Scene #5733: In the Footsteps of Giants

Owner	Pose
Theurgus	Charta has put out a priority call. "Category 8 Viral Infestation. Diamond Drive, Northern Sector." this coincides with Theurgus setting off in that same direction after equipping her Processors and launching into the air with a grim expression, followed by Arcana in close pursuit. The coordinates provided by the Oracle lead to a very barren and code blasted area. The entire Drive here seems riddled with the angry red of damaged code, like a spiderweb of pulsing red cracks in the very world itself. Fragments of broken code float through the air, and the landscape is a hellish, desolate patchwork of shattered islands amongst the sea of red. Viruses are everywhere here. Poochooze and Cup-O-Cattes, Pipeless and Tret-rads, all the way up to Securotrons corrupted by malignant code, and their melee counterparts the Guardrobots. LDF forces have already engaged the minor threats, laser rifles cutting through Poochoozes and the other minor Viruses from the Militia gunmen, while the larger constructs, uncorrupted assault droids, wrestle with their corrupted counterparts, code fragments flying everywhere.
Lexicon	Lexicon exits the System Bus terminal within Locus. Within two steps, a shining white ring of light has shot out around her feet. Another step and she's engulfed in a pillar of pixellated energy. By the fourth step, Silver Soul lunges out of the light pillar and into the sky. Determination written across her crimson-eyed face, her armored Processor pieces flicker into place around her legs, hips, and shoulders. Just as her ascent starts to dip, those iconic square-shaped wings appear, and the Silver DCC resumes her ascent. Her path leaves a streak of white across the arcane Drive's skybox. It's not her Drive, but Theurgus is her friend. She'd march out to assist any of her fellow DCCs, but this one she's known the longest. Scarlet eyes narrow when her connection is made and soldier commands start ringing in her ear. A hand is lifted, projecting a screen and establishing a direct link. "Captain. I've come from Britannica to assist. It looks like you've got a war on your hands." Sparkles form in Lexicon's trail, as her axe materializes in her free hand. The glowing white blade ignites, mechanical parts locking in place, "Point me at the weakest part of your line and I'll relieve your troops."
Asterios	'Incoming.' That's the only real warning that anyone really gets before a crimson meteor surges down out of the system bus and crashes into the legion of viruses like the fist of an angry god. The impact scatters a plume of dust which soon disperses to reveal... ...Someone who hasn't been out and active in quite a while. A sign of hope for the defenders of the drive. A bastion of MIGHT and MUSCLE in equal measure. Yes. That's right...! Asterios, the Minotaur of the Labyrinth, has just come crashing down out of the sky. And he has a /lot/ of aggression to work out, a whole bunch of things he can crush guilt-free, and a pair of god-forged axes to do it with. Thus, he begins the process of smashing right through the horde with strength that exceeds even that of legendary Heracles...!
Arthur Lowell	"Alright, Arthur. You've been out of the game long enough. Time to get back into it." The boy spacelark surges through the nearest weak points in space, blasting ahead through the sweeping vista of stylish, rising semi-greco-roman environments, and swoops low at tremendous speed towards the blasted barren wastes farther away. He clings to a thick, heavy, steel, industrial-looking battlebroom, leaning low to it as it leaves behind a rocket-exhaust trail. And as he arrives at the front lines of the engagement, surging towards the left flank as best he can... "EVERYBODY OUT OF MY GODDAMN WAAAAAAY!!" Arthur shouts out, dismounting his broom, skidding along the blasted ground and kicking up code. "I've got a FIST full of BATTLEBROOM, a MISSION full of FIGHTS, and a MOUTH full of SHOUTING!" And that broomstick's built-in rockets never stopped, they just turned towards fueling an incredibly brutal series of swings, swipes, and smashes, charged with gravity magic to make their impacts not unlike getting hit by a truck. He may not have an investment the way Lexicon does, but that sure isn't going to dampen his enthusiasm for getting back into his business of sorts. "Who wants some? Get UP in THIS SHIT you fucking NORTON-BAIT BITCHES, I've got BRISTLES for DAYS with your PROCESS IDS on 'em! COME AT MEEEEE!!" Yep, despite the absence, Arthur is right back underway in his usual shenanigans. He leaps over towards where Asterios lands, launches up and just lands, without asking, on his shoulders, steadies himself by grabbing onto one of those huge horns, and then starts firing massive bolts of starlight magic out of the un-bristled end of his broom with his free hand. He swings it about like an automatic rifle, shouting, blasting, and bombing towards any cluster that Asterios' herculean strength isn't resolving. "YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!! Fucking BUTCHER 'EM!!"
