Colonnade [STORM]

[Rocket!]

It's almost too much to take in.

The remains of a red carpet were thrown about the corridor in impossible patterns, burned scraps of red visible scattered like Autumn leaves across the white marble shaded by the nightmare sky filtering in through the left wall-- composed entirely of pillars, and with plenty of room between, the red sky outside cast a ghoulish pallor across the room.

The twenty-something Anomaly weren't helping either.

Pioneer Anomaly were in the air and slamming into the walls and pillars in no particularly organized or focused manner. A group of them were knocking less than politely on the Library door at the far end of the Colonnade.

Most terrifying though was the return of the mystery Anomaly from Radiant Garden-- the one who could move through walls. Where before they'd been a rare sight, here they seemed at home.

There had to be at least seven of them.

Some of them were huddled in defense seemingly at the sight of the newcomers, while others were swinging their club-like arms in full force at the titanic door and firing off a variety of spells.

They seemed... at an impasse.

Get your thinking caps on, Courtyard crew-- this one's gonna take some multitasking if you're gonna minimize the damage here. Priority one looks like the Library door right now-- it's wood can be heard even way down here, cracking. Priority two seems the titanic door, already protected by some kind of spell.

Luckily enough, it looks like there's someone already here.

[ Cue His Majesty!

Also, to cut down on the intimidating HP Bars, I'll be limiting what bars show up here for the relevant ones-- the ones shown here are the ones you'll need to beat to get past, or just get past. If you hit a different enemy, it's HP Bar will be brought up here.

Just to keep track though, we'll keep count of total Anomaly here.

This one's gonna be a challenge. But there's three or four of you guys here, so with a little teamwork...

Good luck! ^^ ]

ANOMALY REMAINING

Pioneer Anomaly : 14
Unknown Anomaly : 7

Pioneer Anomaly : Ramming Throne Room Door

[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]


Unknown Anomaly : Defending against you in row

[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]

[White]

Jillian found the source of all the noise in no time. The problem was the source itself. There were so many that she could hardly believe it. Instead of one of the creepy things that could move through walls, there were seven. Seven! She whimpered fearfully. Taking on one wasn’t too hard. Two or three would have been done away with after a while, but seven? That was just too much. And there were still more Pioneer anomaly to deal with too.

She wasn’t sure where to start. Magic attacks against the Pioneers, and focus physically on the larger ones? Her staff was extended to its full length of seven feet. She was going to keep from getting too close. The last thing she wanted was for one of the beasts to get a hold of her. Her staff was swung from the left, to hit the first mystery Anomaly in the side, then she swiftly raised it again and slammed it down over the same enemy. Following the attack, she jumped backwards in attempt to avoid backlash.

[Blunt weapon student+Ice Aura]

[hp=38/38]

[mrcrazycakes]

[hp=36/36]


Cloud had followed Jillian, but even if she hadn't been there, the loud crashing from this hallway was plenty of clue as to where to go. He waited a moment as the girl attacked one of the Anomaly, and when she jumped back, Cloud charged forward, swinging the Buster Sword in a wide arc before transferring the momentum from the attack into a downward slash, aiming the two strikes at the monster Jillian had attacked and the monster beside it.

"This doesn't look good..." He commented, taking a defensive stance and preparing for the retaliation.

[Recap; Attack x Attack x Guard.
Blunt Weapon Student + Bladed Weapon Student]

[Blazed Soul]

Rip ran past the courtyard, noting the signs of the battle that had taken place there. Moving into the hallway, he noted that he had two allies in his fight, a blond-haired man with a giant sword, and a younger woman fighting with a staff. Looking over the enemies that were facing him, along with the ones attempting to break into the room ahead, he made his decision.

Drawing the Dragon's Tooth, he jumped past the blond with a downward slash hitting the one both the blond and the young woman had attacked, before kicking off it to jump back and try to avoid a retaliatory blow.

Glancing over at the blond, he said, "We should be alright, if we back each other up. Judging by the number of enemies, and the intensity of the attack, we should also be able to charge at least 1000 munny, if not more for this. Split three ways, that is an acceptable take for this."

