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[Empiricist]

Shef
"Sure!"
You soon find yourself getting practically dragged out of the store and over to a nearby fountain. Well, they call it a fountain, but really it's just an artificial lake running cross the town with beaches on both sides formed out of room temperature snow and people sparring atop lilipads that have a disturbing resemblance to Keijo arenas.

Soon enough you find yourself standing on one such arena Stella standing opposite you. Learn by sparring, that's the idea she pitched. She drops three clips on the ground and kicks them over to you.

[Strider03]

He'd had no objection to that. It wasn't like he was on a time crunch of anything. In truth it was simply a balancing. His mission was training, this was training, they were of similar importance in the long run.

"These?" He questioned as he picked up the clips, attempting to inconspicuously begin caching portals for the battle.

[Empiricist]

Shef
Okay sure, pick up the clips, load them and let's just prep a portal just-

バン!

There's a hellish flash of gold and you stagger backwards from an impact, something very soft is pressed against your face though you don't think it's Stella's bust this time. Damn it, did she notice? No matter, you got no idea where she is with the thing covering your eyes and your position ain't good, need to act now, and fast!

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Sehf
Status: Fine, face pressed against something soft, edge of arena, staggered
World Line: 6 6 1 5 4 2 6 5 5 4
Alterations: 5
Resolve: 3

Stella
Status: Fine, location unknown

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

[Strider03]

Hand up towards the obstruction, see if it's something small stuck to his face, or if it's Stella. A series of portals up into the air for the brief moment he'd need to clear his vision. He could get a birds eye view, and perhaps have only a single direction from which to block incoming attacks.

Additionally, if he managed to get up into the air, he'd attempt to ready one of his flash bangs for use, maybe next time she tried that he'd have something in response? He'd need to figure out the tells and the method though before he could figure ouot any method of countering it.

Room to breathe into the air, attempt to clear vision, prepare flashbang for easy use later.
[6] 6 1 5 4 2 6 5 5 [4]

[Empiricist]

Shef

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Shef: 6, Hyper[4]

Stella: 6

You portal up into the air, throwing off the obstruction from your face. Stella's moved up to the center of the arena down, twin spell circuits in her hands, Symmetry Breakers, customs, made them herself. Typically loaded with c-fractional munitions that deal catastrophic damage to a very small cross-section; precision weapons well suited for anti-armor applications, if you can aim them well enough that is. Today, they appear to be loaded with pillows. A six-chambered circle cycles out an empty vial.

"Try and knock me off! I'll try the same. And no outside items!"

Stella strikes a dramatic pose and just, kinda stands there, readying to dodge rather than really apply any further pressure.

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Shef
Status: Fine, above the edge of arena
World Line: 6 1 5 4 2 6 5 5 4 2
Alterations: 5
Resolve: 3

Stella
Status: Fine, center of arena, 5/6 rounds in one circuit, 6/6 rounds in the other

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

[Strider03]

Ah. No outside tools. No flashbang. Well that was disappointing, but it made sense. As he dropped through the air, Shef summoned a few more portals to extend his time in this vantage point, and fired a pillow round straight down towards Stella. Primarily, he would be gauging her reaction speed and ability to dodge. If she decided to take the hit, he'd do his best to judge how quickly she recovered. He'd need to know what his windows were in that regard.

Pillow round straight down toward Stella, gather intel.
6 1 5 4 2 6 5 5 4 2

[Chevaleresse]

Noriko jerked her spear back after a quizzical but none too pleased look at the paladin. Whatever she was whining about was irrelevant, she wasn't going to be doing a whole lot more in her state and Yuki was the only one who'd be able to figure out why they'd been attacked, anyway. Speaking of, she seemed to be having less than a good time. "Yuki, behind you!" Noriko charged forward, spear in hand, aiming a stab where Yuki currently was in an effort to catch the beast in its own charge. After making her own attack, she'd dodge to the side and make a pass at the mage, trying to knock him around before he could make any more annoying effects.

[Empiricist]

Shef

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Shef: 6

Stella: 4

Stella sidesteps, letting your shot glance off her side. It doesn't help that the shot in question was a speeding pillow. Looks like she can dodge at least. She begins to conjure two vials, loading them into one of her circuits

"Now, show me what you've got!"

