Dawn/Dusk (Private RP: Kenta, Terak, Picard & Tyren)

[Picard]

http://www.mediafire.com/?fufde601h48j65m

((It should work now. I've downloaded it to make sure.))

As the stuff is just too huge to post here, I've decided to upload the Microsoft file into MediaFire. You can download it from there! It's my turn to post, yes? I'll try to get a post up when I can.

[Terak]

Picard? I checked the link, but all I got was a blank page on Microsoft Word. I'm not sure if anyone else ran into this problem, but it sure isn't a good thing. And do Mediafire links ever expire?

[Picard]

They don't expire, but I'll see if I can make it work again. MediaFire has its glitches sometimes. Look for the 'EDIT' in my first post.

[Terak]

Only 426,794 words . . . I'm disappointed.

*Thwump!*

Ouch! I was kidding! Well, the link works, so I guess we're good to continue. Even if the link did corrupt by some freak chance, you could easily just restore it. Looks like we're good to continue whenever, then. I dunno who's turn it is - just that it's not mine.

[Picard]

Let us delve into the deep abyss!
=====================================================

The magic circle burst into a myriad of colors and brilliance which entirely enveloped the protagonists, whisking them away from the Azure Kingdom with a sharp, loud ‘pop’. The courtyard was empty once more. The final battle for the universe had begun.

Ramirez found himself and his comrades in a bizarre dimension, where the background was the amazing view of outer space, decorated with stars, galaxies and planets, and the warriors were standing on an invisible floor. Mao had nearly freaked out when she thought they were going to plunge into the darkness, until she found out that they could not fall downwards. There was not a sound, save for the constant, ominous ticking of a clock somewhere else. Blue diamonds illuminate the path ahead, leading them towards a pair of giant golden doors. The nosferatu gulped audibly. “W-well, let’s go on.”

Leucist motioned for everyone to follow as the doors swung open to give way to them, and they strode through them into the next room, which was no different from the first. However, a man stood at the very end of the room. He bore lengthy, flowing blonde hair, donned in a silver armor and wielding a powerful ochroid lance. Three pairs of enormous wings swung behind him, keeping him afloat in the air. There was an incredible sense of evil pouring from him. Hitoshura recognized him immediately. “Lucifer.”

“My dear Hitoshura, it’s been such a long time. I don’t think words are needed between us any longer,” said the fallen angel, his smile filled with malevolence.

The demi-fiend nodded. “What about the others?”

“Wilhelm has permitted entrance, so they shall go. In the mean time, you will entertain me.”

“We shall see who entertains who, Lucifer. Everyone leave me be. I can handle him.”

“But…!” started Sabriel, horrified that the Golden One was going to challenge the legendary Morning Star. Before she could utter another word, Sophia placed a hand on the Seraph’s shoulder. It was all she needed. Slightly hesitant, they quickly proceeded to the next room, and the doors shut deafeningly behind them. In this room, there was yet another. This time, it was the four elite Übermenschs. First was Voyager, the black cloaked man. His pale face was emphasized by a pair of blood red eyes. One would think this would be an embodiment of evil, but he lacked any presence at all. After all, Übermenschs are mostly neutral, voids, in other words.

Second was Kevin, the red cloaked man. He had a handsome visage and short, dark blue hair, accompanied by T-elos, the counterpart of KOS-MOS. In his hand was a double-bladed weapon, engulfed in crimson flames. He seemed to be a nice person, but looks can be deceiving, as the warriors had long learned from past experience.

Third was Virgil, the intimidating blue cloaked man. He had a terrible scar down one of his eye, and some form of deformation on the side of his lips. He gave the impression of a battle-hardened soldier, full of experience, mostly bad ones. He was the type who had seen one too many horrors of war.

Lastly was Albedo, the white cloaked man. He was the one who had led Picard out of the demon realm, and the one who fought Samanosuke. No matter where he was cut, he would regenerate at a frighteningly fast speed that it would be impossible to defeat him… unless one decimates him in a single blow. Sophia already knew him. The albino was sadistic, wicked and scary, despite his good looks. “Well, well. Look who’s here, it’s my little péché… Long time no see, kitty.”

“Shut up,” hissed the Felinefolk furiously. “Let us pass!”

“I’m afraid not,” spoke Voyager in a hoarse, sinister voice. With a wave of his arm, the world changed around them. The warriors had been separated into different rooms. Elwyn, Issachar, May, Boreas, Telramund, Fou-Lu, Chun Hyang, Terak and Adol were pitted against the black cloaked Übermensch. Ramirez, Kenta, Rozeblood, Cupido, KOS-MOS, Balmung, Riesz, Sabriel, Lenneth and Shekinah faced off against Kevin and T-elos. Lirael, Aetheral, Dizzy, Xion, Mao, Volg, Neige, Keiner and Iselia fought against Virgil. Lastly, Jaden, Caster, Rider, Leucist, Sophia, Lenneth, Arturia, Obsidian, Libereth and Kirith squared off against Albedo, the indestructible foe.

Wilhelm’s voice rang throughout the room. “Welcome, my creations. This is my final stage. Defeat my Übermenschs, and you shall proceed to the next room for your last challenge before you can reach me. Good luck.”

“This is insane!” growled Aetheral, unsheathing his blazing swords. “Bring it on!”


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Albedo the White
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/Aetheral/Characters/6e491d8a.jpg
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Abilities: Regenerate- Constant healing regardless of injury.
Skills:
Release of Desire- Albedo strikes his hand into the enemy’s body, releasing a surge of electricity through his foe.
Carrion of Souls- A dark cloud embraces all of his enemies, sending violet blasts of lightning at them. Causes paralysis and drains magic energy.
Soul Blast- Breaks the guard and disorients an opponent.
Thunder Blast- Fires a blast of lightning elemental magic at an opponent.
Ice Blast- Fires a blast of ice elemental magic at an opponent.
Ether Spear- Increases magic attack power.
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Voyager the Black
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/Aetheral/Characters/6e64b3b1.png
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Abilities: Guard- Can never be disorientated or stunned.
Skills:
Evil Claw – Wounds enemy with a summoned claw. Causes slow, saps stamina.
Evil Claw II – Stronger version of Evil Claw.
Lightning II – Summons a column of lightning on all enemies.
HP Vamp – Drains HP from one character and adds to the caster.
Abyss Walker – Physical attacks become ineffective on Voyager.
Devil’s Reception – Claws appear and deal several heavy strikes on a target (used during Abyss Walker).
Karma Miasma – Unleashes an explosion of poison gas.
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Kevin the Red
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/Aetheral/Characters/7df09489.jpg
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Abilities: Fire Knight- Clads self with an armor of blazing fire which boosts his stats moderately.
Skills:
Purify Wave – Unleashes a wave of red upon an enemy. Medium physical damage on one target
Lightning of Abyss – Summons a column of lightning on all enemies.
Purify Wave II – Stronger version of Purify Wave. Medium physical damage on one target
Bird of Hellfire – Summons a phoenix which attacks the enemies.
Dark Dignity – Unleashes a beam of darkness at the speed of light at one target.
Spark of Cold Flame – Unleashes an explosion of white fire upon one target.
Forgotten Mercy – Unleashes explosions of white fire upon several targets at once.
Grief of Despair – Unleashes bursts of red flames upon several targets at once. Seals magic power of targets.
Lightning III – Much stronger version of Lightning of Abyss. Used when low on health.
Immoral Meridian – Special Attack. Unleashes numerous fiery strikes of the lance on one target. Used when low on health.
Destructive Impulse – Initiates a giant explosion on all targets.
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Virgil the Blue
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/Aetheral/Characters/9f11321f.jpg
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Abilities: Demons- Summons ethereal creatures around him for offense and defense.
Skills:
Overtaker – Increases speed greatly.
Grudge Claw – Strikes an enemy with a summoned claw.
Blizzard II – Unleashes a hailstorm upon the enemies.
Offensive – Increases attack power greatly.
Victim Hail – Slows enemies down with strong winds. Virgil is the only one who remains unaffected.
Vengeance Breath – Unleashes an explosion of white smog upon all targets, wounding anyone engulfed within it.
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T-elos’s attacks aren’t stated because she simply uses machine guns, laser guns and acrobatic maneuvers which only KOS-MOS can match. She wouldn’t use that crazy red orb skill on anyone else but KOS-MOS. Note that although they are strong, they can be beaten. Their attacks are not as powerful as the ones you've encountered thus far (e.g. Boreh). It's their endurance that made them strong.

Against Voyager
Elwyn
Issachar
May
Boreas
Telramund
Fou-Lu
Chun Hyang
Terak
Adol

Against Kevin and T-elos
Ramirez
Kenta
Rozeblood
Cupido
KOS-MOS
Balmung
Riesz
Sabriel
Lenneth
Shekinah

Against Virgil
Lirael
Aetheral
Dizzy
Xion
Mao
Volg
Neige
Keiner
Iselia

Against Albedo
Jaden
Caster
Rider
Leucist
Sophia
Arturia
Obsidian
Kirith
Libereth

[Kenta.....]

"KOS-MOS."  T-elos turned to look at the mechanical angel amongst Kenta's group.  "Come to me.  I will do to you what should have been done, long ago."