[Used: Attack (sword), Attack (Kick), Bladed and Unarmed Trainee]

[hp=18/18]

[Cap'n Ryu!]

[hp=40/40]

It was as though he was living in some kind of nightmare, really - and if it weren't for the fact that all the close calls he had been through with the various Anomaly he had passed in his valiant quest towards the Throne Room, he very well would have believed it to be. A simple nightmare, as a result of far too much time spent worrying about his friends and trying to protect a kingdom that really hadn't needed much protecting, until now. Carpets had been scorched and ruined, pillars and beams had been toppled and crushed, and there were several holes in the ceiling that he knew would require extensive work to repair. For whatever reason, these strange creatures, unfamiliar to not only him, but to the fellow residents of his world, wanted to tear their home apart as best as they could. And they were certainly doing a good job.

But it wasn't so much the fact that his home was being assaulted that worried the young anthropomorphic king - no, what worried him was the simple fact that he was scared. He, King Mickey, the figure known for being paranoid at times, yet still fearless in the face of adversity, was scared.

And he could only hope that they would be able to drive these foreign forces away.

Running as fast as his legs would carry him down the hallway, away from the area he had secured Daisy and Minnie in (the former at Donald's request and the latter for obvious reasons) and towards the one sound that worried him most out of all of them thus far - the sound of the roof, he presumed, literally collapsing.

If not for the severity of the situation, he felt as though he very well might have cried 'the sky is falling', or something to that effect.

And soon enough, his diminutive size and accompanying speed had carried him to the source of the noises - the Colonnade, and the combatants scattered throughout the area. He spotted Belladonna the Tigress, who he recalled seeing around the Castle quite a bit, and whom he wasn't at all surprised to see being so involved in a fight as drastic as this. The others, however, were all unfamiliar - none of the tall, fleshy beings looked familiar, and neither did the creatures, for obvious reasons.

Though he certainly wasn't complaining about the strangers, presuming that they were there to aid in the Castle's defense against these strange beings. Without further ado, he dashed towards the line of creatures standing before the group, striking once at the unprotected backs of two of them before launching himself over their heads and firing off a sphere of light towards the first of the two he had attacked, landing on the other side and skidding to a halt alongside his allies.

"Belladonna, I need you to go team up with Goofy and help protect the roofs, okay? And if ya don't mind, keeping an eye on them might help to - we all know how tough you are." He chuckled warmly, quite unfitting considering the situation of course, before watching as the tigress obediently made her way towards the stairs, to do as he asked.

He turned his attention to the remaining group then, still braced against the inevitable attack of these creatures. "Thanks for the help, guys. The fight's not over, but just knowing that we have help can make a big difference." And that it did. Sure, their chances of winning this battle were slim to none, but having allies certainly made those chances at least slightly better.

... Right?

[Recap: Struck at two of the Unknown Anomaly, used Jump Boost to leap over them, and used Pearl on the first of the two on his way towards the ground. The strikes are enhanced by Bladed Weapon Student, obviously.]

[Rhea]

When Myra arrived in this strange world, she was filled with an unnatural excitement. To think, a whole other world, reached so easily by passing through a portal. It was hard to believe, and yet, she knew this was not a daydream. She found herself in a courtyard of sorts, beautiful despite the signs of destruction. The Anomaly, huh? It hadn't been long before that they'd attacked her own home, and yet, she'd done nothing but cower. She knew Jill would be here this time, and Jill was her new best friend. There was no way she could refuse to help!

The young woman's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of crashing, banging, and other ruination. This was no time to be daydreaming, she decided, and in a moment of sanity set off with a purpose.

It wasn't difficult at all to follow the noise to a room inside the castle. Parts of the roof had fallen in, and creatures were attacking everywhere. These were, indeed, the Anomaly. Myra found herself shuddering – but again, there was no time. There were a few fellow humans fighting the strange creatures, along with a...mouse. Myra was once again amazed. This was probably going to be the most memorable event of her life.