Fuki	Fuki's small but fast. Once she got that priority call from Charta, she's already off and going to the Northern Sector of the Diamond Drive. She's explored a lot of the DIamond Drive before, but this part is something she hasn't gone to, until today. Following the coordinates from the Oracle, Fuki slips her mask on and a scythe comes into view with a white flash. Upon arrival, the Shinki floats in air, wings flapping slowly as she looks at the hellish landscape. All those viruses there and the LDF already engaging... it's time for the Assassin Shinki to get into this foray. When another white ring of light catches her vision, she takes a look towards it, seeing Silver Soul head into the sky, "Hmm, is that one of her Rivals?" she questions to herself, shrugging a bit. "Alright, here we go." she smirks from behind the mask... but with the impact from someone coming right in... "Jeeze, everyone's coming in..." she mutters, seeing Asterios already smashing. And there's a very familiar voice... "Oh, hello Arthur." she calls out, floating her way towards the Captain, "Fuki here, Theurgus' Shinki. Where is she?" she demands, "I need to find her and assist."
Theurgus	The LDF Captain is stood atop the shoulder of a particularly well armoured Securotron model, it looks like it's meant to be piloted by someone of his stature. "Glad for the backup. Left flank is getting hammered by a Draco King and a contingent of Malvaders, they've already lost three Guardrons to that thing." he replies to Lexicon, before shielding his eyes from the concussion wave as Asterios comes literally dropping into the party. The captain allows himself a smirk, lifting his right fist into the air, then scooping a 'FORWARD' gesture. "Charge up! Lets show these Out-Systemers just what the LDF is capable of!" with that, he hops into the torso of the mecha, sealing the head down before stomping out into the field. Arthur's arrival is met with a few cheers as his initial impact scatters the Malvaders, the little pixel alien things falling back with electronic-sounding expletives. Arthur is then confronted with the imposing two story tall frame of a FUCKING MASSIVE DRAGON with glowing red lines running all over its body, and what looks like a pair of railcannons strapped over its shoulders. "PITIFUL WORM! YOU DARE DEFY A KING!? CONDEMN BLAZE!" comes the bellowing roar of the dragon, the railcannons spooling up and erupting with a pair of pale blue-white bolts of energy directly at Arthur and Asterios! Fuki's small size means she's not being directly and immediately targetted, but the ranged Viruses are firing pretty wildly, so there's energy bolts and projectiles flying everywhere. It's a very dangerous environment. Fuki's question is answers when a pair of voices speak in perfect unity. "Ye Lords, Masked in Bits and Code, Fluttering wings for they who bear the name of Program. Source and Compilation, Strike upon this corrupted wall and unleash but a measure of your fury! Way of Destruction, Number 33, Blue Lightning!" The sisters descend from on high, staff and sword drawn as they aim the tips towards the central concentration of Virusess. Blue electricity erupts from the weapons, and slams into the ground, making an expanding explosion that rips lesser virusess apart, leaving the larger ones weakened and staggered. The pair then split off, and move to reinforce other parts of the battle line. A curious thing to note, is a seemingly innoculous item appears to be the center of the viral outbreak. A guitar, embedded in a lump of corrupted code at the geometric center of the 'spiderweb'.
Asterios	Asterios has never met Arthur Lowell before. He doesn't know what the purpose of bringing a broom to combat might be. He is somewhat impressed by the stars being flung around like candy. Though it'll take more than a few flashy moves to distract him from the task at hand. There are, after all, so very many things to smash. And more importantly, there is one... Particularly massive thing that Asterios finds very difficult to ignore. "Dragon," Asterios observes as the enormous fucking railcannons erupt with power. The minotaur grunts and rams one axe into a nearby Giant Poochooze. He drives his now free hand into the path of that devastatingly bright light. Pain shoots up his arm, his flesh cooks red and charrs black, and yet... He... catches the projectile. "You'll have to do..." Asterios grunts, crushing the bolt of energy in-between his massive fingers, "Better than that...!" The Minotaur roars in defiance, collecting his second axe and charging /straight/ for the enormous gun-dragon. "Your kind destroyed my home! So this is...!" He leaps, twisting in mid-air before slamming his twin axes into the FUCKING MASSIVE DRAGON's FUCKING MASSIVE HEAD. "JUSTIIIIICE!"