Showing no sign of emotion, fright, determination, or anything of the sort, KOS-MOS stepped forward from the group to accept the challenge given to her.  She gave no hint of surprise, or even concern, when Kenta moved forward behind her, but simply kept her eyes on T-elos.  "Please stay back, Kenta."

Good memory program, thought Kenta, but he stood his ground despite KOS-MOS's warning.  "I will fight with you," he insisted calmly, drawing the Songale and leveling it with T-elos's distant figure.  He couldn't put it into words, but his instinct was telling him to aid KOS-MOS rather than join his other companions in overwhelming Kevin the Red.  If he were to go up against Kevin, he would most likely die.  It was a good possibility with T-elos as well, but not quite so much.  He really didn't belong here at all; he was a flea compared to these people.  But despite his weakness, the urging in the back of his mind prodded him on.  In a dogfight to the death, even the momentary pain of a flea's bite may distract the enemy long enough to make the ultimate difference.  This thought was not his own, but he liked it.  He felt hope from hearing it.

"Leave T-elos to me," KOS-MOS again commanded.  Kenta bowed his head, knowing this couldn't be done.  "If too many people attack Kevin, we'll get in each others' way.  I'm not saying I can face T-elos like you can.  But I will do whatever I'm able."  He crouched into bushido position and checked his weight distribution, intent on making even the smallest positive difference.  T-elos, who had politely stood and waited for them to get ready, pulled out what appeared to be a glowing dagger with a lavender aura surrounding it.  In response, KOS-MOS raised her arm, and Kenta saw an enormous gatling gun on her hand which wasn't there a second ago.  Quick, he thought, and roused his senses as he watched T-elos dodge bullets in midair.  A couple of them hit, or so Kenta thought, but these didn't even slow her down.  The two androids locked into combat, performing kicks and spins that even the most coordinated human athletes could never hope to achieve.  They were done in perfect sequence, so that every possible movement was physically the quickest and most forceful strike available.

Something has to give, thought Kenta, leaning his weight slightly forward and preparing to take off at any given second.  These aren't fighting skills I'm witnessing, they're elite programs.  The real people being put to the test here are the creators of KOS-MOS and T-elos, and it's all just a matter of when the physics turn in favor of one or the other.  Design seems about equal, and- uh-oh.  KOS-MOS had made a false move of some sort, punching out at T-elos's torso but striking her hair rather than her body.  In response, T-elos had managed to take a hold of her arm, and perform a gravity-defying backflip, resulting in face-planting KOS-MOS into the ground.

The hair makes the body appear to be of greater mass than it is, Kenta's mind whispered, as he bolted forward instinctively.  Don't be fooled by the hair.  Go for any other parts, preferably the most frequently used ones like the arms and legs.  T-elos would have driven her foot into KOS-MOS's fallen body, if she hadn't sensed the incoming heat source that was Kenta.  Unfortunately for Kenta, she knew wind M.A.G.I.C. by default, considering her nerves always ran on electricity.  She caught him by his extended sword arm and threw him past her, forcing his momentum to work against him.  In this brief interval of time, KOS-MOS regained her feet and whirled a safe distance away from T-elos, firing a rocket launcher of some sort at the antagonist as she did so.

Short range attacks- bad idea, thought Kenta, racing a wide circle around T-elos as he sought an opening for striking.  So let's try . . . long range!  "Squall Render!" he breathed, lashing his arms in twin lighting-fast sweeps and sending a tremendous wave of air pressure at a preoccupied T-elos.  This was, if possible, even less effective than a direct attack.  T-elos didn't even attempt to dodge Kenta's Squall Render, but took the attack while racing after KOS-MOS as if it had been a gust of wind, nothing more.  Worse yet, Kenta had miscalculated the place where Squall Render would contact with T-elos, since he wasn't used to fighting foes near his speed level.

Speed.  This was one thing Kenta was good at, one thing he felt he stood out for.  In the past, whenever he'd fought any enemies that came his way, he could out speed them in attacks and make up for any sloppiness with sheer velocity.  He didn't even have to think fast, because when he was moving at hundreds of miles per hour, his foes would appear to be moving slowly.  Picking them off was child's play.  Even Merlin Durai himself, whom Kenta considered one of the most brilliant scholars of life he'd ever known, couldn't match his speed.  In all his life, he'd never met anyone who could.

T-elos was different.  Given, she wasn't a human, so she was capable of quicker movements than most living creatures were.  Still, Kenta could barely follow her movements, and he constantly feared hitting KOS-MOS by accident as the two female cybots continued grappling ceaselessly, both always dozens of steps ahead of himself in their defenses and retaliations.  They were a blur of white and blue . . . how many hits had KOS-MOS launched upon T-elos, now?  Fifteen?  Or was it sixteen?  Kenta couldn't tell for sure.

*Flashback*

"I am going to drop these redberries down this waterfall," came Shatu's voice, a distant echo from a past that seemed an eternity away.  "And your job, Kenta, is to count how many I drop.  You must get the number exactly right."

"Why must it be exact?"

"Because a good swordsman has a balance of near-perfect eye reflexes and near-perfect physical ones.  Your eyes take many, many pictures every second, in quick one-after-the-next intervals.  This exercise is designed to make those intervals even more rapid.  Once you can see as excellently as you can react, you'll be able to predict any attacks that come your way, no matter how fast or how irregular."

*End flashback*

Kenta narrowed his eyes, glaring to see.  He would go blind if he always concentrated this hard, but in this situation, it was a minor inconvenience.  His brain registered and acknowledged punch volleys, bullet-firing, and all sorts of other rapid-fire techniques performed by both cyborgs.  Yes; he could keep up with what was going on, only just.  But he couldn't even begin to predict what was coming, nor let go of the previous attack quite fast enough.  Even after all the heavy training he'd undergone with Terak, Merlin, and Sage Niccolo in the final days prior to Joshua's assault, his brain still could not push old information out quite quick enough to make room for the new.

. . . or could it?  Heightened as his reflexes were, Kenta could lose himself in battle.  He'd react purely by instinct, and do what he was incapable of when any thinking was involved.  But split-second decisions were required to be any good with this, so the moment KOS-MOS and T-elos broke again, and pulled out their ammunition weapons, that was the moment Kenta once again kicked off the ground and made a lightning-dash at T-elos.  She was fast enough to intercept him, but couldn't quite move quick enough to move aside what he'd really been aiming for- her laser.  It wasn't part of her body, so Kenta had a hunch that she wouldn't "think" he'd go for it.  T-elos remained safe from danger.  Half her laser, on the other hand, clattered to the ground.  And then Kenta was out of the way, not one to stay anywhere within reaching difference of those who could match his prided reflexes.  During the time this took, KOS-MOS had leveled her rotating gun at T-elos's form and pumped out the first several bullets.  When Kenta landed and looked back, he exhaled in awe of the absolute speed dominance in this battle.

Amazing . . . dodging bullets is considered easy in this fight.  This makes arrows look like-  DANGER.  Kenta tumbled out of the way just in time, as Balmung flashed past him, sword gleaming.  He wasn't sure if Balmung said sorry or not, but he thought he heard some sort of apology, as the winged swordsman closed in on Kevin in his own battle.

***

I watched a little Xenosaga on Youtube to get a grasp of what this stuff is like.  I'm a little disappointed . . . but then again, after watching the ultimate swordfight from Jubei Chan, everything seems tame by comparison.

[Terak]

Boreas, Issachar and Telramund calmly stepped up to the head of the group, as though it had been planned beforehand. Voyager seemed to be in no hurry, waiting silently with his arms folded. Terak found himself assembling next to the rest of the fighters around him, all raising their guard and waiting for the leaders to make the first move.

"You had best be ready to die for your master, Voyager," said Boreas, lightly but firmly. "Defeating you is only the smallest of our priorities. We have matters more urgent than defeating Wilhelm's bodyguards."

A small smirk played across the cloaked man's face. Runes and magical auras gathered around the warriors, and in a blink, Boreas and Telramund shot towards the elite Übermensch while Issachar released a giant energy arrow, which filled the area with a flash of light from its sheer might. In that instant, the fighters had seemingly disappeared, "reappearing" out of nowhere at brief intervals when clashing against the red barrier that frequently flared up around Voyager's body. The sound of their attacks came a bit later, so that it was nearly impossible to really decipher the clashes of the strikes that were being made. While this happened, Voyager would occasionally chuckle to himself, as though these three legends attacking him were no more than foolish beginners. When he did attack, usually with a dark energy claw or a blast of lightning, it was easy to tell simply by the reactions of the fighters as they scattered to the side. Only a few dared to actually endure these attacks to get close to Voyager.

The rest of the group remained quick and wary, keeping their eyes on the fight and rushing in whenever they saw an opportunity to strike. Terak wasn't able to make out all of the happenings in the battle, since his main priority was maintaining a strong defense. Of all the people, even Elwyn, who he had seen fire off a few barrages of arrows, the drift swordsman had not yet issued a single attack against Voyager. And unless something dire happened where even Fou-Lu or the Azure king couldn't bring down the black Übermensch, he probably wouldn't be doing much partaking in this fight. Before Terak had entered the portal to Wilhelm's realm, Jaden had left him with specific instructions; don't attack, don't expend too much energy, only assist when a comrade is in need of help. Just focus on maintaining a high guard, and staying loose. It was still too early to do any more than that.

