In the year 2012, a mysterious illness began to sweep the globe. In its wake, those who survived it were left with immensely powerful supernatural abilities.
As the number of people capable of wielding magic powers increased, they began to organize and seize control of the course of history. Using their powers to travel between parallel universes, these mages forge empires of a scale never before seen. And at the center of it all is the Academy, a neutral institution founded for mages to share their knowledge with each other.
Mages struggle against each other to impose their will upon the multiverse, but there is one threat that unites them all together. In recent months, mysterious entities have appeared. These entities wield power far greater than any one mage, and they seem determined to annihilate all of humanity. The mages will have to set aside their differences in order to beat them. The fate of the multiverse depends on it.
Post by Jack Mason on Nov 18, 2018 12:30:34 GMT -7
Keeping the floaty mage under control seemed to be working alright, but Jack was getting distracted by what was going with his allies. He wasn't exactly happy to see Rook getting shot, but the gun-wielding mage apologizing for hitting someone in a mage fight was just completely ridiculous, not to mention the fact that he seemed to be considering switching sides. Jack popped out of the ground next to him with an exasperated expression on his face.
"Eh? Come on! It feels really weird to be the one saying this, but you've got to hold it together. Focus, focus! These guys aren't so weak that you can beat them with your head in the clouds."
All things considered, the battle appeared to be going fine so far. The boys hadn't managed to do much damage to Lailah. Her allies performed their role quite admirably. Using their presense as a distraction really did pay off. Lailah frowned as she watched the one kid- woman deal with the gunshot to the leg. That wasn't really part of the plan. She might need to step in and do something before a more permanent injury took place.
What's that, a voice inside her head chided, did you develop feelings for this outsider?
No, nothing that complicated. They were simply past the point of being strangers. Any supervisor would be concerned with their employee's wellbeing. A decrease in performance might impact the success of the entire business.
Lailah turned her back to the ongoing battle and moved a little bit closer to Rook's position. ". . .would you like increased durability? I might be able to assist with that."
Post by Serpentarius on Nov 18, 2018 15:57:38 GMT -7
Whether or not Lailah was actually a threat worth focusing on, Gregory's powers didn't want to cooperate against her. That meant his time was better spent turning his attention on the other two. Rook was already getting shot at, and she seemed very unlikely to start trying to go for anyone's throat. That left the sword girl. At least he knew his abilities worked against her if nobody else got in his way.
Gregory decided to focus on making sure she couldn't use her powers to lift her sword. It wasn't instant, as that would probably lead to serious injury, but she should feel her strength draining away rapidly.
Interference (Corruption) against Maran
Mages helping each other generally made Jack happy, but in this particular case, the water mage's offering gave an impression more like a Faustian bargain. Strictly speaking, it wasn't any of his business, but the walls Jack was putting up to obstruct the battlefield ended up focusing a bit more than might be expected around her.
---
Action: Interference (Obstruction) against Lailah
Cloth wrapped tight around her leg, all that was left really to do about the wound was grit her teeth until this was over. 'Bullets should mean nothing to mages' was probably how the argument would go, but regardless of any logic, the pain in her leg was being pretty persuasive. No one quite seemed to know who to attack or how to attack, and with as crazy and unpredictable effects as magic provided, she was getting concerned about everyone's safety. Most folks were were adults - adults with guns, but supposedly mature adults all the same - but Jack was here popping up around the battlefield. As tough as she'd seen him be in previous fights she wasn't keen on something going particularly badly for him. She was getting soft, and now seemed like a good time to her to try to defuse the situation.
For that, she'd have to rely in large part on the couple of allies she'd seemed to have sided with. But for that, she watched with surprise as the green-haired woman made her way over to her. She pulled a tense smile and grunted, "You'd do that for me? I consider myself touched, I could never turn down such an offer."
It was plenty to give her confidence in the two women. Plenty to make her a little less wary of targeting something else besides keeping herself from getting shot again, too- and knowing that gym teacher and which side of the field he was standing on, she had her target. Gregory would begin to find it difficult to 'hit his mark''; perhaps rubble from someone else's attack would fly in front of him and obscure his view, or there was the classic of accidentally tripping over something on the ground.
Action: Interference(Corruption) against Gregory!
Marana snapped out of her stupor from the dead body and created a crushing weight on the first person she saw.
Interference (obstruction) on jack
Antoine's gaze broke from Greg as he spoke to him, his attention traveling to his initial target, water-girl. She hadn't flinched from his rifle going off which meant it was no use trying to threaten her. At least not in the way he usually does. Antoine's gun was raised again, this time a hard grip clutching the handler as he aimed at the girl with control.
"This is what I meant to do." And with that, he fired at the water mage's side hopefully piercing her in her shoulder.
