, were two airships, one much closer than the other. "Oh! Oh nooo!! They're heeeeeeere!!" He pointed toward the incoming airship as it aligned itself, preparing to fire.

Mika

Peeking out from Sunny, as her name seemed to be, Mika would cautiously watch the man in the sky, too shy to try and talk to him, even though that's all the man seemed to be doing. Ignored for the most part, Mika crept his way out from behind Sunny to get a better view of the rest of the group. Everyone around him seemed to be so different, there was a pink haired lady with some sort of rod, a small thing with what appeared to be a mask, cape, and a weird yellow sword, a new person who just arrived who seemed to have snake tails coming out of him. Mother had told him about people that were different, Mother herself was not a kitsune even, but never did he think there could be so many different kinds of people.

As Mika looked around, he would see that nobody else was of his kind, not even one. It made him a little nervous, aside from Mother, kitsune were the only people he knew. But a couple of them seemed to be pretty nice so far, Sunny, the purple haired lady from earlier who he was sad to see leave, the lady with the spear over there, even the snake guy seemed to not be mean. And that guy in the sky wasn't doing anything mean, although he kept saying some strange things. The child would tentatively walk around, gazing up at the massive star that stood just over there, curiosity getting the better of him as he started off toward it. But before he could get far, the little mushroom man would freak out, pointing in the other direction. Turning around, Mika's eyes would go wide once more as a large flying boat would approach them, turning itself so that its sides were facing the group.

Airships

On Black Wings

The two airships would finally close in on the area where the flying object had been spotted, except the object itself was nowhere to be found. There was, however, a number of people standing around a short distance away on Star Hill, prompting the airships to head over that way. By now their propellers could be heard by those people, but it would be too late for many of them to escape. The forward ship, the one emanating the purple energy would arrive in Star Hill and turn sideways, the three portholes on the sides of the ship opening up as large cannons would protrude from them.

Three loud resounding bangs would ring out, one after another in rapid succession, launching cannonballs at the massive star that stood behind the group. As the projectiles crashed against the monolith, however, it would not budge, but that was not their intent. One by one, five koopas would leap over the railing, falling to the ground, these ones different from the earlier foes. For starters, they did not wear armor, nor did they possess a weapon. Rather, three of them appeared to be completely unarmed and unarmored, while two of them wore what seemed to be hard hats and a large rugged satchel at their side, filled to the brim with small hammer-like objects. This koopa squad would begin approaching the group, the three unarmed koopas moving ahead of the other two, while the hammer koopas each reached into their satchel, grabbing a hammer and readying it to be thrown.

Meanwhile, the other airship was still a short distance away, trying to catch up with its speedy partner, yet to arrive to the battle.

[Koi Koi]

Oh, stop it Hades. His words were almost mocking her now. Wait no, they were. She knew she had no right to try and snap back at him, and yet she felt inspired to give her own verbal jab back. How dangerous of her, though, to try and but heads with a demon lord! She had to keep this in mind, her own violent competitive streak. But she listened all the same, stopping momentarily at Hade's little fact.

I am a god.

Her vacant, exhausted expression altered slightly at first. Her eyes widening, mouth slightly agape as if she was in awe of seeing a god in person. Though of course, that was not the case. She was no longer able to hold her excitement in, her pen now rushing into a fervor of writing. Her mouth curled up into a wide grin, bearing teeth as if to match Hades' own smarmy look. Her hypothesis proved true. This person was a full on god. He was pivotal then, to proving her own theories. To advancing all of magic. To stepping up the field of automancy and spellcraft from the art of imitating the gods to the art of becoming a god herself. She was on the verge of laughing in pure glee from the thought of what she could create with this breakthrough. Oh if she was still young, she would've mistaken this for love! Such a burning desire to speak this nonsensical verbal battle, to just gaze into his form and make archives upon archives of the energy that radiated from him! Was this the charisma of a god, then? Was this how sane men turn to religion? If so, perhaps she would be willing to be ordained a priestess if she was able to finally realize the apex of all of her experiments in magic.

And then he asked that question.

This time, she stopped for a brief moment, her smile fading ever so slightly. She couldn't show any sign that she was holding some ulterior motive, especially when she's now realized that the others here could be watching her closely. People who are just as cunning. People like her and Hades here. People that could ascertain one's behavior quickly from a simple sign. People like Hades.... who could see through her plans.

Did he know?

He was indeed a god, that much was clear. But now Eliza had to face questions that should only be debated by theologians and philosophers. Was Hades here omniscient? How much did he know about her? Was his intentions truly benevolent then, or was he really able to destroy her plans as easily as a single statement... No, there was no way he would be able to know. He would've said much more if that was the case, right? Eliza just kept writing, contemplating how she should answer, before looking up at Hades dead in the eye, no longer smiling, and stating if not just to verify to herself.

"I am here to do what I have always done."

Whether that was to be a hero, or a researcher, or something else entirely. Eliza's reasons were justified and fair. She had no reason to try and explain herself, even if that person was a god. It was good that he had decided to ask that, had Hades kept being so amiable for any longer, Eliza would have completely lost her mind in her emotional bliss. In a sense, that shock was necessary for her, even if it risked leaving her vulnerable... Now all she had to worry about was who might have realized what Eliza's machinations were.