*

Though he was at most a respected stranger among his group of teammates, there were no complaints when Jaden stepped forward with Sophia and Arturia. A few eyebrows rose in question, though, since the sage had only a reputation thus far for providing long-ranged support in battle. He had been expected to stay back and assist people from afar with Leucist. He smiled when he noticed Sophia lean closer and whisper.

"Are you sure of this, Sage Niccolo? Perhaps you should let someone else."

"Thank you, Sophia. Don't worry, though, I'll be fine."

"So you're sending the women and elderly up first?" chuckled Albedo. He shrugged. "But then, that seems mostly what I've been dealt in this hand. I can work with that."

"It's time you went down for good, Albedo," Sophia said glaringly. "This is it for you."

Albedo let out a shrill laugh. His whole body moved while he did this, bending backwards and shaking uncontrollably. Where he found such amusement couldn't be guessed - all that was clear was that this man was crazy. When he did straighten up, he had regained a composed smile. "I see," he said simply. "In that case, why don't you just . . . TRY?"

The group had scattered before their senses could even detect the Ice Blast sent their way, and Sophia and Arturia shot towards the antagonist as mere blurs with their weapons raised. Metal blades sliced through the Übermensch's body, but the wounds repaired themselves like water. Albedo simply ignored the attacks, turning instead to the sound of more sliding metal.

"Impressive, old man. Better than I expected."

Jaden shot towards Albedo with twin streamblades in his grasp, the air swirling around him like a false curtain. Albedo turned to face him, vanishing and reappearing behind the sage while punching forward. "Release of-"

With two movements, Jaden had slashed off Albedo's arm and head before the Übermensch's attack could even connect. He had restored himself before either body part could hit the ground, however, and was instantly ambushed by spells from Caster and Leucist upon his landing. While Albedo sent a Carrion of Souls in the spellcasters' directions and the other weapon wielders moved in, Jaden received a message from Leucist in his mind.

"Sophia's Rune of Condemnation is likely our best hope for utterly destroying Albedo," he heard space-time master say. "We will have to use our own magic to try and focus it, however."

"Albedo expects this," Jaden thought back. "It will take preparation to actually get him into a position where this strategy would work. Right now he isn't even really trying. We'll need all of the warriors to keep him as occupied as possible."

"Yes . . . clever idea with the streamblades, by the way. It makes it easier to talk like this. Whose energies are you using?"

"Yours and Sophia's at the moment. I will likely switch over to Albedo after this conversation, however. You've slowed down time so that we can have this discussion, I notice."

"Very good." Leucist sounded amused. "Those blades are intriguing crafts. I'll enjoy watching you bring out their potential."

"Do so if you must. I'll be too preoccupied with this fight for the universe to learn much from other people's battle strategies."

"Ha, ha . . . perhaps you should practice time magic, then."

"I'll keep that in mind."

***

I spent a while researching on the people in this battle, since I'm not very familiar with most of the names. Some of the characters mentioned don't really have big appearances in the Dawn/Dusk history. Gotta go for now, but I wanted to get at least this much down.

[Picard]

Jubei-chan? Haven’t watched that for years, but I saw a clip of it in YouTube more recently. It is crazy indeed. It’s like Dragonball Z with better art.
=====================================================

The starlit room was literally quivering as a summoned wind howled within the enclosed space, carpeting the floor white. Lirael was trembling from the cold as she struggled to even stand against the zephyr, clutching the hilt of her sword tightly with her numb hands. Aetheral, Keiner, Xion and Iselia were the most experienced of the group, but even they were clearly putting much effort to locate Virgil in the midst of the storm. The member of the Golden One had cast a barrier to repel the snow and hail from her while the Sun God melted anything in his vicinity with sheer heat. The Ice Witch seemed to be completely at home in this terrain, skating across the floor gracefully and raising ice spikes from the ground wherever the Übermensch paused.

“Ah!” Dizzy was nearly clawed by a hand that had suddenly risen from the snow, but she had fluttered away in the nick of time. It was nigh impossible to defeat this foe. Before she could even recover from the shock, several shimmering beings faded into existence, attempting to render her into shreds. The living weapon whirled in a circle, slamming the demons around her away with her ebony tail. As though having a mind of its own, the tail rose into the air. The tip of it swelled incredibly before it burst into a jaw, taking a bite out of a disoriented monster. The obsidian wing on her back morphed into the form of a Grim Reaper, slicing the strange fiends that tried to approach, while the ivory wing turned into an angelic figure which froze them. “Aetheral! I’ll handle these creatures! Aim straight for the Übermensch!”

“The name’s Virgil,” mused the blue-cloaked man, stopping a direct blow by Keiner’s nodachi with a single hand. “You’ve got a long way to go...”

“Not if I can help it!” yelled Aetheral, landing a white hot beam on Virgil. However, the attack was deflected through the roof and into space by an azure barrier that had formed around the Übermensch. The latter went straight for the Sun God’s head, grasping him and hurling him aside. A claw shot out of the snow, stabbing into the albino’s stomach. Groaning painfully, he rolled over to the side, forcing himself back to his feet. Iselia rushed forward speedily to his aid, bludgeoning an incoming claw away with her staff and firing a charged beam of light straight across to the Übermensch. Despite his shield, it broke through and hammered straight into Virgil, who grunted as he collapsed.

The Übermensch was propelled back up as though the floor pushed him off. There was not a hint of damage, as expected by the warriors. An elite picked by Wilhelm would never give in so easily. Virgil laughed in a manner that made everyone feel uncomfortable. A spiral of snake-like flames rose around him, granting him an auric aura which outlined his figure before they died away. Aetheral felt a sense of dread growing within him as the Übermensch laughed. Sure enough, the latter was now even faster than before, teleporting around the room and summoning claws all over the place as though he had gone ballistic.

The Felinefolk duo, Mao and Volg, had not done much in the battle thus far, were now on the move, watching Virgil’s movements cautiously. After all, speed was the specialty of the Felinefolk. The wolfman commanded his teammates to focus on the demons while they darted with a velocity higher than what Iselia could have achieved, skidding along the ice floor while directed by Neige, who guided them along when their balance strayed ever so slightly on the slippery ground. The Ice Witch pushed them forward as a claw appeared, taking the brunt of the blow by herself. Thankfully, she had come prepared. Ice Mammoths faded in before her, crashing straight into the gigantic limb. “Xion!”

“Right!” came the reply. The leader of Weisritter lifted himself into the air with swings of his wings, his sword glowing red with energy as he rose higher and higher. With a battle cry, a line of fiery crimson shot out of the tip of the blade, crushing down on Virgil, who simply stood stoically. Once again, the barrier was shattered, but he remained standing as though the blow had done nothing. As he looked back down to face his opponents, the Felinefolks emerged before him, delivering a devastating strike right in Virgil’s chest. Surprisingly, he yelled in agony as the air around him crackled as the feline couple drilled into him.

“Move!” shouted Aetheral, executing a maneuver which transported him towards Virgil at breakneck speed. Mao and Volg leapt aside as the Sun God impaled his sword through Virgil and released a blast of inferno in the Übermensch’s direction, searing him with divine flames. The blond man uttered something that sounded like a cough as he received the entire impact of the attack before falling flat on the ground lifelessly. “…Did we… get him?”

“’Fraid not,” responded Virgil, rising from the floor again. “Like I said, you have a long way to go.”

“Interesting,” spoke Iselia with a voice of compressed excitement. “You’re worthy of my time.”

“Iselia Roseheart, the Ethereal Queen, one of the pair of celestials representing great power…” said the Übermensch appraisingly. “I guess you’ve yet to pull out all the stops. C’mon then! Show me what you’ve got!”

The Ethereal Queen as Virgil named her accepted his request, for her staff convulsed in an almost life-like way as multi-colored flashes of light poured out of it, while three pairs of what seemed to be wings ruptured from her back, blazing as brilliantly as the sun itself. Her eyes blackened and her pupils whitened, and then a demonic smile lit her once cherubic face. The rest of the warriors decided to back away from her, sensing more danger from the Golden One than the Übermensch. Virgil did not seem the least intimidated. “A woman’s true colors, huh?”

* * * * *

Ramirez and Balmung swerved and dodged as flames detonated around them in an attempt to stop them before reaching the Übermensch, but the relentless duo pressed on despite the odds. Nevertheless, a nigrescent beam of light stopped the Featherfolk completely as it sped into him, piercing though armor and flesh alike. The disciple of Orlandu could not continue with the injuries, kneeling low as Shekinah and Sabriel hurried over to close his wounds and heal his injuries. The nosferatu was the only one who could match Kevin’s laser and lightning strikes, evading them so quickly afterimages of himself lingered for seconds. The vampire flipped over the Übermensch and pierced his rapier through Kevin, who was not as agile as Ramirez. “This is insane!”