Taking opening: PRESSURE on Rook Action: Aggression (Force) on Lailah
She paying as much attention this time, but her attack wasn't going to be anywhere near as dramatic. All the pieces were in place. Lailah could afford to look non-threatening. After all, some of that green water from earlier waited on the enemies side of the battlefield. She didn't have to make any more.
The blue ring on Lailah's right hand began to glow brighter. A portion of the water near Antoine shot up from the ground and tried to splash him in the face. The trigger-happy mage needed to calm down, so that's exactly what Lailah tried to do: implant some doubt as to whether or not violence would solve anything. He was here to bribe his way to the top, right?
Action: Aggression [Subdual] against Antoine
---
Antoine takes PRESSURE opening against Rook Spellmeyer at a cost of 15% combat advantage, preventing her powers from generating combat advantage for the rest of the battle!
Jack Mason and Antoine perform a COMBO against Lailah which ensures that they can take openings this turn and causes her action to automatically fail!
Interference (Corruption) by Gregory Marule against maran results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Interference (Obstruction) by Jack Mason against Lailah results in FAILURE due to suppression by the target's equal-or-greater immunity
Interference (Corruption) by Rook Spellmeyer against Gregory Marule results in PARTIAL success due to suppression by the target's lesser immunity, +0% combat advantage
Interference (Obstruction) by maran against Jack Mason results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Force) by Antoine against Lailah results in SUCCESS, +30% combat advantage
Aggression (Subdual) by Lailah against Antoine results in FAILURE due to COMBO effect, +5% combat advantage
---
Current conditions:
Rook Spellmeyer is PRESSURED, causing her powers to stop generating combat advantage for the rest of the battle!
Gregory Marule can DISABLE maran at a cost of 10% combat advantage, preventing her from using the power she used this turn for the rest of the battle!
Jack Mason can ISOLATE Lailah at a cost of 10% combat advantage, preventing her from targeting or being targeted by her allies for the rest of the battle!
maran can ISOLATE Jack Mason at a cost of 10% combat advantage, preventing him from targeting or being targeted by his allies for the rest of the battle!
Antoine can PRESSURE Lailah at a cost of 15% combat advantage, preventing her powers from generating combat advantage for the rest of the battle!
(Click here to send in your next round's actions! The next round's deadline is in 48 hours!)
Post by Rook Spellmeyer on Nov 20, 2018 9:49:47 GMT -7
Evidently, there was little to take someone out of a fight like a bullet wound to the leg. Even if she could distract or even completely stop someone from firing off more shots, when it came to asking 'who won that fight', making someone trip and fall on their face just wasn't going to hold up against a bleeding bullet hole.
But as trigger-happy and destruction-prone as mages could be, they were also people, generally with just slightly below the human-standard amount of common sense. If not that, they could probably be reasoned with. The guy with the gun probably wouldn't go on a murder-spree, and once everyone else on her side was ready to go home, she could hitch a ride and do that. The elven woman was nearby and Rook was in the process of turning up so she could ask for such help when the sound of a gunshot rang through the street again.
She sputtered out a cough and soon after a, "Hey, you alright?" as she leaned in towards the woman. With a sign through her nose, she turned towards the man holding the gun. "Watch your back, friend of Gregory. One of these days I'll get my vengeance against the suicased gunman."
Call her a coward, but admitting defeat a little early wasn't always a bad thing. Couldn't win them all.
Post by Gregory Marule on Nov 20, 2018 10:42:26 GMT -7
After feeling the energies of a subtle power used against him and negating them, Gregory started to realize that he was participating in a fairly one sided fight. He had no doubts that the three women could be able to hold their own, but two of their powers didn't seem well suited to direct combat, and the other's were so direct that it was easy for him to stop. Meanwhile, they were up against someone armed with a gun, someone able to manipulate the battlefield at will, and someone that could usually dictate the success of power usage. It didn't exactly seem like a fair fight, and given that they weren't the ones that prompted said fight, it was enough to make Greg regret his choice on who to help.
This wasn't helped by the sound of another gunshot going off. Given Lailah's powers being seemingly beneficial, he wouldn't be surprised if she was capable of healing; however, this was getting to be just a bit too much for Gregory. He knew just how far one might have to go to establish dominance over some of the more resilient mages, but there was nothing suggesting that either of the two shot had any sort of protection against bullets. Having seen the sort of damage firearms can do to a person firsthand, Gregory was becoming increasingly concerned about how easily Antoine was pulling the trigger.
"I think it's about time to put the gun down," Gregory said, his voice making it clear that it was far less of a suggestion than his words would imply. He shot a sharp glare at his old friend before turning his attention to the two women. "Would either of you like some assistance in getting to the nurse? I'd be happy to oblige."
