The Audience Chamber [STORM]

[Rocket!]

Adjusting to the darkness inside takes a moment or two.

With no friendly light to make this massive monument of white marble hospitable, soot black darkness held the room hostage before the entering warriors.

Though nigh beyond your meager sight, no walls reach your arms as you enter the room, and light playing a light-hearted game of peek-a-boo on the blue and white pillars lining the room, reflecting off the dim light to your backs.

Below your feet is cloth. One glance reveals it to be a fine red carpet of exceptional make-- not so unlike the scarred red scraps visible outside, save the touch of a vagrant flame. It deadens your footfalls, pushing softly against your own push down.

This is... silence?

...in the face of this unknown darkness, the most your passing eyes can see is that this room was made to hold an entire city if need be-- it's that big.

And then lightning strikes.

A single blaze of unimaginably bright lightning-- cloaked by the dark air for a horribly blinding effect on your unsuspecting eyes-- shrieks from a single point far, far down the carpet below your feet.

This is not an unfamiliar power to you.

This is Light. A warm and endearing power, fanning through your own body in a moment's flash, scaring away all the nasty burns and scrapes sustained up to the point.

...you've also been knocked back a couple of feet as a result of the Light. Hunh.

Warm... and peaceful... if you're not careful, this Light might just make you forget there's a battle going on!

What is most definitely unfamiliar to you, though, is where this Light is erupting from.

Cloaked in the darkness, and with this ceiling-bound spiral of Light erupting from a single hand, the distant figure's appearance was as impressive as it was mysterious.

...what's that?

The Light-- up near the top of the spell, whatever it is-- is it hitting the ceiling?

If it is, then the ceiling's coming down. The brim of the warm spell is being forced back against, sending slight flares of the warmth from side to side, continuing the slow but methodical climb downwards.

And then you see the light reaching an end around the now indiscernible figure-- in a circle.

And... the circle tops out above where the Light is stopped.

The circle sphere is shrinking.

It's a trap.

And you can't stop it.

Run, rush, attack, sit back and laugh-- whatever you do, whatever you try, the next five seconds show your eyes the helpless little mouse in the distance frightfully realizing the nature of her predicament and fighting-- blasting out the Light, as much as she can--

And as the sphere closes close around her, her fighting light still burns fierce through the transparent encasement surrounding her. She hasn't thrown in the towel. Not yet.

Alright heroes, you're up to bat! The Anomaly wanted to get into this room really badly, so you can bet they're still around.

Exercise caution. But get down to the throne, where the prisoner's still tangoing with a strange and unfamiliar Anomaly, and be ready to fight to save this person so much stronger than yourselves!

[Spring [Complex]]

[hp=74/74]
"Within the deepest dispair, within the midst of all my anger, there was a single spark of light..."

Kairi ran bolted into the Audience Chamber room as quickly as she could (whilst still attempting to avoid the tracks of the crazy fire Anomaly from her prior engagement. So when she ran into what was essentially darkness, she was bombarded with a mix of emotions. Frustration, which only furthered her anger, confusion which also furthered her anger, as well as despair. Despite this she kept on running with Majesty in-tow. She noticed the briefest of lights, playing games with her as her eyes darted to each direction it illuminated.

There was a familiar cloth below her feet, it was just like the carpert from prior except a bit more...intact. The silence of the room only fueled Kairi's paranoia, especially given there was a scream heard not all that long ago. She couldn't help but reflect upon her previous tango with chaos. Recalling that she was too eager to dish out damage, losing sight of something very important: her life. The best offense was a good defense, to think she'd forgotten the dodging practice she had with Yuffie. Deep down, she almost felt useless without her best friend. However, that thought was quickly pushed to the back as she couldn't let anymore people die, not on her watch.

Of course no sooner was there a blaze of light, Kairi had to close her eyes to block out some of it. Her own progress was stopped as she was pushed back but the warm light that she received. Those burns and scars she received earlier, gone just like that. She was actually in the process of forgeting there was even a battle to be had, the light was just so comforting, soothing away all that anger and despair. Not only that, her own heart began to resonate with this source of light. It allowed her to open her eyes, catching the light show that was occuring just ahead. There was an unfamiliar figure ahead, a very mysterious figure, not all unlike the mouse she'd saw previously.