“It sure is… I created KOS-MOS and T-elos with my bare hands. The latter was supposed to be stronger, but… someone else redesigned KOS-MOS…” uttered Kevin, talking to no one in particular. He was hardly affected by the stab wound, pushing the metal out of his chest and knocking the fencer to one side with a kick. Riesz caught Ramirez with the shaft of her spear and propelled him forward forcefully before chasing after the Übermensch as well, sweeping the lightning charges with her weapon and jumping over the flames using the spear as her support. However, every time she neared, Kevin would initiate a vicious explosion around himself, pushing all his foes away. “But it matters not now. KOS-MOS shall become one with T-elos for the completion of the Eternal Recurrence!”

“Hmm… no weakness to any specific element, no vulnerability to status ailments nor attack strength or type…” mused Cupido, sizing his opponent. Even during the midst of the furious combat, he remained unmoving as though oblivious to his surroundings. His harp lay sitting against his feet, playing a frantic battle rhapsody by itself to invigorate its allies. The Bowmaster scratched his head. “This is quite tricky. I suppose granting myself administrative rights would be an easier end to this fight.”

A flute materialized in Cupido’s hands. As he placed it in his lips, a wondrous sound flowed from the instrument, spreading serenity and clarity into his allies. The note hung in the air as another note joined it, filling the room as more and more sounds formed into a grand piece of music, as though he was playing an orchestra all by himself. Kevin seemed hard-pressed to stop the Bowmaster from completing his song, but the Übermensch could not approach him. His legs were paralyzed. Struggling to end the music, Kevin fired a bolt of lightning at Cupido, only to be intercepted by a recovered Balmung, nullifying the magic with a sweep of the Alaruber.

Several rays of light sliced through the Übermensch’s flesh as Sabriel danced, gathering light from the room and beyond to her. Ramirez shot forward, his eyes saturated with the intent to kill. The nosferatu brought down his rapier upon Kevin, yet only to be halted by a single hand from the Übermensch again. Grabbing the blade, T-elos’ creator tossed the fencer aside again. By now he looked murderous. He bellowed fiercely, stunning his foes momentarily as conflagration enveloped him like a cocoon. As the fire subsided, Kevin was now armored in a vermillion metal, and in his hand was a double-ended sword, also tinged blood red. “DIE!”

With a single swing, a whip of fire scourged the room. Had it not been constructed by Wilhelm, the chamber would have already been split apart. The ground shook violently, but KOS-MOS and T-elos’ balance were not in the least affected as they fought on, ignoring everybody else.

“Looks like things are starting to get a little worse…” said Balmung. “Cupido, do you need cover?”

The Bowmaster played on, unable to speak, but he quickly gave a nod in response.

“Alright, Riesz, defend him from Kevin and T-elos. Let him finish the music,” instructed the Featherfolk to his wife, twirling his sword as he brandished away the incoming mix of fire and electricity with his magic-canceling blade. “I think he has something up his sleeve…”

* * * * *

Chun Hyang grunted as a claw ran past her cloak, ripping it to shreds. Voyager was a terrifying foe to reckon with, his calm composure never changing despite the heavy barrage of attacks upon his mighty barrier. She was quickly pulled away by Adol as lightning ran in her direction, but there was no time to thank him as yet another claw appeared, trying to crumple whatever it could grab. The swordsman cut through it with one clean stroke of his sword, proceeding onwards to the black Übermensch.

“What a nuisance!” commented Telramund with a hint of annoyance, phasing past Voyager’s barrier like the ghost he was and aiming for a swipe across the Übermensch’s head. The pale man flung the Golden One aside before the sword could reach its mark. Voyager appeared to be almost bored with the fight.

“May, could you?” asked Issachar, firing a few more arrows at the Übermensch as he spoke. The silver-haired maiden nodded, whipping out the diamond from her pocket again. She squeezed it tightly for a moment, and it changed shape, enlarging itself like a balloon and morphing into an oboe. As she did so, Issachar pulled out his harp out of thin air. Just then, music played by a mixture of harp and flute flowed in from another room, accompanied by a violin from yet another. Issachar could feel Leucist and Cupido, despite them being away from him. Soon, Issachar and May entered the ensemble as well, linking all of them together, connecting all of them together with music. “Just a bit more…”

[Kenta.....]

Oh come ON, DB . . .

***

A few minutes of anti-gravity aerobics later, Kenta found himself and KOS-MOS together, both landing in parallel motions.  Except for a couple of burns and grazes, KOS-MOS appeared fine.  Kenta, on the other hand, slumped and held his hand to his mouth, trying not to be sick.  He could not remember most of his past few years at the moment, with the exceptions of little bits and pieces from his training with Shatu (was he okay? ).  But as Kenta forced himself to stand upright, he observed with heaving shoulders that his body was covered in sweat, and he was fighting to not cough up . . .

He looked at his hand.

Blood.  This frightened him.  He hadn't coughed blood since . . . since almost near the end of his training with Shatu, just before his sponsorship to Phoenix Academy.  Up until recently, he'd always known where to quit, and when too much was too much.  But now he was a danger to himself.  He didn't have those memories to rely on, only raw instinct.  Yet if he hadn't been giving 110%, there was no way he could've hoped to score the few hits he had on T-elos.  Not that they were much more than distractions to begin with, but at least they'd done that much.

KOS-MOS stared ahead at T-elos, who had her usual malicious smirk on her lips.  "You are injured," she said tonelessly to Kenta.  "Stay there.  I will be fine."  Kenta fought for breath before answering.  "Just . . . give me a second . . ."

"You will die if you don't listen."  With that, KOS-MOS leaped back out at T-elos, and their weapons blazed luminously.  Kenta stared at the fighting figures, and his heart sped up unwillingly.  I'll . . . die?  Something prickled his arm.  He shook to get rid of it.  Then his leg felt the sensation, then the prickle went into his cheek.  It was a quick glow, then it was gone.  These things were hurting him, but they gave Kenta an idea.  That's right . . . his attribute was wind.  His body could generate-

The moment KOS-MOS and T-elos separated again, Kenta made his move.  He rushed like a shot at T-elos, who barely anticipated him coming in time and twisted out of the way.  But then Kenta was behind her again, with a faster turnaround time than ever.  Again she dodged, but he was already coming once more.  He'd "roped" himself to her with a cord of electricity, and with each pass he strengthened it and decreased his turnaround time.  T-elos could still "see" him coming, but now it was different.  Before, she'd been able to react.  Now, however, the adamant Songale cut through her side, and within a second's time, miniscule pieces of T-elos hovered in the air around her body, chips which yielded to the Songale's razor edge.  Then Kenta was suddenly out of electricity without knowing it, and tumbled over while still going at extreme speed.  He experienced a succession of painful bounces, all of which would later leave burns, before finally skidding to a stop with his sword out of his hand.

Kenta got up, felt a tremendous jolt of pain through his body, and fell back down again.  Too weak to move for the moment, he instead watched the continued assault going on in the room, namely KOS-MOS versus T-elos.  It seemed that his beyond-the-limit effort had been in vain, but he crossed his fingers in hope that he'd done more than chip a couple pieces out of T-elos.  Small damages though they were, they would grow bigger.  This was Kenta's hope.  But until then, he'd done all he could do.  His body would not move on his will.  It only occasionally twitched from electrical impulses beyond his control.

***

Not much of a post, but then again, I really can't think of anything else to do.

[Terak]

Through the clashing steel and elemental surges, no one remained conscious of the minutes that were slowly dragging by. A great number of these warriors, as Terak watched, seemed to know no exhaustion. It was bewildering to the mind. How much time had passed? Had it only been a few short minutes, or a half hour? From what the fighters showed, there seemed to be no answer to this; they were still showing the same energy and ferocity as they had since the beginning. It was as though time itself held no relevance in this battle they fought. All the same, there were a couple of people that allowed him to make an estimate - not everyone had limitless stamina. The first person Terak noticed this in was Elwyn, when they happened to land next to each other after being knocked a small way's back from the mere shock wave of Voyager's claw attack. He could hear the elf's heavy breathing, as they watched for any signs of new incoming threats.

Terak wasn't the only one who was aware of this, and he knew it. Voyager, who they both had thought to be occupied by a team assault from Boreas and Fou-Lu's incredible swordplay, had turned to the two less notable combatants while his own two attackers deflected off of his crimson barrier. Though still focusing on blocking the strikes aimed against him, the obsidian eyes of the shadowy Übermensch flitted between Terak and Elwyn as though quickly analyzing them. The feeling hit them both at once - he was deciding which of them was the lesser threat, and the first he would eliminate. He was growing bored of playing games. The reactions came all at the same time: both Terak and Elwyn shot back to either side, and Voyager suddenly appeared in front of the one that had not yet issued a single attack this entire battle - Terak. The terrible claw attack intended to slice him in half, however, bounced back as it slammed against the surface of a thin, barely detectable crimson sphere that surrounded the young swordsman's body. For a moment, Voyager saw the change of expression on the face of the warrior he had assumed to be the weak link of the group; jet black eyes, and a cold, emotionless visage. The streamblade that lashed out to return the attack pulsed with a midnight hue, and though it was blocked in as blindingly rapid a motion as the initial thrust, Terak simply used the momentum to rush forward past his adversary and reposition himself.

