[IC] The Aesteria Chronicles

[Sundered Echo]

When the room decided to pull their guns in unison, Adonai was one of the few who did not immediately reach for his weapon. Instead he sighed, putting down his cutlery calmly, standing and taking the vial of explosive liquid in hand. When the young child leapt forward to shoot the man pursuing him and his (presumably) sister, it drove home one thing to Adonai. These children evidently believed it worth killing over to stay out of his grasp. That was bad. Bad enough that he might’ve considered willingly getting involved, had he not already become involved by virtue of association with the Guild, which in a rare moment of unity seemed to have decided to get rid of this man. Of course, it wasn’t that easy. It was never that easy. The bullet had bounced off the stranger, and he had summoned what looked to be a spirit of ice. Of course, everyone else was going for him, while there were a trio of thugs right next to Adonai. He was surprised they didn’t go for him sooner, but then, the room was filled with people that looked considerably deadlier than him. People and things he mentally amended when the robot launched its fist at one of the thugs, dragging him to an obvious yet inevitable end. Moments later, a Kusagi swordswoman was engaging the remaining two. Her movements were like water, the shimmering steel in her hands wherever it needed to be to keep her safe. She was quite beautiful arrayed in her Kusagi silks, and for just a moment his mind wandered. The sound of battle brought it sharply back however, and he quickly began to come up with a plan of his own. He knew Helen would be setting her spirits on the enemy, and that she would likely throw herself into harms way to get those children out safely. The thugs seemed quite pre-occupied with the Kusagi girl, so he didn’t have to worry about them for the moment. What he did have to worry about, was the safety of his wife. She might fuss over him and the risks of his work all the time, but she still somehow managed to justify throwing herself into the middle of all the most dangerous situations, despite his protests. Just as he predicted, she rushed to the children and began dragging them towards the back entrance. He had to at least assist the more combative types engaging the stranger and his spirit, to give Helen time to escape. He put the explosive vial away quickly while staying on the edge of the room, doing his best not to draw attention. The situation was much too close for indiscriminate weapons, even if they were only a little explosive compared to some of his creations… No, there were plenty of real fighters here to take the brunt of battle, what he needed was to tip the odds in their favour. Then it occurred to him. They were battling a demon that seemed to rely on ice. One of the things he had to mix regularly was a de-icing mist for when the ship flew at high altitudes. He sidled towards the back door while he pulled three separate vials from his coat. Tipping half the contents of one on the floor, he uncorked another and poured some of it into the half empty one. It immediately began to fizz, an acrid smell permeating the vapor that came from the top of the vial. Then went the third vial, and a cork placed quickly, if awkwardly, onto the vial. With that, he promptly three the de-icing grenade at the spirit. When the glass shattered, it would create a mist of chemicals that would make it very difficult for anything to freeze at normal freezing temperatures, as well as melt existing ice unless the ice temperature was extremely low. It probably wouldn’t entirely stop a spirit, but it might at least make it difficult for the creature to manifest in the area. As the grenade struck, he noticed one the Guild members, notably one of the shadier ones, dragging his wife behind the counter somewhat more forcefully than he would’ve liked to have seen Helen treated. Admittedly it was also taking her out of harms way, but still, he wasn’t going let that man be her escort. He made his way across the room as fast as possible, staying close to the walls and away from the enemy. He ducked behind the bar with Helen and the kids with a dark look at Kuro. “Are you alright?” He asked urgently of his wife. People had started firing a variety of firearms at this point and he couldn’t stand the thought of a ricochet catching Helen.

[vietmyke]

The bar erupted into violence. Almost at once, Seru lunged forward with a quick swipe with a burning blade. At the same time, around a dozen slugs from Eli and Alan's pistols tore at the Inquisitor's body, the metal slugs flattening and bouncing off. Following that, a flash of light erupted at the Inquisitor's feet as a horse slugged him with its hooves and a bolt of lightning arced into his back. Simultaneously, the Inquisitor's Ice spirit was attacked. The spirit brushed aside the blood spikes with little difficulty, retaliating with a volley of ice spikes of its own. The Ice spirit hissed as a fireball collided into it along side a vial of liquid. The spirit's hissing increased in aggression as the combination of fire and vial caused it to give off large amounts of steam and haze. The haze quickly solidified and was sent outwards as a sharp burst of sharpened ice shards. Seru protected the children from the shards with her body- its heat melting the shards before they collided. As the haze cleared the bar could clearly see the Ice spirit, standing in a combative stance. Its master on the other hand had collapsed to the floor, where he lay unmoving. Moments later, the ice spirit lost its form and became a cloud of ice crystals- quickly dissipating within the bar. In the resulting calm, Alan distinctly heard Ryza's call for help. Quickly crossing the distance, Alan almost casually kicked the man in the side, knocking him off of the Kusagi woman. The man gave a sharp cry of pain, but quickly scrambled to his feet, ready to resume his attack. He looked up to see Alan's revolver staring him down. The man hesitated, and Alan moved the pistol downwards and shot the man in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground howling in pain. "Up you get Rook," Alan said in a calm voice, reaching out to his fallen comrade, still eyeing the collapsed Inquisitor. Inquisitors were human just like the rest of them, but he had fallen a lot easier than Alan had expected. "Is he dead?" the barkeep asked, poking his head over the bar. Almost on cue, the pub's front door swung open. Into the bar strode a tall man with blonde hair. It was Walkins. "That almost looked painful," Walkins said cheerfully as he drew a pistol. An instant later the bar's back door swung open. Another tall man with blonde hair casually walked through the threshold. It was Walkins. "Indeed, that looked rather unpleasant." Walkins said cheerfully as he drew a Steam repeater. "Down!" Alan said sharply- pushing Ryza back to the ground and diving to the floor, Seru deftly knocking a table over as he did. The thick oaken table shook as a few of the repeater's rounds struck it- luckily the low caliber weapon couldn't pierce through thick materials. The steam repeater continued to sweep across the room with little regard for the remaining thugs. The Ice spirit re-materialized on top of the bar and stared down Helen, her husband, and the two children, its arms becoming large spears of ice. It reared back and lunged forward with an arm, intent on impaling the doctor on it.