Arthur Lowell	"HELL YES I'm DARING." Arthur calls out, raising his broom in an inspiring battle cry. "COME AT ME! Show me that POWER! Show me that FIRE! Hit me with all your REGAL IMPACT, motherfucker, I wanna feel the HEAT!" He grips the broom tightly, and screams a spirit-rousing battlecry while white light burns and blasts around his body. "HaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA!!" He launches forward off Asterios just as the bolt fires, and takes one of the two head-on; Asterios is going to have to deal with the second. A dozen-layered magical spirograph appears in front of him, a barrier of some sort that halts the bolt dead, before it shatters the first layer, the second, the third, and then cascades a series of crashes down the line until the blunted impact threatens Arthur himself! "RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" The impact crushes through, washing over his body with waves of heat, and his apparent HP bar -- his "health vial" -- drops a chunk of dangerous crimson. Of course that'd never mean he would stop. This thing spoke, at least, and Arthur doesn't tend to kill things that speak. Not to say that the draconic king is too much at risk of that, despite the fact that the burned, bruised boy tries to launch the sustained output of concentrated man-sized fusion at the railgun-reptilian threat in a constant beam. "GOOD! There you go! There's that HEAT, motherfucker! There's that PAIN! HIT ME with ALL YOU GOT, or are you some OUTDATED OVERBLOWN OVER-INDEXED MALWARE? Give me that HEEEEAAAAT!" Asterios comes in with the axe, and Arthur moves in as his fusion blast runs dry. Hoping that the axe-smash will have stunned his foe, Arthur closes in with all swiftness... Yanking a heavy black-chain ripcord, revving up the whirling, lethally sharp bristles of his broomstick, bringing the weapon in to strike like a blender and chew through reinforced monster flesh. As he closes in, his geometrically talented mind calculates the precise center of the activity just as one of its many side-efforts, and notes the item. He doesn't understand its significance, so he leaves such matters to those far more talented and knowledgeable when it comes to dealing with this digital space. But with a snap of one hand, a weird... Uh, quest marker? Has shown up on it! "Dunno what the DEAL IS with the STRINGS up in this, but TAKE A LOOK if you know what GOES DOWN around here!"
Lexicon	Lexicon nods once at her communicator screen, "Consider its ass kicked." The screen is then dismissed in a typical closing gesture, and she shifts her eyes to the battle unfolding below. Crimson eyes narrow, skimming the chaos of dust, weaponsfire, and magic. An eye closes in a brief flinch when Asterios makes his entrance. Lifting a hand more out of habit than necessity, she lets out a wordless curse-like sound. And some crazy mage with a broom shooting off his mouth as much as his magic... Dipping her head, Silver Soul grins, "Well, this got interesting. Can't let them have ALL the fun." The Dragon King virus seems to be, at least, the closest thing to a ringleader at the moment. Though she can see something that looks like a source, from up here, that'll have to wait until things have cooled down a little first. A thought that, the second Lexicon thinks it, she immediately means literally. White-tinted light flickers off the edge of her axe as she brings herself to a stop, swinging the weapon in a wide arc and then hauling it over her head. A magic circle shoots out around her feet, though only brief in span before Silver Soul hurls herself downward in a crash dive. "HEY, FUCKER! THIS DREADNOUGHT AXE BLOW WILL EVEN SPLIT A DCC IN HALF..!" Eyes gleaming red with fury, she calls out, "THINK YOU CAN STACK UP?!" The glittering motes of light solidify into ice, adding mass and size to the blade of Lexicon's axe as she descends, "TODESTROSS!" She's not aiming for the Dragon King's head or neck, but rather, the weapons on his back. Even like this, Lexicon thinks tactically. For now.
Fuki	Ah, there they are. Fuki moves to blast off from her current location from the Capitan towards Theurgus... "I'm coming, Master." she comments to herself as she ascends into the air, but with the massive explosion that rocks those viruses taking place, she smirks... they can handle themselves it seems. Dodging some laser fire and other ranged firings going towards her, she takes her aerial position to scan around, taking heed of everything around. "Hmm, what's this?" she mutters, looking towards the guitar in the center of that 'spiderweb'. "I'm going to examine something in the center of this mass. My small size should be good enough to graze whatever's coming my way." with a streak of black and purple shooting off from the sky, Fuki makes her way towards the center of that spiderweb... "What's a guitar doing in the middle of this..." she mutters, scythe at the ready... She perks up a bit though, hearing the warning over the radio. She braces herself as she presses on, pulling out another scythe from her slipway and pressing both in an X pattern to tank whatever comes her way!
