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Cu Chulainn A farm near a German village, daytime

The Concord's sources would tell them that the arm they seek is being held near a small German village, in a research facility deep underneath a farm. The sun is high in the sky, workers plowing the fields or working on the grain. There's barns, chicken coops, big open fields, a large two-floor farmhouse, and the most important, the mill.

See, every person on the farm is aware of mages to some extent, if even just 'they exist and are here'. There's not many employees, and they range from super lowly mages themselves or, more usually, relatives of the mages. Their job is to keep the farm appearing normal, so the local villagers don't get suspicious. But deep inside the mill is an entrance to a subterranean research base, which Concord reports also say is probably protected by spirits, barriers, and maybe even portals to other dimensions.

The mill, other than this entrance, seems pretty normal. The Concord can move in from the warpgate and get close, though obviously they'll have to put up with the workers...

But the Concord's goal wasn't to be sneaky. Their goal was to get they were owed. So that probably won't be a problem.
Nie Li     By now, Nie Li is satisfied that the arm is safe to handle. Safe enough, anyways. As long as it's just sitting there, not attached to anyone's body. And you're not shooting it with something. ... It's PROBABLY safe.

    And that's good enough for him to agree to this retrieval mission. After all, he's very curious about what that thing is and whether it will at all be useful to his goals. Or the goals of an ally he can then call on favors from.

    That's what this whole Concord shindig is about, after all.

    But Nie Li was wounded recently. His body's still shaky and sore, particularly the right arm that he crash-landed on. No amount of miraculous healing by Concord medical crews or Nine Transformation Pills can fully negate the need for good rest and recuperation.

    And that's why he's decided to take a stealthy approach. He's one of the first to arrive, and that's hard to tell.

    Because his approach has been incredibly stealthy. Through a combination of suppressing his aura, hiding behind cover, and making use of his invisible Void Form to relocate, he's devoted himself to making steady progress towards the barn that hides the facility entrance.

    No motion is wasted. No reckless fumbling is suffered, quite unlike the thirteen-year-old kid he appears to be. No. On a mission, this young man is moving like a trained ninja.

    If anyone could see him, that'd probably be very disconcerting. But, well. Invisible and sneaky ninja-ry. So, good luck with that.
Seifer Almasy      A few days ago, Seifer Almasy made it very clear: he was not alright with being told 'thanks for the help, we're taking off with the loot.' Seifer made it very clear that he was not OK with being told that they would 'share anything they found out' and that 'it's better handled by the experts.' As far as he was concerned, they *were* the experts, and 'share anything we find out' is military code for 'tell you what we think you deserve to know, you ignorant civvie fuckers.' He put up some aggressive negotiation tactics in the middle of a street blocked off by Arthur Lowell's magical talent, and gave the Mage's Association representative two choices. Choice number one was giving up the arm then and there, and getting access to its secrets. Choice number two was the Concord coming for it.

     Felt Haddask chose door number two.

     So now the Concord was coming for it.

     Seifer can't turn invisible like the other two, but he *can* sneak. He's got specops training, even if he's not exactly a super ninja or a magic dragon or whatever else gives people invisibility. Seifer is low to the ground as he moves carefully around the fence, heading for the mill. The big, open fields are a tactical liability, but the chicken coops and buildings present good cover from any patrols, and Seifer's been looking over these reports incessantly to figure out where the best patrol places are. In between taking care of Caster and taking care of his own wounds, it's basically all he's done.

     So he's using their blind spots against them, taking the bet that they're not trained in specops tactics, and reminding people that for all the loud and swaggering braggartry Seifer sometimes may indulge in, he's actually pretty damn professional when it comes to it.
Arthur Lowell     If there's one thing Arthur can't do, it's a Forced Stealth Segment. In fact that's what he specifically says he doesn't want to do, in those exact words, to Seifer, when it became clear that this was going to be a stealth operation. In lieu of that, he gave Priscilla and Seifer something when it became clear that he hadn't gotten whatever tribute of information he needed from the Mages Association. He's offered them each a little clear orb with a suspended Gate floating within, and instructions -- in his classic Xbox Live lingo -- to "just fuckin' SLAM THAT MOTHERFUCKER when shit GETS HOT, I'mma drop up in that bitch and start the WRECKING. Or, I guess, if you hit some MAGIC BIZ I can get hella SPELLCASTY on, I got that GOOD POWER dog."

    Yes, he's just giving them his ASSIST SUMMON OBJECT because honestly there's a better chance he'd set off an alarm or break someone's leg on the way in than anything else, and his unique set of abilities can let him bypass that issue a little more effectively.
Priscilla     Priscilla didn't show up. That's terrible. All that talking and organization about-

    Oh.

    Yeah it's a little unfair to Seifer, but the plan from the start had never been to lead a clustered infiltration team through an elaborate, multi-stage operation to get in and out unnoticed under the Association's nose. Familiarity with the area had been advised, as had getting as far along as possible before the mages are forced to pull the fire alarm, but the idea is not a heist. Frankly, even given her abilities, Priscilla rarely indulges in that kind of thing anyways.

    "If thou art ready, then I shalt begin."

    Those words go through the near field radio, ostensibly while their owner has yet to arrive, never mind check to see that everyone is in position. They will remain relatively confusing for at least another few minutes, over the space of which the bright, sunny day gradually drops several degrees.

    It's certainly not any of the magical traps or special proximity alarms to give the Association advanced notice of an intruder that go off. A nebulous but short time later, someone is going to be slamming on the panic button, calling in anyone it connects to pretty much blind.
Cu Chulainn The alarms go off. The location and details are forwarded to the Paladins and whoever they bring along (Felt Haddask willing to send Nova an invitation to assist). Yes, despite the Association knowing that there was a theft risk, they didn't send the Paladins the location in advance. It seems they thought they could handle it. Obviously, they thought wrong.
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Oryou thought you wanted to avoid this," Oryou says, soaring through the sky as she princess carries Ryouma.
    "Ah... I did. But now it's a problem, so I can't. We might suffer backlash if I don't answer the call," Ryouma answers, smiling. In truth, he didn't care if the World punished him, but he couldn't bear the thought of Oryou getting punished too. Their existences being entwined, it couldn't be avoided.
    "So, should Oryou just destroy everything?" she asks.
    "No, no. If we're forced to retreat, then we can say we tried our best and it'll be fine. If we aren't, though... maybe we can convince the Paladins to take the arm off-world and keep it there, permanently. Otherwise... ah, Oryou, I hate to ask this, but..."
    Oryou says, "Oryou will eat it."
    "Please."

    There is a crash, and a crater, as Oryou lands by the farm with no subtlety whatsoever. Ryouma hops out of her arms and adjusts his hat, sighing. For once, his sheathed katana and revolver are already materialized.

    "Well, let's do the World's work," he says to her.
Nova Terra     Nova did not fail to take Seifer's threat seriously. Despite it being somewhat difficult to take the man seriously. So since the events of Tokyo, Nova has been keeping her eye on this world. Not travelling too far away on the chance that the Concord agent and his allies choose that moment to attack. So when it's learned that said attack is currently going down, Nova is able to quickly respond.

    It's unlikely that the object falling from the sky trailing smoke would go unnoticed by the Concord infiltrators. Nor would the muffled sound of the object crashing into a field some distance away go unheard. But after that, tracking the object's occupant might prove... Challenging.

    Climbing out of the the drop pod, Nova doesn't notice the unusually low temperature. For one thing her suit maintains its own environment. For another, she's not so keenly aware of this country's, or even world's, weather behaviours as to notice it, even with her HUD showing the local temperature. She quickly activates her cloak, the field of light washing over her and making her unseen.

    Taking a moment to reach out with her mind, she senses the farm workers easily enough. Picking up their surface thoughts it's obvious they're at least aware of the Association, which likely makes them neutral to her, if not on her side completely. Beyond them though, Nova can only hone in on one other. The somewhat familiar Seifer. Which surprises her. Did he come alone? Nova wouldn't put it past him. Still, it seems unlikely. Which suggests others.

    Keeping her mind open on the possibility of sensing others, Nova begins to move through the field. She's stalking her way towards the one target she IS sure of, expecting that if there are others, they'll be nearby.
Thomas Alva Edison     All Thomas got was a warning of something going on, an attack on some remote German facility.