Voyager beat him to his goal, though; before Terak could get between the Übermensch and his new target, Elwyn, Voyager had shot towards the blonde archer with another Evil Claw empowering. To Terak's relief, Adol came down on Voyager from another angle with a flurry of sword swings, buying Elwyn enough time to dance out of the way and avoid critical exposure to the dark attack. Terak was only able to join Adol for a second in another assault of swordplay against Voyager, before a blast of lightning sent him reeling back, and before he could question how he had been saved from its merciless force, he saw Boreas rushing in once again with a swirling field of magic symbols forming all around him. Knowing his services were no longer necessary at the moment, Terak hastily jumped back to gain some distance from the chaotic network of attacks being exchanged. With a resolved chime, the streamblade reverted back to its original pale blue shade, and his eyes regained their green. He needed to use whatever time he had available to rest himself, regardless of Voyager's intentions. In that moment he paused, it was then that his ears picked up a humming melody, and he risked taking a moment to focus on it. Somewhere on the battlefield, behind the din of the demi-gods' raging melee, two instruments were singing out in clear unison. He dared not turn to search for their owners, though: his eyes were locked onto Voyager's every action.

***

I've hit my wall. Since you're indicating that you have a plan for how this battle ends, Picard, I'm not sure what else to add in at the moment. Even after searching through the old Dawn/Dusk posts, I have little to no idea as to how Jaden's teammates fight, thus making it difficult to choreograph a nine-person battle (Jaden would be the only person I could effectively use). I'm not sure what else you want us to do.

[Picard]

It’s not really a plan. More like an event trigger.
=====================================================

The four rooms shattered like glass simultaneously as the final note rang across the walls, warping the warriors back to the dungeon. Elwyn was momentarily stunned as she looked around bewilderedly, wondering what had just happened. The group had somehow been reunited by the rhapsody. The elite Übermenschs were staggering, struggling to stand, but alas they crumpled to the floor, unmoving. A confused Aetheral stared at Virgil, who had been scratched rather badly by the berserk Iselia, giving him a kick to check if he was still alive. No response. The Sun God squatted down, placing a finger under Virgil’s nose. No breathing. He was dead. “…Did the music do this?”

“Musical instruments are the administrative tools of Emphericulum, and only a few have rights to them,” said Leucist, his violin gone. “We have simply severed the lifelines between the Übermenschs and Wilhelm, effectively killing them. These four are indestructible Übermenschs. It would be foolish to try and defeat them the normal way.”

“How cheap,” commented Aetheral, disapproving their method, “But I guess we have no other choice. Wilhelm got one too?”

“Yes… He wields a cello,” responded Cupido, nodding.

A loud crash of metal pulled their attention to KOS-MOS and T-elos, the former having smashed the latter to the ground with a reversal in mid-air. The white-haired android thrust her foot swiftly at her opponent, who rolled away in the nick of time. A dagger sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, scrapping past T-elos’ obsidian armor without harming her. However, she had frozen for a moment, and that gave the mechanical angel an opportunity. A cerulean blast of light enveloped T-elos completely, damaging her within the sphere. KOS-MOS pulled out another blade from her boot, flinging it straight into her foe’s chest. T-elos let out a scream of agony as electricity crackled dangerously from her broken circuits, convulsing uncontrollably before finally collapsing, her limbs still twitching slightly as smoke rose from her wounds. “Target eliminated.”

“We’ve to get a move on,” announced Issachar, hurrying towards the door.

The warriors did not waste any time healing up, quickly following behind the fiery-haired boy. The third room was completely different. It was eerily white and lacked walls, seemingly spanning on forever. It was devoid of sound until they entered, their footsteps echoing across the imaginary walls. Three gargantuan slabs of auric monoliths hovered high in the air, resonating with power. A single person stood at the other end. Just one, but it was enough to astonish everyone. Boreas stepped forward, unable to believe himself. “Picard? What are you doing here? Are you alright? You’re not… injured by Wilhelm?”

“Leave,” uttered the Azure Overlord.

The Sun God strode forward, his face showing much puzzlement. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who gathered us together. You’re the one who wanted to stop the Eternal Recurrence. Why are you backing out now? What’s this about, Picard?”

“The Eternal Recurrence must occur, for Ellis’s sake,” replied Picard tonelessly.

Time seemed to halt for a moment as everyone registered this new information. A tense atmosphere settled between the Azurian prince and the group. No one spoke. Then, after an eternity of a minute, Sabriel asked timidly, “W-what do you mean?”

“Wilhelm can bring her back. I’ll be with her forever in the next recurrence, and the following after.”

“This is madness,” spoke Balmung, contorted with rage. His hand clasped Alaruber’s sword hilt so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he did not seem to notice. “Do you realize what you’re saying? YOU’RE SACRIFICING BILLIONS OF PEOPLE FOR THE SAKE OF ONE! COME TO YOUR SENSES!”

Picard showed no signs of emotion. “If that’s what it takes, so be it.”

The Featherfolk raised his sword. “Then, as your sworn brother, I’ll stop you with my bare hands.”

“Picard, please, don't do this! I don't want to fight you!” cried Sabriel, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Don't bother, he won't listen,” said Fou-Lu, a sword popping into existence on his palm. “We'll do what we must.”

“If you insist to proceed, I have no other choice,” concluded the Beriohtarion, raising his hands. The flaps of his clothes fluttered rapidly as wind picked up speed around him, brushing past his lengthy blue hair. A transparent cocoon enveloped him entirely, gleaming gently under the warm ivory light of the room. It took Balmung a moment to identify what the barrier was made up of. His instincts kicked in immediately and he screamed at the others to run, bracing himself for the first strike. Hundreds of invisible swords shot out of the shield soundlessly, visible only by their vague outlines. Balmung yelled in pain as one of them slipped past his defense and across the side of his left shin, causing him to fall to his right knee as he forced himself to keep parrying. “Don’t make me kill you.”

“We’ll see who kills who!” growled Aetheral, charging towards his old friend together with Fou-Lu and Chun Hyang. Despite making past the heavy torrent of blades, their attacks failed to penetrate the cocoon. The only thing they had managed to do was create sparks on the barrier with their swords. A spiral of blue flames fended them back, while another blast of fire from beneath knocked them aside. Sophia pulled Mao and Volg out of the way of a rush of swords just in the nick of time, her chakrams swirling madly to deflect the incoming assault away. Ramirez leapt about speedily to avoid being struck down, but his swift flicks did nothing to the cocoon. The nosferatu was blown back with a sword through his chest, but being a vampire, he could not die from it. Recovering to his feet, he broke into a dash again, looking around for a weak spot.

Leucist seemed to have already expected this, pulling his allies behind a cover of swords similar to Picard’s when the latter tried to assail them. The space-time guardian remained his calm as the Azure Overlord tried to overcome his guard, but Picard soon gave up and concentrated on other targets. Picard pulled a sword out of the cocoon coolly, scanning around the room quietly. Then, he held it above his head and brought it down brutally, ripping apart the space just outside the barrier. The space distortion was brimming with light. Issachar was the first to shout, “RUN!”

His warning was quickly drowned by an ear-splitting whistle as light darted out of the tear at breakneck speed, bouncing off the ground and the imaginary walls as they homed in on their enemies. Lenneth’s armor produced a loud creaking sound as one of the light rays glided past her, causing an enormous crack in the metallic equipment. Iselia was able to neutralize the magic around her, while Telramund phased through them harmlessly. Although the Golden Ones appeared to have no problems with it, most of the rest were. While the magic still ran rampant, Picard was already done chanting another. The ground began to tremble violently, too vehemently to stand, but the caster’s feet seemed to be magnetized onto the floor, unaffected by his magic. With a wave of his hand, a torrent of lighting poured down from the monoliths and crashed down upon the ground.

However, the lightning never did reach its destination, vanishing before they could take effect. Leucist hid his fountain pen silently, gazing at Picard. A shaken Elwyn stared at the albino. If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she had seen a glimmer of triumph in his eyes. Picard seemed rather taken back. “You…”

“Cosmic, Azure, Crimson, you name them, I wield them,” said the Immaculate Arbitrator with a slight smile, “Uncanny, isn’t it?”

The Azure Overlord did not say anything else, for Telramund had passed through the cocoon like the ghost he was. Before the Golden One’s sword met its mark, however, a beautiful sky blue sword materialized itself in front of Picard. Telramund raised his eyebrows. “Is that… Sentinel Breeze?”

“My swords have grown attached to me,” explained Picard, grabbing the specter with his hand, “Dazzling Darkness.”

“Wha-!?” Caliginosity converged upon Telramund, who found himself unable to escape from his ex-comrade’s clutch. With a groan of agony, he was hurled a mile back, wounded by a cloud of darkness. As he looked up, he found himself in a battle with several Azure Overlords. “Illusions.”

Adol Christin and Riesz fought a path through towards the real Picard while the Sun God rushed in, his swords ablaze. Aetheral pushed his swords at the barrier with all his strength, trying to force it open. “Crimson Pride!”

