2014-07-17 - The Terrorsaurus can Sense Fear
| The Terrorsaurus can Sense Fear | |
|---|---|
| Summary: What should have been a new pet turtle is suddenly transformed into a triceratops-styled Terrorsaurus! Initially drawn to the fear of those fleeing into the subway, it soon becomes more interested in a trio of magical girls. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: A general Shopping District in Tokyo | |
| OOC - IC Date: <17 July 2014 - 13 February 2014> | |
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
It's afternoon, and school is done for the day. Little Shiro (third grade, Juuban) would normally be in club activities right now, but he was so excited that just this once he skipped out to go do something else. He has been a pretty good kid, applying himself in his studies and behaving well at home... so his parents agreed to let him get a pet turtle, and today is the big day! Having made the purchase a few minutes ago at a pet shop, Shiro and his parents are walking the streets of Tokyo. They plan to make one more stop before they go home, and the kid is straining to contain his excitement.
Unfortunately, everyone in this part of the city is going to be excited for an entirely different reason. A bright red speck descends from the sky, smashing into the sidewalk! The 'speck' is actually a pebble-sized meteor, and its impact cuts a small gouge into the concrete. It also releases a wave of heat built up from re-entry, which surprises the nearby Shiro so greatly that he stumbles and drops his new pet turtle a few feet away! A burst of dark energy follows, and the very edge of it manages to engulf the turtle. Its influence is gradual for just a few seconds, then becomes very rapid as the would-be pet begins to grow larger and larger. Its shell morphs into a thick 'frill' around its neck, and the creature is soon bigger than most cars! When the energy fades, those nearby see what is effectively a triceratops... albeit one with some mutations, including spikes growing out of its tail and sides.
The beast does not look happy, gaze wandering from person to person on the streets before letting out a great roar! Everyone nearby decides to be anywhere else right now, and several flee for a subway entrance since getting onto a train seems like a great way to 'outrun' something like this! The newly formed terrorsaurus cocks its head back, immediately interested in this concentration of fear. While it is angry enough to 'detour' by ripping through a few cars, lamp posts, and other urban scenery... the monster is now charging in the subway's direction. A casual observer might notice it's too big to fit through there, but it doesn't care. Tremors ripple through the street as it rushes on, and the mutated triceratops looks like it plans to simply plow through the entrance if not stopped. This will not be as good a place to avoid its wrath as many had hoped.
<Pose Tracker> Ruma Hino [None] has posed.
While she was homeless, that didn't mean that Ruma Hino wasn't busy. Tuner duties often left her patrolling her territory for much of the day, then collecting her bounty so she'd be able to afford to eat for the night. Sometimes. Her path to the Tuner coffee shop always took her by one particular park.
"Hino-san!"
A number of younger children ran out of a suburban park to greet the thirteen year old girl. She lifted her chin, and crossed her arms, acting like they were beneath her notice. "Yeah, yeah. What do you even want?" One bright eyed eight year old girl looked up at her innocently, her words came out as if practiced, from a usual game of verbal wordplay. "Wellllll... we were wondering if you could be our pitcher again!"
Flicking her glance from one child to the next, she offers her own typical weak excuse, "I don't know. I'm pretty busy, don't have time for all this kid stuff."
Looking entirely unconvinced, another girl, implores with the word, "Plleeeassseeee." Her expression softens somewhat, and she even manages a faint smile, "Well alright, just th..."
A roar breaks out in the distance, and she reflexively looks that way. And just stares, before stating softly, "Nevermind, something just came up." Her tone changed, to brook no argument as she saw that all of them were looking in the same direction, "What are you standing around for!? All of you should get indoors!"
~A few minutes later~
Standing atop a building, silhouetted by the afternoon time sun, a wrist sleeved by scarlet ruffles moves with feigned elegance. Snapping her fingers, a coin materializes between her fingers. Sighting the charging Dinosaur between two fingers, she flicked the yen coin towards it from afar with astonishing force, trying to both stop it's advance on the subway and imprint traces of her unique magic onto it to make subsequent attacks a little easier to aim. Her other hand rakes neatly through her crimson hair, complaining absently to herself "Such a bother. I was busy."
COMBAT: Ruma Hino transforms into Grace Chapel!
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
So yesterday, Lucy and several other magical girls fought an evil Shakespeare bust and Sailor Moon got stabbed. It was very dramatic.
And tomorrow, Lucy will be tryouts for Lucy's friend-of-a-friend's school play! This is also, in a different way, very dramatic.
"...Please don't tell anyone, but I have stage fright. To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure why they called me back. When I did line readings in front of them I got a little... ah, carried away," Lucy explains, though not specifying anything further. She's walking with Fuu, on a semi-aimless afterschool trip she proposed in order to get the edge off her nerves. This is a time to relax! Hopefully a terrorsaurus won't randomly--
Ah, nuts.
