A Researcher's Inquiry VII

A Researcher's Inquiry VII
Date of Scene:	27 February 2014
Location:	Goug - ShinRa HQ - Reception Area
Synopsis:	Rhiannon calls enemies and friends alike to Shinra HQ to hold an open dialogue. ...Things don't quite go as planned. At all. But nonetheless, this turnout could be interesting as well.
Cast of Characters:	Tifa Lockhart, Cirra Constantine, Aerith, Angantyr Vespar, Leida, Rhiannon Zellen, Montag, Chita, Zack Fair, Zero-One
Tinyplot:	A Researcher's Inquiry

---

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Today was the day.

Nearly a week ago, Rhiannon Zellen had put out an open invitation for any and all to come to Shinra HQ in Goug, in which they would have a nice, mature dicussion. Without the need for hauling off to violence without so much as a word of provocation.

That was the plan anyhow.

All visitors here for the sake of this meeting would be lead into the building and up to one of the higher floors by Shinsec. All conventional weapons were to be left at the front desk for retrieval upon departure. Unconventional weapons and magic were strictly forbidden from being used.

To enforce these terms, Shinsec guards were armed to the teeth. Armored vests, visored helmets that hid their faces, machine guns, swords, and of course; Materia.

This was not a game.

They would eventually find themselves lead into a large meeting room. There was a long table situated in the center of the room with various seats placed around it. Much like the setting of an executive meeting.

Seated at the head was none other than Rhiannon Zellen herself. With legs crossed, arms resting in her lap, and her usual lab coat hanging on the chair rather than being worn, it would seem that this meeting actually was happening. If the details before didn't convince them enough.

"Well, hello there. I hope...the accomodations have been to your liking."

If having tense, armed guards leading up the front and the rear were favorable accomodations. Speaking of those guards, they filed into the meeting room and took up the perimeter, silent and ready to take action at any wrong move.

"Now, come on in." The woman said, gesturing to the chairs about invitingly and with a pleasant smile. "Have a seat. And we may begin."

Montag has posed:
Montag is the leader of the Shinsec detail, he knows how bad things could be. Montag should be noticanly the officer bars on his uniform giving him away along with the added sniper rifle across his back, which was in addtional to the standard machinegun, also well the grapple launchers mounted on a harncess over his gear was the most notable give away to him.

He's quiet for the moment as he looks at the people who have come, he's got a job to do, and knows this could end up being a simple talk, or another fine mess.

Chita has posed:
In addition to Rhiannon having already been the meeting room, there was another there present as well, in a chair not directly next to her so much as on the same end of the table, to the side. A Viera who currently looked to not be in the best shape, still bandaged up and in pain from having taken the brunt of the attack from the amalgamation of hearts in Narshe the other day, among other things. He had no armor or any such on, and today his attire mostly consisted of a simple set of loose pants, jeans actually, and a shirt that was loose enough to not really hug against his form, a few sizes too large.
Of course, when all the fuss began and people started to enter he raised up from where he had otherwise been resting his forearms on the table in front of him and sat upright in the chair. He turned just a bit and faced towards the door, waiting and listening, trying to get an idea of how many there were and where they went. His reasons for being here were different than most others, after all.

Leida has posed:
Today is a day of firsts for Leida. Despite being sequestered in Manhattan for the past several months, away from the rough and tumble life of the adventurer she had so briefly attempted to engross herself in, the small girl is the first of the guests to arrive at the massive tower among the scattered remnants of ShinRa's former megacity. How, exactly, she acquired news of the good doctor's invitation while attempting to distance herself as much as possible from such things is anyone's guess.

The sheer size of the building made finding the dauntingly huge tower an easy task. Navigating the twisting streets of Goug failed to provide her any difficulty either, having grown accustomed to sprawling urban areas since her move to the Big Apple. Despite never having set foot in this city before, she finds her way without the slightest hesistation.

When she arrives, there is no hesistation or signs of fear. For the first time since she vanished into the depths of a mundane life, or as close as someone such as herself can manage, Leida is neither timid nor afraid. The girl approaches the guards as if she belongs, quietly following in their guarded ring of guns and grim silence. Their armored visors prevent her from seeing their expressions but none of them give pause at her unique appearance. Perhaps, then, she has been expected.

The diminuative demon slips into the large meeting hall without a word, pausing only to cast a short glance at their host before taking a seat at the far end of the table opposite the scientist and the other guest.

Once she has settled in, sitting as primly as possible in the cushy chair that is much too large for her, Leida's stoic mask finally melts into a coy smile.

"Doctor," she says in a soft playful tone. "Zellen, was it? It has been some time since we last met."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Hours earlier...

A Shinra agent is beaten mercilessly against a wall.

Now, a rather tall and imposing SinSec agent is at the back of the room, posted at the door, a mask covering his face. He is carrying the strange blade/gun combination the SinSec carry, and is scanning people through the door. He is gruff, and to the point, his gaze scanning the room every once in a while...though the viser protects his eyes from what he is really watching.

Somewhere else, the guard awakens in a locker room, tied up. He makes muffled sounds, but with the SinSec on deployment...

For the moment, nothing untold happens.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart always was able to see the Shinra tower from where she worked. Ever since she got in Midgar at least. What part of it wasn't hiding behind the plates at least. And even now in Goug its ever-looming over the town, seen from her bar. Well, she got the invitation, sorta, and given her track record with Shinra, she couldn't pass up the chance of sneaking in as well and snoop on what's going on.

Of course, it would be too simple to spot her if she was dressed as usual. So she tried to look a bit more unremarkable, wearing a hood, and some glasses. Hey, it worked for someone in Smallville, didn't it? As long as someone doesn't look straight at her face she should be okay at least. She moves in to one of the chairs, as far away as she can be to avoid immediate detection at least.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
As the various visitors filter in and begin to take their seats, Rhia's eyes move from side to side, taking in all present. The Shinsec personnel weren't really in her focus at the moment, so that suspiciously tall guard off to the side there was noted, but ignored for now. Of course Montag knew who his men were!

