[The Arcana Is The Mean By Which All Is Revealed] || [Semi-Open]

[great_king_of_evil]

Characters: A lot of characters, check the tags!
Setting: Various floors for gathering the seeds; the battles will happen on the Roof of Towerception (Floor 75).
Format: Prose or action, whichever you prefer!

Summary: That's the log for everything related to the Nyx Avatar player plot! The OOC post is here if you want more information about it! You can also use it if you want to plot about how the battles will go. The log is going to be divided into five main threads: a first thread for Ganondorf to gather the "seeds" who will be used to make Ryoji go into his Nyx Avatar mode. Essentially, he's just going to trap them into nifty, colored crystals while they're distracted. The second thread will be about Ryoji reaching the roof of towerception and subsequently being kept there alongside the four seeds till the heroes arrive.

The third thread will be about the 'heroes' arriving to Towerception-- If they took part in the Sephiroth battle, they will have received a seemingly friendly letter asking them to come, otherwise either they will just happen to pass by the tower and feel a strange presence / hear weird noises. Finally, the fourth thread will be about the battle against the seeds with a sub-thread per seed, and the final thread about the battle against Ryoji. As a reminder, the four "seeds of grief" are: Diarmuid, Lancer, Patrick Dawn and Yukiko Amagi.

Because of how the log is divided, you can start the battles without having to wait for the three "lead-in" threads to be completed.

Warning: Evil gloating. Unending lectures about the tarot arcana. Lots of sad all around. Of course, anyone participating in the battle against either the seeds or Nyx takes the non-negligible risk of being killed or grievously wounded.

Seeds of Grief Gathering
Ryoji's Arrival at the Tower
Villain Speech & Nyx's Awakening

Seeds of Grief Battle
Nyx Avatar Battle

Comments

[Seeds of Grief Battles]

[great_king_of_evil]

[ This thread is for the battles against the Grief of Seeds. Following Ryoji's transformation, the four crystals will have shattered into thousands of pieces, resulting in the four seeds landing safely before the heroes.

Each seed with have their own battle thread, with the occasional cross-over to other threads from one seed to another, or even some assistance from Nyx Avatar. The villains however, will have left at this point. ]

Fight SubThread for Diarmuid Ua Duibhne

[oathshackledbird]

[Notes: First, a link over to the OOC post for those who what to know his general state of mind and fighting style/powers for the battle. Feel free to do any question asking or plotting here too. Secondly, it has been decided that Waver is going to land the killing blow, but how we get to that point is up to those involved in the fight.

Obviously, that means it is totally okay for him to die. :-P

Finally, I am going to be using his alter account, boarrowedyourwife for most of the battle, so don't be surprised if you see tags pop up from it.

And speaking of that account, give me one second to post a real opening tag from it and we can begin!]

Fight, Go!

[boarrowedyourwife]

[His eyes have darkened. No longer anywhere near the bright golden flames they usually are, calling them blood colored wouldn't be right either, since eyes the color of blood still have life to them.

There is no life in Diarmuid's eyes anymore. Perhaps, this is what he feared so when he spoke to Waver of losing himself if he was forced to change much more, but there is really no way to tell at the moment. Like this--so lost to his own sorrow and guilt--he fears nothing and seeks only one thing.

An end. Protecting everyone himself has failed. He has failed. But that is okay because Nyx will do what he has not been able to. Protect everyone...in death.

He waits now for the first fighters to make their moves. He recognizes their faces, but feels no sorrow at having to fight them like this. It will be better soon. Soon...they will all be safe.

And then he will join them.]

someday i'll stop using battle music but it is not this day

[fionnuisce]

[Likewise, whatever emotion had been on Waver's face had completely left it. He was above all else steady, calm, and calculating as fast as he could. Who else knew Diarmuid's fighting skills well enough to stand a chance? Waver had killed all sense of emotion and sentiment within himself--this was the logical course of action. Nothing else mattered, not his doubt over whether or not Jason was charitable enough to keep reviving people or any moral hangups he might have held over the act of murder itself.]