Lucy stops in her tracks at the distant sight of the boy dropping his turtle, and the sight of that crashing meteorite. Lucy is all too familiar with those pebbles by now. It's as if she were drawn to their impact sites (or perhaps the other way around?), which at least means the Mesozoic Maiden is always there to minimize the property damage and injuries when a dinosaur goes on a rampage through the city. Usually, she and Didi can take care of them by themselves (some times more easily than others) but from the fierce look of the mutated, ferocious herbivore... She's glad to have a friend watching her back.
"Fuu-san!" she nods, and points to an out-of-sight alley to duck into, before actually doing so. "Rock of ages!" she raises the baseball bat from her sports bag, which takes the form of her trademark stone club, "Make me shine!"
Green light and sparkles envelop the young girl's body and lift her up into the air, turning her Infinity uniform into a yellow-and-brown tiger-striped fur dress. Gale force winds let her hair fly but also bring fashionable ancient accessories, in the form of puffy white fur bracelets, a large necklace of pearls and sharp black teeth, a hair bow to match her dress, and of course a large, resplendent white flower on top. The radiant girl's skin, in various spots on her limbs, hands and face, light up with glowing blue tattoos, equal parts tribal magic, war paint and fashion statement.
Her landing from the transformation leaves cracks in the asphalt, and intentionally makes a huge, crashing noise, hopefully distracting the triceratops from the little boy and the remaining passerbys. "Fierce as the tyrano! Clever as the raptor! Nimble as the dactyl! I am Mesozoic Maiden Lucy!" she announces, before scraping the sidewalk with her club to create sparks, which her magic swiftly turns into a volley of fireballs to send flying the creature's way!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy transforms into Mesozoic Maiden Lucy!
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has used High Interest Loan on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has used Blast from the Past on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
There was no forecast for meteor showers today, so far as Fuu Hououji was aware; of course, one miniature meteor isn't really a 'shower,' any more than a single raindrop would be a rainstorm.
So with no inkling of trouble in the air (or past it, or below it either for that matter), Fuu was happy to accept Lucy's invitation to hang out; she's nodding agreeably/sympathetically to Lucy's admission of stage fright -
And suddenly, before Fuu can POSSIBLY respond to her, sudden terrorsaurus out of nowhere. "Goodness," remarks Fuu, peering at the monstrously huge turtle. "If they were shooting a movie here, they should have signs to warn pedestrians away from the special effects."
Then she's following Lucy into the conveniently obscured alley, fishing the glove-jewel out of her pocket as soon as she's off the street and letting her other stuff disappear into it. "Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!" A green-tinted whirlwind swirls into existence around her, changing her Infinity uniform from its normal plum to a rich green color, followed by her armor materializing and her shoes being replaced by boots, plus an armored bracer on her right forearm.
She's still unarmed by the time her transformation is completed, but that's not entirely abnormal - she steps back out onto the street, already gathering her will and focusing to attack before she calls out, "Imashime no Kaze!!" The Winds of Admonishment lash out at the terrapin terrorsaurus ('terrorpin' for short?), attempting to bind it in place …
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly braces Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Blast from the Past, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Runealy Waldia's Block ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Parry ability activates! Exhausted applied to Runealy Waldia!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia perfectly counters Fuu Hououji's Imashime no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Runealy Waldia's Reverse ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia's counterattack, Volt Arc, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia fails to dodge Grace Chapel's High Interest Loan, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Grace Chapel is Psyched! Stun and Tangle applied to Runealy Waldia!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
The terrorsaurus is, at first, unaware that anyone is on a roof and looking down at it. Hellbent on its rampage, it smashes through a bus stop and only notices the coin when it strikes against thick scales! To think that something so small could be flung so fast as to punch through that is quite surprising to the beast and brings it skidding to a halt, feet shredding into the concrete for a few yards before it can look up at the Tuner in primal wonder; what did she just do?!
Lucy demands its attention, and she has it as she lands! Frill poised to meet fireballs, most of the blasts splash off harmlessly... but one manages to burn just beside an eye and a hurt roar shows it did care about that one!
Flames are often fanned by wind, and the Wind Knight's swirling force threatens to trap the creature. Its shape hasn't been a perfect match for a traditional triceratops to begin with, but it turns out to be unusual in at least one other way: The horns start to crackle with electricity! A lightning bolt forms between their arcs, striking Fuu's winds and causing both elements to explode against each other in mid-air... an even match, for the time being.
The horns continue to alight with electricity, and this time a sustained bolt forms as the terrorsaur's head turns to sweep it through the area... trying to catch the Wind Knight, Mesozoic Maiden, and Grace in sequence!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Lightning Sweep on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Lightning Sweep on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Lightning Sweep on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel fails to dodge Runealy Waldia's Lightning Sweep, taking 20 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy perfectly dodges Runealy Waldia's Lightning Sweep, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Fade ability activates! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Runealy Waldia's Lightning Sweep, taking 17 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
So the horns are electrodes? .... or something?