Hmm why was light attacking the ceiling? Then her mind flashed back to the dreaded Anomaly. Yes, the Chiral Anomaly were on the ceiling previously, no doubt they were on the ceiling again. This caused an ember to be ignited in her heart. Not out of anger but out of commitment, she'd rid this world of the chaos yet! Thus she was back in a sprint and nothing was stopping her charge---

Well her eyes certainly caught a...disheartening sight. A helpless mouse was in the distance, defending against the chaos with her light. That desire, the commitment just burned even stronger now but so too did the paranoia of lurking Anomaly. Thankfully now that she was closer to the source of the warm light, her Hearts Resonance would trigger. Thus she'd be alerted as to exactly how "well" (HP) of the mysterious comrade whom needed her assistance. However considering just how far she felt, she knew she needed to break the gap, otherwise the trap would just get worse and worse.

Setting her sights on this newfound potential ally, she initiated a Rush; her form accelerating rapidly as she flies towards the mysterious figure. That redhead was moving so fast, it would be a wonder if old Cloud could catch up. Either way she'd be within five feet of the mysterious figure soon.

[Raphus Cucullatus]

OoC: Sorry it took a bit long, I was busy! ^^;;;

Ic:

Kyril stepped into a room that was pitch black and silent. He furrowed his brow, holding onto his sword with both hands. So this monster would like to play a game of hide and seek. I'd love to play, he thought, a smirk pulling on his lips.

The smirk quickly died when a blinding light hit his eyes that were adjusted to the dark. He gasped, putting an arm up to block it out. But instead of feeling nasty like it usually did to him, it felt warm. He wasn't sure how to react as he watched his wounds disappear and his back repaired itself from the bodyslam he took. What is this? It feels delightful.

And then his eyes caught sight of the girl dashing again, and he was blasted out of his cocoon of delight. He followed her gaze to a mouse, fighting off against what appeared to be a monster, but Kyril wasn't certain what. So bolting in the same direction as the girl, he soon caught up with her and passed her.

Within twenty feet of the strange Anamoly, he dropped his sword and took his bow. He casted the spell of Scan to determine what kind of a creature it was, before he shot, so that he would be better prepared to determine its weakness. Hopefully it would work.

And after he finished the spell, he Aimed so that his shot would be more accurate. Surely they would trust him after he rescued the mouse.

If the helpless creature is rescuable. Wouldn't that be a shame, heehee.

Recap: [Aim, and Scan.]

[mrcrazycakes]

[Don't forget to sticky the plot threads Rocket[/nag]]

Cloud was lagging behind. His injuries so far were starting to catch up with the lull in battle, even if it was only for a moment. In his current state, he couldn't keep up with Kairi or... whoever the other arrival was. Pulling a late show like that... well, it was better than charging in with only himself and his 'student', if he could call her that. Something about stepping into the light gave him back some of his energy, and he certainly wasn't complaining. He had to make sure they all got out of this alive; he just had to, especially Kairi. He couldn't help but blame himself for her showing up here today, just in time to get a firsthand look at the terrible events of war.

"Kairi, don't get too far ahead! We have a better chance of staying alive if we stay in a group!"

[Secret Agent Cat]

"As I enter the darkness...there is a strange feeling within as I begin to see the light.."

Before stepping into the darkness of the next room that the Anomaly had barged through the wall to get into, the Light Mage paused for a moment. It wasn't often that the flower girl walked into the darkness, yet she didn't seem at all afraid of it. It was as if she understood it. A smile lit her face for a brief second as she ran into the darkness, not sure what lie ahead. For a second all she saw was darkness, but soon Light lit up the room and danced around the walls and through the chamber that the flower girl had stepped into. She raised her arm in front of her, staff in hand to somehow block the bright light. As she stood there, she felt a strange but familiar feeling. Much like the magic she used, yet it was different. Perhaps more powerful than her own.

This magic, this light was different. It felt warm and peaceful, perhaps this was what her own magic felt like to others but on a smaller degree. She was pushed back some by the light, but ..felt herself rejuvenated. Weird, odd. Perhaps it was like her healing magic, but stronger? As her eyes adjusted, she began to see the source of the light. Where the ceiling may be falling down..and where a helpless figure fights. A strange figure with rounded ears, much like a mouse. Yet, through the light she sees no Anomaly. Where are they? As she turns her head to the side she sees a familiar flash of red hair. K-airi!?.. followed by a unfamiliar figure. But, further behind them.. Cloud!?