    Already, Thomas was becoming tired of the Mage Association. They had a history of betrayal, as if fuled with the elemental power of backstabbing.

    However, Edison decides that he was not going to abandon an ally, because he wondered how things went down from the point of view of others there. It was not a cut and dry situation, he wondered...

    Out of the portal, he flew with the power of DC electrcity. Flying towards the center of the chaos, he takes to an ariel view...deciding to observe at first, get a view of the situation, and then if he can either defend or speak. Maybe he could talk people down...it'd be a nice change of pace. Again, the last mage association job weighed heavily on his mind. An old man that had to be mericifully pulled down because of the bloodthirstyness of those around him.

    Taking a breath, he decends.
Eryl Fairfax     The Association is, in spirit if not in official words, allied with the Paladins. As such, their problems are the Paladins' problems. Especially when the problem is 'the Concord wants to claim an arm with unfathomable magical power because one of them showed up of his own accord and demanded payment.' As such, the farm on which the arm is being stored has eyes in the sky upon it. And once those alarms go up, something in the deep of space deploys.

    It streaks down towards the ground, a glowing light in the sky that gets bigger and bigger. A deployment pod, shot from the Paladin's Ad Coelum. Boosters fire, slowing it's descent to below terminal velocity before it splits into two, releasing the payload as the halves come down nearby. A single figure drops to the ground and lands in a three-point stance. Were any cameras nearby, it would look very cool.

    Eryl Fairfax stands in front of the mill and speaks, his voice carrying across the farm. "This place is under the protection of the Paladins. Should you retreat now, we will not pursue. You have 60 seconds to announce that you comply before we assume resistance."
Seifer Almasy      Seifer does, in fact, not fail to notice the drop pod, or the Oryou crater, or the electrical lion, or the other drop pod, or the booming voice. Quietly, he relays this information to the rest of the Concord team. He knows he's made. It's not gonna be long before one of those four finds him. He can avoid patrol routes, and creep between buildings, but stealth is not, and never has been, Seifer's strong suit.

     But a minute is a lot of time.

     Seifer can do a lot with sixty seconds. He can hang a grenade under the chicken coop and set up a nifty little tripwire. He can load Hyperion. And last of all, he can break the coop's glass.

     He's too injured to try and make a break for it, and that would be stupid anyway - it would sacrifice his ability to limit his opponents' attacks, sacrifice his ability to limit his opponents' *numbers*, sacrifice the corridor's inherent protections, and sacrifice his trap. So instead, Seifer takes up his stance and puts a smarmy grin on his face.

     Smarmy grins are essential.
Eryl Fairfax     Eryl snaps his head towards the sound of breaking glass as Seifer peeks out with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Seifer Almasy. Good to meet you face to face, but I do wish the circumstances were better," Eryl booms, before dipping his hands into his pockets.

    "I realise you must feel insulted over the lack of compensation you received from the Association during your last visit to this world. Thus, in the spirit of collaboration with both the Association and the Concord, the Paladins are willing to pick up the bill on this one. We normally have a flat contractor fee, but we're open to negoitation."

    Out of his pocket comes a cheque book and a pen. "Name your price."
Arthur Lowell     The little orb flickers and sparks, before the space around it emits a noise like a quarter being inserted into a complicated machine. "A NEW PLAYER HAS JOINED!" Speaks a dramatic voice from seemingly nowhere, and very abruptly, Arthur emerges from the little Gate that widens out into a much larger spirographic spellcircle, leaping up and then slamming into the ground out in the open.

    "ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS, everybody GET OUT OF THE WAY! I got a HEAD FULL OF SHOUTING, a BROOM FULL OF MAGIC, and a REAL GODDAMN INTENSE NEED to get up in that business with the ARM and get that CRUCIAL DATA," He declares, dramatically flipping his metal battle-broom about throughout the entire rant. "So you best STEP OFF so I can get some WORK DONE up in this bitch." He settles into a dramatic, offensive stance, as if he were wielding a spear, with one foot swept back. It's meant to match some of Eryl's own coolness. He delivers his own response to his orders.

    Then he sort of realizes. "Oh, shit, dog. Yo, E! How's it BEEN HOMIE!" He immediately approaches Eryl, out of the offensive stance, and attempts to assault his hand with a fast series of rapid daps, pounds, bumps, slides, low-fives, finger-wiggles, points, twists, and other maneuvers of a cool-kid handshake. "Been SUBJECTIVE ETERNITIES, how's it HANGIN'?" And the his eyes glint more firmly. "Sorry the FIRST MEET BACK gotta be so ROUGH, but this ain't just MONEY BIZ." Arthur jabs a finger down.

    "Whatever they got down there is heavy shit, but it's /supplied/ heavy shit. The bit I'm here for is 'cause the Concord says they can trace whoever supplied that thing, but the Mages Association can't. Whoever's supplying that shit is playing with fire, and I mean /world-rule dimension weirdness fire/. I can't afford to fuck around with bureaucratic limits, I /gotta/ get the data on who's running this arms-dealing business or I think a lot more people are gonna be dead sometime real fast."

    "I get it if you gotta keep relations with the Mages Association, but I gotta get this figured, one way or another." He slings the broom over his shoulder and shifts around a bit, in a posture reminiscient of a fighter game character; casual, but ready to strike when the minute is up.
Thomas Alva Edison     Edison lands near the silo, arms crossed as the massive lion headed man digs his heels in. He's ready to defend this spot...of course there are others, meaning this is probably going to get much busier very quickly. However, and to his joy, Talks are starting...even if they are not going anywhere. It is possible that they will not, and Edison will lament this, but the man believes that something like this can be talked and negotiated...especially as something bigger is going on. The only thing that benifits from this are those who who are hiding in the shadows.

    Taking a breath, he starts getting ready to speak, but right now allows Eryl to start.
Nova Terra     A couple of psi-boosted jumps take Nova up onto the top of one of the barns. She slowly stalks up to the edge of the roof and then kneels. Raising her rifle she looks through her scope and aims in the general area where she sensed Seifer. Unfortunately there's a building in the way. No doubt Seifer is trying to use it and the one next to it for cover.

    His mistake.

    Nova takes a calming breath as she slowly sweeps her sight across the featureless wall. She focuses her mind, finger hovering just over the trigger. She tries to tune out the conversation going on, having little interest in it. The Concord has already chosen to come here and assault the Association's facility. They have already crossed the line. Trying to buy them off now is-THERE!

    Nova pulls the trigger. Her cloak shimmers as her rifle fires, the bullet just appearing as it streaks out of the suppressed weapon.

    The round streaks towards the side of the building Nova was aiming at, before blasting a hole through the concrete. It continues onwards, just barely missing a poor surprised cow before blasting through the other wall and outside once again. It continues its final journey towards Seifer's back.

    Whether she hits or not, Nova jumps to her feet and starts running across the barn roof as she moves towards a new firing position. There's a slight shimmer in the air as she does so.
Seifer Almasy      Nova ripples into being as she pulls the trigger. It's the only thing that gives Seifer a chance to react, gives him a chance. The fact that he's even able to, injured as he is, is remarkable. He spins to meet the bullet with Hyperion, and he's only a hair too slow, and if he wasn't injured he might've even pulled off a flawless cut. As it stands he's far too hurt and far too slow, and the best he can do is nick it, deflecting it from a direct shot through his chest into his left shoulder. The bullet sinks in. Blood comes out.

     The look on his face is the look of a man who is more annoyed at himself than at being shot.

     Nova starts moving. Of course she does; she might even notice that Seifer doesn't bother to return fire. That firmly establishes that, despite all his braggadacio, he's not a moron. He doesn't think she's going to stay there. He knows how snipers operate.

     That's why he pulls the tripcord.

     The grenade explodes, taking the chicken coop with it. There's an explosion of feathers, wood, glass, and smoke, filling the air with the delicious scent of crispy fried chicken.

     Seifer comes charging right out of it on an intercept course with Nova.

     Seifer's not just not an idiot. Seifer's well-trained. There's only so many good sniper spots in this place. From where he was shot, to where he expects them to go, there's only so many routes. He's taking a guess.