Hades since had moved his attention to the others, and so Eliza stepped back to continue taking notes, silently observing Hades' behavior. It seemed as if he was enjoying the attention, and rightfully so. If gods were so reliant on faith of others, it certainly would seem that Hades is no exception to reveling in "worship". It also does seem as if Hades and that short knight knew each other. That lead to another question, didn't it? He was about to bring up opposition to Eliza's ideas. Was he intending to splinter away? Or was it just going to be a side comment? She was interested twofold now, first due to the knight's beautiful weapon, but now also because of this person's apparent wisdom. When they had the breathing room, she needed to speak with him.

Sadly, now would have no such time. Hades had only but a moment to warn them of the oncoming approach, but it was too late for any real preparations. Eliza whirled around to see the airships laying fire upon the hill, followed quickly by the oncoming force. She brandished her energy spears again, raising a hand to summon an aetherical seal in front of her as she yelled.

"Enemy reinforcements! We took too long!" She grit her teeth and side stepped her own seal, not wanting to accidentally proc it with her own weapons. A quick scan of the group showed that while they didn't seem as militant as the previous squadron, this one had a new kind of troop with them. What were those, hammers? Though these turtles seemed like an organized military force, their weapons were... rather barbaric still. She had no time to think of this, though, as she immediately spun her spear and threw one at one of the frontline unarmed turtles to try and disperse their ranks. 

Another fight... right when she was finally making some headway into this group. Right when a literal god came to give her such a scientific muse! What a chore, what a chore!

[Captain Pigtails]

Eleanor - 

Eleanor was a little unhappy with the coming events. Whatever daemon had made it's entrance swiftly departed, and she looked back at her civilian companion. "It's alright, he's gone.. you could see him?" she sighed for a bit and offered a hand to try to pick her up off the floor. She was really annoyed that she could only stand in watch that happen. She hated watching someone brought to their knees in fear like that. "I know he was alarming, but I think he was just a daemon.."

The sound of airships quickly put her gears moving and without warning she would more firmly insist Luzia come along with her, attempting to grab her hand. "It's too dangerous here. There has to be a safer placer to find out where we are. " She would charge forward once she made sure she had Luzia in two, her guiding hands in particular attempting to nudge Mika closer to Sunny again. Best to keep the kids together rather than letting one of them run off. "Stay here with your friend, sweetie." she said to Mika, her tone maternal for a moment, assuming they were friends with how they were acting. 

She was really worried about Luzia and the kids. She couldn't keep them here any longer. She looked towards the entire group. 

"I don't really know what's happening, but we can't stay here any longer. We have to leave." There was no room for discussion on her tone, which she tried to elevate to carry over throughout the loud proceedings. No room for argument. "I know I don't have any authority here, but I can't abide just watching people get hurt." she would sigh a bit. Her eyes skimming for the best way to leave this hilltop, only allowing a few more moments for people to collect themselves before making any kind of decision, choosing if no one stops her to start leading a party from the opposite direction the airships came.

"I'm Eleanor, by the way." She said, mostly to try to help distract the three civilians from the sounds of battle. She wasn't aware of the possible conflict she might have with Sword trying to scoop up the kids, but her assumption was that he was a malak? A strange one.. 

[Teki]

Relief ebbed at the edges of her body as this ‘Hades’ being addressed her and appreciated her attempt at worship, even smiling at his comment about being spoiled, though that smile was from continued fear and nervousness. Despite apparently being favored by the god, she did not relax until he disappeared, her relief filling her completely and making her go limp, a part of her wanting to pass out.

Armored turtles – ones that she previously thought were Knights of the Sun – short, round people that looked a lot more like knights, Powereds like her, and Powereds not like her... she really didn’t understand what was going on. Mushroom Kingdom? Koopas? Bowser? She wasn’t smart, she knew that... she didn’t know what these words meant! She was so confused; she wasn’t really absorbing any of this info... everything was so chaotic, she couldn’t really do anything, and she hated it! She needed a break, she needed to calm down... she needed... oh, she knew what she needed... she needed a few moments with somebody... alone....

A gentle sigh slipped out of her as she finally allowed herself to sit up, her thoughts briefly simmering on Hades’ warning. When she did, she blinked softly as she saw a hand, looking up to see the redheaded girl. Luzia stared, a little surprised to see her looking down at her, and blushing softly as the girl gave her a smile that... at least a little bit, reassured her. Her voice was small as she replied, “He filled up the sky... of course I could see him! Who wouldn’t?”

Then the girl grabbed her hand and tugged her along. Though she nodded softly in agreement, she didn’t make too much of an effort to resist or follow her. Luzia was practically in shock, staring at the girl’s hand as it held hers. Her hand was so very soft... and it was strong, too, squeezing her hand so tightly... so this was felt it felt like to hold hands...?

She was distracted from her hand as they approached the fox Powered, glaring at him softly as she was reminded of his existence, although this time, her glare was more childish than malicious. Her attention was brought back to Eleanor as she addressed them, nodding with affirmation. “That’s what I said earlier!”

Then the shots fired, hitting some star above them, making her flinch as the cannonballs impacted semi-closed to them, covering her head in a mild panic. Auuuuuugh, if only she was a better fighter! She could stay calmer then! She could stop those stupid turtle things...