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Shef
Status: Fine, above the edge of arena, falling faster
World Line: 1 5 4 2 6 5 5 4 2 6
Alterations: 5
Resolve: 3

Stella
Status: Fine, slightly off balance, center of arena, 5/6 rounds in one circuit, 6/6 rounds in the other

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

[Strider03]

He could totally stay up there indefinitely. There wasn't actually a limit to how many times he could have a portal redirect his downward momentum up. He could even contrict a portal around himself as a temporary perch. But he wouldn't, there'd be no point in stalling like that.

Instead, he began to let himself fall, pulling up a minimum number of portals to bleed off speed before he hit the ground. As he landed, Shef fired chaotically across the lilypad, saturation fire to protect his landing.

Bleed off speed a little, land, and saturate with Rapid Fire [4]
[1+2] 5 4 2 6 5 5 [4] 2 6

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Well. That....happened.

Minato steps back from the truck, cautious and wary. He had a sneaking suspicion that his opponent wasn't quite as dead as he seemed; maybe in the normal, mundane world, a truck hitting you that quick might kill you. But this was the supernatural world, and he'd seen people take worse hits and walk it off. Alternatively, if his trainer was actually dead from a truck hitting him at enough speed to pulverise elephants, Minato now had a different, worse problem; someone had broken into Aethertide, into their resort, and was likely aiming to kill Minato specifically. His gut told him, screamed at him, to run in and attack it at full power, but Minato had learned THAT lesson already; getting too cocky, getting too hasty would get him eating dirt in no time at all.

So either his trainer was about to go red and bust out some serious firepower, or Minato was about to have to fight for his life from someone who'd broken into a place with what he presumed were serious protections against exactly what just happened.

In a dress.
>....well, I'm pretty sure I pissed off SOMEONE up there.<
Step away, continue building up weapons. If an attack comes from the wreckage, deflect with as many weapons as necessary. Summon Rho Aias for some additional protection.
[[4] 4 2 4 4 1 6 [3] 2 1]

[Empiricist]

Shef

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Shef: 3, Hyper[4]

Stella: 4, Hyper[5]

You open a portal beneath yourself, launching back upwards, and as you reach the apex of your launch, portal right down spraying pillows across the arena. Stella again refuses to fire, focusing on evading and weaving through your chaotic spray, none of the shots landing though she is forced back a bit regardless. She doesn't return fire either, that is, until your handgun empties.

There's another hellish flash of golden light and a pillow rushes towards you, or rather, it's already invading your personal space, its impact imminent. It's aimed right at your face, oriented to hide her movements, not enough to blind you, but enough to create a reaction gap. You can hear a second round go off and you can hear her footsteps as she rushes you down.

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Shef
Status: Fine, edge of arena
World Line: 5 4 2 6 5 5 2 6 6 1
Alterations: 3.5
Resolve: 3

Stella
Status: Fine, off-center of arena, 5/6 rounds in one circuit, 6/6 (2 enhanced) rounds in the other

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

Minato

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Minato: 4, Hyper[3]

From the burning wreckage, a crystal sphere rises, the same sphere that topped the boy's staff, the glass cracking apart to the revealing shifting core that lies within. It emits a high-pitched ring, sonorous like the that of a singing bowl, and a wave of energy expands out from it like a lone ripple across the surface of a still pond. It's peaceful, calming almost. Well it was anyway. Peaceful and calming the first few times, now it's speeding up though, faster and faster, with a rather disquieting sense of urgency, an urgency that you realize is your own as your instincts cross the gap to conscious thought and you realize what your body already knows - the ripples are painting your location, broadcasting it, where to you don't know, but it's doing it faster and faster, and whatever fresh hell it's calling down, you don't wanna be near it. Move.

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Minato
Status: Fine, Rho Aias, 7 stockpiled units, 5 healing potions
World Line: 4 2 4 4 1 6 2 1 6 2
Alterations: 5
Resolve: 2

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Oh hell."
Minato uses as many weapons as necessary to get the hell out of there by exploding them and propelling Minato as far away from the target being painted on him as possible.
[[4] 2 4 4 1 6 2 1 6 2]

[Strider03]

She was charging, so it sounded to Shef. Given his temporary blindness, he opened a portal beneath himself, with the intent to pop up on the other side of the arena, removing the obstruction as he appeared. Keep the hand up in case she fired another pillow at his predicted location. He decided to try out the knockback round. It would take a little to build up the enchantments, but since he resolved to do it even as he moved, Shef expected to have time. Once the enchantments were layered on, he fired the shot at Stella's center of mass.