That was when she heard the familiar call of Cloud's voice, yelling to the figure that the flower girl had recognized as Kairi, and it seemed so. But, she had no time to reunite with her friends. There was someone endanger and the Anomaly were in here somewhere..

Aerith's first instinct was to go and protect the person in danger. The others seemed to be going in her general direction, she was closest to the person and ran towards where she was fighting. Once she was within 10 feet she cast a barrier type magic around the person fighting.

[Recap: Cast Barrier at the rounded ear-individual ( ;] )

[Rocket!]

Kyril would never make that shot.

His Scan would reveal to him that this Magnetic Anomaly's weakness was its strength:

The Anomaly itself was weak as could be, boasting a laughable single health point.

It had a sheild, however, that it wore here and now as a cloak-- trapping itself and the mysterious Light-filled individual inside.

You want to beat the Magnetic Anomaly?

Get inside the shield.

You can't.

Kyril would likely not make the shot.

But why simply trap this person? That didn't make much sense. Not yet, anyway.

Kairi tripped.

The girl went sprawling as her knees met some unseeable obstacle in the midnight light, only hindered by the vain Light fluttering from the dome not so far ahead. There was a brief moment where, dragging a half second on the carpet, the girl would likely recognize the carpetburn she would be enduring the following day.

B-crack.

Kyril, Cloud, and Aerith would watch as the sillouhette of a titanically tall Bouguer Anomaly lurched itself skyward, either shoulder at any one time below the other as a delicate balance was undertaken. It was shaken, not stirred, by the previous blast of Light-- down, but not out.

It wasn't alone.

It started raining Pioneer Anomaly.

Pioneer Anomaly-- more than the eye could count-- swooped down from out of view, slamming sidelong into the marble floor as they veered hard upwards from what seemed a most terrible fall, trying to stay airborn and on track. A few tumbled, a few sent firey cracks through the marble, and one ran into Cloud's leg in a failed attempt to avoid a crash landing.

Cloud tripped backwards.

But you knew that.

And every last Pioneer Anomaly was veering for the Magnetic Anomaly.

...why? What's one person? Sure, she's a little close to the big chair in the back of the chamber, but that hardly seems fair treatment with all the other cannon fodder lying around. The Magnetic Anomaly seemed to have everything under control anyway-- even Aerith's valiant attempt at a Barrier spell had hit the dome, only to wilter and dispell as it found itself unable to pass the barrier.

Something's not WOAH WHO TURNED OFF THE LIGHTS?!

Darkness. DARKNESS! The Light spell's stopped!

"What in the world...? I can't-- AAH!"

A feminine scream of pain erupted from the caster. It might very well sound familiar.

Everything's moving fast.

Too many variables, too much going on, and now you can't see what is this.

It's... out of control. A chaotic environment like this, is there any hope?

...maybe.

The Magnetic Anomaly's M.O. is trapping, not attacking.

It's... calling all the Anomaly here.

Without a doubt, if there's any morals to your name, some part of you feels, here and now...

You need to protect her.

Save her.

And tell her to turn the freaking light back on.

The Magnetic Anomaly is holding
our mystery NPC as bait for the
other Anomaly! It's going to wait
until there's enough Anomaly nearby
so that it can drop the shield and let
the overwhelming numbers defeat her!

Get in there, and prevent too many
of the Anomaly from getting close to
the Magnetic Anomaly!

[ I may or may not have forgotten the old rule
about posting once every two days. But I have
(re)remembered! Expect pace! ]

Unknown Anomaly present!
Unable to determine number or HP until darkness lifts!

[mrcrazycakes]

[...Since when does getting hit in the LEG while running constitute falling backwards?]

Cloud tripped over the weird little monster hurtling at him. Then whatever light was in the massive room was extinguished. Apparently, the Storm was blocking out a lot of sunlight to prevent any light from entering through the wide open door. He couldn't see a thing. He simply took a defensive stance after getting back to his feet, waiting for something to happen.

