View source for China Syndrome II

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2013/11/21
|Location=The Great Wall
|Synopsis=The Horned King has been planning his advancement on China, tonight-- he sends his Cauldron Born to claim the very wall that defends the proud nation of China.
|Cast of Characters=Reize Seatlan, Maira, Vespa, Minerva, Aerith, Serah Farron,  Horned King
|pretty=yes
}}
:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> The Great Wall of China stands as a defense between the outsider world and the kingdom within. However the kindom outside of the wall is slowly 'dieing' or so it seems as the green fog has only gotten denser in the passing days and plant life has shriveled up.<br /><br /> Yet the Chinese stand ready. They do not fear what comes. They believe that their wall will protect them. Until something strange happens. The ground rips open and rises to meet the very wall, towering up. Panic happens on the wall. The flames are lit, the people quickly warned. For no sooner then the earth rises to meet the wall, legions of undead march across onto the very wall itself.<br /><br /> That green mist following their very steps and any poor solider who dares to fight, who falls to the mighty of the cauldron born, is swallowed by the mist, only to turn them into skeletal warriors under the Horned King.<br /><br /> The Great Wall most be defended or China will soon fall. Who will come to the air of China? Who will answer the call!

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Great, undeads. She's had quite a few run ins with those already, and having more is making her curse her luck. But still. Where there's zombies, there's a need for a healer. Healing magic is one of the many weak points of a zombie. Well, not all of the time, but often. Let's take bets.<br /><br />Either way, wearing a rather short chinese dress, something that doesn't look too different than the skirt she usually wears, in all truth, in shades of pink with sakura petals motifs, she approaches the wall with her wooden box slung over her shoulder. For a fault of having found a better one yet, this one works the need when she pelts monsters from a distance. She still has that dagger that was given to her too, sheathed along her thigh, a bit like her sister has hers. She's heard that they needed to mount some defense there, so she volunteered. She doesn't know what to expect though.

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> VALKYRI will. Really, this is actually kind of old hat. They've been camped out in Golmore fighting hoards of undead for how long now? They've gotten rather good at it. So when the call came, VALKYRI answered. At least those who could. Maira came with Vespa and Minerva, ready. "Here's a few of the Holy water bombs. We don't have many, so use them where they will be the most help okay? Look out for each other," she adds, cracking a smile. "And maybe keep a bit of distance from me," she adds. They know by now why, but the Chinese soldiers don't. <br /><br /> They see why when Maira ignites and starts hurling fire balls. "I am so, SO sick of undead," she complains.

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amidst the defenders is a young woman who'd been here before.<br /><br />She'd seen firsthand the devastation beforehand, and now she was here to halt it before it came any further in.<br /><br />But instead of her usual ensemble, she wore a pink kung fu uniform with white flowers on the legs, seamless and all made of silk. Her Spirit Staff was already in her right hand, ready to be used against that which assailed them...<br /><br />Her green eyes narrowed as the mist encroached upon the wall, the voices within her screaming out warnings only she could hear. It would not be good to be lost in that, to be sure.<br /><br />It wasn't long before the earth trembled and groaned, shifting to create a siege ramp... but she still stood firm, her face still a mask of determination.<br /><br />No surprises here; the one behind this was more than capable of a feat that could surmount these defenses. She said nothing, letting the commanders do their job of organizing the troops. Instead, she waited for them to get close enough for her to start bashing their collective skulls in. She glanced toward her right, picking up a familiar presence, and nodded at Serah.<br /><br />"This isn't going to be like what you've faced before. They're organized, intelligent. The one controlling them is ruthless and without pity, and has motives I can't even begin to comprehend. The only thing I know is that he kills everything he sets foot on, to the point where nothing remains but dead silence." Her eyes narrowed as she turned toward the advancing army. "Stick with me and do not let yourself get flanked. We're going to find the leader and take him out, get it?"

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>"That's alot of undead..", the maid says hefting her massive axe over her shoulders. "But with VALKARI here, I say the odd are in our favor."<br /><br />Vespa takes a few of the holy water bombs "Thanks Maira. I'll cut a path foward and make sure nothing gets thought okay?", she start to take a few steps foward toward the massive army. "There one thing I really like about undead, and that is I don't have to hold back! Let's go AL!", she swings her massive axe in front of her cutting down any udead that enter into it's arc.

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron leans over the battlements that lines the top of the great wall, nodding to Aerith as she takes a better look at things beyond it "I'll try my best." She's a wielding of holy magic in a pinch, but she's more attuned to healing powers most of the time. "It does seem like there's lots of them... I guess taking out whoever is puppetering them is a good idea."