[EliteCommander]

Much to Ignis’ relief, he saw that Adonai was moving to flee just like Helen. That was good, as it meant he didn’t have to worry about anyone he actually cared about dying. He could just focus on fighting this thug and his ice spirit; perhaps he could even have some fun with it? Just as Seru was about to attack, Ignis floated down behind her and took on his translucent, half-complete form. “Ah, now you’re a woman I like. You’re rather…” Ignis began with a smirk on his draconic face and a confident tone. He reached his arms forward, mostly for show, as he amplified the energy of the flames Seru was creating. Her blade glowed not red, but blue with an intense heat that made the already formidable spirit that much more powerful. “…hot.” When Seru moved to protect the children from the ice shards, Ignis followed and continued to amplify her flames to make the task that much easier. For all of the confidence of this thug, Walkins, it was not long before he fell, seemingly dead. The ice spirit dissipated as well, either because it was weakened in the fight, or because it didn’t care enough to stick around with its master gone. In either event, Ignis was not keen on trying to find it again. For a few moments, it looked like they had made short work of the troublemakers. Ignis gave a chuckle and was attempting to come up with a decent quip when both the front and rear entrances of the pub swung open within moments of one another. Ignis glanced from the front door to the back…then back and forth a few more times for good measure. He was beyond confused at the duplicates of the man he thought they just killed. However, he did not remain idle for long, as when the ice spirit rematerialized, it did so way too close to Helen, sparking his immediate reaction. In the blink of an eye, Ignis’ form erupted into flame. He drew in as much of the heat radiating from Seru as he could, then used it to amplify his own attack. “Helen!” He shouted, wanting the spirit to pay attention to him as he lunged towards it from the side. The front half of his body had a recognizable draconic form, but behind that was of a column of swirling flames. It was true that he had a weakness to ice spirits, but usually, those spirits also shared a weakness to fire. He hoped to overwhelm it in flame, but at the very least, the flaming burst of air would hopefully throw off the ice spirit’s attack.

[Lucius Cypher]

Harvey's hands didn't connect to anything it seemed. The Ice Spirit dissipated vanished before Harvey could make contact, and the thug was disposed of before he could be pulled into his doom. Such a pity. And as quickly as it started the fight as over. Walkin's the Inquisitor was down, and with his spirit defeated Harvey figured that the Inquisitor was dead. "Well, that was rather-" Of course Harvey would speak too soon. From the front and back doors of the tavern two more figures came out, both of them Walkins. Harvey couldn't believe it. Where they illusionary doppelgangers? Perhaps simply very similar looking men? Could Walkin's have been born triplets? Honestly, questions that didn't really matter. The bullets pinging off his body told him that whoever the two were they were real threats. Harvey looked at the two Walkin's with his Detect Life to see if they bared the Mark he had put on the first Walkin and to discern if they were merely products of spirit magic. But whether or not they were Harvey aimed to take them both out. The Ice Spirit from before rematerialized once again and Harvey did a check to see if it was the same one from before or an entirely different one. Ice Spirits wouldn't be a unique idea to be certain, but figuring out if this Ice Spirit was the same one that was defeated from before would at least tell Harvey that it's true master, whether it is Walkin's or not, was still be alive to command it. But the spirit wasn't Harvey's target seeing that a flaming draconian spirit would occupy it. No instead Harvey fired both his fists at the two Walkin's who opened fire on them, and in the event that Harvey misses he also made sure to be able to redirect one of his hands to the wall behind the Walkin's who emerged from the back entrance. This way Harvey could pull himself over to the possible clone and thrash him.

[Terminal]

-Null-

[Fallenreaper]

You said might, keyword Ignis. Doesn’t mean you’re always right after all. Helen pointed out. She had been intent on making it to the back exit. Her hand gloved each child’s, though she felt the boy possibly struggle a bit, while she lead them. However her path was denied when someone took a rough grip about her arm and jerked around the bar end. It took a few moments to realize who had pulled her about when the very man who had tried to rudely interrupt Alan and his friend, now huddled down with her and the children behind the bar. Helen gave him a scowling frown, even if he made a good point, and bit her tongue. The fight however went on, unable to influence the outcome as she listened to the fight. Sounds of ice shattering, shots, shouts, and dying started to remind her of the conflicts when she was a medic in the army. It made her skin crawl to think about it as she watched Kuro draw a black powder grenade forth and set it in front of her. Her eyes widened in discomfort as she recognized the make, model and pure destruction of the thing he set before her. “Fine,” She said then reached for it, her eyes on the boy should he consider pulling another rifle stunt. The other man crab walked back to the other end of the bar and possibly back into the fight. Something she rather not to do as she huddle the children close, her hand ensuring the grenade didn’t go off, while eyeing the door. So worried and focused, she barely noticed her husband slip up beside until she nearly jumped from her skin. Her body jerked and eyes jerked to spot his familiar dark eyes shooting Kuro a venomous look. His question came too late when she realized the pin device had started out, dangling half way out in her reaction. Adonais hands shot out to cover her own, deftly slipping the pin back into the mechanism. He took the destructive device from her hand, cradling it gently and spoke. “Its alright. Its just me. We’ll get out of this.” Normally he might’ve modified the weapon on the spot, but for the moment he just held it, ready to use should the situation get worse. “I think that answers your question, Luv…” Helen said softly, more to herself then her husband. The violence seemed to have died down when the summoner and his spirit had been defeated. She felt Nahor, Sira and even Ignis seemed pleased with the job while the man and his spirit crumbled under every surrounding gun. Slowly Nahor had trotted his way toward her, his heat wafted alongside the water creating steam over his outline. His nostrils snorted while the mist started to clear just a bit. Relaxing a bit, the doctor began to pull upright with the children in toll. She noted Alan making his way to his friend while he kicked the man off, his revolver pointed at the fellow’s face and in the attacker’s hesitation received a shot. The sound echoed and Helen flinched in reaction. Thanks Alan, he didn’t really need that and you made more work for me. Thanks.. She chided the man in silence. “That was too easy-” Helen began before the barkeep popped his head up and spoke. It seemed a sign for more trouble when the front door swung open with a loud bang and in walked the very same man. Only difference was he wasn’t dead. His lips smirked while he spoke in an irritating, cheerful tone about his ‘demise’. His hand reached in for a pistol and withdrew it, most of everyone’s ammo been fired, with ease. Bang. Her head turned to the rear and again, Walkins walk in. With a steam repeater rifle. “Oh, sweet spirit alive!” Helen shouted as she and both children once more huddled behind the bar just when the rifle went off toward Alan and his friend. Her head jerked upward at the sound of ice materializing. The ice spirit loomed over her and stared down at the foursome, its arm growing long and pointed like icicle spears. Its arms raised then rushed forward with the intention on impaling her. Helen naturally thought of the children first. Her arms shoved them from harms and her body rose up, trying to edge away. She wasn’t fast enough. Ignis’ shouting roared in her head but her eyes only saw the points coming down at her. "Shit.."