     He's fast. He's superhumanly fast. He's not /stupid/ fast, but he's much faster than he ought to be, even with those injuries. Moreover, he's -good- - he's taking a random guess and swinging, and his form is still incredible. It's not just bragging; Seifer really is as good as he thinks he is.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Negotiations and terms, which go pear-shaped all too quickly. Ryouma awaited eagerly the resolution of that little episode, and seems a bit disappointed that it has to come to blows. It's too frequent, and the Concord seemed... not bloodthirsty exactly, but certainly came in expecting and maybe even wanting a fight. They probably knew from the start the Paladins wouldn't just hand it over, anyway. Neither would the Association.

    Oryou is bored. Or disinterested. Or just not paying attention, with her it's hard to tell. She's just floating there, as she does.

    Eryl gives the order for people to stand their ground and fight back. Guess that's that, then. Ryouma scans the battlefield with his eyes, but Arthur being Arthur creates enough noise that seeing or hearing anything else is absolutely impossible.

    No, actually... this works out. Arthur isn't here to fight either. His interests align with Ryouma's. Find the source, stop it. So, if they fight... it won't need to be a bloody melee, when Ryouma's heart isn't even into protecting the arm in the first place.

    Perhaps it might even be /ideal/ for the Concord to retrieve the arm so they can track the source. Maybe. There's too much at sake to tell.

    Ryouma begins walking in Arthur's direction, even as the young man chats Eryl up with gusto and enthusiasm. Oryou floats along, lazily.

    "Young man, would you mind leaving mister Fairfax be for the time being? I'd like to speak to you, besides."

    'Speak.'

    Ryouma draws his katana, to set a tone to his request. It clashes with his honest smile completely, like the act of drawing the weapon is forced.
Nie Li     A young man's voice sounds out from behind Eryl. He wasn't there a moment ago, but he is now. Dressed in (oddly?) orange clothing that looks QUITE far east and also OLD. And, indeed, young - barely teenaged. Far too young to be tussling with the Grandmaster of the Paladins.

    "Grandmaster Fairfax couldn't possibly think a price can be put on the power needed to save whole worlds, could he?" The question's posed in a rather dark and disapproving tone.

    And there is, of course, the fact that this man's apparently a very sneaky one who probably could have chosen to backstab instead of speak. "My name is Nie Li. And if you don't get out of our way..."

    Should Eryl turn to lock eyes with the youth who's speaking to him... well, the man's eyes all but flash with fierce, razor-focused killing intent. Honed, controlled, and ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. A sensation that's already like having a blade at one's neck... even though he's just standing there. "Don't blame me for getting impolite!"
Priscilla     The reason for a panic button going off and emergency help being called for, as opposed to an alarm and response procedure, becames apparent swiftly, when a chill breeze ripples uncannily through the grass, and a cold and stilted voice speaks somewhere out of it.

    "Thou art, if nothing else, an entertaining sort." Priscilla says. "Thou speaketh of fairness, who is owed what, and whose camp is the rightful place for things of this nature to belongeth. Thou argue over the guides by which to judge it. Who thou believest hath earned what by their action, and who is entitled to what else by their mere proximity."

    "I wonder what it is, that lead thou to believeth that thou hast recourse in this. I am curious how it is that thou became convinced that the actions and choices of mine subordinates art a democracy --awaiting thine vote, or in any way beholden to thine ideas of fair play. It is strange. I remember not bestowing upon any of thee, any power or privilege to maketh demands that they behaveth in a way thou seest fit, and yet here thou art, bewilderingly attempting to convince Sir Almasy that he is obligated to turn about and leave, for having broken rules that thou hast made up and follow only voluntarily."

    It takes her a while to actually appear, but it's in plain sight when she does; no corridors, no draps, no cover or concealment, no defensible position. A case sized to fit, say, a human arm hangs from a strap over her shoulder. Her dress up to the knees is soaked in blood. A lot of blood. Way too much blood.

    "Art thou so caught up in keeping track of what it is that thou art supposed to believeth, that thou can no longer comprehend simple cause and effect? Members of the Concord hath been taken advantage of. Their aid, expertise, and willingness to risk there lives, were gladly used and exploited to their fullest by the Association, who so adamantly swear that everything pertaining to their craft and their territory is theirs and theirs alone to handle. Yet, whence it came time to maketh those efforts worthwhile, those members of the Concord were not simply deprived of the entire reason for their arrival, but brazenly disrespected and turned away with hands empty but for that of insults. "

    "I believeth, those present at the time were quite clear on their position: that they wouldst render absolutely nothing unto the Concord, that they wouldst fully accept reprisal, and that they were completely confident they wouldst stifle it by force. Arriving to negotiate on their behalf whence the blade is pressed to their throat only proves that such measures art necessary. This is a matter of precedent. Of simple cause and effect. An insult was dealt to the Concord, and so it is repaid. It is demonstrated that the Concord allows itself not to be taken advantage of."

    "They kneweth precisely the terms. This is exactly what they asked for. Step aside, disavow the Association's conduct, and there is no need to bloody the brow of thine Paladins."

    What a time for Nova to take the shot.

    "And pray that I do not find that the sniper belongs to thee. Pray to whatever gods thou hold dear."
Eryl Fairfax     Eryl doesn't flinch when a voice speaks to him from behind, he only slowly turns as he puts the cheque book back into his pocket. "It depends on what would save the world. But I had assumed this was a matter of not being properly compensated. Now I know this is a full raid with multiple parties. Besides, you yourself admitted you don't know for sure that this will save your world. Do you even know the consequences of this arm's power?"

    He doesn't flinch at that intangible pressure, only regarding Nie Li with cold eyes. "I don't make a habit of yielding to veiled threats, and I have no intention of letting you all walk away with the arm, so you may as well stop beating around the bush and take a swing. Please be aware that I will retaliate with full force if you do, and there is more to me than words."

    And then Priscilla emerges. A decoy, of course. "Disavow? If we are speaking of disavowing, Priscilla, I must ask that you go first. Your Mister Almasy blunders into a situation, joins in of his own accord, and then demands payment far above his grade. This is thuggery of the lowest order, on par with a protection racket. Does the Concord sink this low these days? Backing the bluster of one man with an enormous chip on his shoulder about authority? Look at yourself, stained in the blood of men and women who were only doing their jobs for an arm that does things we are only beginning to understand. I would think that, considering your world's history, considering the Witches, you would know better than to dabble i such things."

    He points a finger, one at Priscilla, and one at Nei Li. "Put the arm down, and all of you go home. This whole situation is ridiculous."
Nova Terra     Seifer may not see anything, but he will certainly feel it as his blade connects with something. It's a light resistance, suggesting it wasn't a serious hit.

    There's a light puff of dust near the ground as the dirt in front of Seifer is briefly disturbed. The wooden roof of a nearby coop creaks for a moment and soon Seifer will seem some drops of blood splashing upon the wood.

    Blue light washes through the space above the coop, revealing the form-fitting shape of Nova's suit. She's holding a hand to her side, a little red seeping through her fingers and dropping to the ground. In her other hand is her large rifle, held over her shoulder. As her head finally appears, she reaches up to raise her visor to sit on the top of her head and gives Seifer a smirk, "I told you I'd shoot you in the back." Despite taking that slice to her side, Nova is looking confident.

    And then it hits her.

    Despite her temperature-controlled environment suit, Nova shivers. That unnervingly familiar feeling of dread invades her mind and Nova quickly glances around in worry...

    SHE's here.

    Nova seems less concerned about Seifer at this point as she starts running away from him. Jumping from one coop roof to the next in an attempt to keep him exercising his greater speed. Nova also lays down a burst of rounds from her rifle as a means of covering her movement. She's clearly heading in the direction of the others that are still 'talking'.
Nie Li     "Hmph. You'd call this thuggery? I, Nie Li, gave you face by not stabbing you in the back. Since you're all but demanding violence at this point though... remember it was you who said this!"

    He takes a combat stance now, shifting one foot back and bending his legs, arms raised with fingers arced like tiger claws. And in the next moment...

    His whole body ripples as soul energy pours outwards, turning him into what can only be described as a KUNG FU PANDA, easily six or seven feet tall.