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva again is here in the land of Dragons, oddly she's in one of those nifty kung fu dresses once more. It's silver, white and blue keeping with the seemingly icy them Minerva has picked up for her self over again. Her gauntlets take on a look like they were crafted here in the land of dragons with a sleeker and more dragon themed look as do her armoured leggins, she is however following up her friends on this. <br /><br /> "So this is how it is? foul wretches back to thine graves." <br /><br /> Minerva?s fist flare up with fire as she follows up the res of VALKYRI

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> The forces of light have attacked. Holy bombs go off and the Undead are nearly staggered back by the attack, yet their axes swing and their swords strike. More march up from the ground ramp. More continue to come. Aerith gives her orders and as she attacks, one of the undead uses their shields to actually knock away the very strike, before letting out an undead curl of a roar in her direction.<br /><br /> She was very correct though. These were not normal skeletal warriors. These were created from the very hell that was the Black Cauldron and its dark powers. A place of Necromancy and Sorcery. A place that no mortal may ever survive. Yet though, the Horned King was no where to be seen, only his vast marching army.<br /><br /> The undead rushed ahead, they reached out to snatch the defenders, attempting to ensnare them in their dead finger grasps. Then if they took a hold of them, their very hands attempted to burn into their very armor, clothing, and skin to leave behind darkness. Not even Maira's flames seem to have the same effect on these undead. After all, these had no skin like zombies; they were bone.<br /><br /> Yet once they took hold, they tried to hold on for all their might and then shoved away trying to trip up the group either over themselves or almost send them off the very wall.

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Aerith gritted her teeth as one of them grabbed hold of her. It didn't mean she was useless, but it did hurt just a tad. She made her best attempt to kick it off of her, holding her ground even as it tried to shove her off the wall. More came, and she figured it was time to get severe...<br /><br />So she did.<br /><br />Aerith pressed her hand against the undead soldier's face and fired off a burst of spirit energy to get it off of her, then whipped her staff in a wide circle, aiming to knock several of them away... or even potentially smashing them to pieces.

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Maira looks over toward Aerith, over-hearing her. She waves, nodding to her. She's faced this guy before as well. She recognized it now, his form of undead. Bad news. <br /><br /> Further bad news is that the skelletons have not flesh to burn--a minor set back. Get a fire hot enough, and it will turn bone to dust. Cremation is what Maira has in store for these. She's going to have to prepare to do something big. She hopes she's ready. <br /><br /> As the undead approach her and reach through her flames she bats them away, moving backward to cast protective magic around herself and her friends. They need to be ready for the longhaul.

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Vepsa grits her teeth as the undead reach out and grab her burn marks starting to appear on her outfit. The scents of burning flesh start to wiff into her nostirls. <br /><br /> "Back off you <GOOSEHOOK>-ing things! She swings her axe in arc around her then pushes the blade of her axe into the ground and vaults herself into the air hopefully away from the undead grasp.

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron came into the fray after the others, extending a hand to surround some of her allies in red magical circles to increase their fighting prowess. Running after them, she swiftly dodges the pack of undeads that swarm her, not unharmed though as they manage to claw at her legs as she escapes being surrounded swiftly. But those are minor compared to the result of being piled upon.<br /><br />She lands next to Aerith and the others that ploughed through "Watch it!". She places a hand against the other magic caster, offering her some curative magic, combined with some extra protection, that she spreads to Vespa as well. She stays clear of that axe though, she'll do it form a distance <.<

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva is weaving in and out of the hostile undead even as her comrade cast spells upon her and booster her own abilities in combat. It shows as she' just too adept at reading how the undead are going to move and evade the blows of the undead warriors for the moment. She's seemingly manage to keep free for the moment. Her fists combusts once more as she attacks the undead aiming to set them on fire, and otherwise just wreck their days. <br /><br /> "Come you foul creatures! Your in the way!"

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> There is terror that has stricken the Great Land of China. It would seem that the stalwart wallsof China is surmounted by the overcasting green fog, where the undead have started to outstretch its claws to the livelihood of a land. Many of the brave souls have gathered to help defend the nation against the outworldly threat.<br /><br /> ...One more person may be of some help.<br /><br /> There is a faint glimmer of light from the sky. However, that light flickers out like a candle. As the light fades, those seconds are filled with empty air that is quickly filed with the sounds of a clashing battle.<br /><br /> Suddenly, a form drops down to the middle of the massive wall with a loud thud. The landing of the individual kicks off large debris and dust. <br /><br /> Dust clears as a gust whisks it away, revealing the flapping long yellow scarf.<br /><br /> "HAH!"<br /><br /> Just as quickly as the figure landed, the boy moved towards the set of undead in a blinding speed. The movement of the incoming stranger leaves a blur, not even a second before he reaches the set of the undead.<br /><br /> In an instant, a whistle pierces the air as a force is left by the slashing trail of a weapon.<br /><br /> After being absent for many months...<br /><br /> ...The Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf has returned.<br /><br /> With a brightened spirit, Reize lifts his head up to beam at the group, "Ooooii! Long time!" Some of the faces of VALKYRI are familiar. 