Someone keep the rabid dog busy so he doesn't rip my head off. [His voice was inhumanly calm, as though just discussing the weather.]

[Humans couldn't defeat Servants. That was just a fact--they were faster, stronger, and tougher than any flesh and blood human could ever be. However, Waver had several advantages of his own. One was that he knew Diarmuid's strategies and abilities. Advantage two: unlike Diarmuid, he fought dirty.]

Automatoportum defensio. [The maid dropped to something more shapeless, shifting and twisting into a serpentine form. Gae Dearg could cut through it like paper--that was the idea. Already he was devising a plan of his own: even if Diarmuid realized the shield was just to keep Gae Dearg busy, a hundred other possibilities were laying themselves out in Waver's head. He shifted into a fighting stance, eyes ice cold and sharply focused.]

Come on, then. I haven't all day.

Hell of a way to field test Amelia's new armor

[gradosfinest]

[She was angry. No, scratch that. She hadn't felt this angry since...

... well, since she was forced to fight General Selena. It's a familiar type of anger, lurking just under the surface. Anger at what's happening, anger at the people responsible, but none of it directed at her enemy. Somebody is going to pay for this and pay dearly, but thoughts of revenge are pushed to the back of her head because right now? Right now she needs to be the best damn knight she can be. She knows her duty, understands what she has to do. This is battle and failure is not an option.

Which is why on the outside she looks almost calm in her full armor, the helmet on her head obscuring her face entirely as she clutches the grip of Garm, her axe, with both hands. She swore she'd never wield its power against a friend, but against an opponent like this...

It's him or them, and her duty is to protect as many people as possible.

She doesn't take her eyes off of Diarmuid even as she settles into a fighting stance next to Waver, speaking in an almost unusually calm tone of voice although just a hint of sadness makes its way into her voice.]

... from one knight to another, I'm not going to hold back.

Whatever do you mean? It is the BEST way to try out new armor & there must ALWAYS be battle music.

[boarrowedyourwife]

It doesn't matter if you hold back or not. Coming here has already made this far too easy for me.

[Though his words are threatening, Diarmuid doesn't move to attack. In fact, he hasn't even called Gae Dearg into his hand yet, though Gae Buidhe is out and held at ready. The swords Waver gave him are also at his waist, but he hardly thinks he will need them. Not with both of his beloved spears in his possession again.

His eyes shift from Amelia to Waver, smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Deep inside, something screams, but is very easily ignored.]

A weak, third-generation magus like yourself should not mock those stronger than you. Don't insult my brother again, lest you call down a wrath greater than even his.

I would prefer things to be...gentle for you, but they need not be.

[fionnuisce]

... [There wasn't a flicker of emotion on Waver's face even at the dismissive remark. Maybe it would have hurt, if he hadn't shut down all lines of thought that were deemed unnecessary. Despite not taking his eyes off their opponent, he didn't even address Diarmuid at all and gripped both his daggers tightly.]

Listen up. The red lance can cut through anything created by magic--the yellow one causes wounds that don't heal. The second of those is something he can't just dematerialize--take that as you will.

[Already he determined the most efficient course of action would be to separate Diarmuid from Gae Buidhe; that was the real threat here.]

I'm going to need defensive support. Can you do that?

Fight Subthread for Cu Chulainn (warnings for body horror)

[puppy_lancer]

[OOC Notes: First off, the OOC post for his fighting style. Like Diarmuid, he has an alter account, verybaddog, which will be used for the battle.]

[Lancer had, believe it or not, slept from the time of his capture all the way up to just before the crystals shattered. The first thing that he feels upon waking is rage. Rage and grief that overwhelm him and dig up deeply buried memories.]

[He was angry at himself for being such a failure of a hero. He had abandoned Scatchach and killed Connla and let Misaya die and let Ayaka disappear and get his brother killed so very many times...]

[And he was angry at the Tower for imprisoning him and keeping him alive longer than was needed and hurting all his friends...]

[And he was angry at everyone else standing around and gawking at his misery...]

[He wanted to kill and destroy. Until someone finally came and put an end to him. He has too much pride to kill himself, but he can still make someone kill him...]