Picard reacted just as quickly, “Genesis of the Azure!”

Two bright explosions of red and blue light blinded everyone momentarily, pushing out all other noises. Then, as the brilliance faded away, the Sun God had fallen, using his swords for support. On the other side, Picard remained standing. One of the golden monoliths floated before him, and had most probably taken the brunt of the blast, although there were no signs on its flawless surface that indicated so. The strange object hovered back up to the ceiling, humming soporifically. Balmung heaved a sigh of exasperation. “Damn it… Is there no way through the barrier?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” spoke Leucist’s voice in the Featherfolk’s head, “Sophia, your Rune of Condemnation can pierce through both the monolith and his cocoon with a single blast. Then, Ramirez, it is up to you to sprint in and land the killing blow. To do this, I need everyone’s co-operation. The rest of you must defend Sophia as she closes in on Picard, but not do this too obviously, or he will suspect something. Godspeed.”

[Terak]

I'm going to list the characters in this battle.

Elwyn
Issachar
May
Boreas
Telramund
Fou-Lu
Chun Hyang
Terak
Adol
Ramirez
Kenta
Rozeblood
Cupido
KOS-MOS
Balmung
Riesz
Sabriel
Lenneth
Shekinah
Lirael
Aetheral
Dizzy
Xion
Mao
Volg
Neige
Keiner
Iselia
Jaden
Caster
Rider
Leucist
Sophia
Arturia
Obsidian
Kirith
Libereth

That's thirty-three, thirty-four- *counts on fingers* . . . thirty-seven characters. No offense, but how are all of these people still standing? So far we haven't had a single casualty. Anyway, I've put some thought into how to do this, so I'm taking the chance and diving right in.

***

Chaos. That was the only word that could describe what was happening now. The air was booming with battle cries, bellows of pain, deafening explosions and the clashes of metal, the temperatures swung from flaming heights to freezing lows in mere instances, and the smell of blood, sweat and smoke choked the whole vicinity. Danger was everywhere, all at once, impossible to keep track of. Death overhung the field, as people were swiftly cut down to their limits, restored to normal with magic, and then cut down again. It was a routine of madness. Someone must have fallen by now. How many people had been claimed in the onslaught?

Terak found Kenta just as the fight had begun. The white-haired swordsman was down on his knees, drawing in harsh and ragged breaths, the Songale clutched uselessly in his grasp as though some part of him still planned to get up and fight. Terak wished he could say something to his comrade, but instead simply turned and stood his ground on a spot between the fighting and the one person in this whole mix that he had actually gotten to know as a friend. He didn't know if Picard would try and finish the weakened ones when they could no longer fight, but with healing magic being such a common technique on this battlefield, he might want to cut down even the smallest threats before they had the chance to recover and strike again. Thus, keeping the danger at bay until a healer found their way over was the only option. Sure enough, Terak's prediction was correct, and he held the streamblade close as a rain of blades came rushing towards them, his eyes narrowing as he prepared to fend off the barely visible assault. The swords moved in quickly, expertly assembling themselves so as to bypass whatever guard was set up.

In one swift motion and a series of clashes, the swords had been parried to the side, and as Terak and Kenta both looked to see who had stopped them, they saw Jaden twisting and maneuvering around them, his own two swords ripping through the air with a force that defied the sage's old physique. Though it was difficult to get a good look at him, they managed to make out a bit when he twisted around; his stony face yielded no emotion, but his eyes were blazing. There was only one moment where Jaden's eyes met Terak's own gaze, and the space of time was only enough for a quick but meaningful nod. In a deft motion, he lightly tossed one of his streamblades into the air to momentarily free his left hand, which flicked a small object through the air to his disciple. Terak caught it, and the sage broke away, returning to the heat of the battle to aid the rest of the combatants. Kenta still lacked the breath to speak up to ask what was going on, but as he watched, though swords and light blasts bombarded the two of them still, they never connected. Rather, they bounced and slammed harmlessly against two glassy barriers that had formed around them both, and no matter what kind of force plowed against the shields, they would not break.

Terak glanced down at what Jaden had given him, and saw what part of him already awaited: an old copper coin, with the heads side staring up from his gloved palm. His eyes narrowed, and then amidst the din, he closed them in concentration. Kenta saw the streamblade begin to pulsate with a bright blue light, and then saw a powerful, pained shiver pass through Terak's entire body that he had a feeling had nothing to do with the blast of snow and hail Neige had summoned from not far off. The streamblade then gleamed, and small waves began to emanate from it. Despite all of this, though, no outer change showed on the drift swordsman's face - all that could be seen was the occasional tremble in his stance.

The minutes dragged on as Jaden maneuvered from one point in the battle to the next, appearing in a totally new spot in a blink of an eye with a small bend of the dimensional currents. He had been doing everything in his power thus far to enforce Leucist's plan, which unfortunately still did not make a desirable impact on the flow of the operation. In some ways, it was like Joshua all over again. Keeping up with the Beriohtarion's movements and providing cover to other fighters, namely Sophia, was a task some would call impossible. Everyone that attempted to get close to the Azure Overlord was effortlessly thrown back by a mental blast or a pillar of Azure fire, and the spells he channeled were endless, one after the next.

"Bright Banish," Picard spoke, and Dizzy found herself halted in her own attack, engulfed by a black cloud that tied around her body like folds of fabric. This was only for a brief moment, before a cylinder of light seared right through her stomach like a laser beam, and her scream of pain sounded over the din before she fell limply down to the ground.

Picard turned indifferently, raising his hand towards the threats closing in around him. "Tsukiyomi."

Crashes filled the area as the warriors were slammed down to the ground by a sudden crushing weight, and it was everything the spellcasters could do to neutralize it. Picard was casting these incantations at such a casual pace, yet no one was able to get close to him for very long to occupy him with melee combat - Telramund was perhaps the only one capable of this. In the small pause between, the Beriohtarion would turn to counter an incoming enemy spell from either Aetheral or Boreas, as though he did not even know them. The ground then shook, and people turned just in time to see the end results of KOS-MOS's laser fade away from the barrier before the female mechaniloid was flung back by a shadowy blast. She remained immobile for a few moments even after her landing, and when she did get up, her movements were suddenly forced and weakened. Lenneth and May rushed in with a duel assault of their own while the blue-haired elf was occupied, but his hand raised in their direction and summoned a myriad of flame-red beams that seared and burned them even as they dodged and defended.

"You're weakening," Picard said loosely. Tiny spheres of light began to speckle the air around him, though as usual he disregarded their presence as he spoke. "I would rather you surrender, sister, father, Balmung. I don't want to have to dispose of you like this."

Boreas, despite being surrounded by spectral swords from all angles, shook his head as he fought. "If that were so," he said, and his eyes were firm, "then you would never have raised your blade against us in the first place."

Picard said nothing in response. The light that was clustered around him grew more vibrant, and as impassively as ever, he began to murmur: "Alpha-Omega: Tera Blast."

Bolt upon bolt upon bolt of light shot outwards from Picard's shielded form, and even as the still mobile fighters did everything in their power to dodge, defend or even just get out of the spell's range, the beams proceeded to home in on their targets and deliver their merciless judgment. They shifted and weaved in intricate patterns, leaving no room for escape, blinding and searing people with their mere presence. Those who were unfortunate enough to suffer the connection of these bolts could not even cry out in pain as they were smothered in the seething energy, and those who managed to defend found themselves under attack once more by Picard's illusion swarm. Two people had found their way through the pandemonium, however: Iselia and a scraped and battered Balmung both broke through the crowd and rushed in towards the elf, Iselia releasing a blast of white magic and Balmung charging in head-on with his sword raised. As Picard gathered runes to shoot them both down, a smirk crossed Balmung's face.

"Check," he said.

It was at that moment when two people suddenly appeared behind Picard. One was Leucist, his arms folded with calm composure, and the other was Sophia. Time seemed to stop as she removed the bandaging from her eye, and the Azure Overlord's eyes widened as they fell upon the glowing Rune of Condemnation-

BOOM.

The resulting blast was enough to send people tumbling to the ground from its sheer might, and a second, deafening crash followed it. Over the shrill of the wind generated, the sound of something shattering filled everyone's ears, and the next few seconds were a haze.

A sudden movement. A clash of metal. A pained groan.

Ramirez's body was roughly thrown away from the form of Picard, who now had his arm extended with the Sentinel Breeze in its grasp. In the space behind him, the ruined remains of a giant monolith littered the ground. For a moment, a period of silence overhung the white field.

"I'm disappointed, Leucist." Picard looked up at the Space-Time master. "That you thought I could be slain by such a strategy. As powerful as it was, it was still predictable."

Leucist's face was unreadable. He did not even blink.

The Azurian elf turned. "And you, Jaden Niccolo. I recognize my techniques when they are being used." His gaze landed on the silver-haired elder, whose twin steamblades burned with a bright sky-blue luster. The sage was sweating and shaking, looking ready to collapse. "Throughout this whole fight you have still not even attempted an attack against me. Instead, you've thus far formed two Aegis barriers and have been exerting all your energy into cloaking the aura of your student. And yet you appear exhausted." His eyes flashed. "Come now. Reveal what it is you've been trying to hide from me. You don't appear capable of holding in much longer."