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> Aerith's spirit blast did the trick, knocking one of the undead back. However as she went to collide her staff with the others, one undead met her staff dead on with a pole-axe. Those eyeless holes looking at her; she could sense it was staring directly into her. Their weapons were locked for a time, before it shoves her staff aside with a warcry roar of the undead.<br /><br /> Thankfully for Aerith, Vespa's axe slams into the undead who /may/ be a problem and still could be as the axe only takes a good chunk off the shoulder pauldron it has, but Vespa raises herself into the air. The undead watches her go up and he takes a few steps back.<br /><br /> This could be bad...<br /><br /> Other undead are met with Minerva's fist of fire which scorches over the bones and knocks several of them back. This working on Reize's favor as he comes ninja'ing through and actually chops several of the undead in half, including knocking several more off the wall. Yet-- they still continue to come.<br /><br /> As for the Undead with the pole-axe. The one suddenly leaps into the air and goes to clip Vespa to smash her right back down to the ground. Worse, he goes to blow her right into the group of the others, before spinning the pole-axe not once, but twice. It seems they found the big bad himself of this marching undead group.

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Incoming Vespa!<br /><br />Aerith made her best attempt at evading one incoming, armored missile by leaping over her. The good news, it almost worked. Bad news was that she got clipped at the ankles, and was sent flying toward the wall again. She managed to save herself from being smashed against the stones, but now it wasn't exactly in their favor. A great many of them were on top of the wall now, and fighting was breaking out amidst the soldiers.<br /><br />"Okay, fine." She stood and shook herself. "That's the way you want it? Let's go."<br /><br />She faced the one with the pole-axe and took on a fighting stance for a brief moment, before testing his defenses with a few feints and thrusts. Once she thought the moment was right, she spiraled the tip of her staff, building enough momentum to smash through whatever defenses he had!

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Well there is a voice she hasn't heard in quite some time! Maira turns to see Reize, yellow scarf billowing in the wind. (Yellow scarf in China? Ruh roh that could be trouble!) "Reize! Haha! Where have /you/ been!?" she asks. <br /><br /> Unfortunately, she then takes a rather nasty bonk the the back of the head from a sneaky skelleton. Woops! Maira rounds on it, blasting it away from her with a burst of Air, which she follows with two seering hot waves of flame.

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Up she goes, till a undead follows her to the sky and knocks her down towards Areith. She thankfully misses her barely but hits the ground with a loud thud! Ow.. She going be felling that later.. She gets back up seeing something.. It's the blur! Oh wait. Wrong colour. It just Reize.<br /><br />"Reize. You have the worst, best timing ever. I say how are you and what bring you here but I'm a bit busy right now..." <br /><br /> "Right. No more fooling around.." She takes in a deep breath contrating for a second.. There a bright flash and a darkish arua surrounds Vespa. "Okay Round 2!"

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> After his initial landing and the strike, Reize keeps his eyes on the defenders for a brief moment. "Long story, Maira! We'll chat about it more----once we get through this." That brief moment soon ends when the undead with the pole-axe makes his way to the frontlines. Reize squints when he watches the creature's movement. <br /><br /> His antenna hair perks and then he shifts his stance in preparation to spring away, "Whoa!" That holds true when it strikes not only towards Vespa but to bowl to the group as a follow-up. Already have anticipating the maneuver, Reize opted to spring off to the air to evade the marauder.<br /><br /> Reize extends his hand outward, bringing his hands up in the air to pump a fist.<br /><br /> "We can do it, everyone! Keep strong and let's fight for the people here!" Flames burst from the boy, the fiery spirit awakened from the resolve.<br /><br /> Of course, there is a reason why the boy is the leader of a small group. That infectionous spirit is drwing towards the others who shall hopefully become inspired. 

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron blinks as someone else joins the fray. Well, he's not an undead, so that's a good sign. Serah on her side, manages to flip out of the attacks quite well, only getting a few more scratches despite the amount of targets around her. At least they aren't hurting her too much, which means she can keep the others going better. The way she moves, you'd think she's a sort of gymnast or something, but no, she never trained in any of those. She just... got enhanced, you could say.<br /><br />Charging up more magical energies, a hand over her chest, she throws out small balls of light at her allies to keep enhancing them more and more. Well that new guy could use a bit of help too, likely.