“Jillian!” she called when she saw her friend. Her first order of business was to try to figure out what exactly they were dealing with – she cast Scan on the Unknown Anomaly. Then, instinct took over. Fighting instinct.

Myra's daggers were already in her hands. She ran forward and attacked one of the unknowns near Jillian, a slash from each dagger. She jumped backwards and, while doing so, cast Lightning Bolt.

[hp=34/34]
Scan Lv1
Two dagger attacks
(Lightning Aura Lv2
Bladed Weapon Trainee)
Lightning Bolt

[/size]

[Rocket!]

[ Goodness, lookit you all! Let's do this sequentially then, eh? ]

Jillian.

The double strikes of the Ice Aura'd staff met the first of the crouching Anomaly... to little avail.

No no no no no no no no. They hit! It's suffering a good 12 damage right now, promise!

Just... it didn't move an inch.

Huh...




Cloud.

[ Er. Only one of the Advancements can affect a weapon at a time-- they don't stack on each other. ]

Cloud's on-the-ball swipes met the first Anomaly Jillian had attacked with a solid six damage, on top of the one just to its right.

...but still, neither reacted.




Rip.

A few well timed blows, and all seemed well. Four damage dealt to the first one, who now seemed a little on the edge of his--

FWOOM

WHOAWAITWHAT It's run off and--

FWOOM

--it's back?

The crouching enemy had run off-- practically teleported at the speed that thing was going-- and come back from where ever in the same second.

...

Best not to get mowed down by it in the process, huh?

Well, whatever it was up to, it's certainly back now. And just in time for the nice fellow up next!




His Majesty, King Mickey.

CRACK went the air as the diminutive mouse dealt the final blow to the first of the crouching Anomaly. As the massive sound echoed across the hallway and among the nightlit pillars to the general left of the group, the defeated Anomaly imploded as the red making up its skin dissipated into the night air, floating off to the rumbling Storm just beyond the familiar pillars.

The same blow hit the second of the unknown Anomaly, who gracefully ignored the blowed near as far as anyone could tell by sight alone. It took the 3 damage rather admirably in that regard.




Myra.

A good pair of eyes can turn the tide of battle. Myra's use of Scan would do just that.

Scan would reveal the mysterious defending Anomaly could be referred to as a Gauge Anomaly. Alright, simpl--

Wait.

The same Scan took a look at the attacking Gauge Anomaly as if they're separate. It's coming up with a different name for them-- Chiral Anomaly, or something.

That's gonna be confusing. Wonder how Myra's going to go about sharing that info, huh?

Regrettably however, Myra's attempt to cast a Lightning Bolt would flub up and miscast-- a harmless poof of smoke appeared and quickly dissipated. Maybe she should've check into that Lightning Spell Book I back in the shop after all, dang it.

[ Rhea. XD Don't remove the (S) around abilities gotten from Skill Ranks-- and thank White it was caught! ]

And then one Lightning Bolt later, and the foe was down. Another one bites the dust, huh...



The Storm.

The row of guarding Anomaly-- the Gauge Anomaly, as Myra's figured out, remained stoic in front of the gathering of foes before them.

That is to say, they didn't move a budge beyond what's already been seen. Oddly frightening.

The three Chiral Anomaly that were working at taking down the Throne Room door had different ideas though. Suddenly taking note of their company the three froze.

And then fell backwards, into the floor.

Completely out of view.

Now isn't that familiar?

And then there was the sound of wood cracking.

Down at the far end of the Colonnade, the Library door was almost burst by the series of Pioneer Anomaly bearing down on the door. Any second now, they'd be in.

Meanwhile, the other Pioneer Anomaly was busily beating away still at the gigantic door housing the Throne Room, not to mention the pillars way up where too.

Time to move.

ANOMALY REMAINING

Pioneer Anomaly : 14
Chiral Anomaly : 3
Gauge Anomaly : 2

Pioneer Anomaly : Ramming Throne Room Door
(38%)

[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]


Pioneer Anomaly : Ramming Library Door
(87%)

[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]


Chiral Anomaly : Gone...?