Get their precious blood.

The brief thought of attacking them brought an odd grin to her face, cradling her bright red orb in her hands as she briefly imagined herself attack them like an actual fighter, diving between attacks, slashing their necks... giving her even more of that beautiful red liquid... but, safety was good. Just as good. Least then she could figure out what the hell was going on. Luzia blinked in surprise when the girl introduced herself. “Uh... L-Luzia....”

She wasn’t sure if it was the right time to be giving introductions, but Eleanor would probably know better.

[Maxi Wesker]

[ Demitri's Scenario ]

Disregarding the god's words, Demitri wanted nothing more but for his arrogant presence to just disappear already, which Hades eventually did thank the good sakes leaving with an apparent warning. However, it wasn't long before Demitri's eyes had widened as an airship had approached them. As he thought, the energy from earlier did attract the others, and the small knight, the "Star Warrior", must've realized this as well....including the "god".

[ BGM: A Noble's Aura Awakens to Battle ]

Nonetheless, Demitri showed no fear for these troops, he was ready as he could every be as he simply stood their with his arms crossed showing a devious grin. For a moment he noticed Luzia and the other children running off to safety, that was for the best anyways leaving that up to the heroine knight. Now that the children were gone...

A strange bright aura began to surround the Makai vampire's whole body as he glared at the darkness emanating from the airship. There attack on the mere star from above appeared to b a warning of some sorts, but Demitri only gave a message to Meta-Knight and Eliza, what they decided to do was up to them...Eliza had the right idea though as she started off with an attack towards the frontline troops. "A little danger every now and then is not a bad thing, as that succubus would say....its time for the grown-ups to play" Demitri expressed as he lit up flames from his right hand awaiting for their mere troops to make a move, charging up his devilish aura. This were starting to look up, from babysitting, to boring conversations, to a god's mere words of unimportance, as they say....good things come to those who wait.

~Aura Release Level 1~

---

[ Maxi's Scenario ]

Okay so the Greek god ignored the offer....whatever, but that star was clearly no wishing star. It was a big ass airship...that oddly enough looked like a boat, doesn't those belong on the sea? Anyways, Maxi got his picture for the day with Serra, who seemed to not be familiar with a camera...wherever she's from, what was more important was those the airship. They had open fired at a weak star as a warning or whatever, but the superhuman took that as somewhat of a challenge. First things first was to get Serra away as they were too close to the massive airship. Maxi would pick up Serra and dash away while carrying her to at least bring her closer to the other three, placing her behind Demitri.

"So its pretty obvious what big, bad, and bulky wants to do, what about you guys, cuz I don't think the pirates are ready to set sail without all of us on the plank hehe." Maxi said as he placed an arm on his hip staring at the dark aura from the airship/boat, while those warning shots were just...warning shots, Maxi did keep in mind that power was nothing to disregard, the hell are they hiding in there...and Wesker, where did he go?

[Zeke Sturm]

The writ of the day is simple... Be Just or Be Dead

The Mushroom Kingdom. What a name. Judging from the little man in what he now presumed wasn't a funny hat addressing the crowd, its namesake was its subjects. At least he hoped it wasn't just a kingdom full of inanimate fungus. That would be rather boring. Examining the small swordsman who'd answered his question with an acknowledging nod, he kept his attention his way as the apparent "deity" prattled on, only glancing where the deity did to determine who was who. The greek comment did, admittedly, get a smirk out of the Daecoan, though he slowly refocused his attention on Meta Knight as he was referred to. Star Warrior. Interesting title, but he couldn't make heads or tails of its true meaning at the moment, so he had to brush it aside.

Ah, but the promise of an enemy approaching. Now that truly grabbed Zeke's attention, dragging it to Hades for a split second before he dissolved back into the cloud layer.

"Well, good to know the tourism board here is prompt on entertainment delivery."

Looking back down to Meta Knight, he offered a quiet, "Thanks," before he turned his attention as both Toad and the haggard looking woman yelled, a shriek of metal keening on wood sounding from his scabbard as his blade was drawn. Holding it with the blade down, and protruding from the base of his hand instead of any vaguely proper grip, he turned his attention skywards just in time for the ringing of cannon fire to echo in his ears, not bothering to mind the target as the shells soared overhead. Watching the airships approach, his slit pupils narrowed, focusing in on the figures dropping from the decks. Very, very small airships, but then again the infantry dropping from them were equally tiny. Cannons, airships that looked like tiny tall ships propelled by gods knew what as those propellers were in no way shape or form adequate...

"Gotta list this as an Anachronism Stewniverse when I get back," was his only dry commentary as he calmly stepped towards the new combatants, making a quick tally of where the other combatants in this group were and clearing their line of sight. "If any of you feel like making a getaway, now is the time." He doesn't focus on the other fighters moving forwards, at least not visually, but as he flips his blade into a more proper grip and rests it on his shoulder, he makes sure to keep level with them, not moving ahead or behind the other front-liners, and streamlining his tails behind himself, twining them into an eight-portioned spiral as they begin to move in unison to reduce his profile. "If it's not too much trouble, I could use a short list of combat strengths from each of you. Particularly if any of you have a good throwing arm." It's hard to tell how serious he's being from his tone, but his tranquil face, rather devoid of jest, seems to suggest that he is.