"Leida, my love." The scientist greeted in a similarly playful manner, smile widened a tad at the sight of the girl. "Indeed, it has been too long." Resting a hand against her cheek with her elbow in her lap, the woman continued. "To think that you would show up even. My invitation has stretched further than I predicted it would." Surely that was a lie.

Tifa was given a brief look. Rhiannon's gaze lingered for a second longer than usual, but she simply kept her smile and looked elsewhere after. "Now then! I called this meeting in order to address a few issues that seem to linger."

Her hand left her cheek and went to her chin, rubbing thoughtfully. "Now, I have heard the complaints. That my methods of research are wrong, and that I cannot be allowed to continue to do what I do." There was a second's pause before she added. "Well, now comes the time for you to make yourselves heard." She smiled all over again at that.

"Speak your minds. Tell me, what are you thinking? And if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them."

Zack Fair has posed:
Zack Fair has had a weird week.

Well. Zack Fair has had a weird *life*. This week has just been a capper in the most recent weirdness of said life.

First, it was the phone message - SHOW SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM, with the usual timer. Then it was the Heartless that chased him up and down the World of Ruin, until he managed to arive at Cloud Nine. Since then, he's been staying over at Cloud Nine, sleeping and eating and generally keeping himself busy and around Tifa as often as he can. It's been a nice break from the usual insanity of his life.

The break is over. His phone rang today with a new message - INVADE SHINRA: TODAY ONLY!

Gosh, Zack had thought, that wasn't difficult at *all*.

So, like Tifa, Zack has made himself as inconspicuous as possible. He's hanging out with her, in fact, though he is not wearing a hoodie - instead, Zack has managed to force his mass of hair under a hat (somehow; shrink materia...?), put on a reasonable suit, and make his entry. He's doing his best to remain inconspicuous, checking his phone at every possible interval. He doesn't want to be here any longer than he has to.

He leans over and mumbles something to Tifa.

Chita has posed:
"To think, I thought more would show up." Chita's voice was soft, tired, but he didn't interfere with anything that was going on. In fact, he turned back towards the table and waited silently, listening to what was going on, where it was going on. Such are the problems of one who cannot see. Leida, though? That was a name he hadn't heard in some time. Since he stopped really associating with the Shard Seekers. But who else was it that came? They hadn't made themselves clear on who they were. No speaking, nothing of that sort.

A light shuffle of a hand in a pocket heard a light click and when his hand raised Chita pushed something into his mouth, a piece of gum or some candy or something, though it may be more clear it was likely medicine when he took a drink of the bottled water he had previously had resting between his legs to keep it out of sight and off the table.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The big soldier in the back doesn't do anything...

His eyes moving back and forth behind the mask.

On the inside, light shines, indicating pong is being played if you get /really/ super close.

He sighs, this is going to be one of those missions, he no doubtedly thinks.

He doesn't contemplate shooting Rhi, not at all. Such a silly question!

Leida has posed:
The pair slitted yellow cat-like eyes peeking from just below Leida's haphazard bangs slide halfway closed at the overly friendly moniker but, rather than seem offended, she only looks more amused.

"My love? I remember giving you my blood, not a wedding ring."

The girl leans back in the office chair, allowing herself to sink into the cushions. She takes a few moments to scan the faces of the other occupants, quirking an eyebrow at the pair of totally not suspicious individuals whispering amongst themselves, but otherwise giving little reaction. There were plenty of reasons someone might want to hide their identity in a place like this.

Once Rhiannon lays out the reasoning for their 'invitation', Leida leans forward again, sitting up as straight as she can so her arms are able to rest on the edge of the large table without the position being awkward.

"Yes, I do recall something about that when you first approached me. I have been... ah, 'out of the loop'? - I think that's the term - for quite some time. I must admit to being curious what you have done with my contribution to your research."

Montag has posed:
Montag remains there watching over things as people talk. It can't be seen but he's clearly keeping an eye on everyone here. Montag may or may not be playing pong as well, as he keeps an eye on things too. He's a bit on edge, but it's not so much the people who has come to talk, as the one who asked them here. Montag seems to be concerned but he's not quite sure why.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Oh? You don't feel the same way as I do? What a shame, what a shame!" She just laughed lightly at her own words and shook her head, leaning back in her seat after. Falling silent after a few moments, Rhiannon pondered on the question posed by the girl. "Indeed, what did I do with your contribution to my research." That didn't appear to be a question, with the way it was said.

But soon enough, Leida would have her answer. Reaching forward, Rhia grabbed a small remote from the table and directed it behind her, pressing a button. A large TV screen then descended from the ceiling with a mechanical creak. "Why tell you, when I can just show you?" And with a smile, Rhia hit another button. Following that, a video appeared on screen. It was a recording.

What it showed was the Black Beast's first attack on Goug. The creature was as black as the night, with multiple heads likened to a snake. It was massive, towering over most buildings. The city below was in ruins with helicopters, moogle mecha, and various heroes doing battle with it. The fight eventually came to an end as the creature was felled, and then shrunk down into the shape of an oddly shaped sword.

The feed cut off there.

What followed that was an additional video. This time, the Black Beast was raging in a snowy town that was clearly not Goug. People were running in panic below and several keyblade wielders and their companions could be seen doing battle with the entity in the feed. This one cut off before a victory could be seen, Rhia herself having grown bored of it.

"Does that answer your question?" She asked, smiling towards the girl as if nothing was wrong at all.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
The lights suddenly cut out in the hall, a few seconds of murmurs and worried mumbling about Rhia's presentation/confession and a spotlight turns back on focused on the rafters.

There an armored woman stands with hands on her hips, an although the helmet with it's swept back demon horns covers most of her face, the long white hair spilling down her back might identify her to some people.

"That's all the confession I need. By the Law that I judge, I find you guilty of crimes that endanger the lands under Archades rule and alliance. I judge Constantine place you udner arrest." One hand rests at the odddly hilted sword at her side. "Come along quietly."

"Or don't, please. I haven't had a decent work out in ages."

Zero-One has posed:
Everything goes dark. In the distance, one can hear a low rumble, as of air moving quickly.

It is not the wind.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The man at the door moves forward as Judge Constantine comes down...

