[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia & [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Quarantine Valley- Empty Lot[/center]
[center]Lvl 10 (215/100) -> Lvl 10 (218/100) [/center]
[center]Lvl 5 Zenkichi - (43/50) -> Lvl 5 (46/50)[/center]
[center]Word Count: 1,380 words[/center]

As the last of the Protolegions fell, Geralt's question was answered once the issue of how Penance and Vigil planned to deal with them was resolved. Given the state of Midgar, which was apparently even worse if yet another Other attack occurred almost simultaneously with the Redshift Cascade, it was a temporary peace. And she was right, they had much bigger things to worry about. 

Such as Jena Anderson appearing right in front of them, ready to gloat like a supervillain. Zenkichi just shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked up at the woman, a frown on his face. Geralt, on the other hand, scowled fiercely. That she seemed to think they were on the Administration's side was almost laughable, though given that about half their group was currently or formerly in the employ or service of Midgar, it wasn't like she was barking up the wrong tree. They [i]had[/i] all worked for the city, and Zenkichi and Roland still definitely did, even if the former's position was...more tenuous than the latter's at the moment. 

Zenkichi bristled when Jena named Konoe directly and called him blind to their machinations, but he remained silent. If she really thought this little of them, they might be able to use that to their advantage somehow. She was clearly much more out of the loop than the Hermits were regarding the Seekers' true intentions in Midgar. 

Even with Goldlewis cutting in and trying to lecture a mass murdering terrorist (Zenkichi had firmly come to that conclusion once they'd learned the true consequences of Blue Evolve and Jena's murder of Iron to try and cover it up), Jena still just moralized and monologued from her high horse. As if she hadn't just doomed people to their deaths with this Redshift Cascade.

She did, however, inform them of some current events by kindly showing them Major General Karen's broadcast and cry for revolution. He was laying it on a bit thick at the start, Geralt thought, but he [i]was[/i] destroying any semblance of remaining trust people had in the Administration of the city by admitting that the organization he was among the leadership of was murdering citizens and turning them into monsters. Stoking their anger first, then giving that anger a direction to go, was a pretty typical tactic when you wanted to get people killed. Karen was just doing it all at once, unlike some people he knew from the Continent when it came to non-humans.

Zenkichi, on the other hand, was taking it a bit harder. He'd heard what the other Seekers reported on about the OSF from the raid they'd snuck into, he saw the e-mail directing him to let DespoRHado take the fall for 'allowing' the Machines to attack Sector 7 rather than let General Affairs be blamed, but learning that at least one person inside Neuron was working directly with Reunion, and now the OSF was launching a rebellion? It was like nothing had changed. But he didn't have the other Phantom Thieves this time. No Joker. No Skull. No Oracle, no Queen, no Fox or Sophie or Noir to help. Just Wolf. Just Gramps. And she had the audacity to ask them to help her?!

[color=BFBFBF]"You're a monster."[/color] Zenkichi forced through clenched teeth. [color=BFBFBF]"I've met some real pieces of work in my day, but you're a heartless monster, Anderson. Willing to crush whoever gets in your way on your self-righteous quest to be a hero. You're just like Konoe! No better than him and the people you condemn!!!"[/color] He yelled, pointing a finger accusingly. 

Geralt wasn't entirely a fan of the words that Zenkichi chose, having heard them directed at himself more than a few times, but...he didn't entirely disagree. This woman was cold and callous. Everything she did, every life she snuffed out, was just a means to an end to her. Maybe she genuinely wanted to help by toppling the Administration. But given what she was willing to do to achieve that goal...he didn't give a damn. Djikstra wanted to help the Northern Realms, too. And Geralt killed him for much lesser crimes.

The offer was soundly and unanimously rejected, thankfully. As the Seekers each got in their piece, Jena tried to rebut, only to be cut off by a gunstaff shot to the face, prompting a quick shootout between Sandalphon and one of Anderson's lackeyes. It went nowhere, ultimately, being interrupted by something much, much worse. 

A giant Chimera. That they could all see this one was lucky, but that did raise some other questions that they'd have to ask later. 

Zenkichi immediately drew his standard greatsword and rushed in. The Closing Statement was strong, but he had a feeling he'd want to be able to block for this fight, even if it wouldn't be nearly enough to stop all the damage. He was quick to buff Goldlewis with Tarukaja when he whipped out his minigun, expecting the attack buff to serve best with the rapid shots it was putting out. As soon as he reached the Homunculus, he began his attacks in earnest. He didn't have much, aside from Valjean's various spells and attacks, that would do a whole lot of burst damage, but thanks to the Homonculus's huge size, slowish attacks, and his vampiric attacks, Zenkichi could sustain a steady output of damage like few others. He, of course, did have Valjean drop a Megidola or two, along with a One-Shot Kill and a Deathbound during the fight, but for the most part, Zenkichi stuck to moving between the planted limbs of the Homunculus and providing a steady stream of rather serious physical damage. 

Geralt, meanwhile, was a fair mix of burst and sustained damage. Starting with an application of Quen to protect himself from a stray tree-trunk sized limb, he began his work carving into the monster with the Hateful Flesh after tossing a flesh grenade into its face, hoping to temporarily stun the thing. It didn't quite work as well as he'd hoped, but it certainly couldn't have been pleasant. When he felt Blazermate's kritz on him, however, that changed. Geralt took a deep breath as the power flowed through him, and he took a brief look around. Nobody was particularly close to him, but even still, he called out as the Hateful Flesh became wreathed in Eldritch Lightning: "STAY BACK A SECOND!" 

And, in a technique that no sane man would ever attempt, he raised the fleshbound cleaver above his head and began to spin. The first spin took the blade through one of the Homunculus' legs, and as the second finished he launched the cleaver away from his body and into the monster's arm. Retracting the blade, he turned yet again, using the angular momentum to carve a furrow into the Chimera's leg. The Flesh continued on its path, noisily dragging along the ground, and Geralt spun once more, taking the Orphan's cleaver in both hands and tossing it upwards and into the thing's torso. The Homunculus reacted by leaping up into the air to crash land onto Geralt, forcing the Witcher to leap out of the way, the last seconds of the Kritz lost as Geralt saved his own skin. 

The fighters continued their carnage, Geralt throwing in a sustained stream of Igni to burn away at the thing's skin while Zenkichi tried to stab his sword into the superheated flesh, but this thing was proving to be quite the tough customer, even with the Strikers Monsoon and Zero coming in to help with hit-and-run strikes. 

When its head open up, like some kind of disgusting fleshy flower, Geralt found himself unable to get out of the way of the incoming beam of force, while Zenkichi was lucky enough to be situated well out of the line of fire. The sheer force of the laser and the explosion it caused sent Geralt rolling along the ground with his magical shield gone, Quen not having been enough to protect him fully from the blow. Blazermate's healing beam was quick to top him back up, but she had more than just one person to focus on, so Geralt quickly returned to the fray to keep chipping away at the Chimera...if that was what it really was.