Antoine lowered the gun, his eyes staring right ahead and hinting at a glare that he didn't mean to hold. He had expected the water lady to put up a defense, block his shot, dodge or do anything just to avoid getting hit. She was a mage, after all, and receiving a bullet to the arm was less of a warning and more of a heads up to most mages. Equally so, mages were never really known for listening to threats let alone listening so he shouldn't have expected this to work from the start.
His head turned in the direction of the girl he had earlier hit on accident, her words distracting him. Friend of Gregory? Vengeance? That sounded pitiful if anything. Still, she was rightfully expected to take offense for what had just happened, especially if the water lady was a friend of hers. "I understand your feelings, and I can offer to call an ambulance to show that I genuinely mean no harm. Taking revenge won't be necessary though, I'm not doing this out of boredom. I think two warnings are enough to prepare against, besides, I was feeling threatened as well." His words were cold but genuine. He had come in hopes of avoiding a fight, hence a suitcase full of cash, but mages were dangerous and whether he had used the gun for self-defense or to get his point across to them, he wasn't risking having his bones crushed because he felt a little empathy for strangers.
Antoine got the point, even before Gregory suggested he drop the weapon in a menacing tone. It was pitiful to have to feel intimidated by a mundane weapon as mages, but he could try to put himself in the lady's shoes. He lowered the rifle before dropping it to the ground below him. With that, he raised his arms. Putting away the gun had managed to calm his restless fingers a bit but was still not enough to have them up for more than a few seconds.
"Again, I apologize for my threatening behavior. I can offer to give assistance of my own if necessary." He briefly glanced at Gregory before turning his gaze to the girls.
Post by Jack Mason on Nov 20, 2018 13:17:59 GMT -7
Gravity wasn't normally a major concern for Jack, since buildings were obviously built to hold up under their own weight, and he could make his body vanish and move through them freely. However, when he emerged upside-down from an overhang to survey how well his walls were working (not very well, it turned out), the floaty mage had taken the opportunity to make it a problem.
Jack suddenly felt himself become much heavier, pulling his head toward the ground below, and he was having trouble retracting his body into the overhang. Instead of trying too hard, he opted to just cross his arms and attempt to ignore the feeling of his blood gathering in his head.
"No, that's fine. I'll just... hang out here for now, I guess."
She offered to help the girl, but Lailah didn’t fully understand how her own magic worked. In theory, she could boost Rook without using the standard method, and could save a little time. Or, most likely, nothing would happen. To try something new or go with the old way, which would be easier in this scenario?
With her attention elsewhere, the second gunshot didn’t even register as anything important. Not until she felt a sharp sting in her arm did Lailah care to determine where the bullet landed. The trail of blood running down her side made the situation pretty clear. She got hit.
Lailah bit down on her bottom lip to suppress any sort of audible reaction. She thought she had prepared for how much this might hurt, but man. The other world’s technology was better than expected. Thinking back, she couldn’t remember a time when she had actually been injured like this. Maybe from training with one of her siblings, but no one hostile. The odds of discovering an actual rival who deserved her full attention made Lailah’s heart beat even faster.
A certain someone interpreted things differently, and interrupted with their own thoughts. ’You’re panicking. Stop that.’
’Yeah,’ the second voice chimed in, 'relax, this’ll go away if we. . .wait, if we split this up then will—‘
“I'll be fine on my own,” Lailah said, more to herself than the others standing nearby. Her usual display of confidence needed some more time to reemerge. Until then, her own power did an admirable job of absorbing a few tears before they became noticeable.
“Though, if you’re headed there already, it’d be a waste to refuse service.”
Post by Serpentarius on Nov 20, 2018 16:26:29 GMT -7
A parting shot was in order, and ‘something to trip him up’ was directed at Antoine. She’d take a small hole, or a terribly disoriented bird flying towards his head, or him tripping over his own gun. She’d take accidentally shooting himself in the foot, too, although she doubted luck would be quite the kind today.
Action: Interference(Corruption) against Antoine!
Perhaps some battlefield control was what was needed right now. Obstructions between the opposing sides to prevent them from each other with their powers would also prevent further gunfire.
Gregory focused his attention on the custodian's magical energies and used his own power to turn the production of those energies up to eleven. Admittedly, he wasn't sure what it would do with creation powers. With purely offensive powers, it was pretty easy to tell - increased strength, range, area of effect, and what have you. With this, though, he guessed it could be anything from rate of creation to quality of materials or level of precision. No matter what, though, it was probably likely to help.
Maneuver (Enhancement) on Jack
In theory, Jack could just let himself drop from where he was hanging. But he wasn't quite sure if he'd be able to merge with the ground underneath him, and with the stronger-than-usual gravity pulling him downward, that wasn't a risk he wanted to take.
Fortunately, even when half-merged, Jack could still exert control over the battlefield. He decided to focus on putting defensive walls to the sides and behind the gym teacher, since that was by far the ally that Jack felt most comfortable relying on at the moment.