And drops the gun.

His hand comes up, grasping a Keyblade, a very familar keyblade.

The weapon points towards the Scientist as he growls a bit.

"Lets not make this a habbit, judge." he says, calmly, "I saw what this woman did to Narshe first hand, and stopped the beast for good there.." he says, as he notices something move..

"Crap." he says, and turns towards the soliders, "Get the people out of here now, /SOMETHING/ you can't fight is coming. Infact...all it wants is her." he the figure turns his attention back towards Rhi.

Chita has posed:
"..."

Confusion was present on the Vieran Judges face as he heard sound suddenly, then someone, a Judge, speaking. Constantine... of Archades? Wait, Goug was aligned with Archades? Shinra was? Moving to stand, suddenly angantyr spoke and Chita growled out a rather foul word before saying, "Guards, someone infiltraded your ranks, whoeover just spoke is not a Shinra Guard, but someone who is out to kill Rhiannon! Protect her!" Moving to stand and trying to place himself between Rhiannong and the now-revealed Angantyr's voice, Chita says towards Cirra.

"You are a woman of the law, yes? Then you know as well as I do that letting someone senselessly kill another you intend to take to justice when you can is not an option. Help me protect her. Besides, that man, last I heard, had a death sentence on his head care of Judge Gabranth himself." Chita's hand reaches out and he tries to summon his Judge Sword to it, but winds up instead grasping it as the weight of it drags it towards the floor, barely able to hold it. "Damn... still too weak..." yet... that sound... "no... damnit, not now..."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart isn't sure what's going on either. She looks toward Zack as they exchange a few whispers, watching over the room. There are many she knows about at least. But still not sure of what the meeting is about. She has that uneasy feeling too.

She looks toward Ang, wondering what he's talking about. Something is coming? She looks at Zack again "What do you make of this?"

Leida has posed:
Leida inclines her head slightly as the screen lowers, curiosity dancing in her inhuman gaze. The girl reclines in her seat as if it were a cushy throne once the picture flickers to life, both hands returning to her lap as she watches the scenes of monstrous devastation unfold in high definition before those gathered in the room.

Oddly, the girl who's usual response at the thought of her darkness being used for harm is to devolve into a quivering pile of timidness and fear, seems completely unphased by what she sees. In fact, she's smiling.

"My... but you do know how to get results. But I -."

The next statement is cut short as the lights go dark. A look of mild concern wrinkles the girl's features in the darkness but even without the lights she can see quite clearly. Her gaze is cast about the room, searching for something that might illuminate the current situation but Cirra's showy introduction does that for her.

The demoness frowns slightly but when she hears a familiar voice ring out from behind her expression shifts to one of true surprise.

"No! Not yet! I'm not ready for them to know!", she hisses softly.

Paralyzed momentarily by indecision, her attention is once more drawn away, this time by something much darker than even the student of Garland's deadly aura. Her eyes widen slowly for a moment as realization dawns on her but her surprise is almost instantly replaced by a wicked grin.

"I see..." she mutters, leaning back into her chair. "Then let us see the fruits of your efforts."

Montag has posed:
Montag says "..."

Several hand signals are made by Montag with little fanfair, it's a command to his men to be on their guard and get ready. Some of the Shinsec's slip, there's a few faint clicks are safeties are flipped on their weapons. Montag does not show outward reactions but he's engaged, if she was going to deploy such a weapon do it on their enemies. Now she's let it lose on their own citizenry, he's not happy but he's got a job to do and he knows what's about to happen. Several of the other Shinsecs shift seemingly unhappy or on edge. They know what's about to happen. Everything is about to hit the fan, Montag also spots footage of himself on this. He's taken note, there are going to be words with his superiors about this he's not sure anyone /knew/ about this and wait she also sicked it on one of their customers? Montag needs a drink, another stiff drink.

The lights go dark his helmets low light systems kick in, and then comes Cirra as she drops int.

"Ma'me keep your weapons where I can see them, you have no jurisdiction here, stand down."

Montag is going for his rifle, he does not sound happy, no he sounds like he's happy at all about this mess. If it's about the invasion or Rhia protecting Rhia? Who knows? Dear heavens, there will be words if he lives through this.

And Then Ang, they do not pay him enough for this.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia remained all too calm as the lights went out. And then Cirra appeared, making her sweeping proclamation to place the scientist under arrest. "Hooooh? Well now, what have we here?" The woman intoned with a fair bit of amusement, yet also curiosity. "Are you not several hundred thousand miles out of your field of jurisdiction?" She asked, smile growing wider all the same.

The big solder in the back suddenly joined the Judge's side, wielding a familiar keyblade, which drew Rhia's attention. "Oh my, so you were here too. As expected, of course." She commented, hand against her cheek. In the meantime, she set the monitor's remote down and casually gave the windows a sidelong glance.

That sounds...

...That wasn't the wind.

"Oh dear." She'd figured that that 'thing' would have stayed put a little while longer. Suppose that things never went so easily, hrm? Chita's proclamations went uncommented by her all the way through. "....My, my, my...Is this how mature, civil discussions are had in your country?" Rhia asked after the Viera was done talking.

Still though, that creature was coming. And at the worst possible time. Sighing lightly, the scientist turned to Leida, listening to her. A small smile was offered before her attention turned to Montag.

"Montag. Prepare your men. Something is coming. Something...dangerous." But it would seem the man was already putting his years of expertise to use.

Good.

Aerith has posed:
Well then, that did it.

Aerith was here, she was listening in, and somehow she hadn't been dragged to some far corner of the R&D labs for further poking. Maybe it was Tifa's presence that made her feel better, but being so close to Rhiannon without doing anything, even after what happened in Narshe, was infuriating.

She was lucky that Chita couldn't see her... or much of anything at all. She could however hear the clicks of weapons as confrontation became inevitable... and her eyes narrowed. "I know exactly what to make of this, Tifa." She turned toward her, her voice still soft. "This is not going to be fun." Not like it was before, but now she would at least have a chance to vent some frustration.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
"My jurisdiction is where ever I see fit." Is Cirra's reply to Montag. "I am a /Judge/ not a police officer." The reveal of Angantyr makes Cirra frown, and she looks at the Veirra Judge protecting Rhiannon. "You two. You aren't my targets today, but if either of you interfer with her arrest...."