[Terminal]

Kuro peeked his head over the counter-top once the sound of gunfire dwindled, staring at Walkins where the man lay on the floor. He got up and brushed a few chips of melting ice from his coat idly as he turned and began walking back over to Helen and Adonai. "If we are to leave him alive, we need to divest him of his arms and clothes." Kuro called out to Alan. "He likely has an enchantment responsible for deflecting bullets. Without it, he will be more pliable." "If he's even still alive." The barkeep said, still crouched behind the bar but finally poking his head above it. "Is he dead?" Walkins came in through the front door and issued a diminutive quip. "No, no he is not." Kuro said as he casually settled back down into a crouch behind the bar. If the first Walkins had been immune to bullets, chances were this one would possess the same enchantment. Kuro's concerns turned instead to the rear entrance - the others could cover the front door easily enough, and it was unlikely the doppelganger there was long for this world. Had it been Kuro, now would have been the time when he came in through the back entrance and threw a blackpowder grenade into the throng of people standing in the middle of the bar - Walkins 3.0 came in through the back entrance, somehow eluding Helen's watch over it, and began hosing down the main room with his steam repeater. 'It could be worse.' Kuro thought absently. Gazing down the bar as he was, he had a clear view of the ice spirit as it began to rematerialize, and finally, he now had a target that he could actually hurt. Everybody knew that ice was brittle. Kuro drew the first of his blackpowder revolvers from his coat and opened fire, quickly emptying six bullets at the ice spirit's center of mass. He didn't stop there, his left hand having already retrieved his second blackpowder revolver - he dropped the emptied one to the ground immediately once it was out of bullets, clutching the second as he passed it on from his left hand, and emptied that into the ice spirit as well even as it started to form its ice spears. "I told you to watch the exit, doctor." His voice irritated, his bored expression finally breaking, his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance as he dropped the second revolver even as his left hand retrieved one of his steam canisters from within his coat. He immediately pulled the pin with his right hand. If Walkins and his doppelgangers alike were resistant to bullets, and if there were any more inbound, it was time to make sure they couldn't do any spotting.

[Whoami]

Ryza held the knife in place, only inches above her heart. The thug put his weight into it, but the strength from Oni was enough for Ryza to keep it steady, albeit quite difficult. It turned out that her cry for help didn't go unanswered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the robot thing fire a fist toward them. It caused a short lapse in her concentration, she could feel the blade poking and prodding at her chest, cutting fabric and drawing a tiny amount of blood. When the fist had veered off course, Alan came in and made the save. She heard the thud of the kick and felt a great relief as the weight of the big man was thrown from her. She looked at the thug and watched as he was shot in the knee. The loud bang inside the building made her ears ring shortly. With Alan's order to get up and an offering of his hand, Ryza took it and got on her two feet. She bowed her head respectively, despite the chaos, "Arigato gozaimasu." she thanked in her native tongue, her breath ragged. Oni floated behind her right shoulder and the air distorted, the spiritual shield forming a bubble around her and partially around Alan. She picked her sword up from the floor and flicked it, any blood that didn't stick to the blade was lashed out in a thin, curved line around her. Ryza noted the blood, and as her adrenaline began to subside, she noted the body of the pistolier. Her amethyst purple eyes followed along the lengthy slash from collar bone to waist. The sight of an excess amount of blood and the permanent expression of fear on the body, the last look he gave before Ryza's katana struck true, hit her like a brick. While the rest of pub was trying to figure out if the inquisitor was dead, Ryza was feeling her gut twist. With the combat high wearing off, realizations of taking a man's life started gripping her. She felt like she needed to throw up, placing a hand at her mouth. Her knees were quivering underneath the kimono. Ryza was prepared to take a life, knowing she would have to eventually with the guild; but she was never prepared for the feeling of dread right after. Then the doors kicked open and her father's business partner walked in from two different entrances. Just as quick as it had faded, the adrenaline returned. It took a moment for it to register that they were caught in a deadly pincer attack, with firearms on both ends. Just as it clicked, Alan pushed her to the ground, she immediately covered her head and ears, protecting from the bullets and the deafening sound of indoor gunfire. With clenched teeth, she opened her eyes, and saw that Seru had kicked over an oak table to block the shots. While the majority of the bullets were stopped, a few cracks here and there in the wood managed to allow passage of a couple rounds. Thankfully, Oni had never dropped its shield after returning to Ryza, any bullet that made it through the wood found itself stopped and dropped with a 'thwump'. Ryza witnessed one bullet stop only a mere four inches from the side of Alan's neck. She dared to look elsewhere and saw the ice spirit on the roof, forming to strike at the deathmarked children. She nudged Alan with a foot and pointed at the spirit just as Kuro started to unload bullet after bullet from several revolvers. She grabbed her katana, this time ready to handle the consequences of taking another life; at least.. She thought. Her eyes glanced over to Oni, and without words, the air in front of Alan's revolver started to distort, Oni's spiritual energy standing by to add itself to a single shot. Ryza stood, katana firm in hand, and neared the edge of the oak table. With Oni's energy supporting Alan, there was no shield for her; that much was made evident went a bullet found a crack in the wood and neatly grazed across her stomach, eliciting a wince of pain but nothing more. Her ears were listening for the end of the barrage, hoping that the inquisitor was going to need to reload soon. It'd take perfect timing, without her shield, charging an armed and armored man with nothing but a sword, there was no room for error. Ryza only hoped that the Walkins with the pistol was being covered by some other guildsman. The last thing she wanted was a shot in the back. But still Ryza listened, waiting for the end of the spray-and-pray. When it came, Ryza rounded the table and charged. Once Ryza was in sword distance, she swung.