Theurgus	Asterios catches the projectile, the spinning lump of tungsten carbide coming to a standstill in the Minotaur's hand. It then crumbles to dust, as the giant bullman charges in, and smashes that axe down at the dragon's head. It's surprisingly agile for a giant gun-lizard, jinking aside just in time for that axe to slice off one of the railcannons instead of beheading it. The axe cuts through the metal, and into the shoulder before coming to a stop, leaving a very big red gash that leaks corrupted code. Arthur's strike begins to chew through the armoured hide of the dragon virus, the thing staggering back as it tries to gain some distance from the concentrated assault. He roars, opening its mouth to breath blue-white flame over the broom-using magic boy... Only to be cut short as Silver Soul comes barreling in, striking the other railcannon and knocking the dragon backward, skidding and digging up furrows of dirt and code fragments from the island. It looks weakened, falling to one knee with a groan, its body beginning to fragment into red 'flakes' of corrupt, damaged code. Fuki approaches the Guitar, and something seems to access her vision, showing her a quick sequence. A blue-haired woman holding the guitar, facing down a mysterious sillhouette. The blue haired woman looks a LOT like Theurgus, but a little older and with the mole on the opposite cheek. Then the central mass PULSES, and the Dragon King seems to flicker and 'reset', standing back up with its railcannons restored. "FOOLS! I AM IMMORTAL YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" it bellows, baring sharp fangs and aiming those cannons at Silver Soul.
Asterios	Well. The dragon can regenerate. Thaaaat's fun. Asterios huffs, hefting his axes up over his shoulders. What is a minotaur and his fellow face-punchers to do about an enemy that can recover from every injury they can throw at it. Well. Asterios remembers a certain legend about a certain demigod who was faced with a similar dilemma. And so... Asterios decides that there is only one course of action he can possibly take that might resolve this. He drops his axes... Throws his arms wide... ...And charges right at the dragon's throat. It... it seems as though he means to /strangle/ the thing to death. Possibly between repeated suplexes.
Fuki	While everyone else is fighting, Fuki's doing her normal thing of being in places that she probably shouldn't be. Location, right near the guitar and central mass. Though when she approaches, that vision hits her eyes and she holds still... who was that woman, it looked a lot like Theurgus... "Nngh? Someone... or something's in my vision." she mutters out into the radio, "I... saw someone who looked like you, Master." Fuki hmms a bit, looking around the mass and guitar... The mass pulses and the Dragon King bellows out, "Immortal? Nothing is immortal..." she mutters, eyeing the mass... then the guitar. She looks at her scythes curiously, then the mass. Idea processing... and obtained. "Charta, prepare some whetstones when we come back. I have an idea since the enemies don't see me." there's a facepalm from the response... and she shakes her head... "I need to drill it into her code that Miss is not something you use for me..." There's an idle shrug before she takes aim, she doesn't wanna damage the guitar... "Probability that this is the 'immortal' part of that dragon... fourty five percent. It's worth a hack." With Fuki, hack means two things. Hacking it to peices or hacking it digitally... and Fuki's favorite hacking... is the former! She starts slamming the tips of her scythes into the mass, chipping away at it, trying to cut it open. "Open sesame!"
Lexicon	Silver Soul swings her axe after that solid impact, dispersing the ice remaining on her weapon in chilly flakes. Raising her free hand, she wiggles her fingers, "C'mon, you were talking like such a badass a second ago--" And then the Dragon King resets to its original state. While he roars about his immortality, though, the Silver DCC merely flattens her eyebrows to a straight, bemused like, "Oh for fuck's sake. Save states, really? You're gonna pull shitter tier cheats like that outta your ass?" When he aims his rail weapons again, she sweeps her own weapon back, "Guess I gotta think outside the box, then..!" But then Asterios thinks outside the box a bit faster. There's something to appreciate about that kind of monstrous instinct. Though him being so close does cause her to re-evaluate her decisions. Reaching up, she scratchest at her cheek with a fingertip while watching the two titans fight like kaiju. That gives her an idea for a story. Later. "I'm not great with knots, but if you need it sealed away for a while, just hold it down..!" Thrusting a hand aside, a fresh magic circle shoots out around her legs, condensing into the blue-white of ice magic. She ascends, trailing her axe behind herself where the magic gathers. At the apex, she cuts her flight and drops, swinging the axe up overhead and then bringing it down with as much force as her body can muster, legs splaying out to either side from the effort, "Alright! Back off! LATENT KATASTROPHE!" On impact, the ice magic erupts into spikes of rapidly growing ice crystals, shooting outward and inward, fusing together, in an effort to create a prison. She's done this before, but not on a creature quite as resiliant.