But he was quickly forced back down. His injuries had been partly healed, but the impact had been left. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. More a liability than a help in this situation, so far as he was concerned... If this wasn't wrapped up quickly, he'd have to make a retreat; trying to keep going would endanger his friends as well as himself.

[Raphus Cucullatus]

Kyril didn't even see the girl trip. He was too amused by the ridiculous weakness of the Anomaly. Too baffled by how strong that shield looked. He took the arrow off the crossbow and put it back. It was too risky to send that thing flying.

And then the gigantic Bougar Anomaly made its appearance. He picked up his sword, bracing himself for whatever it might send at him. And then his eyes locked on the overwhelming amount of Pioneer Anomaly. Surely this has to be a joke. This attack... it's brilliant.

He admired the numbers of the Anomaly. And then the lights went out. A female scream.

He bared his teeth angrily. How dare they, biting the hand that feeds them!

Spurred on by his rage, he didn't care if it was dark, he was a mere twenty feet from the enemy before the lights went out. If he could remember the position of the mouse, he could easily hit any Pioneer Anomaly that drew close. And so, he dashed in the supposed direction of the Magnetic Anomaly with Basic Parkour, dodging the Pioneer Anomaly nimbly and shoving his sword into any that drew close. [Attack x 2]

And so he stopped after about ten running paces, and simply swung his sword around like a madman, hoping he would land a hit. [Attack x 2]

[Recap: Basic Parkour, Attack x 4]

[Secret Agent Cat]

"Light the darkness that has befallen us...
Guide my light to protect those in harms way.."

Head turned from left to right as a silhoette of something titanic tall loomed through the room with the faint light that the blasts of light offered. Then some of the same Anomaly that Aerith and the others had faced before started to come down, practically raining down upon the group. And then..Aerith's spell dispersed, but it had been worth a try.

Suddenly, all of a sudden the lights went out..And Aerith became afraid that something had happened to the figure at the end of the hallway who had been firing off the blasts of light. The young flower mage decided to blast off some of her own magic. Prior there had been Anomaly and it was hard to see if they were going to attack her or anyone else in the room, which they probably were going. A scream echoed through the chamber and Aerith felt a ping of pain, that the figure was in even greater danger. Aerith decided to take matters into her own hands, with lighting the room. Were there even really any lights in her to begin with?..

She cast an average burst of light, to nowhere in particular. It was aimed towards the ceiling and hopefully it would stay around awhile. Go up towards the ceiling then slowly start to fall back down, giving enough time to see exactly what was happening. This spell was not directed towards harming the Anomaly, without light she was afraid she might hit Cloud or Kairi, or whoever was in this room with her spell. That was one reason she cast it towards the ceiling. She then put her rod in front of her, in a defensive position awaiting any attack she might receive in this darkness... hopefully lit up some by her magic.

[hp=74/74]
[Recap: Light Burst Lv2 cast towards the ceiling.]

[/right]

[Spring [Complex]]

"The Light's being blocked out..."
[hp=74/74]

Perhaps this was the result of rushing into things. Kairi met with some force, akin to a barrier in her attempts to rush at the unknown ally. This told the Princess of Heart that whatever was barracading her ally, it was an ability to be reckoned with (no doubt average/strong). The second observation through experience was that the source of the barrier was an Anomaly, it didn't seem particularly strong but that barrier it produced...it was like a shield, protecting er trapping the light wielder within. Despite her tumble, she noticed a spell bounce off the barrier and despite her attempts to connect with the mysterious figure, her heart could not reach.

"This is a completely different breed of Anomaly---"

All thoughts interupted as the light began to fade and Anomaly rushed into the chamber. She didn't quite see the Bouger Anomaly, but she definitely saw the Pioneer Anomaly coming down. She wasn't afraid of the small fry, but she definitely wanted to know how she could stop the Anomaly whom trapped the light user. Unfortunately the only thing she'd be able to do was ponder, assuming she made it through the sheer darkness that befell them. She could at least feel out the hearts of those whom came in. Everyone seemed to be in decent shape, considering the last battle, though there was one more person than usual. She didn't have time to turn around and see whom that was unfortunately.