[Rtron]

Shreckt hit the ground, the ice spikes flying over her head. She was quickly back on her feet, ready to attack again, but it was useless as the spirit dissipated. She was far enough away from the final barrage of ice that those that hit her merely glanced off her armor. Eli took the opportunity that the collapse of Walkins' had created to reload his pistol. "He probably is," he said casually to the barkeep, "but there's more than likely something really nasty about to happen. Nothing lethal to all of us of course. He still wants the children alive." As soon as that comment had been finished, the first Walkins walked in. "See? Like thi-" Eli's positively cheerful remark was cut off as another one appeared behind him. Then there was no time to talk as bullets began flying. Eli, cursing as he felt the wounds in his leg and shoulder reopen, dove behind the counter. "Like this. He has a cloning spirit. Lovely." Shreckt. You take the one with the pistol, Zaz, Saruk, and I will go for the steam repeater. Lumin, take care of that damn ice spirit. Yes, I'll get right on that. After I finish this smoke... NOW! Fine, fine calm down. I preferred you before Ragnarok arrived.

Kal, doing his job with a happy little smile, simply nudged his way in front of Helen and the children as the ice spikes came down. The spikes were deflected by a brief shield of light made by the little turtle. By then, Lumin was already spitting another fireball at the ice spirit. Shreckt took the blood still oozing from her palm and slashed it at the pistol wielding Walkins, following close behind it it, intent to impale the pistol wielding Walkins' on her sword.. A crescent of blood, sharp as a sword, raced towards his chest. Eli stood and fired six shots at the steam repeater wielding Walkins. Saruk made the third shot more likely to pierce armor, and Zaz sent another lightning bolt his way. "Keep them coming after we kill these two!" He called out to the one in front of him. "I want to see how many times you're willing to die!"

[vietmyke]

The Ice spirit reared back, its arms ready to pierce the doctor, its body jerking slightly as about a dozen metal slugs embedded itself in its body. Cracks formed in its body, and smaller chunks of ice broke off of its body, but its momentum didn't slow. It did however react as a draconic being of fire emerged nearby and lunged into its side. The spirits tumbled to the side, the tip of the Ice spirit's spear cutting at the edge of the doctor's ear. As the two spirits landed to the side, the Ice spirit writhed in pain. The heat from Ignis, and the cold from the Ice spirit combined with a hiss, heat rapidly leaving Ingnis' body, and subsequently entering the Ice spirit's, causing both no small amount of discomfort. Alan blanched as Ryza stood up and charged the Walkins with the repeater as he paused to reload. "What the hell!" he called after her as she charged him. Alan spun around and drew his other revolver, and opened fire at the Walkins with the revolver- as Eli and several of his spirits had began attacking the Walkins with the machine gun already. The repeater wielding Walkins rocked slightly as bullets ineffectively bounced off his jacket- a feat that implied that his armor was enhanced by some sort of magic. However, he did react as a bolt of lightning struck him, forcing him a step back. As he recoiled from the impact, he looked up in time to see a pair of steel fists collide with his body. While he seemed to be protected from bullets, the sheer mass of the steel fists knocked him off of his feet. Moments later, the charging Kusagi girl was upon him, sword ready to rend him in half. He held out his arm to block the blade- which stopped the blow, at the cost of his arm being lopped off. He growled in pain and shot forward with his other arm, a surprisingly powerful palm strike forcing the Kusagi warrior several steps backward. Walkins got to his feet, clutching at his missing forearm. The hewn limb however didn't drip blood, instead an inky black liquid seemed to float upwards out of the open wound. The pistol wielding Walkins was unphased as half a dozen revolver rounds tore into him- as well as an attack from Shreckt's blood. He couldn't however stop Shreckt from plunging her blade into his chest. His eyes widened for a moment in a face of pain. This look was quickly replaced by a look of confident loathing, and Walkins swung forward with a metal plated fist. The knuckle plates connected cleanly with Shreckt's torso, and a loud BANG was heard as Shreckt was sent flying backwards. Without missing a beat, Walkins quickly closed the small gap between him and the doctor and children, firing his revolver at Kuro as he quickly advanced- either ignoring or brushing off any attacks that came his way. He seemed unperturbed by the apparent pain of his spirit, or the steam that cloaked the immediate area surrounding the spirits. Now pointing his pistol at the Doctor and her husband, he deftly reached out and grabbed at one of the twins. The female one squealed in pain as Walkins grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her away with him. "No!" The brother yelled, giving an audible snarl as he leapt at the Walkins, ineffectively jabbing and pounding at the man's chest and arms with a knife taken from the back of the bar. Walkins merely snorted and shoved him back with an arm, casually pointing his revolver and shooting the boy as the teen stumbled backwards. "Pierce!" the girl screamed as Walkins continued pulling her away.