    And take a SWING he does, lunging forward with a straight and easy to see fist strike to the gut! It's a thunderous impact, but not the best he can do.

    No, for his style requires not showing his full ability until exactly the right moment. If Eryl thinks this is only as fast and as hard as he can punch, so much the better.
Thomas Alva Edison     Had Edison been anything but the algamation of Thomas Edison and every single United States President, he'd probably be a lot more horrified. Thankfully, he is, and also thankfully for all those involved that the arm is (probably) not someone belonging to a US citizen. Edison's desire to talk this out would have gone to 'frustraited' to 'done'. Still, it is disturbing for the spirit to see, but not in a way that visually moves him in a way.

    "We are not here to discuss the wisdom or folly of Democracy, but rather here because one of yours felt wronged by one of our's mistreatment of them. To not belittle the point, Ms. Priscilla, he asks for 'the entire objective' with only his word that we would recieve anything in return. More to the point, the hand itself is tied to goings on that pertain, as far as I am aware at this moment, bigger movements and dangers that are currently isolated to this world, and directly effect not only his group, but mine own and that of another friend of yours." He says, calmly speaking despite the situation. "The arm matters not to you but as a curiosity, and if it is knowledge that you and yours seek, then I can do more than give empty promises for joint working togther, especially after the curtosy and honesty your forces and myself have had in the recent days."

    "I was not involved in the first incident, only hearing about it after the fact. Was it handled approprately? No. I am here, as is the current represenitive of the Paladins, and offering a chance to right these wrongs...because I know surly you have had your fair share of people who have made things difficult for you, and you've had to interceed on their behalf." Edison continues, "So today, we are trying to correct this wrong...PEACEFULLY, and without making a rift between us over a dangerous arm. If you want to make a point to the association? Well, I think you made your point. They did so without our concern, without our say so, and they have paid the price. Let us deescalate this situation before it goes beyond this."

    "The arm can not be handed over, not until we can find out the source and secure our world from harm. This is my position, the safety and security of my country." A beat, "That was not done by one of ours, I am sure of this."
Arthur Lowell     "I know enough consequences to know it's got a real danger to the world. And I got a real suspicion there's more than just this arm." Arthur mutters anxiously. "Sorry man. But containing this is just dealing with the symptom. I /gotta/ get at the source and trace it."

    "GET READY!" A dramatic voice is declaring in the space between Arthur and Eryl. Arthur's posture gets a little more loose as he readies himself. "ROUND ONE!" Indeed, there's even all the popped-up text and displays for it. "STRI--" The voice gets partway through it, before Ryouma interrupts! The humorous displays disperse and Arthur raises less a battle-broom and more an eyebrow.

    Arthur glances to one side. Nie-Li, and Priscilla. Hmmm. A bit more fitting a fight for Eryl. Arthur really isn't all that much into fighting an old friend anyway. "Alright dawg." He says, a broad grin sliding over his face gradually. "You wanna DRAW this AGGRO, you GOT IT dog." He says, stepping aways a bit, to circle around Ryouma in a Dramatic Circular Walk. "Heard a couple STRAY WAVES off the RADIO, homie. I know that VOICE. You sound like the kinda guy keeps things CLOSE TO THE GROUND, runs shit LOW KEY, yeah?"

    He takes his own loose and eager stance. "Alright then. I'mma keep out of the real BIG BLOWOUT BLASTS, but you BETTER KNOW I ain't playing this EASY MODE for you, Labor Day." He readies himself. "Name's ARTHUR LOWELL. INTERGALACTIC HOOLIGAN, ROCKET-POWERED JERK, BADDEST MOTHERFUCKER you ever 'bout to get BEATEN BY. I take YOU and I can pro'lly go for that ARM myself. Let's BLAST, MOTHERFUCKER!"

    Arthur may not specifically want a fight, but that doesn't mean he'll shy away from launching a rocket-powered rush forward and starting to charge down Ryouma, going for the sort of sweeping strikes meant mostly to break arms and legs with tremendous force, in a continous series of rapid rush-down strikes, until he's interrupted. Nothing big and shiny and blasty, to keep it low-key in terms of visibility and other concerns, but not with too much hesitation. He doesn't have his focus on Oryou, seemingly not intending to attack her until she challenges or attacks him in some way.
Seifer Almasy      Nova appears, and smirks at him. Seifer returns it with a grin. "You're sassy," he says, spinning his gunblade in his right hand like it's a pistol and he's a pistolero, "Man, if I was single."

     "Two problems, though. First, I'm real happy in my relationship. Not one of those douchebags into harem stuff. Guys like that are the scum of the earth." Seifer's grin hasn't faded yet. He taps the wound on his left shoulder.

     "Second, you shot me in the front."

     And then she's running, and Seifer's running after her. His gunblade whirls in the air, carving through and into bullets, slashing through metal and sending bits flying as he follows. She's barely slowing him down at all; what hits him is little more than scraps. But scraps of fast-moving metal are still scraps of metal. They scrap across his already-wounded body, cutting into his flesh. Seifer pushes it down. He's good enough not to let that slow him.

     Indeed, as he's running after her through the open field, Seifer's hand is already going up. "You runnin' away already? Decided you can turn your back on me, babe?"

     "Not very smart!"

     Seifer can't close the distance with ease, but he does have a trick for dealing with that. "GREG!"

     The grey spectre, clad in a red cloak and cowl, appears behind him. Two translucent arms are holding a ghostly coffee and a spooky donut, which he is dipping in a manner that some might even call malevolent. His pure-white eyes seem tired with octobery exhaustion, and behind his red cowl, the ghost lets off a meaty, silent yawn. His third hand tosses a blue orb into Seifer's own as he munches down the donut and disappears with a stretch.

     Seifer shoves the blue orb into his gunblade. "Don't blame me if I fuck up that pretty face! HERE I COME!"

                                LIMIT BREAK                                
                               LANN AN BHAIS                                

     Suddenly, Seifer *swings*, and he's not where he was anymore. He's right in front of her, and the blade is swinging, and yet that's not relevant. Cause and effect invert. The blade's "swing" becomes the effect. The cause becomes "the target is struck." Still, it's unreliable at best; good luck, a skilled block or dodge, or any other sort of excuse with even the barest amount of <sr>plot armor</sr><sr>handwaving</sr>thought put into it could probably negate such a trick...
Eryl Fairfax     "I call it as I see it. You are using force and threats to get what you want, either because you will not or can not attain it in a reasonable way. That is 'thuggery,' and if you object to it, perhaps it's because a part of you knows I'm right." Eryl says simply as Nie Li takes a stance, and becomes a panda.

    Not quite what the Grandmaster was expecting, but what comes next is more believable. A fast punch to centre mass, too fast to hop out of the way, but not fast enough to get a cleat hit in, Eryl's arms swiveling at the elbows to intercept. He is knocked back, his feet digging into the ground, his sleeves and skin torn to shred to reveal his metal arms, but he's not down.

    He offers no retaliatory banter, but now is pointing both fingers at Nie Li. Without warning, the fingertips erupt into two small slugs travelling at incredibly velocity. Both are aimed at centre mass, but neither are aimed at vital points, but impact alone is going to sting.
Priscilla     "As fond as I am of thee, Sir Fairfax, thou hast always had a narrow view, obscured in books and contracts. If Sir Almasy's 'thuggery' is to be put at issue, and his aid 'blundering in without being asked', then certainly the Association wouldst hath been more than within rights and good sense to turn him away, correct? After all, if they so bloody-mindedly assert that this issue is theirs and theirs alone, it wouldst appropriately befit them not to lean upon the intervention of outsiders."

    She looks to Thomas. "Else, if it were simply a matter of the item itself being too great a cost, an equally rational approach wouldst be to negotiate a more acceptable price, not staring down one's nose and daring him to come and take it."

    "Well, now that the Concord, and by extension mineself, hath been dared to do so . . ." Priscilla just kind of sweeps an arm around. "Here it is. What else wouldst thou expect? Spite is repayment for spite. Discipline repayment for disrespect." To Eryl "Men and women who make it their business to deal with items of this nature maketh their choice of danger. It is simply poor judgement that they chose what they did in the end."