Portal away to other side of arena, while removing pillow obstruction and preparing knockback round. Fire at center of mass, don't detonate the round unless it gets extremely close and impacts. No need to reveal it's strength or weakness. Create a portal afterwards, positioned to hopefully deposit her in the water if the bullet gets detonated. Otherwise still portal, just farther away, small, and not doing anything conspicuous.
[5] 4 2 6 5 5 2 6 6 1

[Empiricist]

Minato

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Minato: 4

Oh hell indeed.

[Now Playing:

Emperor's New Clothes

]

You blast a forgery, fuck that you blast three of them, hurling yourself backwards and where you had just stood, the world is torn asunder.

Imagine if you would that the world were a person and that you were an insect, crawling along their flesh. Well, someone just shot that person. Thunder beyond thunder, fury beyond reckoning, violence transcending violence itself. The wound opens, a ragged weeping wound that bleeds crackling arcing blood all the colors of magic, a bridge between worlds.

Through it you see what lies beyond, it's, probably not what you're expecting. You see neither burning hellscapes nor metaphysical truths, neither arcane phantasmagorias nor ravenous voids. No, you see a peaceful street in some other realm, citizens walking through the streets, a few more curious ones peering through, you see buildings, typical cozy buildings, a bit more rustic as some Awakened things often are, but still recognizeable, you see bookstores and grocers, banks and taverns, blacksmiths and some kinda adventurer's guild?

The entity smack bang in the middle? The one crossing the worlds? Yeah, they might be a little more threatening. A machine colored a dark armored grey with an angular body reminiscent of a chrysalis and a bulbous head sporting a single large circular "eye". Its body levitates above a magic circle enclosing a lotus flower sigil, its form haloed by dozens of golden arms formed of some condensed energy like some bizarre sci-fi buddha.

"NOW, SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO."

Thousand-Faced Bodhisattva
Back From The Dead

There's this high-pitched om noise and then those fists come crashing down, less a flurry of blows more a pinpoint saturation bombing, the machine rushing forwards to crush you as the portal slams shut behind it, the staff's core flying over back into their chasis.

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Minato
Status: Fine, Rho Aias, 5 stockpiled units, 5 healing potions
World Line: 2 4 4 1 6 2 1 6 2 2
Alterations: 5
Resolve: 2

Thousand-Faced Bodhisattva
Status: Fine

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

Kudos to Murdoc for helping with the naming

Shef

Spoiler: Rolls (click to show/hide)

Shef: 5

Stella: 3, Hyper[3]

So you decide to tank the hit, that's a mistake. The followup shot wasn't a pillow, it was beam of concussive energy crashing into the pillow and slamming into your skull. This one was angled up, she must've quickly crouched low for that shot, firing it during a lunge. Through the portal you go, you're unsteady though and you were already falling so you wind up on your back, tossing the pillow off your face before sitting up and readying to counter with a concussive shot of your own, trouble is, there's two pillows flying towards you right now, obstructing your direct shot and there's that hellish glow in her eyes again.

Spoiler: World Lines (click to show/hide)

Shef
Status: Fine, on the ground, one end of the arena
World Line: 4 2 6 5 5 2 6 6 1 2
Alterations: 4
Resolve: 3

Stella
Status: Fine, center of arena, 4/6 rounds in one circuit, 5/6 (1 enhanced) rounds in the other

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

[Strider03]

Well that didn't go quite as planned. He'd needed the distance in case she rushed him, but apparently there'd been other plans in the works. For now though, he continued to apply the layered enchants to his prototype round. First a portal with the dual purpose of redirect the pillows back and perhaps catching any further attacks, then a few shots around and through the pillows to catch any attempts to dodge, followed by the knockback round if he could figure out his targets location well enough.

Portal Shield for the pillows and possibly the glowy eye thing if that requires some vector, then fire some shots through the pillows and around at Stella. Focus on catching the dodge though, she's not going to fall for her own trick. Knockback round mixed in.
 [4] 2 [6] 5 5 2 6 6 1 2