[The peaceful expression he had in his sleep goes away, to be replaced by one of absolute anger. He lets out a bellow, more beast than man, as his appearance starts changing.]

[Bone and muscle expand, pulsate, and twist. Veins start popping across his face as his eyes bulge and burn. Fingers lengthen into claws and his jaw dislocates, showing his teeth becoming bloody fangs. Finally, white and blue fur, standing sharp on end, spout all over his body as his armor flies away. In addition, a tail comes out of his backside.]

[The hero Cu Chulainn was famed for his riastrad, or warp spasm, a madness of the body as well as the mind. When he lost his mind to rage, his body followed, warping into the massive wolf-man that he now seemed to be. The only thing that identifies him as Lancer is the ponytail that he has still (which admittedly looks a little silly attached to a giant werewolf/dog thing) and the crimson spear he summons into one paw.]

[With another howl, he smashes his fist into the floor, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. However, he did avert his punch from one direction--that of Nyx and her guardians.]

[irreverence]

[If it wasn't bad enough that they had Cu Chulainn, watching the transformation is two things- worrisome and exciting. Worrisome because she's heard of what happens when she's like this, knows her usual cloneblade abilities might not be up to par with him like this. Exciting because as always, the cloneblade's lust for battle shoots down her spine at the power coming off of him- off of all of them really- trying to make her eager to start the fight.

She can already tell that this is gonna get ugly.]

Didn't think I'd have to go this far...

[The words are an idle murmur, fingers raking backward through her hair, even as her cloneblade armor starts to make its way across her body. Once it's done though, she clenches her fists and grits her teeth as a brief shockwave goes over her from the wrists outward. Her hair lengthens slightly, colors in her eyes flickering from red-on-black to gold-on-red, black armor shot through with glowing violet and shifting around, skin turning a paler shade of blue. It only takes a half-second, and when she's done, she rolls her neck, her shoulders, and cracks her knuckles as she turns to Cu Chulainn.]

Rabid dogs need to be put down.

[She doesn't bother with the double blades coming out of either arm- she just extends the knife-like claws on her hands with a slow exhale and crouches down, ready to attack.]

Nothing personal, babe.

[verybaddog]

[When she first speaks up, Lancer stops his rampage to give a small, confused whine. He knows that voice. It's a voice that's very important to him. Though he can't see her face clearly, something inside him holds him back from wanting to hurt the owner of that voice. Of course, it all changes when she turns blue. He can't recognize her anymore, and so his rage returns.]

[With a howl, he blindly smashes his Gae Bolg at her.]

[irreverence]

It's probably for the best that he doesn't recognize her. The slight hesitation at first had given her pause enough- he's still in there somewhere, but there's not much she can do to stop him without putting herself in danger she doesn't need to be in. The fact that she feels bad at all about the sensible reaction to a dangerous situation- that is, putting down the danger- is confusing.

Since when had having a survival instinct become reason to feel bad about hurting someone?

She dodges Gae Bolg, digs her heels in, and then launches herself at him in retaliation, slamming a hand forward at the last moment to try and sink the blades of her hand into his gut. She's going for quick and vicious- the longer she has to fight against him, the worse off she'll be.]

[verybaddog]

[When she dodges, his first instinct is to turn and try to flatten her with Gae Bolg again, but her speed throws him off balance. He takes the blade right in his gut, though where it hits is a few centimeters off balance. Roaring from pain, he reaches to grab at the object lodged within him. At the same time, he doesn't care to dodge the fireball Yukiko threw in his direction.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick decides to make Lancer dodge instead.]

[The tiger that collides with him is probably large and heavy enough to send them both sprawling when they collide, though he doesn't have quite the momentum to clear them fully of the fireball. Hot flames lick over the fur on his back--the strong smell of it burning permeates the air along with the smoke.]

[On instinct, the big cat rolls off the wolf so he can extinguish what's left of the flames, recovering in a ready stance some distance away. His back feels stiff and is undoubtedly charred. He can't tell how the others fared from the blast.]