THE sound pulls at Cirra's ears, and she draws out the Gunblade from herside.

"...I think perhaps your own crimes have come for you."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr laughs, "Help her? I am going to help you dispose of the witch, once and for all. Those souls...those of Maira's home...and of Narshe! They come witch, today you will pay for your crimes against life itself. There will be no more suffering...save your own." Angantyr says, getting ready to launch the attack.

He looks towards Leida, "I'd suggest staying out of the way, I ain't got nothing aginst you.." a pause, "Though we're overdue aren't we?" He pauses, "Eh, later. Kill witch now, smack Bunny out of tall building. Stop horrible abomination coming to eat anything and everything on the way," Ang has a three point plan.

Zero-One has posed:
A faint rushing noise pushes up against the windows of Shinra HQ, setting the windows to rattle slightly. Nothing unusual, correct?

The important issue comes when one looks out the window. Above the lights of Goug, something approaches.

It is a vaguely humanoid figure that stands approximately twelve feet tall. It seems to be made of a strange, ridged white flesh, innumerable flaps trailing behind it as it rushes at superhuman speed, flickering towards the building. There are ridged, mouthlike maws ridged with square proturbances in a hemispherical pattern around the 'chest' area, with another topping the strange flapping area where a neck and head may be. The arms and legs seem to be conical, solid things, flexing in a strange, boneless manner.

You can hear a faint song cutting through the muzak of Shinra's lobby. A song that tingles at the edge of awareness. Something familiar, but distant, on the edge of memory.

The windows then explode as a keening chorus cuts through the air like a knife, glass shards falling past like a thousand crystals glittering in the night. Those who do not move fast enough might find them cutting into their bodies, propelled with terrible force. There is a voice amidst the terrible song.

we have come for you

<================================> - <<>> - <================================>

- A POWERFUL FOE HAS ARRIVED -

- CHORUS -
- REQUIEM FOR THE LOST -

- PREPARE FOR BATTLE -

<================================> - <<>> - <================================>

BGM: http://youtu.be/VHMQMW8WTYk

Montag has posed:
Montag gets a tip off, he speaks into his much and about the tower shin-sec, drones and a few SOLIDERs the tower's upper levels are going into lock-down as people flee to the safety of the upper levels. Drones are deploying and Montag's men are in the middle of this, I have a job to do. He knows what he and his men have to do, and this is going to be bloody as hell. The Shinsecs weapons are armed ready.

"You have no legal power here Ma'me."

Montag is moving between her and Rhia, his weapons' ready. Montag is a Shinsec but he's an old one, he's lived through the Wutai war it is unknown what he's up to.

He's not going to fire the first shot it seems like, no let the Judge make the first move.

"By Athena..."

Montag mutters as the things comes in, ripping through the wall, the Shinsecs respond rapidly opening fire, bullets are flying at the creature.

"Spread out avoid melee keep at range"

If Montag is going to get bush waked by the other her he shows no signs of concern. He's got a another horror Rhia's birthed to worry about. He'd offer Ang an on the spot contact but he knows damn well Ang would refuse it in a situation like this.

Chita has posed:
"I, too, an a Judge, but not of Achades. Yet you have no ground to stand upon to prance around and assert your law where it pleases. I am quite sure Judge Magisters Zargabaath and Gabranth would both tell you that if given the opportunity. They are proud men, righteous, and they serve Archadia. You, being here, does not serve them in the least, unless it is by order of Archades itself or its' laws and lands. Hold back now or you will do nothing but cause senseless harm and death!"

No one could say Chita wasn't /trying/, even as he tried, blind and injured as he was, to do everything he could to keep more death or suffering from happening. Though it didn't help that the very thing that put him in this state of pain suddenly blew the windows out and he was sent flying from the force of it, skidding across the ground and slowly pushing himself up. "Rhiannon, get out of here NOW! Get somewhere safe! Now is not the time for this!" Even though he could barely lift his weapon Chita still tried his best, a faint glow coming to his body as he tried to push himself up and quickly make his way back towards Rhiannon, listening for some sound to give clue. But in this cluster... in this room, with that giant creature creating so much noise he can barely tell what was going on... it was pointless. He had no idea where anything was right now.

Aerith has posed:
She could feel it coming, a malevolence that wanted to simply eat everything in its path, regardless of who or what it was. And yet...

She couldn't understand just what her senses picked up. Did it hunger, yes. Did it rage, yes. But....

It was all she could think of before the windows shattered forcing her to whirl her staff to protect herself from the shards. "Well, this is certainly an interesting development." Her materia flared beneath the sleeves of her jacket, and defensive spells manifested around those nearby.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart quickly jumps over her chair, using it to get cover when the doors explode. She doesn't want to be in the blast of whatever comes out, considering her position. She kicks Zack's hair down too, so he tumbles backward with her. A bit of a surprise maybe, but she's not taking chances here.

"Well you were right about that at least Aerith. Guess the party's just starting after all." She sighs. Its always one thing or another here. The hoodie gets torn a bit with the few stray pieces that fly her way. "Guess we'll have to fight our way out. At least its not fighting Shinsecs..."

She kicks her chair up, and with a strong spinning kick, she sends it flying like a projectile at the incoming danger, aiming it at the residual clouds of the explosion.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
And as the creature burst into the office, glass schrapnel flying off every which way, Rhia could only sigh as she looked on at the appearance of the the thing she had a hand in creating. A piece of glass flew by and grazed her cheek. Blood was drawn and ran down her cheek, but much like before, it simply stopped, and then reversed flow back into her face, the wound closing afterward.

"Truly, what a troublesome thing..." She mumbled, eying the chaos as Montag and his men opened fire, as well as Chita preparing himself for combat. She'd heard his call to retreat to a safe place, but... "Retreat? Where? Your judge friend and her violent associate stand between me and the door." The woman cracked a smile at that, unmoving from her chair still, even as combat started up.