    "Fighting here shalt not bring them back to life, only spill more blood. Of course I am glad to do so, but can thou say the same?" she then says, perfectly timed with Nie Li putting on the kung fu works.

    Priscilla then just starts walking. It's a great big tract of farmland, so it's not as if she's about to exit the zone in any short time, but it adequately displays her dismissal of any notion that she might consider anything else. "It is good that thou art correct about at least something or another, 'Presiking Edison'. It is understandable that it is not a fault of thine own. It is likewise unfortunate that it is too little and too late. Though Sir Almasy may simply hath had the canny judgement to recognize this strange arm's importance, I hath already given mine own word that the Concord shalt exceed its study in ways the Association couldst scarcely hope to achieve."

    "I shalt never understand the kind that spout 'local authorities', 'local expertise', 'local government', as if simply being /close by/ ensures that these groups art guaranteed to be competent and agreeable. Expecting an adequate response from whoever happens to be nearest is utterly bizarre. How is this, then? If thou art, truly and honestly, only concerned with 'saving this world', why not alloweth /the/ most qualified, vetted, highly compensated, and elite of the elite /professionals/ to analyze it? Then, /thou/ can be the recipient of 'whatever it is that we find out'." The phrasing is technical, but Priscilla outwardly, blatantly expects Edison to contrive some reason to dismiss it and come at her.
Ryouma Sakamoto     "Ah, no... it's not that I want the Association to keep the arm in the slightest, more that I'm obligated to fight. My goal is also to find the source and end it," Ryouma answers, before quickly adding: "Ryouma Sakamoto, and my partner, Oryou." Oryou nodnods in response.

    Arthur is nothing if not energetic. And where one might see a broom a question weapon choice, Arthur is quick to make a point that this isn't your average broom. The sudden burst of speed catches even Oryou by surprise.

    As much as Ryouma tries to shield himself with his sword, he grossly underestimates the punch behind Arthur's blows. Several pummel Ryouma, sending him back and hurting - of the pair, he's definitely the weakest. The result, of course, is a very angry Oryou, who puts herself between Arthur and Ryouma.

    "Oryou will eat those hands of yours," she warns, before her hair suddenly slithers about. It lances for Arthur like shadowy tentacles, corrosive, entangling, and worst of all, capable of burning mana out of the victim.

    Ryouma uses the opportunity to get back up, laughing - with a fair bit of pain in his chest and shoulders, too. "Mister Lowell, nice to meet you. Oryou, please don't actually eat any parts of his body, he's after the same thing we are, in the end. Ah, I wanted to ask you... what do you intend to do, exactly, when you find the source?"
Nie Li     "Hrmph. Like we have any other way of getting exclusive access to this arm. You guys locked it up in this place. You have only yourself to blame for getting in our way like this!" Nie Li answers, deflecting the accusation...

    He does, however, have a much harder time expecting or deflecting the FINGER GUNS. Though he sure expected SOMETHING when Eryl began that gesture and his arms were shown to be metal... he had no idea what.

    But he displays RIDICULOUS reflexes, fast enough to react to even bullets, in bringing his arms up to shield his chest. The bullets slam into his body mass in several places indeed... but though it draws blood and splashes of weird colorful energies also emerge from the blows, there's similarly... clangs, as if they're hitting armor.

    Either way, Nie Li almost loses his balance, and is forced to tumble to the side and flip back to his feet.

    "What ARE you... a machine...?!" Nie Li is now incredibly wary. He was expecting martial arts and got this instead. Now he has NO IDEA what his opponent is capable of. Can he even afford to hold back?

    The panda... frowns.

    And then, he holds a hand out... and clenches those fingers tight as if grabbing something right out of the world.

    And with that, the whole world seems to just come CRASHING DOWN on Eryl. SOMETHING freakish is going on. His feet will sink much harder into the dirt. The ground is held more compact together and less forgiving from falls. Any step taken will take a cratering impact's worth of effort. Worse, this problem doesn't have any apparent source besides 'Nie Li.' Its range isn't self-evident and nor is exactly WHAT is weighing him down and causing every single movement to require vast exertions.

    Quite simply though, the gravity in a good fifty foot radius from Nie Li is now about fifteen times what it OUGHT to be... except...

    That doesn't really affect Nie Li at all, as he dashes in with zigzag motions and tries to zip behind Eryl and SMASH him hard in the back and knock him down with a hell of a gravity assist!
Thomas Alva Edison     Priscilla puts down a choice.

    To fight over the hand, which will...cause a lot of trouble, potentially keep him...and his country in the dark, and generally be a victory for the caper behind the scenes. There is a point with 'local' country and people...after all, a local government JUST SCREWED HIM BIG TIME, and that scar from the Consultate lingers. So does the mage association's recent mission before this. There is a breath, but as she walks he does too, but not immedaitely to intercept her, but to keep a delicate balance of looking like he is persuing, but also attempting to keep dialogue open.

    "So you are saying, and I will require your word, that if you are allowed to take this you will promise to release all findings back to us? Allowing us to keep persuing the specter behind it and other events on our world? I require to hear this statement," he speaks to her, not at her, not demanding...again, Thomas is nothing else but a statesman first.

    "That we will be allowed to verify these findings ourselves?" He asks, this is the first step, a negotiation. This is also the most direct solution to the problem, and be damned the consiquences...but more to it, his country is tied to his very being. It's defense, it's protection is the most important to him. It and all Americans.

    "If you can promise...and uphold that, then I will take your word."
Arthur Lowell     Arthur's rush-down tactics are interrupted. "Oh YOU wanna GO TOO, huh Hot Topic?" Arthur calls out, his grin full of battle-joy. "You want a PIECE? You better be ready for the TASTE!" Arthur's broom is flipping and twirling about, trying to lash the tendrils out of the air before they get him! Where they get through, they find something dangerous: Arthur managed to time their impact with a flare of his own unspeakably high-intensity Aspect. His Aspect bar displays quite clearly, looking like the strands are surging through it, but with a perfectly-timed defense, he flares a high-regeneration mode, and all the energy conducted within him heats up at just the right time to make it near-impossible to compete with the heat with one's own mana burn.

    "You WANT 'EM, you GOT 'EM, SPOOKY! How's KNUCKLE SANDWICH sound?!" Arthur blasts off the ground, twirling in the air to try to yank Oryou in with her own hair, and deliver a harsh sideways strike with the broom from above, clenching his hand into a tight fist and using his own broom like a knuckle duster. The strike is heavy enough that wherever and however it may land or whiff, it brings out a heavy shockwave of force in the air. Arthur stays aloft, and while he doesn't bring out the more massive blasts that might be visible from a distance, he unloads a spray of starlight bolts straight towards Oryou, using his broom like a machinegun for dizzying patterns of bolts, ready to strafe about in the air if there's any response in kind.

    "What I'm DOIN'? SHIT, DOG," Arthur says, pausing briefly to concentrate a spray of bolts. "I tried out my HARDCORE SPACE MAGIC up in this shit EARLIER, it was FUCKED. Got STATUS EFFECTS I don't even KNOW, but BURNING MAN FESTIVAL back there was ACING IT like it was NOTHING. I dunno what the fuck the WORLD RULES are around here, but that shit sounds MAD DANGEROUS if it's being HANDED OFF to PSYCHOS. I find the SOURCE, I'mma BREAK THEIR NOSE for PUTTING MUNDANES AT RISK and then I'mma just IMPROVISE HERO SHIT from there. Do WHATEVER KEEPS SHIT FROM BREAKING is the PLAN. What, do I look SMART ENOUGH for a fuckin' AGENDA or something? That's NERD SHIT." He emphasizes this last statement by firing the magic equivalent of a small grenade out of his broom to try to keep Oryou on her toes.
Nova Terra     Nova has not entirely turned her attention away from Seifer even as she runs to confirm that presence of the Concord's leader. So through the chatter she calls back, "You're actually not my type!" However, as the knight calls that name which Nova remembers from the Tokyo incident, Nova is concerned. She looks into his mind... He can do that!?

    Nova suddenly stops, a moment before Seifer appears in front of her. She twists her body perfectly to just evade the expected path of the man's sword-

    Nova cries out in unexpected pain as the blade somehow still manages to cut into her. The suit she's wearing only resists some of the damage, leaving a trail of red across Nova's chest.