[Lucius Cypher]

Harvey felt one of his fists collide with Walkins while the other smashed into the wall behind the pistol toting one. He retracted his hand and readied himself to charge into rifle armed Walkins when he heard the scream of the girl. She was being taken away while the boy, who Harvey presumed must have been her brother or something, tried to desperately get her back. But Walkins was too big of a man to be stopped by the child's blow and merely knocked him away. Harvey saw Walkins draw his gun at the boy and he knew he had to act fast. But neither of Harvey's fist could collide with the Walkin's or protect the boy in time before he'd suffer a few likely fatal bullet wounds. But... Harvey could get to him, in spirit form. He'd have to. "Sorry about this kid!" Harvey left his body and charged strait at the boy. Because he was still conscience, possessing him was out of the question. And because they lacked a pact Harvey couldn't simply Life Link him. No, he'd have to get a bit rough, but better that he's a bit tousled than filled with bullets. Harvey took possession of the boy's clothes and forced him out of the way of Walkin's pistol. He felt the bullet rip through the shoulder, but hopefully the kid would be stable long enough to get him out of the way. "Don't worry kid, you sister is safe with us." Harvey's ethereal voice spoke to the boy as he jumped from his clothing to Walkin's gun. Hopefully it wasn't magical or something, but once Harvey took possession of the pistol he tried to wretch it out of Walkin's hand, or at least start damaging the delicate parts of the pistol to make it nonfunctional. Harvey didn't just stop there however; as he possessed the pistol he also tried to telepathically control and disrupt other things on Walkin's, flinging weapons out of their holster and looking for hidden ones like pistols and bombs to break. He's try to suffocate Walkin's with his own shirt if Harvey wasn't trying to disarm him first.

[Whoami]

Ryza's blade cut clean through flesh and claimed the inquisitor's arm. His counter attack was expected, but she didn't count on it being so forceful after the shock of losing a limb. She exhaled quickly from the blow, eliciting an 'oof!' as she staggered back and collected herself. Her eyes were on the stump of his arm, noting the black ink taking the place of the inquisitor's blood. It caused a look of confusion and concern in Ryza's eyes, making her grip the soaked katana tighter. She side stepped a few times, watching out of her peripherals to make sure nothing would sneak up on her. Despite all of the sound of gunfire and fighting in the bar, none of it broke Ryza's focus on taking this thing down. None of it except for the cry of a child. She looked over and saw the girl being taken away and the boy laying on the floor. That lapse in her guard led to the Walkins in front of her seize the initiative. There was a quick blow to her gut, a loss of air as it escaped through her mouth. Ryza dropped her katana and fell to her knees, hands at her stomach as she tried to capture some air. Another blow was bound for her, but her guardian spirit, Oni, came to her. The air before the mask rippled just a blink before the blow connected with the wooden thing. A 'thwump' carried on a short distance around them and the inquisitor's punch was deflected off the side, throwing him off balance. Ryza recovered from her winding and quickly grabbed the katana. She stood and tripped the man onto his back, pinning him with a foot to his chest and the katana at his neck. Oni formed that rippling shield around her to protect from any stray shots that would come her way. "Stay still, Varisie!" Perhaps he could be interrogated after this mess.

[Rtron]

Shreckt only had time to spit out a curse in Kusagi. Then she was flying backwards and briefly had no idea where the earth was. Then she slammed into the back of the bar, a few feet away from the repeater using Watkins. She was reacquainted with intense pain, and after regaining her breath back, likely taught Ryza a few new curse words in Kusagi. Then she realized where she was. A short distance away from one of the men who had attacked the entire bar. Or, one of the clones of the same man. Shreckt lunged towards the Watkins with the repeater, slicing horizontally at the clone's kneecap. All she had wanted to do was talk to a fellow Kusagi. But no, the damned Rider had to interfere first, then the Inquisitor had to show up, now everything was a damned mess. Luckily there was something she could take her frustration out on right here. By chopping him up to tiny little bits and pieces.

Eli, on the other hand, was holstering his revolver. Bullets weren't working, and it was clearly time to stab something. Just before everything went to even more hell, Eli summoned lightning in his hand. Then the boy got shot and the girl was being dragged away. By the hair. Screaming. Eli doesn't normally feel rage. Contempt, sure. Irritation, all the time. Disgust, both for himself and others, most of the time as well. But rage, the kind that almost destroyed reason, had been killed with the rest of his team in the Wetlands. But now, seeing what Watkins was doing to the girl, it was back. It was almost enough for him to ignore Ragnarok's chuckle. Eli didn't shout. He didn't scream, and he didn't utter a challenge. He just leapt over the counter, tearing open both his shoulder and leg wounds in the process and chased after the Walkins with the girl. When he was within range he attempted to tackle the Watkins down. By shoving his sword through the pistol wielding clone's chest and bearing him to the ground, where Eli would attempt to cut his opponents head off.

[Sundered Echo]

The battle raged around Adonai. It seemed that their foe was quite the competent summoner. Whatever spirit he had bound to him had given him the ability to, well, have copies of himself. Which needless to say made killing (or evading) him rather more difficult than Adonai would have liked.

The first thing to do, though, was get rid of the common mass produced grenade that Helen had almost set off by accident. He was quite familiar with the model, and given its likely blast radius he decided it would be best to salvage it rather than throw it somewhere to explode and possibly hurt innocent people. A few quick taps from a quickly procured tool and the explosive powder that fueled the grenade was streaming out of the soon to be inert sphere. Adonai collected it up in one of several empty pouches, it would still be useful later.