Fight - Patrick Dawn

[bashfulshifter]

((Notes: As with the others, here is Rick's OOC battle-style post outlining how he's going to act and what his motivations are. Should be noted that I always refer to RNG for fights, so having Rick die is a possibility! We'll play it by ear.))

[It's almost a relief, knowing that it will be over soon. He's fought for so long, gone through so much in this horrid place--lied in the faces of so many others. Someone had thought to call him a hero, even.]

[And how wrong they were...he's far from a hero. All he's done is survive; it's all he can do, all he's allowed to do, through a constant cycle of worry and fighting and death completely out of his control. But today, Nyx brings death--death brings freedom--and this time, he's allowed to save everyone. No more false promises.]

[Rick quivers as he rights himself, an unusual sight next to the two armored Lancers and their powerful healer. In his layers of sweaters and face wet with tears, a more cynical combatant might find his presence almost comical. He stares down the heroes, shudders with another uncontrollable sob. All he wants to do is run up and hug them, tell them all how big of a mistake he's made, how sorry he is...]

...C-Codi a-a-a-always t-told me...a-about the...th--the g-g-greater good...

[He's speaking to himself more than the others--convincing himself that he's doing the right thing. Yes, he thinks; if it meant saving everyone from suffering, his wife would agree to it without question. Her heart was always in the right place.]

M-Maybe...I'll s-s-see her...a-again...

[Rick's mouth curls into an odd, distant smile, frozen in a crouch while he waits for his opponents to make their move.]

[idkworldruler]

[So here he was, wandering into the room as soon as he heard and felt something going on, bee following in tow far above and behind him at a ace distance. Still wearing his uniform, surveying the surroundings before walking over to the first face that he recognized right off the bat. The guy with the speech-impediment. How excellent, maybe he can learn something from him? Or maybe not

Eyeing the guy as he got into a rather silly posture by his standards, but still threatening nonetheless. As such he brought out his rifle and slowly approached the guy. Still keeping his distance.]

Take it easy boy!

[bashfulshifter]

I...c-c-can't!

[It comes out like a howl, simultaneously frustrated and afraid and spat between grinding teeth. His breathing is haggard as his eyes, wide with paranoia, dart between the uniformed fellow's mask and the gun in his hand.]

N-Nothing--c-can't do--a-a-anything--n-n-nothing l-left--

[Rick takes a single step closer.]

...O-Only d-d-death.

[idkworldruler]

Only death, huh? We can arrange that.

[Gathering his anima into his rifle, he fired a grenade towards Rick. The grenade was made of pure energy from Mitchell, molded and formed to slow his new enemy down to a crawl. Thus making him a much easier target for any future actions against him.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Fortunately for Mitchell, Rick was anticipating a much more localized projectile to fire from that rifle and dodges accordingly. A bullet would not hit a target that simply isn't there anymore, replaced instead by a large orange cat several feet underneath where it was aimed; but as the bullet is actually a grenade, it explodes just behind him and sends the feline tumbling.]

[The cat comes sliding to a halt some distance away--just in time for Yukiko's first round of fireballs to rain in over Mitchell's head.]

[idkworldruler]

[His attention was momentarily drawn away from the first target and towards the more immediate danger. Still a rain of fire was not much of a concern if none touch him. So he quickly changed his tactic to a more defensive one. Erecting a more advanced and stronger barrier of blood around himself temporarily. Thinking that a rain of fireballs could mean poor accuracy. So he only anticipated two or three striking the bubble of blood that he had placed around himself.

Any more than that, however would connect.]

[OOC: Could you give me a number of about how many balls we're talking about and how accurate they are? :3]

Yukiko Amagi

[slightlyoblivious]

[OOC notes, like everyone else: Yukiko's from the Arena timeline, but her Persona is slightly altered from her moveset there. The changes and what she's capable of doing are listed here. The big ones to watch out for will be Maragidyne (heavy fire damage) and Mediarahan (full healing for all allies).

Speaking of, I fully expect her to die in this thread, but I don't have a plan for exactly how that's going to go down. If your character wants to try taking out the magic-user, that is fine by me.]