---

[Maelys Arkana]

Mika

Cannonballs would fly from the airship with a bang, causing Mika's tail fur to stand on end and cause him to jump in surprise, ducking down as the projectiles slammed into the massive star with a heavy thud, shattering on impact. Certainly now afraid of the large flying object, Mika would step backwards a few paces, away from the airship, until suddenly a hand pressed up to his back, gently nudging him in Sunny's direction. It was the lady with the spear, who had the pink haired girl in the ratty clothes in her other hand. This girl, Luzia, seemed to cast a glare at Mika, that he would shy away from, running back over to Sunny before turning back to Eleanor.

Eleanor would address everyone, and though he didn't understand everything she said, he understood two parts in particular. We have to leave. Mika cast another glance at the large object to see turtles jumping out of it, walking upright toward them, covered in a scary looking sort of magic. He certainly wanted to get out of here, even though he still didn't know where here was. The other thing he picked up was her name. Eleanor, it was a nice sounding name, easy for him to say. He found himself staring at Eleanor as she spoke to the group, her tone sounding almost like his Father's when he was talking to the clan. Seeing as everyone else looked like they were preparing to fight the large flying object, Mika figured it was time to get out of there, and shuffled a little closer to Eleanor while glancing back at Sunny, a pleading expression on his face. To no one in particular, he managed to stammer out his name.
"I.... I-I'm... Mika."

[Aphelionquasar]