Once he had finished, he joined the others teaching the Ice-spirit its lesson. The mixture from before would still be in the air, but that apparently wasn’t enough to discourage it from attacking his wife. His steam revolver was free of its holster in a blink and leveled at the things center of mass. Six quick trigger pulls, accompanied by the signature whump-hiss of high pressure steam being released, and Adonai’s gun clicked empty. His sword also came free of its sheath, gripped in his other hand, he held it high, ready to parry any further attacks on his wife that the persistent beast might make.

So consumed with rage and the desire to safeguard his wife was he, that it was not until part way through his reloading that he noticed one of the Walkins clones had managed to take the girl by the hair and begin dragging her away. By then Eli had leapt after the Walkins’, flashing steel in hand. Though Adonai wished to see these children kept safe from Walkins, he would not risk Helen for them, and he wouldn’t let her run blindly after them either. In his cold and calculating anger, he chose to leave the girls fate to Eli.

[Fallenreaper]

Helen and Adonai

Helen's eyes widened, frozen and stun in place when the Ice spirit's arms shot down. An image of her past flashed when she considered her life might've ended there. Her childhood with Eli, her younger brother, and their family's spirits. Ignis' pact and her uncle's betrayal, her body broken and injured in more ways then one. Blood, metal and war during her enlistment. Even Adonai;s craziness over their airship, fights which ended in passionate nights. All bitter and sweet swam in her eyes, making her angry it had to end here.

A barrier sudden appeared between her and the point. The ice crashed into it but seemed only partly affected, the point digging in farther to impale the doctor. Several shots from Adonai's pistol suddenly found themselves into the Ice Spirit sending many chips flying off its form and onto the floor. It still didn't seem to faze it. The being just pushed more, determined to end the doctor, as it tried to break through the barrier.

Ignis arrived just in the nick of time when it seemed the barrier might've not been enough.

His voice roared and rammed his fire coated body into the Ice Spirit, sending it to its side. The chill of the spear point clipped her ear sending her hand upright and note the sensation of blood on her hand. The Ice Spirit withered as her mind thought of Ignis. Panic and worry flooded her mind, her voice immediately shouted his name. “Ignis!”

Even if she knew he was no danger of dying, she still held deep affection for the mischievous spirit despite his ability to be a pain in her skirts.

Meanwhile, the others were confronting the other clones easily as they battled and tried to hold their own. It seemed Walkins were coming out of the wood works faster than they could end up destroying them making the scene rather chaotic in nature. It wasn't until one of the clones were near did something horrible happen. Her arms had been wrapped tightly about the two youngsters, shielding them, before she felt the girl suddenly ripped away. Her head jerked in terror, twisting into anger when she saw the bastard pull the child near him, his hand threatening rip a fistful in his snatch. Her instincts stirred when her body moved to stop him.

Adonai quickly put a hand across her to stop her from leaping after the girl. He wanted to stop the Walkins too, but he wanted Helen to stay alive more. “Helen. You can't take him. We’ll get the girl back as soon as we can, but you won’t be of any help to her dead.” The goodness in her heart sometimes stopped his wife from thinking before rushing to help someone. It was annoying, but it was also one of the reasons he loved her.

”Adonai, please he’ll kill her!”Helen her eyes wide and shock, filled with fear as she struggled to break loose only to settle at his logic. Her attention focused on her husband that she didn’t count on what happened next.

The boy, naturally, had reacted the same as her. Before she could tighten her grip and stop him, the boy shot off too with a shout and snarl. He tossed himself at the man, his hand reached for a knife behind the counter and tried to stab him. It was pointless as the man shoved him away then pointed his revolver. Helen's eyes widened, her voice screamed loudly while the gun's bang echoed in her ears. The boy looked stun for a moment when he stumbled back. The girl screamed though Walkin's grip held fast, his figure jerking her away.

Helen's body shook. Not just on the outside but deep within her core, her breathing hard and deep until nothing could seem to stop her. The shot looked like it should've hit him dead in the chest, killing him instantly at first. Unknown to Helen, the boy's clothes had been possessed by Harvey and jerked clear, the bullet piercing the kid's shoulder instead. Unaware of what was happening to Walkins, Helen had made her way to Pierce where her trembling hands started to stopper the blood. It bled worse than it looked though the fact it was a child did nothing to calm her. A wounded adult was one thing, but a child was a completely different one.

“Adonai, get my bag now!” Helen shouted, her hands were already stained red while she forced her mind into her task. Calm... calm down damn it, she scolded herself softly though her body failed to listen.

Adonai holstered his empty pistol quickly - it was empty anyway, and grabbed the bag. He had it to Helen quickly, and noticed the boys wound. It made him queasy to see a child shot like that. Even the worst air-pirates weren’t that brutal. “He’ll be alright Helen. If anyone can save him it's you. I believe in you. Just focus.”

Helen nodded though her skin looked paler by the second as she worked on the boy.

Nahor and Sira

When Walkins grabbed the girl, two spirits reacted while Helen was distracted. Nahor, despite his more simple minded he had a fondness for Ignis since both had similar elements. Without thinking twice the horse braced himself and mouth opened, heat gathering as moments later he used Geyser. Water, hot and steamy, rushed forward at the Ice spirit giving Ignis something to draw from.

Just before Eli tackled Walkins to the ground, a flash and claws found themselves in Walkin’s hand. Sira's sudden hiss and yowl was all that told the summon the cause of his pain. The tom's body quickly landed in the girl and would likely knock her down, tossing them both out from harm's way. When they hit the ground, the child might note a slight rumbling purr coming from Sira's throat followed by a gentle meow. His head rubbed softly on her head trying to get her attention. Even in the midst of combat, the tom cat was a loving bastard at least.