Arthur Lowell	"Fucking HELL--!!" Arthur calls out, as the fire's about to drown him. Then, suddenly, another axe is here to save the day! "Yo, MAD UPS for the HELP!" He calls out gratefully to Lexicon, using the opportunity to close in. Then it's time to work on the dragon again. "Hey, BIG AND TALL AXE EMPORIUM, keep him still a HOT SECOND!" Arthur shouts, before finishing closing the distance and hoping that Asterios' grapple can facilitate what comes next. He moves to leap onto the dragon as it's strangled, willingly suffering all manner of dangerous heat and wounds as he does, before plunging his whirling broomstick of death straight for its flesh. As he does, though... A halo of splitting, branching, whirling spellcircles emerges from his back like a halo, moving like some kind of clockwork machine. Is this phenomenon close enough to magic? Arthur is trying to activate his ANALYTICAL ABILITIES! He's looking to surge his scan directly into the magical-or-analogous systems responsible for the temporal restoration process, and to then flood them and overload them with his own magic surging through the broom! This is no anti-immortality weapon, by any means, but if there's a weak point in there, Arthur's going to be magically lashing out at it, until... He dives to one side! "HELL YEAH, motherfucker, bring the PAIN TRAIN into the STATION!" He calls out, far more confident than he should be sounding to someone like Lexicon who just saved him from burning alive. Even as she works to imprison this thing, Arthur tries to continue blasting through the gaps in the cage, dumping gravity and raw starlight into the beast constantly.
Theurgus	Fuki's attacks start to peel away the layers. With a few good slashes, the mass peels open like a fleshy sack... and from inside, a hand erupts, grabbing the guitar and leaping into the air. Asterios grapples with the dragon, knocking the railcannons off target. One of the projectiles slams into the LDF captain's mecha, staggering it and causing the pilot to let out a cry of pain as he's rattled around in his cockpit. The dragon grabs back at the minotaur, roaring and struggling against the insanely strong Servant. Strangling doesn't really work on something that doesn't need to breathe like organics do, but the leverage does give Asterios a distinct advantage. Lexicon's assault comes next, and if Asterios lets go, the ice manages to ensnare the dragon virus for a brief few moments, long enough for Arthur's attacks ot get some purchase. Red code flakes erupt from the multiple strike points, and the temporal analysis finds the source is the red mass itself, leeching some kind of power from the surrounding energy lines, and... wait, the other thing that was there flickers away while analysis is in progress, weird. As damage piles up again, the mass, weakened as it is, pulses and 'resets' the dragon once more, but something's different, the virus seems to have 'mutated' losing some of the dragon-like form, and gainint a more mist-like property. "HAH, SO YOU FOUND OUT MY SECRET. NO MATTER. YOU WILL ALL TASTE DELICIOUS!" comes a more, sinister hissing, like steam escaping from a leaky pipe. Diamond Soul and Diamond Sister come up from their assaults on the other flanks, turning to watch the battle, as the figure from the mass steps forward, backlit and cast in shadows as she strums the guitar strings. Magenta eyes shine from the face of this figure, and she begins to play and sing, causing elemental explosions to erupt around the virus.
Asterios	Maybe Asterios /can't/ properly strangle this thing to death. That's an odd feeling, the knowledge that your enemy, inanimate as it is, is resistant to the application of raw power. Still, it's a battle of legendary proportions as minotaur wrestles with dragon. The beast's talons rip bloody gashes across Asterios' back and shoulders as the pair struggle against one another. Strength presses back against strength, and for a moment, it seems as though the minotaur has the dragon on the ropes...! And then circumstances necessitate pulling back. Great gouts of crimson spray from the minotaur's back as he rips himself free just in time for Lexicon's frigid prison to take hold. Arthur's bombardment comes next, piercing the beast's hide and revealing... ...Something... familiar. "...Oh," Asterios murmurs, "You're... Like the Caerbannog? Hm." Explosions begin ripping into the battlefield. Asterios knows not whether they're from allies or enemies, and he doesn't presently care. Instead he focuses his will into his /other/ speciality. The minotaur draws forth the one magic that he can weave, the singular expression of his identity moulded into one individual utterance. "You are... stealing power from this world. But what are veins... But a maze of life...?" Asterios growls as a violet flash ripples through the local energy currents. Suddenly, they begin turning away, being ripped from the land and redirected elsewhere, or looped upon themselves to form isolated nexuses of ley energies. And all the while, as that dragon dissolves parts of itself into fog, Asterios reshapes the land into a great crucible for the sorcery smashing into the creature from on high. This is the Minotaur's sole magic. CHAOS LABYRINTHOS "Now," Asterios calls to the others, "Focus your magic into the kiln...!"