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva is quite in a good deal of trouble with the undead as they just assault her rip into her and otherwise beat the ever living hell out of the woman. She endures it more than one might expect her to she's hardened up her body with a lot of the training she's endured but it's not enough to stop everything she's also moving to parry strikes with her gauntlets and that takes a hell of a lot out of her. <br /><br /> She's forced back she's battered and she closes her firsts again burst into flames, but this time it's holy flames as she's aiming to punch these abominations until they turn to ash or so she hopes. <br /><br /> "I'm not finished yet come face the wrath o the Saint!" <br /><br /> She pulls away once more and them comes in for another round of attacks on the undead legions. It's hard going but well she's still alive and she's got no desire to become a general of the horned King in death.

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> What Aerith finds is that this undead minion with the Pole-axe was indeed highly smarter then the rest of the lot. For ever move she made, he quickly side stepped and moved fluidly around her strikes. Then he swung around the edge of the pole to strike at Aerith in return to knock her back a bit; To throw off her defenses really.<br /><br /> Maira though unleashes her wind and flame upon the undead hoard and knocks several of them up into the air and catching them in a whirlwind of fire. In her favor this actually causes the very undead to turn into ash and be whisked away into the very green mist that seems to be the source of their very creation.<br /><br /> Minerva's holy flame bunching indeed does the trick. It actually does indeed pulverize them into ash. Each strike causes another one to blast apart, then another, then another. Scattering them back to wince they came.<br /><br /> So far the undead seem to be having some issues, however the one fighting Aerith leaps back and then raises up his pole-axe into the air, with another mighty roar. The fog becomes thick as unholy lightning strikes. The undead holds up his pole-axe in bother arms, before kneeling down. As if almost praying?<br /><br /> Lightning strikes around the area and the fog of green mist becomes ever thicker, some of the guards off in the distance who have been giving their all start to cough. The fog, seemingly trying to choke them. However there is a howl and the undead come racing out of the fog at everyone. They leap for the heroes, for the guards, at everything living. Like suddenly a blind rage of hunger has come over them and they desire the living.

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Maira laughs. She can appreciate Reize's fire, to say the least! She almost always appreciates fire, after all. "Alright, you'd better tell me the story!" she calls back. The fiery mage then looks for her friends, wanting to keep an eye on everyone. At least she knows she's not the only one here who can use cure magic. That's always a welcome releif! <br /><br /> Any relief she feels is very short lived as the undead howl through the mist and come straight for them. Maira tries to throw herself out of the way, but a skelleton with a sword latches onto her, plunging his weapon through her torso. She can't even scream. Blood trickles from her mouth as her magic takes control of her, acting of its own accord it would seem to protect her. <br /><br /> Maira's form lights up like supernova, the flames that envelope her growing in radiace and brillance, white hot power that is meant to burn the darkness itself. Holy. The light of her heart. With any luck, it will blast through enough of the undead to buy them a rest, at least. Maybe, the opportunity to retreat.

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Vespa looks at Reize "He who belive's me...!", she doesn't get time to finish as undead start to eat her. Not fun at all "OH <GOOSHONK>! THAT DOES IT EVERYTHING DIES! ..AGAIN!<br /><br /> She punches the closest undead with her fist, and with her other hand swings her axe in arc around her cursing and muttering to herself. Yup, Vespa has lost it. Again.

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Okay, so lots of undeads attacking at the same time is not a good thing at all! And she notices that most of her companions are not faring much better than she is, when she gets tossed down unto the ground, crashing down into bushes and trees as she tries to roll back to her feet as swiftly as possible, but she had her air knocked out for a moment there. That does hurt alot.<br /><br />But some of the others are hurting more than she is. She won't complain about a bit of pain, but she can grunt about it as she rises back up, readying her healing spells this time to cover some of the most wounded ones, Vespa and Maira.