[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]


Gauge Anomaly : Defending against you in row

[hp=0/24]
[hp=0/24]
[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]

[ Whoops! Technicality in the court!

Turns out Scan can only do the name reveal and page churning out business one at a time. Meaning the Gauge and Chiral guys shoulda shown seperately.

No biggie, just make sure you mention scanning the Chiral one the next round to bring it up. ^^ ]

[White]

Cloud and another fellow showed up to aid her, as well as a mouse. How odd. She never pictured mice to be ample fighters. Ah well, it’s not like she was going to be picky. ”Myra!” The appearance of her best friend made Jillian feel increasingly better. ”Glad to see you decided to help out.” She said with a grin.

Her nerves were shaken when the Chiral Anomaly fell into the floor. Three of those things scattered around unseen wasn’t a very good feeling. She shook herself mentally and forced herself to concentrate on the enemies ahead. Just take things one at a time. Everyone here has each other’s back. Cloud, she knew, had seen these enemies before, so at least he knew of something to expect.

Jillian reached out and cast ice on one of the Pioneers attacking the library doors.. They could take down two of the Gauge Anomaly at a time from what she could tell, so may as well begin to finish up these guys quickly. She charged at the first of the Gauge Anomaly remaining, her actions similar to her prior attack, first hit with the staff aimed for the side, then raised for a second hit from above. What she did differently this time was that she raised her staff again to hit the second Gauge Anomaly from above as well. She took a step back and prepared herself for any sort of retaliation. The fact that none came the first time worried her.

[Blunt Weapon Student+Ice Aura
Ice+Ice Mage]

[hp=38/38]

[Rhea]

“How could I leave my best friend to fight alone? Plus, there's no way I'd miss out on adventuring to a new world!” Even as she spoke, two of the Anomaly were destroyed, disappearing into red mist. So they were part of the red storm itself. Myra actually thought that was cool – she would sure like to be part of a storm. Or control it, anyways.

The sound of cracking wood was drawn to Myra's attention. The smaller, flying Anomaly were ramming one of the doors insanely... “Uh, I think we should stop those floating creatures...before that door gets busted,” she suggested, not quite sure if she should be saying anything at all. She didn't want to be distracting but that door wasn't going to last much longer.

Myra took a few steps back from the bizarrely unresponsive Gauge Anomaly. She followed Jillian's lead, casting Thunder and Fire on the same Pioneer Anomaly. Then the mage used her Magic Missile ability, sending three orbs of magic at the Pioneers – with the cluster of them, she was sure each sphere would hit one.

For good measure, she sent a slash at the first Gauge Anomaly. Hopefully working together, they could get rid of all of these creatures before the room got too messed up.

[hp=34/34]
Thunder
Fire
Magic Missile
One dagger attack
(Lightning Aura Lv2
Bladed Weapon Trainee)

[mrcrazycakes]

"She's right; the more things we can keep them from destroying, the better," Cloud agreed with the new arrival, a friend of Jillian's apparently. He would have said something similar if she hadn't. Or he might not've said anything at all; he probably would have just done it. He cast Fire, Thunder and Ice on the first Anomaly attacking the the door, hoping to draw their attention. If that didn't work, he'd have to try something else.

[hp=36/36]

[Recap; Fire x Thunder x Ice]

[Blazed Soul]

Rip followed Cloud's lead in sending bursts of fire and lightning towards the Anomaly attacking the Library door that Cloud hadn't attacked.

After that, he lunged at the nearest Gauge Anomaly with a double slash, one horizontal, one vertical. "We need to keep the pressure on," he shouted over his shoulder, "and give them no chance to react."

[Fire and Lightning magic, two sword attacks, with bladed weapon trainee]

[hp=18/18]

[Cap'n Ryu!]