Fuki	Fuki's attacks on this fleshy-like sack end up getting the thing that was trapped in it free. "Ara?" she mutters, tilting her head, "Well, this is interesting. She's kinda cute too." she nods, floating up a bit moving towards the new figure, "So, you who I released... I'll guard you while playing." But the response that she gets makes her tilt her head, "Okay then." as her scythes dissapear, they get replaced by a rifle. "I did my job. Now, let's see if I can't snipe a few viruses..."
Arthur Lowell	Arthur leaps into action. What comes next is much less like his previous way of attacking. While before it was just blasts and beams, bashes and battering, this time it's calculated, precise, and almost scalpel-like. This isn't just a skirmish, it's a much more dangerous incursion, and Arthur works to immediately treat it as such. Just because he's working to treat it as less of a skirmish though, doesn't mean his brashness and bravado shift out of their current gear. "Oh, you want a PIECE OF THIS, motherfucker? You got that HUNGER? You feel the NEED to FEED? CHEW ON THIS, you LINE-SUCKING TROJAN MOTHERFUCKERRRRR!" Arthur calls out, ejecting a mostly-spent clip of starlight bolts from his broom-rifle and slamming in a new clip of laser cell munitions. Asterios is taking advantage fo what Arthur found, and Arthur intends to take advantage of what Asterios is doing in turn. He pumps the loading mechanism of his heavy broom, causing it to unfold and blossom an array of cooling cells and capacitors arranged like the teeth of a massive black saw. Lasyers of spirographs press forward, linking with the magic of Chaos Labyrinthos, handshaking spatial warping magic with spatial warping magic of Arthur's own, to funnel a shot through it at incredible amplification and potential. Gates spring to life around the magical kiln, linking to the array in front of Arthur, and he begins dumping waves of shining laser light directly into the thing at the highest degree of optimization he can possibly manage, hoping that this can match the DPS needs of the fresh, mysterious arrival. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." He starts, yanking the trigger as hard as he can. "RaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH...!!" He continues as ports ejecting masses of steam blast open and burn him with the intensity of his own attack. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" The beam widens and intensifies, and the strain of emitting it creates constant shockwaves around Arthur Lowell. Before his laser cells are depleted, he'll be almost impossible to see because of the luminous intensity of the beam he's blasting into the structure from a multitude of angles.
Lexicon	Silver Soul recoils from her attack, floating up and out of reach while the ice forms around the Dragon King. That should at least slow it down until the shinki can sort things out over there-- and then the monster breaks loose by assuming a new form. She scowls when the virus' identity is revealed. That's almost on the same tier of ultra lethal bullshit as Caerbannog..! Lexicon wasn't present when Asterios demonstrated Chaos Labyrinthos at the System Tower. The effect of his Noble Phantasm is a wholly new experience, when he reorients Locus' local leylines into a cage. And, she surmises from his shouting, an amplifier. Eyes lifting, she squints at the guitarist in the distance. 'Amplifier', how appropriate. Crimson eyes return to the misty virus, and she waves her free hand. Spheres of icy light are scattered in front of her, "You like it hot? Well, heat shock's a bitch. GEFARLICHTERN!" Her axe is turned sidelong, and Lexicon uses the flat of the blade to swat the orbs like tennis balls, adding her own (limited) ranged magic to the crucible created by Asterios and Arthur. Yeah, even the crazy close range axe warrior is keeping her distance from this one.