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> After seeking to raise the spirits of his friends, Reize turn to see a faintly familiar face. Serah. Reize thinks that he has seen her a couple of times. However, he is not sure why she is familiar to him. <br /><br /> But then, a ball of light is sent his way, "Whoa!" A field of blue energy manifests to form a barrier around him, then it gleams. He can feel his body become more re-active. It feels like everything around him has slowed down.<br /><br /> It is then that during the battle, more of the undead are coming. That fog becomes thicker and the guards defending the land are coughing.<br /><br /> "Ooi! All of you, pull back! If you get closer to that fog..."<br /><br /> ROAR!!<br /><br /> "Whoa!" The undead race out of the fog. As they leap towards the group, Reize brings both of his boomerangs in an X-mark. Unfortunately, those rending claws swoop out of nowhere, piercing against his skin.<br /><br /> Blood-splatters as the boy releases a wail, "Gaaahhh!" He winces, dropping to a knee while holding onto his sides. He gives the monster a baleful glare with teeth gritting. "Nggh!" He grimaces, staggering as he rebalances himself. He reaches over to put his boomerangs to the side and he reaches for his bag of tricks to pull out a rope. Reize makes that rope into a nice lasso and then he swings it over his head.<br /><br /> "Time to pull you all back!"<br /><br /> Reize swings that rope around to ensnare one of the creatures. Should the boy get one latched on, he is going to swing that undead around like a flail to smack the other zombies.<br /><br /> "Annnnd---AWAAAAYYY WE GO!" <br /> 

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva is making short work of some of the undead however there's so many of them? She's just seeming like she's bailing water in a sneaking boat, however they can?t go on forever right? O so she hopes but well then comes lighting, fog and something else. Minerva makes several gestures with her hands making use of the winds to drive the fog back from her and try to protect the guards as well the force of the winds may be enough to buy them time to pull back. Or it may be too late but whom knows. <br /><br /> Minerva does notice Reize has perhaps the best sense of timing in the world today as he shows up o lend them a hand even as Maira drops a load of pain upon the undead's ranks. Minerva needs to recover from what she's done however, while she fights onwards still but once she's recovered a bit she shall bring the pain upon them undead again. For now the holy flames fade and more normal flame take their place as she continues to fight. Also with Serah around she should thankfully help keep them in the battle longer with all the support magic she seems able to make use of.

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Aerith... remains calm.<br /><br />She could feel the air charge with malicious intent, with the hunger for flesh. The single-minded drive for death, mixed with an intelligence that was full of nothing but hate.<br /><br />The lightning struke... and she moved just before one of the bolts smashed into her. Another, and she moved, her figure a blur.<br /><br />Then the undead came, and she weaved through them, even as they tried to chew on her. When they got too close, she used her staff to deter them.<br /><br />Swing, smash, thrust, parry, deflect... she was the proverbial eye of the storm. The mist didn't seem to affect her even as she made her way through it... and then she reached the one they'd deemed as the leader of this particular pack, for now. She was still looking for the real threat, but in lieu of his presence, this guy would do nicely.<br /><br />Aerith approached him and whirled her staff in a figure-eight, aiming to both attack and defend at the same time. Once she got close enough, she moved to ram the back quarter of her staff against the side of his head to throw him off balance, then turned and tried to smash under his chin.

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> Maira goes super nova and her mystical holy flames blast outward, sending undead flying through the air like a Hollywood movie set in slow-mo. Many of the undead go crashing to the ground below before turning to ash, some others turn to ash on impact. Very, very few actually survive and go crashing into others.<br /><br /> For the undead still recovering, they are then getting a chance to meet Vespa's axe. The very axe that cleaves through many of them, cutting their body's in half and they soon fall down shattering into ash which joins the very sickly green mist.<br /><br /> Reize Seatlan then attempts to loop-de-loop one of the undead, however these are not your average undead. He kind of missed Aerith's warning about this. Just like these are not zombies in the sense of where they typically go 'braaains'. No, these are a bit smarter then that. Think Sinbad-- and maybe even a touch smarter.<br /><br /> As Reize hooks a skeleton, the skeleton hooks the boomerange with its sword. It chatters its teeth, before suddenly moving with the swing and then wracking its clawed fingers for Reize's face, before spinning around and recatching its balance.<br /><br /> The normal flames though from Minerva hit, but a sword slashes at her in return. It seems the undead are not as bothered by fire, but those who do get hit, find their leather armor starting to get 'cooked'.<br /><br /> Aerith performs her staff work and knocks over several of the undead. Their numbers slowly seeming to be lowering. They may actually win this fight. As Aerith though comes right at the undead with the pole-axe, it rises up to meet her. She smacks it around and it goes to trip her up.<br /><br /> Those eye holes that were so dark, now spark a red flicker of life in them as the undead stares her down once more. The other undead go racing at the others swords swinging and slashing, as for the one with the pole-axe. He readies it up and then goes to bring it down right for Aerith herself...