[EliteCommander]

'Owwwwww' was the most prevalent thought going through Ignis' mind as he essentially tackled the ice spirit, eventually passing straight through it and ending up on the other side once the icy beast started to tip over. Ignis had two types of energy; one kind was excess heat that he pulled in and amplified from the environment. This was energy he could easily absorb or release with no real issue. The other kind of energy was heat that was incorporated into his very being; essentially, it was him. He could replenish it over time, but not near as quickly as he could draw in excess energy. A lot of the heat he forced into the spirit was simply excess energy he had amplified for his attack, but since the ice spirit's magic was quick to bite back through his attack, he could not avoid losing some energy from himself. It was painful sensation which was stretched across his entire "body," but he had been through worse. For now, he had to focus; the ice spirit wouldn't give up that easily.

As Ignis started to turn around, he floated himself up closer to the ceiling so he could get a quick look at the situation. The whole pub was in chaos, with bullets flying and spirits fighting, but from the moment Ignis had to watch, he saw one of the children get shot, and the other being dragged away. Eli looked to be going for the girl, and in different situations, Ignis might have helped, but he did not doubt for a moment how Helen would react. She would go straight for the boy, not really concerned with the threats around her. Of course, that was what he was for.

The ice spirit was probably the greatest danger to Helen, so his target had not changed. Just as Ignis was starting to figure out how to react, he felt a pleasant warmth radiating from the ice spirit's direction. Nahor, the steam horse, had hit the frozen beast with a nice blast of steaming water. 'Ah, that's what I needed. Got to love that boiling equine.' Ignis thought with a smile crossing his flame-covered face.

Although Ignis could not immediately heal himself from the excess heat, he could draw it in to help fuel his fire. He wanted to engulf the ice spirit in a stream of fire, but he had to remember where he was. This was a pub, and a crowded one. Helen would probably be upset if he burned it down, so he had to be a bit more precise. "Freeze this you overgrown icicle!" He shouted as he started to launch small, but intense balls of fire at the spirit. Now that Helen was not moments from being impaled, he could afford to keep his distance. He did not know how much it would take to knock the ice spirit out of the fight completely, but at the very least, it could not just ignore him.

[Terminal]

Kuro, well-practiced in spotting dangers on the battlefield, had already started ducking behind the bar again the moment he saw the barrel of Walkin's pistol swerving in his direction. The bullets the doppelganger fired at the Rider found only air. Still clutching the steam canister, one finger precariously holding the trigger in place with the pin held in his off-hand. He cursed silently as he saw the ice spirit only barely being held back from slaying the doctor - and just in time to see Walkins come around the end of the bar. Holding the steam canister as he was, Kuro was in no place to close the distance or counterattack, especially not when Walkins' pistol wasn't out of bullets, and especially not with so many nominal allies serving as inconveniently placed bullet catchers.

The best move would have been to let Walkins escape with the girl. Neither of the children were the responsibility of anybody in the bar, and it would be best if the firefight were ended by their abrupt kidnapping rather than prolonged by granting them asylum. That Walkins would escape with the girl was inconsequential, at least to Kuro. He already had what he needed from her.

Before he could even settle back into his seat properly, two children quietly barged in and greased the barman's palm, which was interesting enough on its own - Kuro though, had much sharper vision than most of the others in the bar, and as the girl crossed the room he caught sight of a particular detail of her person - something he had never seen before. His eyes immediately shot to the boy to see if he had the same feature, but if he did, it was well concealed.

The Narrator, Page 2, Post 12

Kuro peeked over the bar counter, watching as Eli made a reckless charge at the doppelganger, supported by numerous spirits, while Ryza held another at swordpoint.

'There are more.' Kuro concluded as the girl was knocked away from Walkin's grasp. He supposed there MIGHT have only been the three Doppelgangers, but somehow he doubted the reality of the situation was so tidy. He lifted his finger from the trigger of the steam cannister, idly lobbing it into the center of the room.

"This farce is OVER." He declared loudly as the steam began to billow, thicker and heavier than sheet fog throughout the entire bar. "Everyone out, these doppelgangers will not harass us in the open daylight of our plaza."

Kuro was uncertain if anybody would listen, but even if nobody headed outside the statement would serve as sufficient misdirection of intent. Even unable to see a foot in front of his face, Kuro's keen senses gave him a distinct advantage in the new environment. Even now, he could feel the danger and violence rolling off of each combatant in the room likes waves, especially potent and concentrated around the pistol-wielding Walkins and Eli. A threat so massive, Kuro could have felt it even had he been deaf and numb on top of being blind - which only served to reinforce his notion that this battle was not one that would serve anyone's interests by being prolonged.

Unseen, he faded into the fog of battle, maneuvering through the confused shuffle of blinded individuals seeking support and vision like a snake slithering through the underbrush as he slipped one of his knives out from the sheath inside of his right sleeve. If more doppelgangers came in, they would find that mere resiliency to bullets and armor would not protect them from Kuro, poised to strike unseen from the fog.

[vietmyke]

Though Ryza had pinned the repeater wielding Walkins to the ground, the man seemed undisturbed by the blade at his neck. In fact, he merely smirked as a mechanical, palm sized revolver quickly swung out of his sleeve as he pointed it at the swordswoman and fired, forcing her to dodge out of the way lest she get shot. With her out of the way, he quickly regained his footing, only to be forced back as Shreckt cut at his knee, lopping the lower portion of his leg off. Walkins cursed as he fell down to his knee- or stump, inky black liquid/smoke leaking from the new wound. Missing an arm and a leg, Walkins was clearly crippled, and would be unable to put up much more of a fight- regardless, the man showed neither pain nor fear, and leveled his palm-pistol at the two Kusagi warrior women. At this point stepped in a familiar, blonde figure with a red leather jacket. With a discarded sword, Alan swooped in, and cleanly beheaded the man with a swipe of his blade. Admittedly, it wasn't that difficult of a task, the man's body felt rather insubstantial as he cut through it.