"I suppose this is what one calls a rock and a hard place?" She giggled as her own out of place joke and shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "That being the case..." Not finishing her sentence, she waved a hand, index finger extended with a wisp of magic trailing along. She was casting a few helpful spells on Montag and Chita. Her only allies at the moment she supposed.

Leida has posed:
At Angantyr's warning, Leida gives a feigned show of obedience, inclining her head towards him in a concilatory manner.

"I would not dream of interfering, Angantyr."

The girl's thin-lipped smile turns positively mischievious and her eyes begin to glow with a soft inner light. A faint titter flows through the room in an ominous manner, its haunting tone echoing in an unnatural way as if coming from the shadows themselves.

"I do not think it will be necessary."

There is a short instance of silence before the wave of discordant noise hits shattering the walls of glass into a shotgun blast of razor-thin shrapnel. The small demon girl doesn't even flinch as she turns her gaze towards the twisted flying horror. The darkness all around her seems to grow deeper, more substantial as if wrapping her in a cocoon and the flying glass projectiles impact soundlessly against the walls of shadow, sinking into the blackness as if striking tar. Once the danger has passed, the shards rain down to the floor around her in a semi-circle, marking the edge of her defensive barrier in tinkling glass.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra is ready to ignore Chita, but then the sound of song pulls her attention away. She looks at the windows as it draws closer. "Get the civlians out of here..." She says grimly. "Get them out-!"

The windows break in, glass shattering in every direction. THe Chorus rings in Cirra's ears in a strange deafening non-sound that makes her cringe. She can see this thing, but it doesn't look right. Everything in the universe has ....lets call it a Value. A core that resonantes in various ways. This one does not. A zero value. Nothing.

"The void..." Cirra scowls at Angantyr. "Sorry, but I'm not helping with revenge, not for you." The dark knight hold out one hand and begin chanting udner her breath, setting up battle spells in preperation for having to fight this...non-creature. "I won't let this thing run amok while there are civillians in its way."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr scoffs, "Revenge? This isn't about revenge, it is about STOPPING that monster." he points at Rhiannan...

"It wants /HER/." He says looking at Chita, "You are next, you darkness supping conspiratior. You /aid/ the Shadow Lords, you daft fool, and you protect that woman who continues to unleash horrors on this world.."

There is a pause...Cirra makes a point, a good one...

"Tch.." he says, gripped by indecissiveness for a brief moment...the woman had a point, if the monster continued to exist, it would continue to threaten civilians...innocents.

"Alright, you win Judge, my wrath can hold for the moment...but if she escapes, on your head it will be." he turns, towards the monster and channels the space between stars.

Those with senses can tell it is much more focused, even as it wraps itself into his armor, he uses it to enhance his physical characteristics, arming himself with the strength of the Abyss...but something seems to protect him from being consumed, even as the Keyblade points towards the beast.

"I am getting tired of cleaning up the messes of this witch."

Zero-One has posed:
The chair spins, shattering against the pure white flesh of the creature and leaving a deep indentation. It pauses, the sounds altering slightly as it seems to fold slightly, as if inspecting the wound.

This becomes less relevant as the Shinsec open fire. Bullets hammer into the creature, and Montac puts a powerful sniper round into the thing, knocking it back as the voices shriek and shrillly cry out in pain and hollow anger. How does it see? Where is its face? All seems to come from the many mounts on the creature as it turns, the voices whispering.

you cannot run

you will pay

monster

savage

Unfortunately for those present, it does not appear to be selective in its rage, as the howling voices focus into shrieking, painful waves of sound, roiling bolts of shimmering air slamming into the hall like cannonballs, shredding anything they strike without regard for the local area or anyone between it and Rhiannon.

Like most of the room.

Chita has posed:
Quite surprised that he heard Angantyr suddenly back off trying to kill Rhiannon and instead seemingly focus on the lost hearts beast, Chita didn't look that gift horse any near the mouth, or face for that matter, despite the threats or talking bigger than one is. Instead, since he was so confused as to where everything was except one thing, he focused on that. Chita focused solely on the creation that had went astray, of the hearts that were in pain. "Is this what you want?! To hurt anyone that gets in your way! That doesn't make you any better than she is! It will not make you feel better, and it will only hurt others more! All these people have friend, family... children... all you would do is deprive them of one another, just like she did to you, to your families! Revenge is not the answer, justice is! Law, order!"

By chance or purpose the attacks from the best somehow missed him, which was a blessing, and allowed him to push forward closer before saying, "Please... let me help you like I tried to do for so long. I am still willing to find a way." And when he finally got closer to the chaos, near the end of the table where Rhiannon had been originally, he held out a hand, even though he was pretty sure it wouldn't care, to offer the creature help. Chita knew the pain it was going through after all.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr bounces off the walls and the ceiling, because air juggling is super overpowered and some people can't write fair and balanced systems.

Angantyr, manages to pry himself off of the ceiling, growling with annoyance, and Dives towards the ground, aiming to cause a shockwave of power as he swings the massive keyblade, aiming to tear through the beast as he swings upwards, causing a massive wave of darknes to leak from where he swings, aiming to consume the beast from the inside out. Then he swings again, aiming to blow the beast back, aiming to drive it towards the witch, because why can't he do two things at once?

"OH MY GOD, GET OFF THE GODS <GOOSEHONK>ING SOAPBOX!" Angantyr shouts, "KILL IT FASTER!"

Aerith has posed:
The voices...

Spirits, she could hear the voices, feel their intent. When Angantyr said they wanted Rhiannon, he wasn't kidding. The Cetra had half a mind to simply let the thing, whatever it was, eat the scientist. It would be a fair and fitting end to this, and would solve so much.

And then she heard Chita, and smiled. "Poor guy..."

Her attention snaps toward Tifa as she gets rammed into by the shockwaves. Her spirit falters slightly, but still holds strong. Aerith gives her a bit of a boost anyway.

Pale green light flashes in an aura around miss bar lady, and she would feel somewhat refreshed.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart gets a hit in at least, even if its using an expedient. But the counter attack doesn't give her much chances of escape, after she got rid of her 'shield' like that. The sonic attack doesn't really bounce off shields anyway, so there's that.