The Magic Knight of Wind is still, in the back of her head, trying to figure out what kind of animal can DO that - generate enough focused electricity to create an attack with it - as she attempts to dodge. Unfortunately, trying to jump over the horizontal bolt of lightning seems to just lead enough of it upward that she gets zapped anyway, and the Wind Knight lets out a gasp as she hits the pavement, twitching a little bit before she manages to scramble back to her feet. She seems okay ... apart from getting the wind knocked out of her (no pun intended, really), and she has to thump herself on the breastplate a couple of times before she abruptly starts breathing again.
"Good shot with the coins, banker-san!" she calls out to Grace Chapel, even as the Wind Knight sword's materializes in her hands - and she charges at the terrorsaurus, letting out a wordless yell as she leaps up and tries to cut one of its horns off.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Sword Strike on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Grace Chapel [None] has posed.
As the beast looks up at her, there's a crooked smile upon her lips. Her left hand finds it's way to her chin as she laughs in a self-assured manner. "Fufufufufufu~" Sweeping her gaze towards the other two Mahou Shoujo, "Eh, Banker-san? Oh. It's you. Thanks I guess." She hardly seemed friendly to the person she recognized, but she was at the very least, less hostile. The other girl? She peers at her with a sort of casual aloofness, before addressing both of them anyhow, "What took both of you? It doesn't matter anyway, I could have handled it by mys.." Which is about the same time she notes the crackle of energy out of her periphery. She tries to leap reflexively, but the bolt catches her head on, while her shoes are still contacted to the rooftop. Her entire body twists and spasms and disobeys her, as she finally does leap too late. Falling towards street level, she does recover at the last moment, spinning sideways and landing with a click of her heels on concrete.
It was rather embarrassing for her given what she was saying, but she doesn't comment.. immediately, instead frowning and sweeping a hand towards it, questioning the other two with anxiety that breaks through her facade of confidence. "Where do electrical dinosaurs even come from!?"
Her right hand is clenched, and in that moment, numerous coins appear between her fingers. Arcing the arm back like a baseball pitcher, she releases them, aiming high into the air, nearly straight up. Folding her arms in the aftermath, waits for the results, which come a few seconds later, after Fuu's strike. A rain of yen coins which shower it from above, seemingly unaffected by any sort of air resistance.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has used It's raining yen, Hallelujah! on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Lucy looks up to see another magical girl is on the scene, and although she can't get a good look due to her dramatic silhouetting, she's certainly grateful for an ally appearing to even the odds, even if she's one Lucy has never met.
"Watch out! We don't know what it can do yet!" Lucy shouts, both to Fuu and their mysterious ally. It's not terribly useful advice, but still something she feels the need to say, this particular youma being "her" enemy and all.
They soon get a demonstration, as its horns produce electricity that at first stops Fuu's winds (elemental magic works in strange ways, sometimes) and then gets blasted at them with extreme prejudice! "Nimble as the dactyl," Lucy whispers to herself, before leaping high up, up and away from the electric sweep. Her friends (old and new) aren't quite so lucky, and she winces as she glances down, but also notices something...
She lands on the opposite side of the Terrorsaurus, holding a bright red store banner she snagged on her way down, taking a stance remniscent of a bullfighter's. "We need to get it away from this subway station!" There are still people trapped in there, and with these tremors, they can't be sure the subway is still running uninterrupted. She waves her red flag, trying as hard as she can to enrage the creature just like she's seen on TV... and purposefully placing herself between the triceratos and a cement mixing truck, with the intent to leap out of the way of its charge. Perhaps THAT will be big enough to give it pause.
"From space!" she shouts to 'banker-san' in explanation. Ah. Ah, of course.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has used Triassic Trick on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Sword Strike, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly counters Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Triassic Trick, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy is Psyched! Runealy Waldia's Reverse ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia's counterattack, Throwing Its Weight Around, partially gets through, doing 14 Fatigue damage to Mesozoic Maiden Lucy! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia fails to brace Grace Chapel's It's raining yen, Hallelujah!, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Runealy Waldia!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
As blade arcs to meet horn, the electricity diminishes. Yet the beast takes this smaller sword seriously, and makes a sideways hop on all fours. It doesn't get far given its tremendous size, but it's enough that Fuu's sword strikes the edge of frill rather than the horn she meant to hit.
Coins rain down upon the mutant triceratops, and it tries to power through this but quickly discovers it's hard to protect oneself when you're being struck all over! Each coin pings off its thick body, but a close look would reveal they have made tiny little gouges throughout; none of them are telling blows on their own, but they're a very real start on what could become a serious problem for the monster. It knows this, stomping around and snorting as it tries to get out of the 'storm.'
The Maiden tries to provoke it, waving red. The terrorsaurus sees that, and it's already in a poor mood; this was just the thing to send its temper over the edge! With a rumbling roar, it beelines right for her! As it gets closer to the banner, the triceratops starts to get the faintest notion that it's being lured toward something painful... and decides to just plow headlong into that! Crashing its skull into the cement truck hurts, but it sends the vehicle careening toward Lucy in the hopes she'll like it even less than he did!