However, should that powerful burst of light come through she'd utilize that time to see what she could, taking Aim, along with materializing Radiant Rose within her left hand. It'd then be infused with Shock Infusion, whilst Majesty was infused with Light Infusion. Depending on the distance she was at from the strange Magnetic Anomaly when she tripped (Rush was supposed to put her within five feet of the mysterious ally), she'd be able to determine where she felt that unknown force collide with her knees and Jump into the air with an added boost in order to cut down Anomaly present with either Majesty or Radiant Rose (both are enhanced with infusions and utilizing the prowress of a Bladed Weapon Student). Assuming there wasn't the chance to take any aim due to terrible lighting, then there'd be an attempt to strike with both weapons (keeping with the 4 action limit)

[Rocket!]

[ DSA, are you gunning for the Bouger or the Pioneers? ]

[Spring [Complex]]

OOC: In case it was missed in Cbox, Pioneers. Don't let me hold you up though heh.

[Rocket!]

[ Sorry for the wait all! ]

Flying red blurs flitted in and out of view as the dim light of Aerith's Light Burst flew towards the unseen cieling, swarming the limited view of those closest to the dim red sphere encasing our damsel in distress.

Cloud, hugging the entrance as he was, would be more witness to than part of the events to follow.

Kyril's fast blade and faster thinking would reward his efforts-- his first two strikes of the sword met their mark, scratching the hard surface of two passing Pioneer Anomaly. They dwindled for a moment, but weren't in any way stopped short by the man's strikes. His third strike, random as it was, met naught but air as it flew-- but his fourth was a lucky reward indeed, landing a solid hit on a Pioneer's arm, sending it awkwardly to the floor for but a moment as it tried to resume a favorable flying position.

Kairi would be able to approximate that she was about 7 or so feet from where ever she'd tripped, given the tumble. This'd mean there's about 30 feet of carpet between her and the mysterious figure. Kairi's fine eye would turn towards the dimly lit room, for the nearest Pioneer-- making a solid strike with one of her weapons for 4 damage.

A crack sounded in front of the group.

A Pioneer had slammed into the Magnetic Anomaly.

With more behind it! If the team doesn't take down those Pioneers near what's her name down below seven or so, the Magnetic Anomaly'll no doubt have to drop its shield!

Notably, the light from Aerith's spell was reflecting off of the Magnetic Anomaly's shield, making it difficult to peer inside...

ANOMALY CURRENTLY SURROUNDING MINNIE WHAT'S-HER-NAME
4

(AT MAGNETIC)
Pioneer Anomaly
[hp=4/8]

(AT MAGNETIC)
Pioneer Anomaly
[hp=6/8]

(AT MAGNETIC)
Pioneer Anomaly
[hp=6/8]

(AT MAGNETIC)
Pioneer Anomaly
[hp=8/8]

Pioneer Anomaly
[hp=6/8]

Pioneer Anomaly x10
[hp=8/8]

Bouguer Anomaly
[hp=11/32]

[/i][/right]

[Raphus Cucullatus]

Kyril felt his sword hit something three times, and the last time as the lights passed his eyes he saw a Pioneer Anomaly go down. His rage still boiling deep in his chest, he rushed over before it could get up and stabbed his sword into it, and ripped it out the side. That should finish it off.

And then he continued swinging his sword, moving forward in an attempt to get closer to the Magnetic Anomaly, without being so close that it could strike him. But Aerith's lights were blinding, and he had no idea how far he could go. Oh well. Better to be closer than further.

Cursed light, put it out, blasted woman!

[Recap: Attack x4]

[Spring [Complex]]

"The Light's being blocked out..."
[hp=74/74]

OOC: 5 damage Rocket, 5 not 4. Also since Kairi's only hit one Pioneer I'm assuming Aim was given to my actions. Also Kairi did jump in her action, thus that pioneer was hit out of the air.

IC:

Having utilized her Jump Boost, she'd land much closer to pioneer whom attempted to jump the magnetic anomaly. Having the chance to take aim she'd focus her efforts on vanquishing threeof the four Anomaly attempting to gang up on the magnetic anomaly (thus aiming for their mysterious ally). Her four strikes with Majesty and Radiant Rose would be swift as they were enhanced with infusions and boosted by bladed weapon student.

TL:DR - 4x Bladed Weapon attack on three pioneer, specifically the one with 4/8 HP [should be 3/8], the one with 6/8 HP and the 8/8 HP one most likely.