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>It appeared it was time to get serious, at last.<br /><br />The poleaxe was a slow weapon, despite its reach and utility. She'd seen its attack pattern, and now it was time to take advantage. The axe came down, and Aerith simply moved as if it were in slow motion, letting it smash into the ground. She stepped onto the shaft of the weapon and made a move to whack the apparent leader underneath the chin.<br /><br />Time to get real.<br /><br />The attack would send it flying, setting the skeleton up for a quick trip to the ground... and something big after.

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Maira gasps, even with the healing Serah sent her way, she is terribly wounded. Wounded, out numbered, and seperated from her friends. She cannot die here. <br /><br /> Maira pulls herself up against the wall, her hands on her stomach, blood seeping through her dress. A few of the soldiers step up to protect her as Maira struggles to remain conscious. It will not last long. <br /><br /> Maira's eyes travel, looking for help, but she can hardly focus her vision at all. Another terribly powerful Shadow Lord. What could she do?

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>It appeared it was time to get serious, at last.<br /><br />The poleaxe was a slow weapon, despite its reach and utility. She'd seen its attack pattern, and now it was time to take advantage. The axe came down, and Aerith simply moved as if it were in slow motion, letting it smash into the ground. She stepped onto the shaft of the weapon and made a move to whack the apparent leader underneath the chin.<br /><br />Time to get real.<br /><br />The attack would effectively disarm and send him flying... and then she called out for a play. "Everything you got! Shoot him out of the sky!"

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>The undead stap and slash at Vespa, she doesn't seem to regester in her mind, she getting hit yes but she keeps on moving forward thought the hordes of undead ingoring them. She does hear Areith and tosses her axe at the now flying undead.

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Reize had hoped to have hooked up to an undead and swing it around. However, they proved to be more intelligent than Reize gave them credit for. It shows as the skeleton hooks the lasso with its sword and moves with the swing to bring Reize towards it.<br /><br /> !!!<br /><br /> Reize's eyes widen as the Deathly Touch haunts against his form, giving him a chilling feel of its raw, intense power that tears against him, "GAAHH!" And after the touch, the undead prove relentless as they keep hacking and slashing against many of the participants defending the mainland. Reize finds himself within the wave of the assault, but he intercepts the frontlines from getting further by springing up towards them with a spinning roundhouse kick that keeps lashing out.<br /><br /> "Sparrondo!"<br /><br /> Reize has had enough.<br /><br /> There is an explosion of energy eitting from Reize. A bright glow of energy shines and swirls around him.<br /><br /> "This is my will!"<br /><br /> As if on cue, his pendant gives off a blinding radiation. <br /><br /> The hand reaches to the opposite side to manifest the gathered energy as a glowing tarot. That glittering tarot is taken up into the air, high in the sky.<br /><br /> "Clear the way, everyone!"<br /><br /> As on cue from Aerith's signal to give it everything he has, Reize now aims his sights on the airborne zombie.<br /><br /> "Flickering flame, burn!"<br /><br /> The tarot, lifted high, spins around within the palm of his hand.<br /><br /> "FIREBALL!"<br /><br /> Three balls of fire start swirling as the 'tarot' breaks apart. They twist and turn until they converge to a massive fireball to fly toards the flying undead. Prepare for fireworks upon impact, people.<br /> 

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron has been cornered by all of the undeads, which take turns at slashing at her with the various weapons they are carrying. Its not looking very good for the healer, but she's still standing at least. She's showing many different cuts and bruises now, before she manages to kick a few of the horde away, getting some freedom back as she multiplies the healing spells for herself and the others. Lots of wounded allies there, she has lots of work to do, but she's dilligent about it. The crowd is thinning at least! "Don't give up, we're almost there!"

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Her Allies are not fairing well, not fairing well at all. She's recovered enough she can again turn up the heat on the minions of the Horned King. Her fist again burst into holy flames and snow she's throwing kicks into the mix too ad she pins, about becoming a tornado of holy fire, kicks and punches. She flips into the air and comes down for a final finisher trying to unleash as much holy power as she can which causes almost a holy explosion if you will into their ranks. She is just trying to get as many of them tied up to allow her friend to do their things. <br /><br /> Minerva meanwhile continues to strike she'll just lay into the horde and doesn't show much signs of stopping she really does not seem to like the undead or at lest the mindless sort. There's something about thing that turn you into more of them that she really doesn't like. <br /><br /> "FALL YOU BLIGHTS FALL!"