Luring it away from the subway is an effective plan, as it is now provoked enough that the feast of fear it senses down there is now a secondary interest. A meal to enjoy later. Right now, it has three very real threats darting around the cityscape that must be dealt with. Toward that end, it begins chasing Grace and the Wind Knight. When it feels it's close enough to either one, it suddenly throws its weight into a skidding run in another direction so that it might swing the spikes on its tail (known in some circles as a 'thagomizer') and then breaks off to chase after the other!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Fearsome Roar on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Thagomizer Swing on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Thagomizer Swing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel narrowly counters Runealy Waldia's Thagomizer Swing, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Grace Chapel's Reverse ability activates! Grace Chapel's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Grace Chapel's counterattack, Miser's Dream, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Runealy Waldia!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Runealy Waldia's Thagomizer Swing, taking 7 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Spinning Slash, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Runealy Waldia!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy narrowly braces Runealy Waldia's Fearsome Roar, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Mesozoic Maiden Lucy! Bind Break! All of Runealy Waldia's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Lucy's tactic is not quite as effective as she hoped, but she did at least manage to get the monster away from the subway, picking on foes its own size.
(...Figuratively.)
Its fearsome roar manages to keep her off-balance (not figuratively!) and while it does fall for her little bullfighter gambit, and she does leap out of the way of its charge, the truck headed her way is something that catches her completely by surprise, and she manages to dodge it only by an inch, as her mane of green hair wooshes towards the jetstream it leaves behind for a second.
She gets a short moment to catch her breath as it concentrates on her two fellow magical girls, then resumes chasing after her. She knows a frontal assault is suicide, and although it's supernaturally quick even for its size, she has no option but to try and match its speed. Kicking against a wall, she once again sails up in the air and lands behind it, then attempts something somewhat less suicidal but still undeniably dangerous: That is to say, to grab its "thagomizer" and use her prodigious strength to start swinging the massive creature around!
...Hopefully it's not also electrified, Lucy thinks maybe just a little too late.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has used The Mario 64 Maneuver on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Grace Chapel [None] has posed.
"From Space?" A lightbulb actually appears to turn on over your head, as if lit by some inspiration, "So it comes from another world? Tck. Some of the Tuner leadership still talk about the last time Dune invaded. Happen to know if it's connected in any way?" Well Dinosaurs could be connected to Desertarians after all! ...Maybe. She'd never actually encountered one.
As the monster charges, she lets out an annoyed, 'Tck' from her lips. Coins erupt from the concrete near her feet, materializing into existence and floating around her in a helix pattern. As she leaps backwards into a handstand, they shift into a diagonal orbit instead. The spiked tail catches her off guard, but fortunately some of the yen coins move to intercept, blunting the blow. The sharp spikes still tears a gouge across her sleeve, which she looks at with notable annoyance. Some part of her is breathing a sigh of relief inwardly, as she knows she was extremely close to being trampled underfoot by the titanic beast.
Around her neck, hanging upon a thong was her origin key, which looked like a coin itself. She skipped backwards to a safe distance before dropping into a more casual stance. Once there she flicks the coin around her neck. A large number of coins materialize around the gigantic beast which does anything but lumber around. They revolve around it as rings from every direction. "The best way to keep the civilians safe is to deal with it quickly!" As she flicks her origin key again, the coins converge, attempting to barrage it from all sides with numerous coins that home in on it's position.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has used Millionaire on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Definitely good thinking - but the Wind Knight doesn't want to risk drawing the terrorsaurus's attention away from Lucy by calling out in approval.
Neither does she want to get her head taken off by the monster's tail, as it lashes back and forth - but the Magic Knight of Wind sees it coming with enough time to pivot into her next step, actually spinning all the way around before her sword comes up to meet the tail as it swings towards her. It's possible that this wasn't the best of all possible ideas, but on the plus side, the result of the impact is just that the Wind Knight staggers away from the impact, her sword wobbling around as she tries to get her arms back under control.
"Lucy-san, I remember seeing a park -" She ducks as the Mesozoic Maiden starts trying to grab the monster by its tail and swing it around. Hoo boy ... "- there's a park about two blocks that way, it should make for a suitable battleground if we can herd this beast that far!"