... Admittedly, he knew very little of beorc. He had seen one summon wings, horns, contort their arms, and even form a tail... one that had wings... float. The extra tails on the newcomer was a point of idle, if innocent curiosity... he could not honestly figure out if such a physical feature, no, appendage was considered aberrant for a beorc. Nor did he particular care. It was a little more than a distraction, yet, even as he continued to watch this... strange group of theirs... he did not deafened himself towards a possible threat. As much as his attempts to disregard this... entity could be construed as blatant disrespect, he was not foolish enough to let his guard down in....Hade’s presence. There resounded an empty proclamation of purpose from the dark haired beorc, before the self-proclaimed God began in earnest to call each of them out in an almost playful if dark manner. It was a non-answer, for he knew not what it was that she had done in the past.... Perhaps there was meaning in it that he was simply unable to decipher, but it was without any significance or rather any denotation and thus did not linger on the thought any longer. It appeared that his refusal to acknowledge Hades arrival had... effectively made him the target of the entity, which only served to encourage this endeavor of his. Petulant as admittedly his actions might be, it was not entirely driven by childish spite... ignoring the attention was the only weapon that he could at the moment level at Hades. His opinion was not much improved of the entity after he threw jabbing joke about his height. Yes, it was irritating. ‘It is as you said... low hanging fruit, with this company it was far too easy.’ Not wholly unexpected, yes. It was... involuntary, as much as he was committed to depriving this creature of any satisfaction that he might have received from this little tete a tete, he felt it. He felt himself flinch. Not so above it all... now was he? It was small, nearly imperceivable as his shoulder pads drew ever so slightly closer together, barely catching himself before he betrayed himself fully. Even so, he felt it, his eyes darkening slightly with a tint of red and white as he swallowed his surprise... along with a few other lovely reactional emotions. How mortifying. He did not know how Hades had happened upon that knowledge, that he was a Star Warrior. The number of individuals who knew that fact about him numbered in the lower end of the single digits... it was not common knowledge. Coming to life anew, Galaxia softly glowed, ‘... I do not know either dear champion, but those who bear that knowledge would not have betrayed you.’ At least not intentionally, but yes... an enemy then.' There was a pause as she clarified, 'Or eNeMe.’ The distant roar in the back of his mind signaled her struggle not to simply crackle and to demand a challenge visibly. To his knowledge, no both of their knowledge, the rest of the galaxy had presumed that the Star Warriors had been wiped out which hadn’t been far from the truth. It had been an honor to be counted among their numbers, yet, to have the title tossed about so callously, carelessly when it should have been lost to time. It was... disturbing. There was an explanation, one had more or less begun to form in his mind already. This demon knew of Nightmare, which was plain from his ribbing... and if this demon could be taken seriously, then all he had intoned was that there was no relation between the two of them. He was not about to demean himself to demand how Hades had come across some knowledge, yet, that was not a choice as the towering image bide them farewell. Infuriating. Exhaling slowly, he did not realize that he had been holding his breath, let alone when he had begun to. It perhaps spoke poorly of him that he was more at ease when cannonballs were impacted a strange star like crystalline structure far above his head. No, that was inaccurate, he had felt himself tense as he heard the impact, the air burnt ever so slightly. It was rather that this was a situation that had a visible solution. ... With alerts and half-baked commands being thrown across the soon to be battlefield, perhaps he should have been a bit more forceful in regards to his own observations and concerns... though this was not the time for regrets. The lack of coordination between them had been made clear after the first volley of cannon fire, each made demands and suggestions of their own in the middle of this chaotic battle. He too added his voice to the din, yet, there was a purpose to it, “Sword, aid in the extraction.” While he was not about to idly list off his combat strengths on the verge of battle, he had heard one of the beorc attempting to organize some sort of evacuation. With possible civilians in the group, it had been one of the few bits of chit chat that had any place in the moments before engaging in combat. ‘They are... remarkably chatty before a battle, I am just as lost as you at these exclamations which do not seem to bear any pertinent information.’ Removing them from the battlefield took priority, however... to his limited knowledge Beorc were generally unable to fly as a collective species. The chances of outrunning an airship, no matter how baffling the design might be, were slim. There were two... ships... actual ships that should be used on the seas in the sky, but, they flew and notably in the face of aerodynamics. Still they were approaching rapidly and notably one of which was pulsating a purple aura, which... never was a good sign... though he was at a loss exactly what it might signify. No, the removal of non combatants took priority, however, in recognizing this, there was in truth only one course of action he could take or rather should take. The airships had to be eliminated. It was a simple solution, the execution would be a tad more difficult. Perhaps he should mention his intentions... No, there, no time it would be clear soon enough. The black haired beorc had graciously given him an opening, or as much as one as he could expect with the energy she had sent hurtling towards the already deployed ground forces. Flaring the dimensional cape, he chased after the energy spear, flapping them into wings forcing himself to move as quickly as he was able vertically. It wasn’t cover, yet, it would be the spear if anything that would be tracked by the eye. However, the ground troops were not his target. No, the spear was merely a means to disguise part of his movement as he veered up towards the airship, towards the aft of ship. His suspicions had been correct as he flew past the railing, there was a wheel with a Koopa at its helm. Very well, it was perhaps unfair, but he needed to move quickly and enveloped himself in the dimensional cloak, ebbing through physical space. Any shouts of discovery were lost upon him as he appeared near this... this captain, striking quickly at the shelled creature, four blows in total before closing what little remaining space with a jab from his armored foot. It was... a vicious maneuver and he was not proud of it, but, these Koopa had brought it upon themselves in a sense for they had escalated the conflict. Galaxia glowed brightly, alert, as he moved to follow through if the barrage wasn’t enough to render the captain unconscious for he needed to use this primitive ship. If he had moved fast enough or had caused enough of a stir, then perhaps the inevitable second cannonade would not come, and that would be a satisfactory outcome. There was a part of him that was quite wary about the ship... glowing purple... however to cower before the unknown was simply unacceptable. What was the phrase he was looking for? Right. Think it was something like, out of the pan into the fire? Seemed to sum up the whole situation rather nicely. ‘Cept it was sort of reverse now wasn’t it... fire was the bit with the sky and the taunting and the pan was those... ships. Well they looked like ships, and his head was sort of hurting, because he was pretty sure that physics didn’t work that way. He’d help built air ships, space ships too, ah engines too before, and this was here was a mockery, it shouldn’t work. Of course it was and these buggers were equipped with fully functional cannons. Funny thing really, he never had wound up on the opposite side of a cannon before despite the occupational hazards that tended to come with following the Lord around and he never thought he would. Never came across his mind. Fired one a few times, castle had been loaded with the archaic weapons, but somehow he had failed to realize how destructive the old things really were. He had a newfound appreciation for gun powder, really, he did. So he likewise wasn’t looking forward to a bombardment, which was the next logical step. Part of the reason why you built air ships and space ships, to blast things that needed to be blasted from up high preferably where you couldn’t be reached. Even more preferably, from orbit, otherwise there wasn’t too much of a point to them unless you count actually being hit other things equally as high up and or in the vacuum of space. At least someone had some sense, well sense for them, the land bound folk. It was high time to beat a retreat, though... he didn’t like the odds there. Now, he could fight on the Halberd, he just happened to lack any ability to fly... like normal folks. The Sir hardly qualified as normal, and that was a compliment mind you. With a nod, he more or less confirmed the sir’s orders, though... he should have known better huh? Yeah, no, he was too fixated on the airships in the sky. He wasn’t going to tag along, which meant that he was left... with... well he was a fighter and so was the ginger if he had to guess considering she had a weapon. Eh, the Sir could probably handle himself, not like he’d be doing much to help him anyway which was a real depressing thought. Didn’t know none about this other ratty tatty pink hair head noodle limb... though probably not much of one, was hard to fight coming from a poor background. Not a knock, he thought he could fight when he was an idiot bandit, but got shown up real quick that he didn’t really know nothing at all about fighting. Was just about as dirty then too.... Though admittedly he was sort of confused. They were supposed to be leaving, hoofing it, and they were just standing here giving out their names all sweet like. Was he just missing something here, or were these folks just not that serious about actually going about the business of leaving these here parts? Somewhere along all these little intros he tapped the ground with his blade, just... a bit gobsmacked is all. Nothing to see here. “Ought to be leavin’ not gabbin’.” He gripped the blade properly, just in case the sir was looking. He’d have his head if he saw that he had such a lax grip. Probably. Shaking his head, he couldn’t budge if these funnies didn’t. His new orders were to aid them, but he couldn’t do that if they didn’t get a move on.

1975 Meta Knight Points: 4 Dimensional Cape (2) He's being very uncooperative, but you know that is part of his personality. Poor decisions were made, but, it isn't like he's going to listen to me hahaha, no.

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Captain Pigtails]

"Are you coming um.. Mr.. Toad?" Sunny thought the name was odd, but she offered for him to come before following the others as they picked up their pace away from the hill.