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> Aerith is able to knock the undead 'leader' into the air. It goes straight up and then as Vespa attempts to throw her axe at the undead. The pole-ax user swings its weight around and actually knocks it away. However from Reize's attack. There is no way the undead could possibly counter that.<br /><br /> It does not, because instead something else summons a magic barrier before the 'leader' of this party and the fire balls are mostly knocked aside, though a few flames lick across the undead who has been suspended in the air for a moment.<br /><br /> Minerva meanwhile unleashes her fury upon the hoard below. They get wiped nearly all out by her massive attack. The numbers are dwindling the mist is starting to thin out. They seem to be winning and yet..<br /><br /> The pole-axe undead warrior comes crashing back down right in front of Aerith. The sheer force of the impact cracks the very stone ground. It rolls its shoulders before slowly dragging the blade across the rocks, allowing it to make the scratching sound as a sheer warning of what is to come next.<br /><br /> With all the undeads anger, it rolls the pole-axe, swinging it around in a whirl wind, the first swing wasn't so bad, it was the next two that follow, only getting worse by the third swing around.

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron braces herself for impact when the undeads mount their potentially last attack, but she's not going down either. Not like Reize, at least, but that doesn't mean she'll allow him to be downed either. She quickly rushes to the side, putting her hands on Reize to force the healing back into the boy's body before he's out of commission for good.

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Maira feels another wave of healing wash over her, slowing the bleeding and helping her remain conscious. With just this bit, it helps her to hold on. The rest restores her magic. She thinks she has one last shot in her. <br /><br /> Using the wall to pull herself up, she stares into the green fog, eyes searching. She cannot see the one behind all this, not with her eyes. Maira has another idea. "Seek out the Darkness," she says, the light of her flames forming a tendril of sparkling radiance. It shoots from her, seeking the most powerful source of darkness. Hopefully, the Horned King himself. It seems the only way to end this. If this fails, she'll have to try her last ditch effort for retreat.

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Aerith grimaced as she ducked under the first swing, leapt over the second, and... in what one would figure was a dangerous move... stepped into its range and blocked the third!<br /><br />She slid along the ground, digging a rut as she was pushed along... but she held fast, and stopped the assault. She looked into the dead thing's eye sockets, her features laced with determination. "I know you can hear me. The one who's really behind this." Then, she smiled. "Consider this a message, from us to you." Her features went placid again as she put her right boot into its chest. "Begone!"<br /><br />after getting some space, she rammed her staff into the side of its head again, then began to ram the wooden weapon into him, aiming to pepper him with enough attacks that it would not respond at all...

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Vespa axe comes down after the pole axe undead "Al why can't you come back to me like that guy with the hammer??", she sighs. "This is a real pain...", she picks up her axe. "Right.", she grips her axe with both hand bring it up, the blade starting to glow with a dark aura. She turns to the pole weilding undead it having all it attention on Areith "Hey ugly. GO BACK TO THE HELL FROM WHICH YOU CAME!", and she grips her axe with both hand and the blade start to glow with a back aura, then she swings it down on the pole axe undead hoping to cleave him in two.

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> !!!!<br /><br /> There is a large degree of shock at the sight of seeing the undead knocking the fireball away as if it was nothing. That barrier keeps it protected, which is he source of the deflection. "Wh---... h--how?!" Reize looks with shock.<br /><br /> But then, the pole-axe wielding undead warrior comes crashing in front of Aerith to tart swining it in a whirlwind. Reize, unfortunately, is a recipient of one of the whirlwind attacks. "Gaaaaahhh!" The bladed energy tears against the boy, releasing the blood to splatter about.<br /><br /> The impact behind that driving force sends Reize flying across the air, landing roughly against the ground. "Nggh..." Reize is about to fall unconscious underneath the thick, green fog. Thankfully, that feeling of comfort comes a light shines upon him.<br /><br /> "...Huh...?"<br /><br /> Reize begins rising to his feet, and then he turns to face the source of it all. As he rises, he gives a few coughs before giving the woman a thumbs up. She had been supporting them the whole time.<br /><br /> "...We can't fail now!"<br /><br /> Reize grips to his boomerangs and then he starts rushing towards the monster. Along the way, the boy notices a few of the weapons lying around, in which Reize kicks one of the weapons up and he smacks it out towards the creature in an effort to distract it.<br /><br /> Each time Reize finds a weapon around, he is kicking it to 'plink' against it'. <br /><br /> His body begins to form into a blur until he gets close enough to the point of meeting close up to give the undead a kick towards the head. As he springs off of his feet, Reize grits his teeth and he cries out as he spins.<br /><br /> "Sparrondo!"<br /><br /> He swings the leg out not once, not twice, but three times. <br /> 

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva can endure a lot and seems to be enduring more than her allies are she presses the undead so hard they seem to draw back. Even the mist is thinning out , but the undead keep coming. She knows against creatures like this a few out lasting you could still mean defeat after all. She weaves and again parries the attack using her gauntlets once more. <br /><br /> All the while the holy fire continues to burn and she again dives into their thinning ranks, she strikes, and those kicks darn well are fast as lightning! Will it be enough to stop the tide of the undead or is she on her way to being the Banshee Queen?