---
Action: Maneuver (Field) for Greg
Antoine kicked the gun by his feet away, in case his opponents were still wearily suspicious of him. He might've kicked it a bit hard because it suddenly darted towards Rook hitting her in the foot. Hopefully, that wasn't going to aggravate whatever pain she was already feeling.
Action: Aggression (Force) on Rook
There didn't appear to be any reason to leave some of her water lying around. It didn't really do anything useful in this encounter, so might as well store it back up for next time. The quickest way of doing so mean redirecting all the liquid until it traveled back into her body.
On the journey back, she made sure to have the water splash that gun wizard, because she could. Might as well make him wet so he could stay hydrated. Other people can drink through their skin too, right?
Action: Aggresion [Subdual] against Antoine
No action received.
---
Lailah and Rook Spellmeyer perform a COMBO against Antoine which ensures that they can take openings this turn and causes his action to automatically fail!
Interference (Corruption) by Rook Spellmeyer against Antoine results in PARTIAL success due to suppression by the target's lesser immunity, +0% combat advantage
Maneuver (Enhancement) by Gregory Marule for Jack Mason results in SUCCESS, +15% combat advantage
In the end, the only part of him damaged had turned out to be his hair.
Getting splashed with water was unexpected and seemed all too passive aggressive to be considered a proper attack, especially coming from the lady who had just twenty minutes ago threatened him in all sorts of ways. Or had she? He couldn't bother to remember. She did threaten him in the beginning. After all, that's what caused all of this commotion, or at least part of it and as most mage fights did, this one had gotten way out of hand. This time, it was thanks to Antoine. Perhaps he had gone too far in the end, deluded himself with the thoughts of trying to show off and achieved the last thing on his mind. Then again, who was he showing off to? The girls? The mundanes that had left the field in a rush some while ago? That's when Antoine's eyes shifted to the larger man to his side. Was he subconsciously trying to prove himself? To Gregory? That was just pitiful. It was pitiful and unfair. Unfair to the people he had hurt.
A glance was shot in the direction of the girl he had accidentally hit. She hadn't done anything mage-like, and certainly nothing hostile to the man, yet he had managed to injure her. The gun at his feet had somehow tripped him and instead of knocking into her figure, it had slid past her thanks to the out-of-character clumsiness of the man. Still, she didn't look well. Neither did the water lady, and Antoine was the one to blame for. He had to take responsibility.
A throaty sigh escaped his lips before the suitcase—that had miraculously survived this whole ordeal— was dropped to the ground with an audible thud, and instead, Antoine reached into the insides of his pockets to fish out a smartphone. However, as soon as the screen lit up, he realized that he had no idea if there was service, let alone an ambulance in this world. He ended up putting it back inside before pulling out a pocket-sized, white bandage before turning to Rook.
"It's small but wrapping it properly should stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, I have nothing on me that can be more of use but if the water-lady knows any medical facility nearby, I'd be glad to assist in any way I can. I am the one who shot you two, after all."
Post by Rook Spellmeyer on Nov 22, 2018 22:50:27 GMT -7
Rook reflexively flinched seeing the gun skidding her way like the punch line to a joke that’d already been told today, and let out a quiet sigh of relief as it slowed to a halt beside her. There was some irony in how much attention that gun had drawn - chucking explosives and swinging swords at one another was just another monday, but guns, that was taking it a step too far.
If she had to put a pin in it she’d guess it was less the gun itself than it was something that could very quickly kill someone, not just if the user intended but on accident too, being used so readily. She was glad to hear mages still had some sense of… chivalry, she guessed it could be called if one took it, turned it, and squinted at it a bit.
Still, it was clear who’d won the day. The friend of Gregory could probably up and do whatever he wanted, and with the elven lady saying she was fine through gritted teeth and her trying to keep a smile up through her own clenched jaw, it’d end up falling on the sword woman alone to stop him.
The elven woman was given the sort of sideways look that had a raised eyebrow, but she wouldn’t press her if she was trying to tough it out. Greg was given a smile.
“You don’t need to look at me with that kind of pity, I’m fine. Still have my head and everything.” She motioned to the mentioned extremity while her other hand remained pressed against the wound.
Before she could even accept Gregory’s aid, more was offered. Honestly, the last thing she had expected from the gunman was for him to up and apologize, but there he was, smartphone in hand and bandage in the other. It was the proper thing to take this kindness with a degree of seriousness or at least surprise, but when he began making a phonecall in the flooded world she couldn’t suppress the laughing snort. With a grateful nod and a grin properly stuck to her face, she reached up and took the offered bandage.
“I’nt going to stop me from taking my revenge later,” she chuckled, her expression softening immediately after. “But, a hand back would be lovely. Thanks.”