Sunny couldn't help but give a sigh of relief as someone finally took charge and took them away from the hill. Although the stuff that the Toad said about saving them was still weighing heavy on her mind, she certainly didn't want to stay around and play heroics. Heroics were pretty much everyone else she knew's thing.. but was it her thing?

But when it came right down to it, although she had no idea at all where she was, she knew for a very strong fact that the Captain was not here. So there really wasn't any point of staying here anyway..

Sunny liked the group she was with for the most part. Although they all seemed scared and unsure, none of them were ready to give up.

She listened to all of them, (well except one of them) introduce themselves, with Sunny especially enjoying getting to hear the other kids name. Any other time in the whole wide world, and Sunny would be bursting with excitement to meet another kid. In some way she still was. Her extra special attention was on him, and she looked at him and smiled at him especially when she introduced herself. "I'm Sunny!" she had just said it a moment ago to the projection, but it was nice to properly introduce herself to an actual person.

Still.. that funny projection had said her name. The rest of his words were funny and confusing though. Stick in the mud?

Whatever that was..

"It's nice t-to meet you Mika.." she gushed a little, and offered her hand. It.. it felt nicer that way. When she looked away she saw Eleanor smile at them, and then glance over at Sword. "Don't worry, we're leaving!" There was a chipper tone to her voice, which Sunny did find a bit funny.. but it was nice sort of funny It made her feel like even in moments like this there was reasons to be happy, reasons to think stuff would be okay.

Just the way Eleanor wanted it to be, which she supposed the malak didn't quite understand. "Can you run, kids?" she asked, before picking up the pace a little as the sounds of coming battle. To be honest, her and Luzia wouldn't have to pick up their pace much. She certainly didn't think of the kids as a burden, but she understood that they needed to pick up the pace to not slow everyone down.

.. she breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the strangers left back on the hill, as they quickly moved away.

---

Serra was surprised to find herself quickly moved from her position next to the strange man with the.. wonderful device to..

Well she was still nearby the strange man, but in a whole place altogether different. Whatever he had done made her feel quite lightheaded for a moment...

But she quickly jerked back into reality due to the.. um.. distressing situation. To say the least.

"H-How come I seem to be the only one who.. is confused out by the fact that there are just.. ships floating. Like.. not in water!?" She said. Well, it wasn't fair to say they weren't nervous about the situation but not properly confused either. What sort of group had she fallen into this time? These thoughts distracted her just enough to notice a group of women and children start to leave... and a very big part of her really wanted to get out of here too. Despite all her talk though, Serra had never been one to abandon people in need, or stay away from the front lines when it mattered.

Plus.. the more competent vassals seemed to be staying here, and this whole place seemed riddled with strange things she just didn't understand and..

No.. they needed her. These vassals would get themselves killed without the noblewoman Serra to help them! That's why she had to stay!

Speaking to the group of reckless people about to attack flying ships, "Well, I'm Serra, a delicate cleric.. but I.. if you thank me properly I certainly don't mind staying and helping out." It was half an answer to the green haired boy's question to list her combat strengths, and half making sure that they all understand their jobs. Sure, she had light magic as well.. but she really only planned on using that if it was necessary. Her talents were best suited elsewhere.

[Maelys Arkana]

Airships

@tag

The magical spear would fly, aimed at the frontline troops. It would spear one of the koopas, staggering them back for a moment, but upon regaining its balance, with the spear still in its body, it would start running. Picking up speed, it would rush toward Eliza, preparing to slam into her as one of the hammer bros took aim at the long range threat. The hammer wielder would toss his current hammer into the other hand and draw a second, taking aim with the first and chucking it toward Eliza, waiting a moment before rearing back and tossing the second one harder, sending it along a lower trajectory with more force, toward the same target.

Meanwhile, the other two frontliners would choose their own targets and take off running toward them as a surprisingly brisk pace for turtles. One would home in on Zeke, preparing to launch itself in a full force slam against the stranger, while the other would head for Maxi, charging toward him and leaping into the air to headbutt the green-powered fighter. While his allies took to the attack, the second hammer bro took aim with his hammer, but caught onto the bat-like fighter just as it passed over the frontlines, having managed to move up by hiding in the glare of the light spear.

The hammer bro would toss his hammer at the masked warrior, but the target was moving too fast, and the projectile would fly wide of its mark. Cursing his luck as he watched the masked warrior board their scout ship, he turned his attention back to the battle at hand, preparing another hammer.

---

Atop the airship, the koopa piloting the ship, though he could not see it, was made aware of the goings on down below through the shared mind the scout squad now possesses. But even with the forewarning of the aerial assailant, the sudden ferocity with which the masked opponent attacked was too much for the pilot, throwing him to the far railing, unconscious. The ship controls would be laid bare before the masked knight, some appearing rather basic while the function of others would be questionable. The controls would not be the only thing on his mind though, as the purple energy continued to course through the deck of the ship, but this energy would merely place upon the knight a minor tingling sensation, the feeling that something was attempting to take him over, but lacked the strength to do so.

Moments later, however, this energy would vanish, no longer visible across the airship...