:'''[[Horned King]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> <br /> Aerith slams her polearm into the side of the undead, however she is unable to do more then throw him off balance, as the undead quickly blocks her next incoming strike with all its undead strength; which amazing quiet strong.<br /><br /> Vespa makes her challenge known as the undead uses his own pole-axe to actually move itself out of the way as Vespa swings. The axe blade comes very close to actually doing as Vespa desired, however it skims the surface of the bone structure and leaves a nice fracture in the off-white bone it impacts. That very fracture line cracks a bit once the undead lands down on its feet once more.<br /><br /> Reize then starts to spin weapons like crazy, kicking them up and chucking them at the undead warrior. Each one strikes true, though a few deflected away. Its the kicks that do however actually nearly cause the undead to actually fall over.<br /><br /> Maira attempts to find the Horned King, but she doesn't find the undead lich himself. Instead what she does get to find is a haunting image that flashes before her eyes along with the sounds of millions of screams. The image of a black cauldron with a symbol of a man-- a man glowing in hot molten fire. Then a hand reaches out for her, a deathly hand, before the image fades away from her mind's eye.<br /><br /> The undead pole-arm users starts to recover once more, however Minerva comes in from behind. Her fist of holy fire dives in and the undead lets out an unholy roar as it swings the pole-axe around. The Pole-axe clips her, but her fist also goes right throgh the undead warrior. His legs turn to ash as his upper body goes right off the edge before it too, becomes ash once more.<br /><br /> The mists start to reseed back to wince they came. The dark clouds pull away and the thunder is only a distant sound. Sunlight starts to make it across the battle torn wall and live slowly, very slowly starts to return once more.<br /><br /> The heroes, have saved the day but yet, the Horned King...<br /><br /> ..still remains..

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>...And Aerith knows it.<br /><br />He wasn't here, but he certainly was watching. She would stake her life on it. They'd won, but it was a close thing at times. He had to know this, and it meant trouble for them if he did this again without some proper preparation this time.<br /><br />The exhaustion came to her all at once at this realization. How much longer would they have to do this? When would he attack next, and where? And why was he so obsessed with taking this place, besides having more fuel for his army?<br /><br />There had to be something else behind it. But she had no idea what. All she could do was convince the others that this was important enough to put all their chips in.<br /><br />She turned toward those who were left standing... which surprisingly, was everyone she'd come in with. "Hey, come here."

:'''[[Maira]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Maira can't go there. She's not really in the moving type of state right now. She's too busy covering her eyes, trying to force away that terrible vision. <br /><br /> Like she needs another creep to haunt her nightmares. Come on.

:'''[[Reize Seatlan]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Whew.<br /><br /> Everything is cleared up. Reize drops on the ground and he looks at the dissipating fog. He looks weary, broken, bleeding, and tired. However, he has a spirited smile on his face.<br /><br /> "We did it..." He is glad. They managed to fend off the worst of it. <br /> 

:'''[[Vespa]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Well that was fun.", Vespa says looking very beating her maid dress blooded and torn in numerous places. "I was a joke Al.", she says looking at her axe. "I think I'm going to go home and drink till I pass out.", she mutters to herself. "I'm going to have nightmares tonight as well."

:'''[[Serah Farron]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serah Farron sighs in relief as well. But her job as healer doesn't stop before everyone's back in top shape, even if the monsters are gone. She keeps giving everything the benefit of her magic "At least they are gone now... but what did they even want from this place, I wonder..."

:'''[[Aerith]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Aerith shook her head. "He wanted more soldiers for his army. That's my theory, anyway. It's why he wants China as a whole. There are millions here that he could convert to his ways..." She shivered. "And it would leave this entire world a lifeless husk." She looked around. "Yeah, I'm as tired and as beat up as you guys look right now. But if you think this was bad, the guy behind this is worse." She grimaced. "We need to stay here, at least some of us. The rest need to get out there and spread the word. This is bad news, and if he gets past us, those things will be all over the place. Not just in this world, either."

:'''[[Minerva]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minerva sinks to her knees she's pushed herself very hard as the undead fade and soon the sun is shinign down upon them. The Horned King is at large still but he's been halted she's almost looking forward to pulling a dance shift at the club so she can just forget abotu this. Sure she kept bar ther ebut sometimes it was just fun to get out and shake it. Either way she just happy it's over for the moment. She's going to go to the nearest in drag everyone else there so they can just collapse.