The Ice spirit hissed in pain as boiling water slammed into him and Ignis, writhing in pain as it forced itself out of the way. Now at a distance from the heat spirit, it launched a flurry of frozen needles at Ignis, while it was bombarded by a series of small but hot fireballs. The spirit seemed disturbed by the fireballs, but not enough to cause it to retreat further.

At the same time, the second Walkins, who clutched the young girl's blonde hair in his hand was buffeted by a combination of spirits and body mass. A flash of light and heat forced the girl out of his hands and blinded him, but before he could recover, he was slammed into by the large mass that was Eli's body. Literally pinned to the ground by a blade, Walkins let out a rather uncharacteristic hiss, as more inky liquid seeped out of his chest. He slammed his metal plated fist into Eli- another bang erupting from the gauntlet as it forced the bigger man several steps back. Tearing the blade out of his chest and tossing it aside, quickly got to his feet.

At that moment, smoke billowed throughout the room, blanketing the room in a thick layer of haze. Quickly concealing both Walkins and his spirit, the remaining Walkins spoke out into the obscured room. "Maybe next time," he said with his characteristic nonchalant and arrogance. "I'm a patient man."

[Fallenreaper]

In her mind, Helen heard Ignis' complaints and protests as his heat shifted, draining him when he collided with the Ice spirit. It ceased moment later after Nahor's attack made a direct hit and steam filled the bar end, aiding Ignis with some aid. It was little surprise the pair worked well together especially since they had complimentary elements. Helen continued to ignore her spirits, able to battle without her guidance, a trait of good training, while tending to Pierce. She had lifted the boy's legs upright with her thigh to elevate them. Meanwhile, her fingers fumbled at the clasp on her medical bag. They slipped twice in her hasty to get it open thanks to her mind trying to edge into a frenzy panic. Finally, after struggling with it, the clasp clicked open and her hand purged inside to withdraw needed items, including a vial of adrenaline and a syringe. She didn't aim to use them but having them on hand in the worse case scenario was comforting.

Namely if the boy went into extreme shock from unknown factors, something that still happened if rarely in her experience.

Perice's hand clamped over his wounded arm and tried to seep the bleeding, his shirt in a sorry state, as Helen forcefully peeled his fingers away. She hated being extreme in her handling but the boy was in too much pain to listen. And she had to work quickly. She cut away the fabric material to reveal the wound underneath and examined for any shards or foreign material in the injury. Helen felt relief when she noted there wasn't anything inside it. Cleaning it and binding it, she shoved her items into the bag just to close it up tightly. It was little surprise the boy looked paler than sour milk. The doctor had just finished up when the Rider decided to unleash a steam canister causing her to curse under her breath.

“Adonai, the girl,” Helen hissed and spotted Sira padding up, in his wake the child followed closely. Her eyes were widen and terrified at seeing her brother in a sorry state.

However, she couldn't sooth the child now. Not while the room was filling up with fog and everyone was quickly retreating, seeking the outside. Her arms cradled the boy as she snatched up her bag, her gun safely in her waist band of her skirt, before ushering her way out. Nahor's image shimmered and vanished, his spirit being recalled for the moment. Sira on the other hand was kept out should something be attempted that they weren't aware of. A flash spell that only hit enemies was much easier to control than another attack that hit everyone.

“Stick close to Adonai,” Helen stated and pushed the girl's terrified figure toward her husband. Her eyes met his, a slight pleading, then followed his lead outside to the plaza. Her mind whipped to Ignis, easing her worry when she addressed the spirit's condition. Ignis? Your condition? We're heading out to the plaza with the children in toll and I hope you can meet us out there.

[EliteCommander]

Ignis kept up his onslaught until he saw the ice spirit starting to retaliate. Using a gust of warm air to overturn the closest table, Ignis dashed behind it as the flurry of icy needles were launched towards him. A few of the needles pierced through him, rather painfully, but most he avoided. The attack did not take too much of his energy, so he jumped out from behind his table with a fireball in hand.

"I've got a nice, warm...hey, where'd it go?" Ignis began, rapidly searching around the room until he realized the ice spirit had disappeared. Looking around, he could not see too much through the steam someone had released into the air, but he did not hear any fighting, and he could feel the body heat of those close to him well enough to get a sense of where they were. It seemed the fight was over. "Oh...well yeah, you better run. I'll melt you."

Ignis extinguished his flames, bringing himself back to his normal, translucent self. It took some searching to find out which blob of body heat was Helen, but eventually, he got close enough to see her finishing up dealing with the boy's wound. Ignis was pretty confident the boy was going to live from the way the situation looked. Helen, and even Ignis himself, had dealt with quite a lot of bullet wounds during Helen's time in the military, so it was a procedure she had a lot of experience with. For most gunshot victims, if they managed to make it to a doctor, they were probably going to live. Whether or not they stayed in one piece was a different story. There was no such thing as a minor bullet wound, and even if it didn't require an amputation, gunshots could have a permanent and painful influence. If the boy was lucky, he could avoid that.

"Eh, I've been hurt worse. I'll spend the night in a forge, or maybe the ship's boiler room. I've been needing a good bath anyway." Ignis answered lightheartedly. He did not know if anyone other than the boy and the Walkins' had been seriously hurt, but unless Helen or Adonai were injured, it did not really matter to him. He did have some concern for the boy, though that was mostly because Helen was concerned for him. He knew how she would feel if the boy ended up with some kind of permanent injury, so Ignis decided to lend his own form of help.

"I think I'll take a look inside your patient, see if there's anything I can see." Ignis informed Helen, not actually waiting for a response before going ahead with his plan. As courtesy, however, he did at least jump into the boy's body while his back was turned, so he did not actually see Ignis merge with his own body heat. "Hmm, yes, he was definitely shot. I'll look around for a bit and tell you if I see anything you should worry about"