She shouldn't have come here, she sees that plainly now. She just wishs he can get out of here now. "I've seen this before, that feeling..." She looks at Aerith, but she can't really put her finger on it. But no matter, punchy time. She needs to put a bigger dent in it. She makes sure she doesn't get in the line of fire from the Shinsecs either, as she rushes in low, driving a hard punch upward, and then a kick while its airborne, pushing it higher and better into the Shinsec aims.

Having a backup like Aerith is always beneficial in this kind of battle too, helps close up the nastier wounds at least.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
The voices. Some of then actually sounded familiar. "Ah, yes, I recognize you. And you. And you. You as well." There was a smile as the scientist settled her gaze upon the creature. "How is that body treating all of you? It must be entirely too cumbersome to have countless hearts and thoughts moving one body. How do you cope?"

And even as death was staring her in the face, Rhiannon asked questions of the entity, as if this were some manner of casual interview. With her question spiel interrupted by a familiar destructive wave of sound, the woman simply watched. Once Angantyr attempted to toss the creature her way, she cast a wind spell, rising up into the air and out of the main range of the attack. Her hands covered her ears until the sound passed and it's body passed, if it would.

"My, my...such power. Intriguing. And yet, all you wish to do is kill me? What a waste of potential. Surely you could do so much more than that." Angantyr is given a look then. "I would ask if you minded not trying to bowl me over with with unknown entities, but I am rather sure you do." With another chuckle, Rhia waved her hand again, releasing another round of supportive spells on Montag alone this time. He was at least being useful in her eyes.

Leida has posed:
Leida continues to watch as the unholy abomination unleashes its supernatural vengence upon anyone and everything that tries to get in its way. Shrill explosions of sound and glass continue to rain around her in a storm of death, twinkling impotently against her defenses. Its obsession with revenge is what drives the monster, gives it power - with a little help from her own essence.

To think that the scientist was quite so ambitious as to simply add her blood into whatever twisted formula created this creature, as if it were merely an extra spice to be thrown into a recipe. Humans are always so unpredictable. But that's what makes them so fun.

Silently, the demon continues to watch from the sidelines, waiting to see how this drama will unfold. She almost wishes she had some of that wonderful snack she was introduced to in Manhattan. Popcorn, yes, that was it.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
It's a good thing Cirra got those spells up when she did. The shock from the beast knocks Cirra over and into a table, spilling its contents. "Tch..." She quickly stands up again and brings the Gunblade up in both hands, moving in to slice upwards diagonaly. She pulls back one foot and spins about on her heel, swinging the blade out one handd to achieve maximum speed as the weapon comes for the Nothing again.

A hop back and Cirra swings the blade around and stabs the weapon into the ground, firing it's gunpowder cartridge once, and sending a shockwave of runic energy through the ground and up into the creature to try and eliminate the effet of its song.

Montag has posed:
Montag says "Already on it evacuation and lock-down is under way!"

There's something Cirra and Montag agree on, creature first, other problems second He makes note Chita, Ang and Cirra, for the moment things are under control. Just for the moment the other Shinsecs are moving to try to keep mobile and actually watch their fire about the melee combatants.

Montag is getting smacked about but, the Shinsec knows how to roll with it. He can't argue with the creature's comment about what Rhia is but he's not about to send his men into the graveyard over this if he has to and President Shinra needs to be informed about what's going on with Rhia. Montag is not sure if anyone high up is aware of this. If she was going to make a horror why couldn't she have thrown it at Wuatai, no one would miss that wretched place. He shoves such thoughts out of his mind as he goes up he comes back down had and he's got his rifle in hand as he lines up a new shot with the creature.

"Put that thing down!"

Some Shinra go flying some are down, but not dead they grown trying to get up while one is dragged away by another. Montag pulls the trigger sending another single round into the creature. Support magic is flying about, and thanks to Rhia Montag seems to be doing a bit better to her, but it's clear the earlier spell may be helping the grunts at the very least.

Zero-One has posed:
The Darkness reaches out... And finds nothing there. The imyou knew of her sins</span>
and you say nothing

Tifa hammers into the beast, her Zangan-Style Martial Arts making a powerful argument in why it should worry. However, the impacts only drive it back as it is flung through the room, the creature oddly light as it takes the strikes.

you know her crimes
and you hear nothing

Cirra unleashes the power of her deadly Gunblade, but the runic assault strikes a defensive field, a hexagonal barrier briefly flashing into existence and spreading outwards, dissipating the assault around it.

you know her evil
and you see nothing

There is a sudden rise in intensity as the creature hangs over the center of the room, sound swirling around it and growing rapidly.

all that matters is vengeance
eye for an eye
heart for a heart

And then there is wave of annihilating sound, a rising blast of force that begins buckling the floor and crushing anything in its path. Some are more fortunate than others.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grits her teeth as another sonic disturbance rams her way, this time in her direction! Her ears are tormented by the sound, but she remains standing, her eyes narrowed. The voices are right... they are deadly, horribly right.

And yet Rhiannon seems unaffected by any of it.

Aerith knows it can't hear her, so she doesn't respond. But...

Someday she would answer that call. Just not now.

"This isn't the time," she muttered as she weaved spells, making her best attempt to defend those who tried to stop this from getting worse.

Chita has posed:
"Stubborn... but so am I. I will stop you from making this mistake, and I will save you, wether you like it or not!" Chita growled out, somehow missed by the attacks again. Was this thing not attacking him on purpose? That was something. That meant it wasn't blind rage, it was focused... focused enough to knowt that Chita meant it no harm despite it all. "So go away and quit hurting everyone else but Rhiannon until such a time as I can save you from your own misery!" Gripping the Judge sword tighter Chita finally did something. He leapt straight towards the creature, right into the fray, before bringing his sword straight overhead and down, trying to pierce through the creatures defenses. "Suffering begets more suffering, and violence more violence! The cycle has to stop somewhere and if you won't do it yourself, damnit, I will do it for you! It stops now! No more bloodshed!" After the sword slammed towards the creature, Chita slammed down towards the long desk beneath them, the conference table, and tried to slam it with all his might. He was hoping that it would snap and somehow hit the creature of hearts, trying to knock it back out the window and away from the conference room.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Apparently, being airborne herself has put her out of the attention of the beast, so she escapes its latest attack. But in that moment, she comes slamming back down into the beast's back with her fists, staying there for a few moments as she drives several more punches right down into it, and then jumping back away before it decides to do something else that would be nasty. Never trust the darkness to play fair either way.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Really?"