And if any civilians in the area can get out of the way fast enough. That's an important factor too, but she's trying to encourage her ally rather than point out problems.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Favorable Observation on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy accepts Fuu Hououji's Favorable Observation, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy is Cheered!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly counters Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's The Mario 64 Maneuver, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Runealy Waldia's Reverse ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia's counterattack, Throwing Its Weight Around, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Mesozoic Maiden Lucy!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia perfectly braces Grace Chapel's Millionaire, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Runealy Waldia's Block ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
On some level, the triceratops understands it's facing powerful foes capable of things it may not entirely understand. The idea that someone multiple times smaller than it would try to grab it by the tail and try to actually leverage that... well, that idea never came to its primal mind until Lucy seriously tried it. Yet the Mesozoic Maiden truly does have a hold, and is starting to make the beast budge. Astonished, it whips around and tries to scrape Lucy along the ground or swipe her with tail spikes but this isn't enough to break her grasp. It gives inches as Lucy starts to spin, then its feet outright leave the ground! One rotation, two, three... and then the towering monster is sent flying. Crashing into the street, it skid-gouges through the concrete and only comes to a rest when it bumps against a store wall!
In some ways, this helps keeps it safe. It means Grace's coins can't descend from every single angle. Struggling to its feet, the triceratops takes advantage of this to present its frill to meet most of the barrage. By the time the Tuner's economic stimulus package subsides, the monster has clearly rejected this cash infusion; several tiny dents dot its frill as though it were a car hood that had withstood a hailstorm, but it is intact.
Stomping away from the wall and back onto the street, the terrorsaurus is now pacing in the general direction of the park Fuu spoke of. It doesn't realize it's heading there in particular, and it's still some distance away, but when one of its opponents is trying to move the fight there... what else can it do but follow, unaware that it's being 'played' in this fashion? For now it is still pacing about the area, stomping mad at what has been done to it so far. One of its sides turns to face Grace, and the spikes growing out of there suddenly detach; they're flying right for her in a reversal of her own 'projectile shower' tactics!
The Wind Knight might notice the horns she was worried about earlier have briefly charged up again. Facing her, the triceratops cuts loose with a single crackling bolt!
Then... Lucy. Lucy, who just humiliated it by hurling the terrorsaurus around! It remembers that, head lowering. Horns ready, a tremendous shout is the last warning it gives before it charges her!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Launched Spikes on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Volt Arc on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Horn Strike on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Runealy Waldia's Volt Arc, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Grace Chapel narrowly braces Runealy Waldia's Launched Spikes, taking 13 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy fails to dodge Runealy Waldia's Horn Strike, taking 42 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Grace Chapel [None] has posed.
Grace Chapel looks, somewhat irritated by the fact that her stimulus package was thrown off by Lucy's improvised throw. That irritation is mild however compared to the barely simmering anger at Fuu's suggestion, "I know what park you're talking about, and we should avoid it! Kids play there!" As if she wasn't still mostly a child herself. At least she didn't see herself as one. While she'd told most of the kids to go home, she knows that sometimes.. children just don't listen.
It's at that moment that launched spikes are flung at her at high speed. This time her coins intercept a little more expertly and parry them. Most of the spikes are thrown off course, while others drive right through. A few scrape by uncomfortably close, scraping a line across her bare shoulder, right next to her neck. Her eyes widen in surprise, at just how close that might have been.
Instead of herding it towards the park, instead she chooses an abandoned alleyway, trying to wave her arms at it. "Hey ugly! Uh.. Toro Toro!" Well supposedly it worked for bulls and she was wearing red, maybe it'll work for dinosaurs too. It's sound logic to a a thirteen year old at least!
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has used Matador in the Making? on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
The Wind Knight would probably muster a more coherent response to Grace "Banker-san" Chapel if she wasn't regretting the instinct that led her to try and block a lightning bolt with a sword. Although to be fair, she did so by planting the sword pointy-end-down in the pavement in front of her, which did help. Some.
As it is, while she didn't get the wind knocked out of her lungs this time, she's not sure if her heart skipped a beat or three or not; what she is sure of is that either she lost her glasses or her eyes are really messed up at the moment. Lucy is still looking somewhat wobbly, as well ... which helps sort out what the Magic Knight of Wind is going to do next.
"Iyashi no Kaze!"
The Healing Winds are invoked, and answer as they usually do - helping the Mesozoic Maiden steady herself, and allowing the Wind Knight to pull herself back together, so both of them can keep fighting in something which bears a passing resemblance to 'optimum form'. As usual, it's nowhere near a full recovery - just enough to keep them from being incapacitated sooner than they might otherwise be.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Lucy's sends the monster swinging, but not without taking some painful scrapes from its trashing about. Sadly there are no conveniently-placed bombs to send it flying into, meaning the open street will have to do. Sending it crashing into a building would miss the whole point of doing this!
"I have no idea!" Lucy shouts back to Grace's theory. She doubts the two phenomenons would be connected... but it's not like she actually knows for sure what the Terrorsaurus (Terrorsaurii?) are.
Then Fuu offers sage counsel. Luring it to that park would offer them precious maneuvering room in which to cut loose and take it down for good. The sound of the tremors should have caused people to flee the scene by now, clearing the way. "Good thinking!" The magical girl in red, however... also has a point.
But before she can put a plan into motion, the Terrorsaurus charges right for her once more, and this time, her feet are only nimble enough to avoid being outright gored by one of its horns. She nonetheless gets slammed with titanic force, right into a brick wall that crumbles to dust as she impacts it. Luckily the two others are there to distract it while she, painfully, pulls her bruised body back on her feet before it can finish the job.