    Nova jumps backwards to put distance between Seifer and herself, though her landing is a little wobbly. The look on Nova's face is one of extreme surprise, practically screaming 'WTF!?' In fact, she actually says it, "What the fuck was that!?"

    Looking over Seifer's shoulder, Nova can finally see Priscilla beginning to walk away through the field... Now's her chance! Nova raises her rifle's scope to her eye. It's an extremely quick, yet equally accurate aim, before she pulls the trigger again. The large bullet blasts forth, aimed to just brush past Seifer and continue on into the field to hit Priscilla.
Eryl Fairfax     The panda bear bleeds colors, because of course it does. Eryl takes no time to consider how bizarre it is for a monochromatic creature to do such, because all of a sudden, gravity jumps from 9.81 m/s^2 to 147 m/s^2. His feet dig a hole into the earth as he squats low, feeling the pressure crushing him. But he doesn't collapse, and even tries to turn his head as Nie Li zips around hum, unhindered by whatever is happening.

    His implants take note of that, as the cyborg takes the blow to the back in full, falling to his front. He's still for a brief second, his brain and inter computers crunching the facts. Right now, he weighs much more than he should. His opponent exploited that fact. And now, so should he. Angles are calculated, plans of attack are cross-compared, and he finally reaches a conclusion.

    His feet come up from the ground and flail, akin to those martial arts Nie Lie was expecting. A fast leg sweep, aiming at knocking the panda to the ground. And what follows immediately defies the manoeuvrer, because it's straight out of professional wrestling. Eryl pushes against the weight on him to leap straight into the air, and come down at Nie Li, elbow first. With that multiplied gravity, he's falling faster and harder than he ever could otherwise.

    And then, to make matters worse, another strange attack from his mechanical limbs. This time, a shotgun slug erupting from his elbow just before impact, to add to the damage.
Priscilla     Priscilla /almost/ stops, simply as it would seem appropriate to express her surprise at Edison, but keeps going in order to maintain professional, unthreatened indifference. Considering she'd been keeping a lid on it so far, and that she doubts Thomas is all that scared of just her being covered in a lot of blood up to the knees (as gratuitous as it kind of is, like really, how is that even possible?), she doubts he is simply buckling out of fear or intimidation. There is a small brow quirk, but it's near invisible with those horns.

    "I speak in truth that I am somewhat impressed." she says, strolling along with the Presiking while shit explodes all around behind her. "It is hardly as if I hath any stake in preventing the Paladins from sorting out the Association's problems. If thou wish to busy thineself thusly, it is a waste of mine efforts to contradict thee. As I hath already promised Sir Lowell something similar, I hath few reservations regarding sharing critical findings with the Paladins mineself." she says, but then swiftly follows with a "However-"

    "Such findings wouldst necessarily exclude information that wouldst pertain to, and specifically identify, the sources and personnel the Concord involves in the analysis of the artifact. Thou shalt not recieveth details that maketh it plain precisely who it is that is investigating this arm and how. These findings shalt also be relayed through thineself, specifically, as I hath promised thee and only thee for thine individual asking. Thou art free to share them as thou see fit, as mine previous terms maketh such fair game, but this is a point of principle."

    She then turns her head to look directly at Edison. "It is for the best. Thou art aware that some amongst the Paladins shalt attempt to hang thee out to dry for this, yes? Do not be too swift to be liberal with the information until thine place is certain. Whilst thou possesseth it, or else mine word that thou shalt hath it, thou art too valuable to be rid of or locked away, for them."
Ryouma Sakamoto     Arthur grabs Oryou by the hair. Normally, this would be a terrible idea, but as he momentarily powers up and just tanks her corrosive shadows with raw, screaming willpower, he makes a point. He bats her around, sends her crashing into the ground to form another crater. Oryou seems... well, surprised. Utterly so.

    Ryouma is gawking, too.

    That is the most absurd thing he's ever seen.

    "M... mister Lowell, might I ask... what you are?"
    He can't possibly be the human he looks like, right?

    Ah, answers. Wow, how impolite of Ryouma. He slaps his hat back on, having picked it up. "I see. I hope you succeed. Whoever's to blame, their intentions aren't good. What they're selling is a threat to the world and humanity as a whole. I intend to help as much as possible, but for now alliances force me in your path. Terribly sorry about that."

    A magical grenade blasts Oryou further into the ground. She roars in pain, or anger, or both. Probably both. She takes a deep breath, glaring up.

    And then she lets loose a column of blue-black flames from her mouth, trying to engulf Arthur! The flames are pretty sticky, and get worse when Ryouma pulls his revolver out and uses the distraction to take a powered, flaming blue shot for one of Arthur's arms.
Seifer Almasy      There is a single instant. It's the moment between a breaths, the moment between the *tick* and the *tock*, when the hand stands still and with it the whole world. It is that single, solitary moment of Seifer realizing that she is not his target, that someone important to him is, and that even with all his absurd skill and his incredible competence he has no way to deflect that bullet in any way with his sword the way it is-

     -except one.

     Seifer's hand moves like lightning as Nova squeezes the trigger. The gunblade comes up at a perfect angle. It is an impossible, ridiculous stunt, the kind of stunt that defies common sense not only in its content but in its execution. His reaction time is faster than a bullet. His ability to track the bullet is insane. Even before it's left the barrel he's accounted for recoil. Even before it's left the barrel he's following its path. The gunblade comes up to deflect the bullet in the only path that physics can allow.

     Himself.

     The heavy sniper bullet hits him dead on through the chest. It hits him so hard he actually flies backwards, as if he had turned into a ragdoll in the instant of contact. He barely gets out a "Shit, Boss-" over the radio before the bullet hits him.

     He hits the ground, bleeding. Red stains the front and back of his coat. The bullet burrowed in. He probably needs immediate medical attention - considering his earlier wounds, it would be absolutely stupid for Seifer Almasy to get back up now.

     Seifer Almasy gets back up.

     His hand is shaking. He's wobbling. He's dripping blood from a hole in his chest, from a hole in his shoulder, from scratches all along his body, holding the chest wound shut with one hand as if trying to catch water from a spigot. Those eyes of his are sharpened, sharpened by pain, and his lips are twisted into a grin that's as much wild as it is a grimace.

     He says two words.

     "My turn."
Seifer Almasy      Gilgamesh comes into being. He still looks enormously sleepy. The donut's almost gone, and the coffee cup - which, now that Nova's up close, she can see reads WORLD'S BEST GRANDMA with a cartoony picture of Greg on it - is mostly empty. With another enormous yawn, Greg reaches out and snaps his fingers, and blue light streams out of Nova and into his hand. He closes it into a fist and tosses it into Seifer's hands. Seifer groans.

     "Good enough, I guess," he says in the ghost's direction, cramming the blue light into the orb. He swings it upwards into the sky. The trigger is pulled.

                                LIMIT BREAK                                
                              GOTTERDAMMERUNG                              
Suddenly, the sky goes dark, as if a sudden onset of night. Clouds part, revealing a vast, dark shape, around which sparkle countless stars. The shape is long, and angular, and vast. It descends, wind kicking up as it enters the field. Lights flare out. Spotlights search the ground. Finally, they settle on Seifer, then swing up to Nova. Seifer can just make out Seifer's wild grin as he disappears.

     Then the sky rains fire.

     Lasers, missiles, spells, they just come pouring out of the sky. Explosions of fire and ice and lightning rain down on Nova's position. A missile lodges itself in the ground and thrusts up the ground beneath her. Beams rake the earth, burning it in the wake of the summon. Finally, at the last, the raining beams converge into a single beam of darkness-burning light, illuminating the field as it burns down.

     As the light fades, the sky returns to normal, and Seifer reappears, still holding in his chest, still giving that cocksure smile.
Nie Li     "WU--" Getting LEG SWEEPED by martial arts out of nowhere is hard to react to when you're this big. And Eryl is much, MUCH more stronger and maneuverable than Nie Li was expecting. The big panda 's tripped and starts to topple, but he wisely shifts sideways and lands on his right arm--

    The right arm that's STILL HEALING from that danged problem the other day. A sharp HISS goes through him as he's utterly disoriented.