Theurgus	Fuki approaches the figure, who turns part way to look at the little robot. She smiles, without losing the rhythmn of her song. As Asterios gathers the terrain up into a crucible, the woman is just transitioning into a solo, the intensity of the elemental explosions intensifying and concentrating into the giant kiln. Arthur's laser assault burns away more of the 'shell', and makes the misty form flicker and evaporate away, red particles fading away in a comet tail away from the laser stream. The bolts of ice magic slam into the misty virus as Silver Soul bats them like a pro baseballer, freezing swaths of the monster solid, pinning it down. The mystery figure calls out. "It's weakened! FINISH IT!" The song is coming to a close, the final verse being sung with passion. "We have flown over countless bitter nights. You're the only one with that special strength of your persevering heart and blade-sharp eyes. Now engrave that proof of "you" here!" Diamond Soul takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and beginning to incant. "Spread upon the source code of the beast! Crystal Tower, Red Stone, Adamant Circle. Move and become the One. Stop and become the Zero. The sound of warring spears fills this empty disc! Way of Destruction, Number 57, Grand Iron Glaive." A large multihue 'spear' comes crashing down from a large spell circle above the crucible, exploding within and causing a mushroom cloud to erupt from the top, spreading shrapnel across the landscape. A wisp of black smoke, bearing baleful white eys emerges from the debris, but it quickly silenced as it begins to hiss. "Guardian Program, Superior Process, Bring unto me the executibles thy compiler doth bear; as I render unto thee. Ensure the malicious Virus attempts prove fruitless! Annihilate their offences! Vanquish their hopes! Rend the Null!" Arcana swoops in, her sword a glowing brand of pure white light, searing the last of the Virus from the Drive. As the dust settles, the red spiderweb begins to 'heal', retracting slowly toward the central mass as the figure's song comes to an end. "Nobody's there, so sail away... sail away. Sail away...." Fuki would, after sniping a few Poochooze as they try to flee, notice the figure is beginning to fade, blue-white code flaking away from her body. "... Time to go... you have so many friends now, Little Mage. I'm glad I could see you, one last time..."
Lexicon	Silver Soul sweeps her axe back, prepared to push the offensive, though watches intently as the virus is frozen, then burned, and at last banished by the Diamond pair for the finishing blow. Lowering her altitude, the silver DCC floats closer, inspecting carefully. When it seems to be clear, she swings her axe up and rests it across her shoulders, attention turning to the mysterious guitarist. Now that she's no longer fighting a swarm of viruses and their corrupted overlord, Lexicon has the seconds needed to recognize someone from the System's distant past. While looking, herself, much like someone from the same era in digital history. "MAGUS.." Her head inclines, casting her eyes in shadow behind her bangs. "Damnit..." After a moment, she swings her axe back down and turns fully to face the disappearing musician. Drifting closer, she upends her weapon and rams it into the ground where MAGUS. had stood, gaze still lowered. "...It's not fair to Theurgus, you know. Showin' up in a blaze of glory and then fuckin' off again..."
Asterios	Well technically, Asterios' primary goal was to deprive the /virus/ of the resources it was drawing from. But... Well! This works just as well, in all honesty. As the fireworks die down, the minotaur draws back, blinking away the glare from the catastrophic magic unleashed upon the beast. That was... Quite the flash. ... But. Who was the one who aided them, exactly...? "Magus...?" Asterios scruffs his thick, voluminous mane. "Mmn. So this is like... The time with the blue one? Memories from the past, preserved... Somehow. Hm." Asterios shrugs. "...Oh well. Crisis averted."
Fuki	Fuki's lasers hit and splatter the Poochooze, taking a moment to reload from her mid air encampment, the blue-white code floating up, flaking away from the side of her vision, Fuki turns around to look at the woman dissapearing. "H...hey! I just saved you, why are you leaving now?!" she floats towards the front of the woman, "Jeeze, are you really just gonna do this? She's gonna be mad if you do!" it doesn't matter though, her words don't seem to reach. She listens to the words, frowning some. With everything seeming to come to an end, she floats up as Silver Soul comes towards the area. "Theurgus!" she calls out, "Where are you?!" taking off to go find her Master in all the calm now.
Arthur Lowell	The broom re-folds, the blossoming capacitors and coolant cells eject or re-insert, and everything calms down. The misty, dangerous trojan is eliminated, and the incursion is repelled. Arthur looks bruised, burned, and bloodied, and has that manic look on his face like he's going to revel in it with obnoxious shouting and brash boasting, but... After a moment, he reads the mood. He grinds his teeth awkwardly and looks over to what's going on with "MAGUS". A quick check of Pesterchum as he brings up his chat window confirms that this is a little heavier than he expected. "Shit." He mutters, awkwardly. "So since the stuff's all digital, the memories are like... Jeeze. Jeeze." He sort of backs off and attempts his best display of Distant Coolness. letting the Controllers have their moment of emotional space, and looking a little awkward about his previous bravado and loudness. Things were indeed a little too grim for that sort of thing.