For a moment, the Terrorsaurus' dark senses allow it to notice something new emanating from Lucy: Fear. Not that she wasn't nervous about this fight, or didn't know the dangers involved very well, but with trusty friends helping her, what is there to fear? The demonstration of its power, however, has brought her back down to earth in that regard. She's putting on just as much of a brave face as before, but just for a moment, she shines like a beacon.
...This ends as quickly as it came, however, as Fuu's healing winds wash over her, and the pain subsides. Of course she had nothing to fear! "I'm glad I can count on you!" Lucy offers sincerely, picking her club back up as she heads back into the fray, deciding to go with the frilly Banker's plan, heeding her concern for the kids.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has used Support Rank Up on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Support Rank Up, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Cheered!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly counters Grace Chapel's Matador in the Making?, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Runealy Waldia is Quipped! Runealy Waldia's Reverse ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia's counterattack, Horn Bolts, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Grace Chapel!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
'Toro' the Terrorsaurus does not like being mocked. It might not understand speech, but it understands tone just fine and that gives it plenty of reason to chase after Grace! She will most certainly beat it to the alley, but Toro lashes out with a thin lightning bolt before she can get out of sight. That might not succeed, but a roar in her general direction suggests the triceratops isn't just going to let it go at that; it's going to give her exactly what she wants, with the shout being a simple warning of this intent.
Fuu's winds give it the briefest pause, but the monster quickly realizes that whatever she's doing isn't directly related to itself and thus it just continues onward to the alley...
...until something special registers in its mind. It had thought Lucy would be defeated after that impact, but her brief yet intense fright grabs its attention. All thoughts of directly pursuing the coinslinger vanish. Not when Lucy, the one who bodily hurled the terrorsaurus around, has shown the fear it relishes. That feeling might not be very powerful now, but it was there and the beast wants to create it anew.
With that overriding all its other interests, the terrorsaurus charges again! The Wind Knight may well be in its path, and Toro tries to swipe her with its tail-spikes on the way. Yet its ultimate destination is the Mesozoic Maiden, who may feel the air swish as its massive body turns to bring its thagomizer swinging at her.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Fearsome Roar on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Thagomizer Swing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Thagomizer Swing on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel narrowly dodges Runealy Waldia's Fearsome Roar, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Grace Chapel! Bind Break! All of Runealy Waldia's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Runealy Waldia's Thagomizer Swing, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy perfectly counters Runealy Waldia's Thagomizer Swing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's counterattack, Cretaceous Clobber, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Runealy Waldia!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
What is it with this beast and its trying to swat the Wind Knight with its tail? This time, Fuu tries to simply dodge it - mostly because she doesn't have time to get her sword up to speed for another attempt at parrying ... and she winds up draped over a guardrail on the far side of the street for her trouble. Somehow her glasses stayed on, though - and her armor absorbed the worst of both impacts, thankfully enough.
The Magic Knight of Wind straightens back up, reaching up to straighten her glasses while she catches her breath - and sees that her sword landed in the middle of the road somehow. She hurries to recover it, casting as she goes: "Imashime no Kaze!"
Yes, another dose of the same spell she tried to open the battle with - once again attempting to trap the terrorsaurus in a binding whirlwind and pin it in place for her allies (and possibly herself) to hammer with attacks …
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Imashime no Kaze on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Grace Chapel [None] has posed.
Ducking her head beneath the jolt of lightning her way, she covers her ears as it roars in her general direction. It was.. a very effective roar, as Grace definitely looks thrown off-balance, staggering almost drunkenly from the deafening noise that hits her straight in the eardrums.
Seeing that it was starting in her direction however, she decides at least not to fool around any longer. "Well that got it's attention." She frowns, realizing that in this position she won't be able to effectively use her most powerful attack, but she had other tools at her command.
A coin is plucked out of thin air from her left hand. When she flicks it, it looks almost casual, but the after effects certainly were not. It flies like a bullet out of a rail gun, ripples of kinetic force trailing in it's wake with shocking speed and surprising force, given that it's no different from her other yen weapons. Was her left arm really so much stronger than her right?
COMBAT: FINISHER! Grace Chapel has used Sinistral Surprise! on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
By now, Lucy has a fairly good inkling that the Terrorsaurus are drawn to fear. The way it turns around right as she allows herself to feel it, however, only confirms it further. Fuu's restoring wind has gotten her back in the fight just in time, however, and as the massive spiked tail swings towards her, she meets it in kind, swinging her magical club with dinosaurian force to match! The two clash, and neither comes out victorious, and both run past one another. After putting some distance between them, Lucy skids to a halt.
So luring it into the alley didn't work either. There was another thing Grace Chapel proposed earlier: simply to end this as quickly as possible. She's riding on an emotional high and adrenaline, and right about now seems like the best moment to unleash everything she's got.