Jaden looked up to face Picard, and after a moment's consideration, slowly nodded.

"Very . . . very well," he said hoarsely. A smile crossed his lips.

The volume of the aura that hit the room was like a cannon blast in a quiet field - it was powerful enough to a point that it was painful. Some people turned away, while Picard gazed calmly towards its source. Terak stood at the heart of it, with bright azure energy pulsing around his entire body. His pupils had vanished. His hair and clothing whipped around him from the push of an inexistent wind, and his face had the same lack of expression that his sensei displayed. His gaze met the Beriohtarion's, and the air hummed from the friction of two energies colliding. Picard blinked.

"What is this? A human boy capable of Forbidden magic?"

"It is nothing that you are not familiar with," said Jaden softly. "You have a large amount of spells at your disposal, Lemuria Picard, but like all weapons, they can point both ways. Think of this as a mirror of your own image. This image has chosen your Eternal Soul spell."

He disappeared, skidding to a halt some several feet past Terak. He now only held one streamblade; the other rested in his student's left hand. The air sparked around him.

"Your priority is simple. All you have to do is hit him and the spell will end. By now, though, that should not be easy."

***

*Eternal Soul – Boosts the user’s stats sharply, doubling the user’s stats with each passing minute. Spell will only wear off if user is hit.

I didn't want to lead the whole battle, so I'm ending my post. I could have done more, but events like this are too flexible for one person to fully decide. Sorry for butting in line, Kenta. Either of you guys can take the field from here. I've left my mark.

[Picard]

Take into consideration the battle has only just begun, and you have the picture. The superior entities and the Golden Ones are not idling in this fight. I don’t intend to keep this long, because this is not the main event of the dungeon, and it will sap away some excitement from the last, so I shall end it now.
=====================================================

An end of Picard’s lip curved as Jaden challenged him, as though the sage was mocking him in the friendliest way. The way his eyes moved told them that he was not underestimating Terak, yet he seemed to place little priority on him over the rest. A zephyr swept across the room, indicating the continuation of the battle. The Azure Overlord grew less aggressive, using supportive magic on himself more often than trying to nuke his enemies. A blue streak that was Terak glided around the room at breakneck speed, swords simply bouncing off him without causing any damage on the streamblader. The cocoon had been raised again, along with the remaining two monoliths which now orbit around the Beriohtarion. Aetheral swore as he and Fou-Lu were obstructed by the giant slabs of gold, for neither sword nor magic made any mark upon these mysterious items.

Neige skated across the ground as ice formed beneath her feet, running away from the rain of swords as she pulled her allies out of the way of incoming fire, but her brother had already fallen under the prolonged assault of lightning magic, lying unconscious on the floor. Her crimson eyes flared with anger towards the elf she had once respected, now hell-bent on revenge. Rozeblood had to force the Ice Witch away from what would be a suicidal move as the latter screamed to release her as Obsidian and Kirith pulled Keiner away from the fight as quickly as they could. Elwyn could not bear to enter the fray, instead focusing just to defend herself and her comrades from harm.

Telramund had finally fought himself free from the illusions, bombarding the monoliths with shockwaves and flurries of slashes with such ferocity he was nothing more than a blur. Picard raised his hand. A beam of ebony destroyed the damaged monolith and into the Lohengrin War hero in a single blow, but the ghost was too fast for him; the beam passed through him harmlessly as he entered the cocoon once again, this time effectively knocking the prince out of his protection. The barrier collapsed inwards, crashing down into an unsuspecting Telramund who screamed in agony as he quickly returned to his spectral form, fleeing away from the falling swords. “T-Terak, now!”

The streamblader did not need to be told, for he had already seen the opportunity before him. He blasted forward and impaled his sword through the Azure Overlord’s stomach. The battle stopped as the invisible swords faded away, and everyone stared at the boy who had done the deed. Picard’s jaw dropped, his face contorted in pain as his eyes fell upon the streamblade, shining beautifully in the illuminated room. He shook his head in disbelief, placing a hand on the sword as if to examine it. Then, he forced the blade deeper into himself while his free hand closed in on Terak’s face. “Wavering of Another Age.”

Time appeared to slow down as the streamblader tried to escape, stepping back from Picard, but he had backed away into something invisible which everyone recognized as the elf’s sword. An explosion of tangerine and crimson obscured Terak’s figure, and the streamblader appeared soon after, burnt by the outburst of magic as well as the after effects of using a Forbidden Magic. He was wounded badly by an attack of such close range, but still alive. The Azure Overlord emerged from the blast, his stab wound healed and a pair of wings on his back. Boreas clenched his teeth. “To use the pride of the Azurian royalty to destroy the universe… I do not have such a son!”

Picard rolled his eyes. “Give me a break.”

A magic circle surfaced beneath the ground, encompassing most of the warriors within it and immobilizing them in their place. The elf raised his hand to silence them before he spoke, “I shall have to ask you to leave, or I will activate the Forbidden Magic. Most of you wouldn’t survive such an attack.”

“Forget about it. Kill us,” hissed Sophia, who was bleeding rather profusely as she clutched her runic eye.

“I don’t think so, Picard,” responded Leucist, who had drawn out his fountain pen again. “Chaotic Gloria!”

A cloud of nigrescent poured out of the floor, corroding away hungrily the magic circle and rendering his Forbidden spell unusable. The Azure Overlord was stunned. The space-time guardian did not look remotely tired from using such a high-level magic. “Chaotic Gloria does not serve just to harm. It is an abomination of magic, corroding everything and anything in its sight and dragging it down into the abyss.”

“PICARD!” yelled a voice, attracting the elf’s attention.

Picard’s eyes widened. “I let my guard down…!”

The sound of metal meeting flesh entered his ears, and pain surged through every nerve in his body. As he tried to look up at his attacker, a powerful radiance blinded him. However, he recognized the voice as it bellowed, “EXCALIBUR!”

“AAAAAAAARGH!!!”

When the light faded away, Picard was on his knees, breathing heavily as he gazed at his assailant, the sword still in his chest. “Arturia…”

“Picard…” mumbled the swordswoman, tears swimming in her eyes. “I… I remember. Hitoshura… he…”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Picard to her as he fell to the floor. Arturia withdrew the Excalibur from his body, horrified as she looked at her bloodstained blade as though she had never killed a person before. The Azure Overlord closed his eyes.

“Congratulations, protagonists,” announced Wilhelm’s voice. “Please proceed to the final chamber, valiant warriors. Picard, you may return now. Thank you for the delay.”

“What?” uttered Arturia, glancing at the elf.

He had forced himself to his feet, as two additional pairs of wings sprouted from his back, his injuries healing miraculously as he unlocked the remainders of his power. Without a word, he walked through the door to the last room. The company did not move immediately, treating their wounds and leaving those out cold behind before they went on, prepared for the ultimate battle for their universe. Many were surprised as they stepped through, for the room was completely different from the previous ones. It looked like a dungeon.

Then, intrigued faces sprang up as they noticed the Compass of Order and Chaos, shining behind the white-haired superior entity. Picard was standing beside Wilhelm silently. “Kaiser Nicholai the Third, CEO of the Crystalis Industries, many names define who I am, but none of them are. I’d like to reintroduce myself. I am Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, creator of Emphericulum, and father of Ellis. I am pleased to meet such famous figures of your world here. It is a pity that Merlin is absent, I would’ve liked to see him, too.”

“Cut the crap, pretty boy!” growled Aetheral, taking a step forward. “End the Recurrence or I’ll end you!”

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. I have brought you all here for the sole purpose of bringing the vessels of the failsafe together, to use this power to cause the Eternal Recurrence for the twenty-fourth time. I must ask you to stand down while I begin,” said Wilhelm calmly. As he pointed a finger down, an unseen force pinned everyone to the ground, preventing them from getting up or do anything that would jeopardize his plans. With another gesture, Balmung, KOS-MOS and Issachar were thrown into midair, and their bodies pulsated with a comforting light which linked themselves to Wilhelm’s hand. “Do not try to resist. The more you do, the more pain you will receive. It will not kill you, but it may drive you to insanity if you don’t behave.”

It was obvious who tried to oppose Wilhelm the most. The Sun God was already yelling in pain, yet he was unable to do anything to alleviate it. He was not the only one, however. Most of the warriors tried to fight back, albeit futilely. Leucist seemed to be at ease, lying down as if he was asleep. Balmung, KOS-MOS and Issachar suffered much worse than even Aetheral below them, for the extraction of the fragments of the failsafe was excruciating. The Featherfolk had already blacked out, and the android, as Mary Magdalene, writhed, her circuits breaking and crackling with electricity. Technically, she should have already shut down, but she was no ordinary robot, after all. Picard could not bear to watch.

“Is this… how we’re going to… meet our end?” mumbled Lirael. “I don’t want to die… not yet…!”

“I promised Kadisha… I’ll return to her…!” said Aetheral, straining just to speak. “I can’t… lose…! Not here…!”

“Picard, please…!” cried Sabriel inaudibly, her face puffy and rosy red from her tears.