[hp=40/40]

Silently cursing himself for his lack of skill in the field of magic, the anthropomorphic mouse reached out and cast Pearl towards the Anomaly attacking the library doors, hoping to hit one of them, should any of them even still remain. With that done, he turned his attention towards the Gauge Anomaly, striking at one of the remaining two three times with his sword before once more flipping away, and out of their immediate range, all the while reminding himself that they needed to finish these things off, and fast.

[ Pearl on one of the Library-craving Anomaly and three sword swips (bladed weapon student enhanced, bwaha!) at one of the Gauge Anomaly, should either of them even still be alive. XD. Oh, and icky post. But it's up, so nyah~ ]

[prythian]

The spells suddenly flung at the Anomaly attacking the Library doors were enough to stem the amount of damage done. White's Ice, as well as Myra's spells and Magic Missiles, resulted in destroying one of the Pioneer Anomaly outright. One of the other two damaged by the Magic Missiles was struck by Cloud's three spells, also destroying it. The final three spells that were at the Anomaly at the Library Doors also struck the other hit by the Magic Missile, finishing it off.

Unfortunately, two was going to be MORE than enough to destroy the door with just a bit more time. The door was hanging on by a metaphorical thread, practically in splinters by now, and scorched by flames.

Again, the Gauge Anomaly made no attempt to dodge the blows that White laid upon them, enduring quite well despite how much damage it actually was. Myra's blow landed quite well as well, slicing deeply into the skin of the Anomaly. The final blow was dealt to it by the King, while Rip had attacked the other one. It burst into smoke, again disappearing like the others. The final Gauge Anomaly had taken damage from two sources, and still wasn't moving like norm-

CRACKABOOM

OW. Did it break the sound barrier when it shot past the fighters this time? Whatever the matter, it's back exactly in place, though no longer defending against them in a row... after all, there's one left.

And just when they when they were distracted by the sudden movement, one of the missing Chiral Anomaly came out of the wall floor behind them, and attempted to fall on top of King Mickey. It would pass through him and deal Strong damage if successful, disappearing once more into the floor.

ANOMALY REMAINING

Pioneer Anomaly : 11
Chiral Anomaly : 3
Gauge Anomaly : 1

Pioneer Anomaly : Ramming Throne Room Door
(45%)

[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]


Pioneer Anomaly : Ramming Library Door
(95%)

[hp=0/8]
[hp=0/8]
[hp=0/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]


Chiral Anomaly : Two missing, one attacking

[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]
[hp=24/24]


Gauge Anomaly : Defending against you in row

[hp=0/24]
[hp=21/24]

[White]

”Door is already nearly busted…” Jillian said, shooting an Ice Arrow at one of the two remaining Pioneer Anomaly. And giving them no time to react? What Rip said made sense, but the only way the Anomaly were reacting to them was by dissipating when they were defeated.

”AH!” Jillian cried out, covering her ears. Scratch that… That was definitely a reaction. What he hell? The loud noise scared her into taking action once again and aimed three whacks with her staff at the remaining Gauge Anomaly. She wanted to get rid of the big ones as soon as possible. They were the ones that scared her the most. There were two still missing and that didn’t sit well with her.

[Ice Arrow+Ice Mage
Blunt Weapon Student+Ice Aura]
[hp=38/38]

[Rhea]

“You're right, it's practically already broken,” Myra sighed. It was almost a lost cause, but maybe they could save the library from any damage if they got the Anomaly just in time. She cast her Magic Missiles at the smaller flying Anomaly again, and targeted one for her Ice spell. Hopefully, the assault of magic would save the library from any destruction.

A thunder-like noise exploded in the room, forcing Myra to let out a cry of pain and hold her ears. That certainly couldn't be good for her eardrums. One of the Anomaly that had disappeared earlier rose from the ground, and then flew at the mouse. As it did so Myra stared, her magic-enhanced observation scanning it. Somehow, it seemed like the Gauge Anomaly had summoned it for protection. “Only one to go,” she called, slashing at the last Gauge Anomaly.

[hp=34/34]
Magic Missile
Ice
Scan Lv1
One dagger attack
(Lightning Aura Lv2
Bladed Weapon Trainee)