"You should have been that boy's friend! He looked so happy he had met you!" Lucy calls out to the rampaging monster. She knows it likely can't understand her, and didn't understand at first why many of her friends would even try to talk with monsters like this, but now she has a much better idea. Summoning the power of the heart, speaking like this, came so much more naturally. "You weren't meant to be a monster!"
Fuu has seen this many times, but this might be a rather strange sight to the Tuner in red. As Lucy raises her club towards the sky, the red gemstone within comes to life with flame, green flame that soon escapes its confines and engulfs the entire weapon, then the Mesozoic Maiden herself. It subsides, but Lucy still glows with that inner fire, hair literally alight with that green fire, eyes and tattoos shining bright. "I will banish the darkness, and make this right! Darkness, begone!"
More flames swirl around the Maiden as she commands it with an echoing voice, gathering around her weapon, then finally heading straight for the Terrorsaurus in a magnficent torrent of holy flame, anathema to the dark power that mutated it so!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has used Blaze of the Goddess on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia narrowly counters Fuu Hououji's Imashime no Kaze, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Runealy Waldia's Reverse ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Tactician ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Runealy Waldia!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia's counterattack, Volt Arc, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia perfectly braces Grace Chapel's Finisher, Sinistral Surprise!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Runealy Waldia's Block ability activates! Runealy Waldia's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia fails to brace Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Finisher, Blaze of the Goddess, taking 99 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Winds whip through the streets, heading for the terrorsaurus. Its horns spark as the creature hopes to repeat the same outcome as before, with lightning crackling through the air to strike... but this time the wind mostly gets through. It flows around, battering the triceratops.
A coin is tossed. It's a single, tiny thing... hyperaccelerated to crack through the streets, fast enough to be very dangerous. The triceratops has had enough of Grace pitching money its way, and charges right at the Tuner! The coin strikes its thick frill, and... ...actually manages to stop the rush. Its head is shaking off the worst of the effects, as while it might not have been significantly injured by that it did nonetheless plow into something with enough speed and magic behind it to outright halt its advance!
This proves crucial in providing an opening for Lucy. The Mesozoic Maiden's words are lost on its simple brain, but the intent behind them does have some effect. Still dazed from the impact of moments ago, it glares at Lucy; she has its attention in full, it knows something significant is at hand.
Fire rushes forth, too fast and too wide for the lumbering beast to even think of getting out of the way. Instead, it just braces for the worst...
...And this time its thick scales do not avail. Grace had been racking up several little blows on it throughout the battle, tiny gouges that threatened to be important later on even if they did little injury at the moment. Now, in the face of tremendous power, they matter. Green fire washes over the terrorsaurus' frill, and what were previously little dents are now giving way to actual gaps, holes that the fire slips through and batters the monster!
It buckles back a step at a time, roaring in pain as cleansing fire tries to rip apart the dark energy that is central to its new form, heavy footfalls landing with shaky balance! When the flames subside, it is still standing but its previously impressive defenses are compromised and the terrorsaurus' body actually rippled for a split-second; threatening to revert to being a mere turtle before its shape stabilizes.
Yet it is still dangerous. Its thick horns still arc with lightning... far more than before. This doesn't immediately change the output of its 'sweeping' bolt, which is about the same size as it was before when it swings toward the Wind Knight and Grace. However, the charge doesn't diminish after this blast as it did before.
It remains, and the triceratops' gaze settles on Lucy. It begins snorting, one foot dragging against the concrete... and then it charges. Much as it did before, its thundering footsteps send tremors through the area. It is faster now, driven by a desperate need to defeat the one that can strike at its very nature. Horns crackle, as it picks up speed and attempts to collide with her!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Lightning Sweep on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has used Lightning Sweep on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Runealy Waldia has used Electric Rush on Mesozoic Maiden Lucy.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Runealy Waldia's Lightning Sweep, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Mesozoic Maiden Lucy narrowly dodges Runealy Waldia's Finisher, Electric Rush, taking 55 Fatigue damage! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy is unable to keep fighting! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Fade ability activates! Mesozoic Maiden Lucy's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Grace Chapel fails to brace Runealy Waldia's Lightning Sweep, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Mesozoic Maiden Lucy [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
The flames gifted by the Goddess pour out of Lucy's weapon without pause, and they wash over the dark creature to fantastic effect, but soon, too soon, the Mesozoic Maiden is spent. Lucy catches her breath as sweat covers her brow, and the green flames that empowered her dissipate in the wind, leaving her back to normal.
She still has the strength to fight, but she did pour almost all of her power into the attack. When the Terrorsaurus charges back towards her, crackling with immense power, thoughts of fighting back are gone, replaced instead by survival instinct. A magically-empowerred leap is barely enough to avoid the brunt of the charge, and intense electricity accompanies her descent as she touches back down to the ground...