“It’s alright, Sabriel.”

A batter of the eyelid, and Wilhelm’s limp forearm fell to his polished shoes. There was no blood, but aurora poured out of the stump where the blow had struck. A hand protruded from the entity’s chest. The three vessels of the failsafe had plummeted back to the ground, and the force was lifted from the warriors. Wilhelm did not seem the least astonished nor did he react to the lost of limb. “Are you satisfied now, Picard?”

“!”

“Why are you so surprised? Everything occurred as expected, including your act of betrayal.”

“You knew.”

“Yes. You were never loyal to me in the first place. You tried to fool me into thinking your allegiance was with me. You even went to the lengths of attacking your comrades in hopes of trying to cause me to trust you. I am sure Leucist had already told you beforehand that Ellis is my daughter. That flicker in your eyes when I told you the truth was unmistakable. Lying to an enemy by lying to your friends, that may be effective, but I do not fall for deceit easily, Picard,” explained Wilhelm serenely. He raised his other hand, and the Azure Overlord fell to his knees, held down by the same force. “Nevertheless, you have betrayed me one moment too late. Issachar only requires you, Picard, before he becomes complete.”

“You aren’t going to get it from me, Wilhelm,” said Picard, clenching his fist which was still stuck in the entity’s body. “Ausfallsicher!”

Picard flared up literally, covered entirely in a white light. The aurora that bled from Wilhelm’s stump lessened dramatically. “You are trying to absorb my powers to prevent the Recurrence? How admirable. Sadly, there is a limit to how much a mortal vessel can contain.”

“Don’t you realize, Wilhelm? You are being rejected as the guardian of Emphericulum!”

“Humans, mere humans are rejecting me? It is unthinkable. They don’t understand how precarious this universe is, this frail world standing on a thin thread. If that balance is tipped, everything will be lost. They will be gone forever, with no chance to coming back. Emphericulum as we know it will be no more.”

“They are trying to walk their own path with their own power,” said Leucist, standing up and dusting his suit. “They will walk across that thread with full knowledge of what it means. The path does not choose the walker any longer. It is time the walker chooses the path.”

“They’ll never be able to do that.”

“Really? I think it’s possible,” replied Issachar. “This world is more flexible than you think. Even as we speak, ripples are spreading throughout the entire universe. The future isn’t set in stone.”

“Are you saying you’re going to release your power? You’re a failsafe, implanted in this universe. If you release your power, there will be more to worry about than just ripples.”

“If it was only me, that’s true. But I’m not by myself,” retorted the fiery-haired boy. As he said that, his comrades rallied behind him.

“I see. Are you saying you’ve come here to challenge your own fate? That’s a fascinating decision. But it is now too late.”

The ochroid machine which everyone had thought as a mere décor started to life, lifting itself into the air. The crystal Dios spun indifferently inside it. Picard glanced at the mech. “What’s going on?”

“Zarathustra is the lock, and Issachar is the key. Together, they cause the Eternal Recurrence under my guidance. However, it has now gone out of control as I continue to lose my powers. Without Joshua or me, it cannot be restrained. The universe will eventually dissipate and vanish.”

“Then we will destroy Zarathustra,” concluded Leucist, stepping forward. “Picard, don’t worry about us. Focus on draining Wilhelm. We will handle the rest.”

Picard stared at the Immaculate Arbitrator for a moment, and then he nodded. “Thank you.”

“Wilhelm, watch us. I will show you that my belief in the light of their wills to be true!” exclaimed Issachar, his body blazing even brighter than Picard’s, for he now owned three-quarters of his original power back. “Everyone, don’t give up now! This is the last fight!”

The humanoid machine gave a dulcet roar and stood itself between Wilhelm and the warriors. The crystal within its body halted, and it deployed itself there.

“My trump card against yours, Yeshua. Let us find out whose is stronger.”

=====================================================
Zarathustra owns every skill possessed by the Übermenschs, but lacks their special abilities, such as Albedo’s regeneration, Sophia’s runic eye, Voyager’s stoicism, Boreh’s water translocation, etc. As such, it is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Issachar’s failsafe powers are incredibly strong, ranging from support to offensive, so use it to your advantage. He is practically an artillery unit that can also heal his allies. Picard will not participate in this fight. Also, Zarathustra is unable to move, so it cannot avoid attacks. This is the final battle of Dawn/Dusk part 1.

[Kenta.....]

I'm not going to lie- this is a very difficult situation to know what to write.  The enemies rapidly switch, as do their battle styles and personalities.  Heroes are everywhere, and there are so many to keep track of.  Weapons can only clash so many times before they become repetitive.

***

Kenta wondered what he'd been thinking, coming here.  He didn't belong here.  He couldn't compare to the most battle-worn person here right now.  His life force should've been gone by now, but as it was, the air was so thick with energy that he almost felt himself leeching off of that to survive.  He wasn't even entirely sure how this was possible, but something was telling him that this was all that was keeping him on his feet, now.

During the entire fight with Picard, Kenta had been unable to help.  His mere assistance to KOS-MOS in destroying the fembot T-elos had taken everything he had, and he was useless during the time where he truly thought his allies would be in danger, up against Picard.  And now, here they were up against an even stronger opponent . . . another mechanical sort of foe.  The Zarathustra.  But Kenta had his eyes peeled on Wilhelm, the one whom he'd come this far to get at.  The bad man that he had to "make go away."  He didn't even know what this man had done.  He couldn't recall.  All he knew was that Wilhelm was causing terrible things to happen, and he had to be taken out.

No.  You can't do that.  Focus on Zarathustra.

But that's not-

That is the target.  Do not argue.

. . .

Balmung held out his arm, taking the lead before his comrades.  "We will approach this one differently," he said flatly.  "Those who need a moment of rest, do so.  This time around, let us take this entity in ones, twos, or threes.  We have a clearer battlefield this way."

The heroes behind him withdrew to give him space, acknowledging his plan.  His father, Boreas, stood by him however.  Kenta nodded to himself, since nobody was looking his way.  How appropriate, that the Azure bloodline should lead off.  But as father and son rushed into combat with Zarathustra, Kenta wondered how his battle with this thing would turn out.  Would he die?  Who would be his partner?  Would he be going in with just one other person, or two?  Or . . . would he be by himself, when the time came, if the time came?  Who'd want to pair up with someone as relatively weak as him?  And what would happen if one of the group members fell?  Did the survivor(s) haul the fallen away and make way for the next wave?  Or would the assault go on until the whole team was down?

Don't think about it.  Find someone.  Don't worry about power.  Just make sure this person is someone who would trust you with their life.

Kenta's eyes swept the vast group before him.  He was slightly surprised when he found Terak to be the only person in the crowd looking right back at him.  Their eyes met, and Kenta's narrowed slightly, hoping for the best.  You want to? he was asking wordlessly.  Terak's expression was impassive, then he turned to mutter to the elder beside him, Sage Niccolo.  Kenta wondered why it was Terak, that he was hoping in.  Yes, this was the only other kid in the group, and one close to his age for that matter, but Kenta honestly could not remember anything about him.  Much less, could he recall anything about this group in general.

He ran on feelings and instinct now, and nothing else.  From his point of view, here's how things had unrolled.  His earliest real memory had been a whirl of colors, a flare of energy, and a great deal of wind rushing past his face.  And . . . there'd been something, or someone, on his back.  Then he'd woken up somewhere unfamiliar, hardly remembering who he was, and who his own family members were, only to be spurred by some inner will to run here.  And WHY?  He knew none of these people around him, or any of the enemies they faced.  All he could really be sure of (again by instinct) were the people who didn't want him dead, and the ones who did.  He had a feeling that the mechanical ones tended to be bad the most frequently.  First it had been that giant-mecha-thingy . . . Jesha, or something?  Then it was the god-fast fembot, T-elos.  And now it was the android before them.  Yep, Kenta was pretty sure that robots couldn't be trusted.

Anyway, here he was, a birthday cake candle in the middle of Hell's ninth circle of fire.  He couldn't have been more out of place.  But he'd still do anything and everything he could, to help the cause . . . whatever the cause was.

The bad man had to be destroyed.

***

Check it out, dudes!  I found some kickass "final boss" music on YouTube.  I was kinda lukewarm about it in the beginning, but after listening to it for the second and third time, I got addicted.  Playing it while typing might just get you into the spirit.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTa_kGaCGgs&feature=related

No, not the spirit of Christmas.

[Picard]

Sorry 'bout that, Kenta. I was trying to move it on faster, since I'm heading to Turkey tonight for ten days, and I won't be able to update. I know this is difficult, but hang in there. Tyren bugging me constantly isn't helping much, either. >_> I cannot make a RP post now, because it's only hours away from my flight. I just came here to apologize. If you want battle music, I suggest 'Godsibb' by Yuji Kajiura. It's incredible. I can't put it into words. She is also well-known for composing epicesque tracks for Tsubasa Chronicles and Madlax. You can stream the music in BlueLaguna.net. Unsurprisingly, it's from Xenosaga Episode III. 'Promised Pain' is also another track which happened to be Episode III's final boss battle.

EDIT: Yo, I'm back, and still waiting for Terak's post.