--

[Once again, Yukiko had been weak. She'd practically let herself be captured, put into a pretty cage. Unlike Lancer, she had been awake the entire time she had been in the crystal. She hadn't been able to stop anything; all she could do was watch. Watch and worry and more than anything, despair.

You're weak. What did you think you could do?

When the crystal had shattered, Yukiko had almost floated downward, landing prettily and gracefully. Once again, for all intents and purposes, she had been the captured princess.

Everyone is already gone. Everyone is already dead. What did you think you were going to do? You made another empty promise. You always make empty promises.

There isn't any light in Yukiko's eyes as she takes the place closest to Nyx Avatar. Her logic is warped: if she keeps Nyx alive long enough, then it will all be over sooner.

This was always how it was going to be. Nothing matters anymore. Nothing, except the end.

Yukiko is completely silent as she takes her fighting fans from a pouch at her waist. She closes her eyes for a moment, and a blue tarot card appears in front of her.]

Come forth, Konohana-Sakuya!

[Normally, that would be a true battle cry, one filled with confidence and strength. Now, her voice is filled with anguish as she slashes at the card with one of her fans.

Her Persona still comes forth as summoned, the winged being floating behind her. She casts Fire Boost on herself, strengthening her power. Then, she waits, watches for just a moment.

After that moment passes, she casts Maragidyne - though it doesn't target any of the others who have come out of the crystals. It will only affect the heroes fighting.]

[evokingfool]

Yukiko-san--

[When the Maragidyne spell comes, it certainly burns. After a momentary wince, he easily slips into the mindset for battle.

Minato pulls out his evoker and pulls the trigger, summoning Throne for a Marakukaja. He doesn't know the true extent of what Yukiko can do, but it's best to increase their defenses first.

If worse comes to worse, he will buff their attacks and end this. But he would still prefer avoiding killing people.]

[slightlyoblivious]

[The voice of a friend would normally get Yukiko to stop attacking, but this is far from normal. Once she sees Minato summon that Persona, that's it. There's no choice, as far as she can see.]

There's no sense in trying to fight this, Minato-kun. There isn't anything left to fight for.

[Compared to the other three fighters, Yukiko's movements forward are a lot slower and a lot more deliberate. She won't get out of the range where she can heal her allies, but she's close enough now to use Fan Assault on Minato. She doesn't bother to dismiss her Persona while she attacks.]

...all that's waiting for us is death. You're better off accepting that now.

[evokingfool]

Death will always be a part of life. But it doesn't mean we can easily give up.

[Throne floats near Minato, the fiery angel spinning its wheel and staring at Konohana-Sakura. It can resist fire and have an ice spell, if it comes to it. With just that Maragidyne spell, it told Minato some important information.

Yukiko use fire, so assume she have some resistance or immunity to fire. Ice is fire's natural opposite in his roster.]

[imperialsun]

Not really.

[That answer is directed to Yukiko. There's a time for speeches, and there's a time for Naoya to just sprout a few one liners and concentrate more on the battle. This is one of those times, forcing his hand to play on defense first before attacking, and making sure Yukiko doesn't get killed in the process. He remembers fire from before? Possibly because he had made a connection to her skills and Chidori's and that's about it. Fire is a good enough reason for him to switch to Succubus, as he casts Makarakarn, a spell that will reflect some of the elemental spells she uses right back at her.

Oh how he wished he had a frying pan to hit the back of her head like he had done with Toro...]

[slightlyoblivious]

[Minato and Naoya are both right: fire is Yukiko's element. What's more, it's becoming clearer that she isn't in her right mind. Normally, she would agree with Minato, but this is anything but. Yukiko shakes her head in response to Minato's argument.]

That isn't true. It just means we need to embrace death.

[She casts a second Maragidyne, this time directly targeting Minato and Naoya. That Makarakarn means some of the fire damage gets reflected back at her, but she barely even winces at the flames.]

I couldn't do anything to save anyone else, but I can - we can - at least stop the pain, stop the suffering...stop everything.