Theurgus	Theurgus comes down from her high perch, the clockwork wings folding down, before she touches ground. Her transformation reverts, and the blue haired woman walks over to where her friend once stood. Her eyes are covered by the brim of her hat, blocking the view of her face from the mouth upward. A sleeve is swiped across the hidden area, coming out a little bit damper looking than it started. She approaches, then stabs her staff into the ground, reaching out to place a hand against the ground where her mentor stood before. "It's pronounced MAGUS. with the period point." yes, it doesn't sound any different to the uninitated ear, but the DCC is pretty adamant about it. Arcana lands nearby, reverting her own transformation and looking more than a bit winded. The greenette looks over at Arthur, approaching him and offering a hand to shake. "Thank you... for the help. I-I mean, you didn't have to." she seems a bit more, timid, when not transformed.
Arthur Lowell	Arthur immediately assaults the offered hand. He doesn't shake it, no, but rather engages in a complicated series of bro-pounds, fist-bumps, daps, knocks, low-fives, little finger-twisty motions, grabs, and other handshake maneuvers. This is the worst thing to do to someone who's looking timid!! "Yeah girl yeah gimmie that skin." He says as he engages in this highly complicated Coolkid Handshake. "S'no problem! HERO BIZ, you know? Looks like it was HEAVIER than I was thinkin', but turned out ALRIGHT!" He grins, and his smiling teeth bare at a precisely calculated angle that makes them shine a gleam along their entire length as he gives a double-fingerpistols-and-a-wink gesture. "Sounds like you need plenty of BAD STUFF gettin' SLAYED on. I'm GOOD FOR THAT! keep me SUPPLIED on the INFO, I'll keep runnin' in. Good source of BOONDOLLARS and all, you know?" No, Arthur. She doesn't know. Because that doesn't make any sense.
Lexicon	Lexicon leaves her axe planted there, reverting her transformation and dropping the foot or so to the ground she'd been floating over. Without a second thought, she reaches up to remove the hat that'd reappeared on her head, tucking it under one arm. The other hand is lifted, resting on Theurgus' shoulder. If anyone here knows exactly what the Mad Magician is feeling right now, it's Lexicon. Just a silent moment from the Silver DCC. Save a slow inhale, released as a frustrated huff. Just when she'd gotten her hopes up.
Fuki	With Theurgus making herself visible again, Fuki's immediately landing upon her new perch: the DCC's shoulder. Fuki's weapons and armor dissipate into her slipway, leaving the black-painted shinki leaning up against the DCC's head. "Was she your former Master as well?" she questions, "If so, for her to come back and say those words to you, it should mean a lot." a pause, then thoughts of Kourin pour into her head and she frowns. "Theurgus, she... is right, though. You do have friends." Something Fuki doesn't have. "Say. Let me cook. I know a few recipies in my memory banks, and I can probably find some to your local cuisine. Charta can help. We cleared the viral infestation here, and..." she looks back towards the mound, "Someone finally got to say words that they have been meaning to say to you. I think... we can call this a good day."
Theurgus	Arcana, predictable, looks absolutely overwhelmed by the prodigious and typhoon-like personality of Arthur Lowell, Coolest Dude to Ever Cool, or whatever. Green eyes flicking about, trying to watch all the motion going on in front of her... she steps back a little. "Uuuh uuuhmmm... O-O-Okay... uh..." eyes go wide, and the DCC Candidate covers her face partially with one hand, covering one eye and looking through her bangs at Arthur. Theurgus looks up at Lexicon, bringing a hand up to rest over the other DCC's. She manages a weak smile back at her fellow DCC, then stands up. Theurgus nods, reaching up to gently pet Fuki on the head with a fingertip. "We shall mark this as a good day... everyone is invited to join us at the Cathoderal... we found, and lost an old friend, but this is not a reason for sadness. MAGUS. came back to protect the Diamond Drive one last time." Theurgus continues to gently pet Fuki. "You have friends now, too." she says, seeming to sense the Fuki's inner thoughts. In the background, the LDF are mopping up the last dregs of the virus outbreak, the Captain's mecha limping from the large hole punched in one leg from that railcannon shot. They're all listening to the DCC speaking over the local comms, and as the last virus falls, they all let out a cheer.