...and in a burst of dissipating green sparkles, she's back in her Infinity Institute uniform, and only barely able to stand. Still... She has a precious friend and steadfast ally by her side, along with a stranger who has, to Lucy at least, proven her strength and kindness despite her harsh words.
"You can stop it!" she shouts, "I believe in you!"
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Rather than trying to jump over the lightning that sweeps her way, or to attempt to block it with her sword, this time the Magic Knight of Wind simply flings herself at the pavement and tries to roll underneath it ... and while she manages not to get zapped quite as badly as before - well, rolling with a sword in your hands is an awkward maneuver at the best of times ... and this is decidedly nowhere near 'the best of times,' as is verified when the monster plows headlong into the Mesozoic Maiden - hitting her hard enough to blast her back into civilian form, it seems
A stiff breeze kicks up around the Wind Knight as she finishes getting back up, breathing in deeply as she plants her sword in the pavement and draws her arms in and back. She nods to Lucy, then looks to Grace. "Let's finish this!" The breeze around her picks up, ruffling her skirt and hair, like the wind that blows in advance of a full-on storm ...
"MIDORI NO SHIPPUU!!"
And the tempest erupts at Fuu's bidding, the Emerald Tornado gathering in her hands as she swings them forward and unleashes its full wrath and power straight at the Terrorsaurus, the gale-force winds trying to rip through its already-battered shell and shred the monster into nothingness.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Midori no Shippu: Full on Runealy Waldia.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Grace Chapel [None] has posed.
Watching the creature shake off a throw from her left hand was.. terrifying. She literally stands frozen in place, bug-eyed at the fact that it managed to do so. It's only Lucy's quick action that likely saves her from taking a mortal blow.
As it stands however, as the Green Fire that Lucy emanates washes over the creature, she manages to just barely shake off the fear, and move out of the way. Unfortunately, she's in an alleyway, and has absolutely no room to get out of the way of the arcs of electricity, they strike her head on, and drop her almost instantly, leaving her writhing on the ground, crying out in agony. Smoke sizzles off of her even as her muscles start to obey her again. Taking a deep breath, she looks up and assesses the situation. The assessment isn't good.
The girl she didn't recognize was apparently hurt just enough that her transformation released. She's just a civilian, on the battlefield. "Damnit!" Leaping her way, she lands in front of Lucy, and before she can explain, wraps an arm around her waist, and leaps again, taking her with her. They land atop one of the nearby buildings. There, she takes a breather. She.. didn't want to admit it, but she needed one. "Of course I can stop it, Baka! What kind of amateur are you, letting yourself get hurt like that!? The most important thing any Magical Girl has is their life!"
On the rooftop, she takes a much needed breather, chest heaving. It wasn't as if she actually thought Lucy was an amateur or a fool, she'd done far better in the battle than she had, but she needed to portray that feigned aura of self-confidence at all times. It was vital, for a person like her, who put up fronts so the world couldn't see the reality of how frightened she was.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has used Taking a Breather on Grace Chapel.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Grace Chapel accepts Grace Chapel's Taking a Breather, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Midori no Shippu: Full, taking 48 Fatigue damage!
(OOC, GM's Note: The remaining health was too low to worry about and it was getting late. Everyone opted to count that as a KO and move to conclusion.)
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Wheeling around after its charge, the terrorsaurus is only emboldened by Lucy's leap. A direct hit would have been ideal, but that 'fight or flight' feeling is a fine consolation prize that spurs it onward. It stomps toward the Mesozoic Maiden, apparently not placated by her having reverted to an Infinity uniform. It wants to build more and more fear, to savor terrifying someone who is right here before them, and to...
...Be checked by a storm of a different kind. Not coins this time, but a tornado that swirls around it, battering its scales from every side. A tornado that proves capable of lifting the triceratops, and depositing it on its back with a thundering crash!
The monster twitches for a few seconds, trying to right itself... even as dark energy eminates around its body. Not as an attack, as it rises into the air and dissipates; it's flowing out and fading! The terrorsaurus' form ripples again, much as it had under Lucy's flames...
...And this time the darkness has no hold on it. What had been a mutant triceratops is now a turtle once again, one largely unhurt but nonetheless stuck on its back. Thankfully, it will not be stuck for long. "Hey!" A young boy's voice calls out from down the street, as Shiro emerges from the subway and hurries over. "You found him!" The Juuban student is delighted as he kneels down to reclaim his new pet, smiling at the trio. "Thanks! I need to get going since the train's about to leave, but thank you!"
Hurrying off as quickly as he came, Shiro ponders a name for his new friend. Did he hear one of the girls say 'Toro' earlier? He'll have to think on that one. He'll have time to do that; as he goes down the stairs into the subway again, concrete, car doors, and other damage from the rampage begins to reassemble until the area is reasonably safe for travel once again. What doesn't clear on its own will simply serve as a simple and short project for construction crews - perhaps that cement mixer Lucy draped a banner over earlier will be put to use soon.