Rhia arched a brow at the voices, their poem of despair that reached her ears. But nonetheless, she wasn't moved much at all. "You have countless souls existing inside of you, and yet...this is the aggregate total of your ambition?" She clucked her tongue almost mockingly, shaking her head in a pitying fashion. "And here I thought I created something greater than that."

Smile returning, Rhiannon simply watched as it let out another destructive sonic wave, aiming to destroy anything in it's path. At first, it almost looked like she was torn apart, but in the blink of an eye, Rhia was instead behind the creature, casually examining one of it's arms closely. "Truly, mommy is disappointed. You should aspire for greater things than petty revenge."

"You could do...so much more. You could be so much more...And yet, you chase me around like a puppy chasing it's mother's tail." Giggling at that, she added. "It is rather adorable, but nonetheless..." She wasn't speaking in the interest of her well being. Or it's. It seemed more like she was speaking purely out of scientific interest.

Evil science...is scary.

Leida has posed:
"Oh my."

Leida's tone of feigned concern slips out just as the beast unleashes its cacophanous detonation. There is movement in the walls of darkness that surround the small girl, shifting shapes that take form from the shadows. A dull and sickly purple glow erupts from the nothingness to engulf the demon and the hammering waves of sound smash uselessly against the fel energies that protect her.

The same cannot be said for the building, however. The floor crumples and shatters beneath the pressure of the horrible screams, adding concrete and plaster shards to the cocktail of shrapnel already swirling about the room.

The dark unholy cocoon of light slowly unfurls in the wake of this newest assault, massive arms of inky claws engulfed in purple fire extending outwards to anchor themselves in the walls. A new wave of darkness fills the room, both similar and yet completely different than that pouring uncontrolled from the abomination. At the center, the arms connect to the young demoness' back, holding her aloft above the ruined meeting hall floor.

Leida smirks at the creature, waggling a finger at it like a naughty child. "Ah, ah, ah... temper."

Her gaze shifts to Rhiannon once more, looking rather disappointed. Her previous playful demeanor vanishes almost instantly. "I expected more, doctor. Can you not even manage control over a simple beast such as this?"

Montag has posed:
Montag is being agressive as heck, he stood and fought the day his world fell as many of the shinsec here did with them. A shocking number of them made it through the darkness together they are not gong down here. The creature that science has brought into being. Or prehaps it is more. He knows what she did he knows what he has to do but there's a rule of law in the Shinra. He prays to Minerva that? the Presitent will put a stop to stop to this...later. For now he's got ot fight.

This time he's reloadin and prepare and he's getting the snot knocked out of him too it might take him a moment to recogver from what just happend to him.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
The strange anti-sound hits Cirra again, with much more devestating effects this time. The shockwave slams the Judge down into the floor, smashing the wind out of her lungs and leaving her breathless. The magical shield she put up flickers under the assault, appearing as concentric runed circles in the air. Playing this gentle is getting Cirra no where.

The Judge sucks in a breath through her teeth and kicks up her feet, splitting her legs in the air to spin them around striking at the back of the creature's knees. She hops back to her feet and swings the gunblade, trying to slice through the Nothing's arm and then brings the weapon around and down, aiming to cut through the beast's neck. "HHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAA!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr growls...lucky him, even as the healing magic washes over him, he focuses his will.

Angantyr steps into it's line of attack again, before allowing his Keyblade to explode...but not in darkness, but in light. Brilliant energy channels through the blade, primordial power flowing through it, and it doesn't burn his hand off. There is no mastery to this, not yet, but it is brutal, powerful, and with a sudden vicious swing, he aims to drive the blade in a overheaded slash down towards the front of the monster.

"BE FREE!" He demands, aiming to drive the powerful blade of light right through it, aiming to split it in two...and free the souls with the power of the keyblade. "I'll carry your revenge on for you."

Zero-One has posed:
Chita strikes, unleashing the sum total of his attempt to stop the beast from slaying the scientist... And shattering through the defensive barrier to cleave into its skin, opening another rend in it with his massive blade. The Chorus slumps slightly, staggering in the air under the blow... But it does worse than respond to Chita.

It doesn't respond at all. It seems it is out of things to say to the repeated pleas. If he's going to get through to the Chorus, he's going to need to try something more persuasive.

Tifa, meanwhile, keeps hammering into it relentlessly. This is proving effective, even if the creature is insanely durable. As long as it is focused on Rhiannon, maybe she can simply bring it down without further harm...

Cirra then rises from behind, showing her stern intensity as she hammers forward, cleaving into the back of the its legs. Gots of wisping blackness quickly dissipate, as it arches backwards, leaving itself wide open for Cirra to cleave one arm away. The eppendage severs, flying away and dissolving into a strange nothingness, vaporizing rapidly.

It's then that someone might look inside and notice:

The thing is hollow. There is literally nothing inside it. No viscera, no darkness, no energy. Just... Nothing. And that's when Cirra cleaves into the neck, creating another powerful gash through the creature, but not severing the monstrous neck. Not quite.

Angantyr leaps up, cleaving into the Choir with a blade of light, untamed, overwhelming, scything another large rip into the creature. The Choir begins to sound like a pipe organ out of tune as it howls, the rip flapping in the air as it screams...

But as Rhiannon touches it, it jerks backwards as if she was made of pure fire. Her disappointment seems to not register on the Choir as it seems to howl endlessly, focusing itself on the person who just put themselves in a position where it can hit them... without hitting anyone else for once.

Hope you didn't need that wall.