---

Wings still folded up on his back, the draconic demon would remain in his current position, kneeling on the lower deck, his hand placed against the deck, sending the negative energy throughout the airship. Up above he would hear the sounds of battle, the swinging of a blade and the thud of a body against wood. That was probably the pilot... Picking his hand up off the deck and rising to his feet, the negative energy would cease, returning the ship to normal, though the troop hivemind would remain. The battle had only just begun, and the heroes were already gaining the upper hand. That would not do.

A blade of energy would form in front of him as he held his hands out, but instead of grasping the handle, he would swipe through the blade, causing it to break into a number of curved shards. These shards would suddenly rush to his hands and feet, becoming metal greyish claws with streaks of green along the curves. Before he could begin his own attack, however, the airship would lurch to the side, nearly throwing him off balance. What?! Did they... no, it must be the other ship...

---

As the second airship approached the battlefield, the pilot would spot the short battle going on at the helm of the first airship. The pilot would adjust their approach, turning and slowing down to shove into the first airship, not quite ramming into it but pushing it a bit, coming into contact with it to allow the crew to board. Notably, the koopas aboard this second airship would lack the negative energy that coated the first wave. Two of the unarmed koopas would leap over the railing onto the deck of the first, charging toward the stairs to the helm as the third infantry leapt to the ground below, along with the two additional hammer bros.

---

Eliza is attacking the ground troops

Demitri is charging up

Maxi is preparing for battle(?)

Zeke is preparing for battle

Serra is preparing for battle

Meta Knight is attacking the corrupt airship

Toad is too panicked to respond to Sunny


Eleanor is gathering the younger people to flee

Luzia is fleeing with Eleanor(?)

Mika is fleeing with Eleanor

Sunny is fleeing with Eleanor

Sword is guarding Eleanor and her group


One corrupt infantry is harmed by Eliza's attack, and targets Eliza with an attack

Two corrupt infantry attack Zeke and Maxi separately

One Hammer Bro sends two hammers at Eliza

The second Hammer Bro attacks Meta Knight and misses

The second airship docks against the first, and two infantry board the first ship to fight Meta Knight

Two Hammer Bros and an infantry disembark and enter the ground battlefield

[Koi Koi]

The blaze of battle had taught Eliza to anticipate many things. In particular, she never expected to see that small masked man be able to fly. His physiology didn't seem to support flight, and yet he was able to match speed with her spear to assault the ship directly. Fascinating, and also impressive. He was just as experienced in combat as her, if he had the thought to investigate the airship itself. But would he be safe? His confidence was admirable, but there was no telling how many troops would be waiting on a ship that large. Though they likely wouldn't be prepared for a flying combatant, she couldn't predict what was going to happen on that deck.

She ded predict, however, that she would become a target for an initial assault, yes. But she had never expected this unarmed frontline fodder to... to survive that. A spear engorged into anyone's abdomen was enough to cause them to writhe in pain. High energy against the skin is sure to cause burns all along the inside. Internal bleeding, especially along the diaphragm, was guaranteed to eventually collapse the lungs and cause suffocation. Then why did this soldier press on? Was this because they were monsters? No, even if they were a more humanoid turtle would hold some similarities to standard anatomy. Then what was it? These creatures?

Upon a closer look as the soldier approached, she could see it. A frothing dark energy. She felt conflicted in calling it dark, but there was no other way to describe what she was witnessing. It was as if this aether was absorbing light to sustain itself, that's how black and sinister it looked to her. Eliza frowned, her body tensing unusually by instinct. This was wrong, she told herself, this unnatural aether shouldn't exist, should it? She wanted to study it more, see if perhaps it was related to the flux theorem, but this was not the time to be thinking about her research again. She no longer had any idea of what would be enough to defeat these beings, but attacks were oncoming fast. Of course, one would have to be an utter fool to think that Eliza was not prepared.

"These enemies are not our priority! A few of us could destroy the entire formation with time. Our target are the airships that brought the reinforcements. We need to support the knight that flew in."

She touched the aetherical seal, creating a second one perpendicular to the initial. The two seals seemed to react to each other violently, one attempting to swallow another, deconstructing itself in the process. The automantric seals that kept the whole system intact unraveled and... within the center solidified to become a large crystal, as big as Eliza herself. it remained suspended in midair, growing slightly larger as the remnants of the aetherical seals continued to conflict with each other. Eliza ducked under the crystal, clapping her hands together to gather more aether. She was unsure of how quickly those hammers would arrive, but she had enough time to summon another one of her proxies.

"Arise, child of life's flesh. Defend your creator."

The earth underneath the crystal began to glow a bright jade color as the crystal began to sink into the ground. The earth cracked slightly, causing a mass of soil and stone to condense and eventually protrude from the ground as a large arm. The soil hardened and solidified to become a grey-brown plate, spreading to create the frame and body of a large golem. The golem itself stood three times as large as Eliza, towering over the scientist. The oncoming hammers would likely deflect off of the golem as gently as toothpicks on tile floor. The golem was a simple creation and was incapable of speech, but the crystal core within it allowed it to comprehend Eliza's orders, and with a roar it began to step forward and raise a fist to slam down upon the oncoming unarmed turtle soldier. Eliza herself prepared her second spear, looking for a possible weak point to destroy these enemies. There must be a way to defeat them... 