    But he comes to his senses. just in time to see Eryl pulling off that RIDICULOUS-looking move!

    What.

    Because of his wriggling, Eryl's maneuver lands a bit off from the intended gut target, slamming Nie Li in the side. KABANG!

    Once again, the injury's a mixture of blood and materialized spiritual power, and once again there's a nasty CLANG. Nie Li wobbles on the ground, searing pain lancing through his body. And yet...

    He doesn't just take it.

    All at once, the gravity field relents, his form melts back down to human and--

    And he freaking VANISHES underneath Eryl in a wave of flowing shadow. Eryl thus finds there is no longer any flesh to support his awkward position, right when the gravity field's no longer forcing him to fight so hard...

    In that one moment, he would've seen that Nie Li's got several bloody injuries, but none that are that serious. Some kind of powerful armor worn under the clothes is blunting much of the damage....

    At this point though, things get pretty fierce. the slow, powerful approach is replaced with fast-as-lightning and subtle as shadow. Nie Li begins moving too fast for eyes to easily track, zipping this way and that, slashing at Eryl with shadowy blades extending from his arm. Several of the slashes are downright uncanny, as the blades seem to bend and extend to strike even if Eryl moves... or is that just a trick of the eye?

    Either way, the blades are aimed largely at joints and other obvious vulnerabilities!
Thomas Alva Edison     "It is easy to say the virtues of what I believe in, and ignore it when it does not personally benifit myself...however, I am not that kind of man. I do not lie about what I am either, my goals are, and will always be, the protection of America and her interests. Whatever our difference on how a leader should act, how a country and her people should run, does not mean I will buckle and treat you and yours differently because you do not chose to uphold my ideas, or disagree with me."

    "However, thank you for your praise, and your concern. I know that there are those in the Paladins that will think my actions that of a traitor, or that I am foolish for putting any trust in an authority that is not a Paladin allied one. I do what I do knowing the risk of trusting you, but I choose to be optimistic, and I chose to try and bring a bridge between the two of us, because I believe it is the best path for the two of us, and for the two of our groups in reguards to this. History may call me a fool, but the man who makes no mistakes does nothing at all. I hope that I will not be a fool."

    "These terms are acceptable, I understand your desire to protect your people, and their idenity is not needed to hunt the source. All I ask is that we can get a full copy of the findings, so that we can independantly confirm any records, with your nation's security and your allies security protected."

    A breath, "I will also accept being the liason for this, with the hopes that things will be better in the future." he says, though the thought of shaking the hand of someone stained in blood is new for Thomas, it may be less new for the office he holds.

    "Once more, your concern is appreciated, and I will heed your advice." He says, and turns form her. "Please go in peace."
Arthur Lowell     "You wanna know WHAT I AAAAAM!" Arthur calls out, still trying to maintain his machine-gun fire. He's /getting into it/. "I'm the kinda motherfucker people WHINE ABOUT when they TALK TRASH about IRRESPONSIBLE DO-GOODER PIECES OF SHIT! I'm that ASSHOLE that brings in that GUT HUMAN MORALITY on the BIGGEST PICTURES THERE ARE! I'm a GODDAAAAAMN HEROOOOOOO!" He shouts, as a gush of fire overtakes him. It doesn't burn as much as his BURNING BLOOD does!! But it sure does burn; his skin blisters and his Health Vial indicator pops up, harshly dropping a sudden pitched dive. He points his broom dramatically through the rush of flame, gathering tremendous energy into it, readying a high-precision, high-power heavy bolt...

    And then Ryouma impacts his arm with a big revolver shot. The energy disperses wildly, fizzling out and discharging harmlessly into Arthur's own arm. "GAAAAAAHHHH! Fuck! Shhhhhit that hurt!" His flash-regen mode on his Aspect is long faltered, and his machine-gun fire and heavy failed shot have drained it badly without Arthur having a chance to restore it, and now his arm is limp at one side!

    Like any proper game foe, he begins to flash red in a vulnerable state. His flight falters towards the ground a little, "staggering"; a growing aura of white around him shows more than enough to goess at what his Aspect bar confirms, which is that Arthur's taking a moment to try to regain his own AP. It's a vulnerable time, one that the black-and-white pair can strike in! He rebuilds his Aspect bar, icons for various consumables popping out of his Sylladex iconography that drifts around him.

    He chats, regardless of what they do in the opportunity. "Anything besides HERO is HELLA WORTHLESS far as I'm calling myself for TYPES, dog! Couple FANCY WORDS apply, but I'm not a FAN Of the CLUB they put me in, dig?" Arthur still has a terribly long-standing predisposition towards disliking godhood as a concept, one that has survived to this day. "You wanna DIG DEEP, G, you best get the SHOVEL! Maybe you can FIND IT OUT! But you better do it before I TAAAAAAKE YOOOOOOU DOOOOOOOOWN!" He focuses hard on powering up, clenching his fists as his whole body shakes with the effort of regenerating his Aspect, and shockwaves of just the leaked excess energy gush through the environment.

    In fact, his effort to rebuild his own Aspect is actually just a little damaging in and of itself; the heat and disruptive force is something worth considering in any plan to strike at him, but it's far from the deliberate power he shows off in open combat.
Nova Terra     Nova clicks her tongue in annoyance as Seifer manages to deflect her bullet into himself. An odd choice, but it does have the undesireable effect of meaning Nova will have to fire again. These bullets aren't cheap, you know! At least the first took care of the obstacle.

    However, just as Nova is beginning to pull the trigger a second time, she catches sight of Seifer rising once more. She lowers her rifle to look at him, clearly impressed, "You're a stubborn one." Fine. If he wants to throw his life away like this, it's not Nova's concern.

    Before Nova has a chance to finish Seifer off, he summons Gilgamesh to his side. Nova instinctively takes a step back as the strange entity snaps his fingers and a light is pulled out of her. Nova looks confused for a moment and then Seifer calls his summon.

    Looking up into the now night sky, it's hard to make out the shape in the darkness. But those engines... Nova has heard them numerous times, enough to recognize them by sound alone. Nova's eyes go wide, "What is..." No, it can't be her ship. Reigel would never bring it down from orbit without her command!

    Nova's suspicions are confirmed as the spotlights sweep across the ground to focus on her. All the Ghost can do is raise her arm, before she is inundated with a combination of missiles, magic and that giant laser. Suffice it to say, Nova is not walking away from this one...

    ... Metaphorically speaking in that she's taking a huge hit and thus can not continue the fight. She does actually walk away. Specifically, once the dust clears Nova is no where to be seen. Some distance away, the cloaked Nova stumbles to lean against a tree, clutching her chest. She looks back in the direction of the farm. With a thought of 'Screw this. I'll have to find another way.' Nova slowly retreats to a safe landing zone to be picked up.
Eryl Fairfax     A lot of weird sensations when Eryl drives his elbow in, but Eryl is satisfied to see that Nie Lie is starting to look ragged after they turn into shadows and whirl away. The recurring 'clang' is troubling though. He's not going to get far if he just keeps pounding away at armor... time to start hitting the head.

    But now, he must contend with a whirling mass of shadows slicing at him. He raises his arms and hunkers down, allowing his limbs to take the brunt of the damage, metal giving way to show glimpses at internal mechanisms. Timers in his head synch with touch receptors, feeling where the attacks come from and the time between them, finding a pattern to the flurry as Eryl takes a deep breath.

    Finally, he hits upon a prediction he can act on, and moves. Reaching out with his arms, he grabs at Nie Lie just as they were about to strike again. Making predictions on where to grab, he clasps at where he thinks their arm and head will be and pivots, pulling them along, preserving that incredible speed.

    Before pushing their head down to drive it straight into the floor, face first.
Ryouma Sakamoto     Arthur has quite the mouth on him. It actually makes Ryouma laugh, because that kind of energy reminds him of his youth. He made so many bad decisions back then! A few good ones, too. Mostly bad, impulsive ones. Didn't quite swear as much though.

    Arthur goes down momentarily. Ryouma uses that window to talk some more. "Ahah, well, then it seems we're between heroes. I'd have never attributed the designation to myself, but apparently someone out there disagreed enough to make me one posthumously." Oryou crawls out of her crater, still angry. She adds to the exchange: "Oryou isn't a hero, she's just a magical girl."