[Maxi Wesker]

[ Demitri's Scenario ]

[ BGM: A Noble's Aura Awakens to Battle (cont.) ]

As the battled raged on, Demitri remained where he stood as his aura continued to disperse around him, charging up more power. He was slightly disappointed however, he was already missing the fun as the masked knight flew upward infiltrating the airship while the human scientist had already started before any of them. These corrupted troops had advanced with their own tactics however, putting more of a strategized effort then the previous knights from earlier....interesting, it was time. Demitri had spread his arms out as his released aura began to charge more rapidly, causing the air to pressure around him as if a gust of wind was nearby. He did overhear the scientist suggest to take the battle towards the corrupted airship, Demitri only turned his head slightly at this women and said, "You read my mind, human."

Demitri ended his build of power as the aura remained around his body, and then swiftly dashed upward before he vanished into the air. The vampire reappeared above the rather less noisy skies and slowly started to fly down as he noticed that the masked knight had already seized the corrupted ship...an easy task, but somehow too easy. The dark energy surrounding the ship had then disappeared...who or whatever controlled that darkness must've realized their ship has been taken. That's it, there had to be a greater threat within that ship, but the thought lasted for a couple seconds until the vampire noticed a second airship had docked next to the first with two unarmed...creatures jumping aboard. Demitri descended quickly on top of the first ship's helm as he stood behind the knight. "That was rather reckless of you, but I'm quite impressed" Demitri said as he noticed the two creatures approach the ship's exterior. He'd only show a smile as usual..."Let's play."

~Aura Release Level 2~

---

[ Maxi's Scenario ]

Everything was going on so fast, but okay great that means its time for some action, but first...Serra. Maxi had turned his right arm into green liquidation as he created a large green bubble in front of her as protection from any that approached her. Obvious that there was a chance an enemy could approach from any direction he suggested, "Serra right? if anyone gets close just hit that bubble towards them...just don't miss cuz...." and before Maxi could finish his sentence, one of the corrupted creatures had leaped above the superhuman attempting to head-butt the guy. "OH REALLY?!" Maxi said before he moved his head back and collided his head with the creature's, head-butt as well. With his superhuman strength it would cause minimal damage to himself, but if the creature was knocked back, Maxi would pull out his custom made shotgun Cerberus and blast the creature away with one shot. Rubbing his head from the headbutt, Maxi turned to Serra and continued, "Just don't miss cuz I may not always be around to protect you."

Maxi walked ahead into the battle, still rubbing his head a little as he saw reinforcements enter the fray...joy. Maxi had created two orbs of lightning from both hands and would cast it towards the reinforcement squad, specifically the hammer wielders. With its homing capabilities the orb would target the hammerheads and if they were hit, they'll become electrocuted.

[Kismet]

"Oh now this just won't do" said the voice from everywhere and nowhere.

There was no swirling maelstrom of cloud and spectral light this time, but everyone who heard the voice of Hades felt his presence. And everyone heard his voice.

"Just what sort of a loving, benevolent deity would I be if I just stood by and watched this senseless violence?" Hades asked innocently. Only his voice was present, but it conveyed information far beyond what voice alone ought to. All who heard intuitively knew that Hades' hand was placed over his heart, his eyes upturned, his lips pouted ever so innocently.

"Yes, I'd hate to see such promising specimens damaged. Oh, that would be ever so tragic." Hades smile widened and turned not-so-sweet. "You heard the lady, minions! Protect the squares."

As they did with Hades' posture, all instantly understood that the "lady" was Eliza. And as for who "minions" referred to, that required no intuition at all. Because they were suddenly there.

Monoeyes and Miks began wafting down out of the clouds, slowly descending towards the airship decks while Skuttlers seemed to spring from the very earth. The monsters were not particularly concentrated to any one area and seemed to only lazily converge towards the airships, but there were a lot of them. And among the Skuttlers, a disquietingly large number of them carried cannons. Ten of them, forming a wide, porous perimeter around the battlefield, raised their weapons skyward.

"Oh professor! Professor Priiiickly Pear!" Hades called in a sing-song voice, addressing Eliza as the enemy hammers ricocheted harmlessly off her golem. "You seem like the brains of this operation. Why don't we make a deal?"

~Eliza: Underworld Commander~

"You asked why I'm here, hmm? Easy. I want to see what you've got. These minions are yours. Free of cost. No strings whatsoever!" In a void that was both infinitely far away and intimately close, Hades smiled darkly. "So here's my proposition: You do exactly as you please, and I'll enjoy the show."

• The full details on Hades' monsters and Underworld Commander abilities can be found in Hades' Application.
• Only ten monsters at a time may threaten any character or group of characters. Eliza's order to target the airships has been taken as a STRATEGIC ORDER for all monsters present. The only Player Character currently threatened by them is Oblivion.
• Battles or interactions with field monsters may be written by anyone. So long as they are kept "in-character," anyone may control, autohit, or kill them in their posts.
• Eliza may select five monsters to act as her PERSONAL GUARD. Only Mimic can write out their actions and attacks, but they can still be autohit and killed by anyone.
• Eliza may select one monster in her Personal Guard to act as her FLAG BEARER. This monster can be controlled and written by Mimic only. It cannot be autohit or killed without permission.
  

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