    That's not technically wrong.

    Neither knows what to make of Arthur's... gaming-related displays, mostly because neither has had a chance to play video games yet. Things to resolve, eventually.

    Thinking is cut short by Arthur... not quite powering up so much as putting himself back together. Shockwaves ripple out, and Oryou dashes to Ryouma's side, acting as a barrier. The energy is uncomfortable for her, but now that she's expecting firepower from Arthur, she can brace for it better. She's sturdy, when not taken by surprise.

    But that would mean both are stuck there until Arthur's ready to attack again. That'd be bad. Ryouma's eyes glint from behind his partner, and he says: "Ah, don't worry about me, Oryou. Go interrupt that."

    She nods. One fist pumps back, and then she rockets for Arthur. The fist erupts into flames as she punches, straight for his gut. And then the punches rain. Oryou doesn't hold back the obvious scream.

    "ORAORAORAORAORA!
Priscilla     /Now/ Priscilla stops. Briefly. Her footsteps cease long enough for her to exhale and turn fully to face Edison. The air between them is just a couple of degrees less cold than before, figuratively and quite literally.

    "Congratulations art in order, then, I supposeth. I had expected to see thee continue to reach for justification, and in absence of any truth to them, resort to force regardless, and in that moment, crucify thee for thine infidelity to the fair process thou tout. I see that I am defeated in that sense."

    "Strong ideals, and the determination to uphold them, art not uncommon amongst thine type, but consistency and honesty in applying them certainly is. Thou art a rare and curious sort, to act exactly by thine own word, without exception. I at least pray that thou do pay not to dearly for it, Presiking Edison." The way Priscilla says the title that time is audibly absent of air quotes.

    "Of course. As the First of the Concord, I cannot afford to be caught lying in mine official dealings, even setting aside personal honour. Asides, I hath no need to deceive thee anyways. I am not so hesitant to cross blades as to resort to trickery to evade it; I refrain only because thou hast made it convenient and expedient to do so. Thou shalt hath the information thou seeketh, for thine cooperation."

    Priscilla checks quickly to see that Seifer hasn't bit it, and the sniper is driven off, going through the procedure to have medical assistance ready. "May the Flames guide thee, Edison." Then she continues off, fading into invisibility as she goes.
Nie Li     This is just too freakish! How can this man move so quickly?!

    What Nie Li didn't realize earlier is that the miniscule power he senses from Eryl is not indicative of anything. His strength and abilities don't stem from ANYTHING he's familiar with.

    And so the boy who usually relies on being able to predict his opponents is quite overwhelmed.

    This mistake leads to him getting MERCILESSLY and EMBARASSINGLY slammed face-first into the ground, torn right out of his perfected attack pattern.

    KABOOOM! Down into the dirt, which practically explodes from the impact. Yet, somehow, Nie Li's head stays intact through the trenching, even as he splutters and coughs into the ground. "You shameless weasel!" The boy somehow manages to bark out at the indignation of that maneuver. He's ANGRY now...

    ... But he did not go so far as to call the tactic unfair. That WOULD be childish.

    However, once again, things don't go as Eryl plans. His grip on Nie Li just dissipates, the hand going straight through him as his body seems to become insubstantial and then vanishes in a shadowy flicker.

    A few seconds later, he reappears, standing tall, twenty feet away from Eryl Fairfax, with the FIRES OF DETERMINATION in his eyes.

    And yet, one cannot say he's developed tunnel vision here. Eryl has NOT provoked him into any kind of blind rage like one might expect from what seems to be a hotheaded youth. No, Nie Li still seems fully alert and focused, displaying a discipline no thirteen year old should be remotely capable of.

    "Hmph. To think the Paladin Grandmaster would be so shameless in battle... what's with this standing tall, spouting all kinds of ideals, then driving your opponent's face into the dirt?" He spits some dirt out to the side and shakes his head to clear it some.

    "It seems I have plenty still to learn about this Multiverse, though. I'll concede victory to you this time."
Thomas Alva Edison     Edison, with a smile nods, moving back towards the battlefield. "I am happy to hear it. You will find I try to be consistant as much as a normal man can be." He says, not boasting, but trying to be matter of fact. This much is true, he is not perfect, but he strives to be as consistant as he can. "You as well," He comments, and continues to walk. Negotiations have concluded, he was not sure if all sides would be happy about this, but he will, instead, attempt to turn this to a happy ending...nevermind the lives cost to obtain it. Taking a breath, he moves, calmly towards the field of battle.

    "Enough! Let his blood shed end. The battle is over."
Arthur Lowell     This is the first time either one has attacked Arthur physically, and they get to feel it. He feels /dense/, like he's way heavier than he ought to be! A gravity barrier on his body is blunting the impacts, but they slam through the barrier and well through his body, leaving him shuddering and flinching at each strike, battered back and stumbling. The fire still gradually builds, the rush of energy still washes out of him, and his focus still clearly stays locked on regenerating his Aspect, even while blow after blow draws bruising and sickening fleshy CRACK sounds out of his body.

    "What, one'a those GHOSTS? Not one'a THOSE! I'm AUTHENTIC FLESH, MOTHERFUCKER!" He says, stumbling back and rolling with one of those strikes. He's back on his feet almost immediately with a rush of gravity, and trying to keep his broom more in the way of the blows, but that just racks up wounds in his arms as they strain to withstand the impact force.

    Oryou has right up until Arthur refills most of that Aspect bar. As soon as it's back, it's like a quick tell, an alert of sorts. He flashes crimson, the second and last warning Oryou gets before Arthur's body flares with light that burns to the touch. He's charged up the Big One, and he's about to fire it. Arthur's abruptly rising into the air, and the air around him is swirling in a sudden /visible/ heaviness. The good thing about a gravity attack is that even a huge gravity bomb is impossible to see from a distance as anything besides a weird earthquake incident. Ryouma can see the space between him and Arthur visibly looking more and more warped...

    And then there's an announcer's voice. "TIMED OUT!" The announcer calls out. "What the fuck--" Arthur mutters, before glancing over to Thomas. "Oh, you got that stuff NEGOTIATED, BIG DUDE? Well shit, NICE, I guess." Arthur says, sheepishly, dispersing his built-up gravity charge with far less drama than he built it up, and drifting back down to the ground, seemingly willing to call the fight here if Ryouma is. Which, you know, he probably is, knowing him.
Ryouma Sakamoto     The fight ends, abruptly.

    Ryouma is glad, because he's not sure either of them could keep up with Arthur. A hero of flesh and blood with power surpassing a Servant's? That's new. And really cool, Ryouma can't help but think.

    Humanity never ceases to amaze.
    Times like this make him glad to serve it.

    Oryou less so, as she withdraws and looks at her bloodied hand, damaged from punching Arthur so many times. She loudly says, even: "Oryou hasn't punched someone that hard before." Ryouma just pats her on the head.

    Katana and revolver sheathed, he raises his hands to indicate surrender with a stiffled laugh, and then a cough of pain. That broom, man.

    "Yes, I'm afraid I'm a ghost, for all intents and purposes. I hope you don't think less of me for it."

    He smiles, though. Ryouma smiles a big, goofy grin, as he realizes the Concord has the arm, and they intend to find the source. It's possible this will cause further issues down the line, but... for now, finding the source was more important than what the Concord may or may not potentially do with a piece of True Magic.

    "Well, Oryou, apologize to the nice young man for setting him on fire, yes?" Ryouma says.
    "Oryou is sorry and she's not just saying that because she knows Ryouma will get her frogs if she complies," Oryou answers.
    "You know, I'll take it," Ryouma says.
Eryl Fairfax     "There is nothing glorious about combat. No amount of tradition or 'honor' that people heap on it will change that. It is dirty, brutish, and the worst outcome to any situation. So I apologise for not letting you pummel me, but if a situation degrades to that, I may as well use any means to secure victory." Eryl replies stiffly as he dusts himself off.

    Only now, when he has time to take stock of the situation, does he realise that Priscilla and the arm have gone. Edison let her go.

    His face remains passive as he strides off, but he's biting the inside of his cheek. He walks right by the shapeshifter without another word.