Chita has posed:
Well, that seemed to hit something, somewhere... something happened. Yet... it didn't respond. It didn't respond to him striking it. He knew he was weak but was that truly all it was? Only... Rhiannon spoke, to it. ... she was right next to it. No, why would she...! "No, don't!" and it was too late, he heard the creature turn and then pure pain flooded him, so much noise at once, his ears covered as he doubled over and tried to clench his hands over them. Damn his ears, one of the few times he hasn't wanted to hear things so much better than others did.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
The collateral damage is kind of getting out of control now. Even for Rhia. This /was/ this her place of work and residence. She didn't need more to answer to President Shinra for after this. And she was sure word was going to get around now. "Oh my, so stubborn you are." Leida's comment about her being unable to control this thing earned the girl a shrug. "Alas, it is a prototype. I have little means to ascertain it's makeup without a...thorough examination."

Her attention was drawn back to the creature at that point as if unleashed another fierce sound wave. Oh boy. More collateral damage. The wall was completely destroyed, as well as the office next door. It looked like Rhia was blown through the wall as well, but once again, it only lasted a moment before the scientist was standing right next to the creature, staring off at it's handiwork.

"My, my...You certainly do hold a great measure of power though. Imagine if I had actually gotten hit?"

Wait, what? How did she do that!?

Smiling like the cheshire cat, Rhiannon once again placed a hand onto this unknown being, said hand beginning to glow with light. "Now, I would very much like to examine you, so...would you be a dear and go to sleep for mommy?" The light intensified at that point, beginning to leak out rays from between before a flash of searing, holy light exploded from between them, aiming to inflict damage upon it.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr watches...

Damn, it wasn't enough! Damn it all..

Worse, Rhiannon is doing something to it.

He was drained from that show of force, so he draws the power of darkness back into himself, once more trying to draw upon the power from the abyss itself.

He levels the weapon again, refocusing himself. He can't let her get ahold of it...the Black Beast was bad enough? This would be horrific.

Leida has posed:
The demon girl flinches slightly as the critically injured abomination unleashes one final bellow of defiance at the woman it blames for the torment of its existence, her eyes sliding half shut in annoyance. But even this last stand earns it little prestige as the tricky scientist somehow manages to avoid even that.

"Tch. This won't do at all," she mutters as Rhiannon deals the fatal blow to her creation.

The massive skeletal arms of ink and shadow withdraw from their handholds in the wall, gently lowering Leida back to the crumpled floor before with drawing into her body as if sucked into an invisible abyss. She steps over several jutting piles of rubble and debris to stand next to the doctor and her creation, watching it carefully in its death throes and pondering a way to salvage her investment in this debacle.

Zero-One has posed:
The Choir writhes as Rhiannon grasps it. The voices shrill, babbling as they feel what is coming.

mother
help
it hurts
we will not forget

The light grows...

leave me alone
we are
it hurts
no
where am i
father
nothing

And there is a terrifying thunderclap, an explosion of light and force that consumes the Choir.

And from that explosion, there is a whipping noise, a shape whirling past the battlers, across the room to bury itself into the floor. The object is a large, ornate blade of pure, featureless white, apparently made in a single piece. The pommel is flared, almost heart-like in shape, the grip ridged, and the crosspiece spiked. From the center of the crosspiece, a long, heavy-looking blade extends, wavering in a flamberge pattern as the flared point keeps it anchored into the floor.

Steam and nothingness wafts up around it.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia watched as the creature went through it's 'death' throes, before consuming everything in a blinding flash of light. She simply closed her eyes and waited for everything to recede. And once it did, she opened them and looked off towards where she'd heard the noise go. "Hrm."

Eyeing the blade, Rhia approached and set a hand upon the handle. "So. This is what you turned into." She examined the blade further, lifting it just a little to check out the lower features. "........." And then she smiled.

"Montag. This meeting is adjourned. I have much to do, so...do escort our guests out, would you?"

She looked pointedly at all present, especially Angantyr, Cirra, and Aerith. Tifa was noticed a long while ago as well. "It would seem that my research has not yet ended."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Theres... nothing inside?

Cirra stares as she cuts open the Chorus, "What the hell is this...?" She stares as Rhianno approaches the nearly debilitated thing and grasps it. One eye staring at the so called scientist through the slit in her helmet. Her voice comes low and demanding, rising to cressendo to be heard of the lightning storm unleashed on the beast. "what The HELL DID YOU /MAKE/!?"

Zero-One has posed:
As Rhiannon touches the blade, the weapon crackles, and writhes in her hand as if in pain. There is a dull explosion of energy, as if it is trying to keep her away from itself.

Montag has posed:
There's a lot of damage everywher the sounds of the wounded can be heard, montag barks out an order.

"Covering fire! I'm gong to line up a shot."

those Shinsec in the fight comply opening fire but it seems to not be enough he lowers his rifle for the moment holding back the shot and watches as siomehing appears on the ground he holds up his hand to keep his men back as he takes a step towards it.

"Yes ma'me."

He looks to the he turns he barks some orders to get the wounded out of here then turns to the guests.

"So what's it going to be? You going to depart or am I going to have to make it a bit more forceful. I'd prefer to end this peacefully."

Montag doens't like this he's got the willies but idf he did something stupid here he'd end up with no where to go.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart has a bit of shiver at the look she's given from Rhiannon. Despite trying to hide herself... she probably got spotted. All she managed to see today was even more chaos created at the hand of a mad scientist... at least she knows who it comes from now. Makes for easier tracking of potential threats at least... She looks at Aerith "You heard the lady... we should leave while we're ahead."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grits her teeth. So there is another one... and this one is far, far more dangerous. They need to get out of here while they still could. She takes one good look at Chita, without saying anyting.

He has to understand what she is... one day he will. To respond to Cirra's question though...

"She made a nightmare. An emotionless, heartless, soulless nightmare that's turned into a weapon. And she's going to use it." Aerith spares Montag a glance. He had to do something sooner or later, she could tell he was not excited about being here.

"Agreed, Tifa. Before she makes us her first subjects."

Leida has posed:
Leida steps sideways as the nothingness dies in a sharp pop, barely avoiding the whirling blade that is tossed through the air like a buzzsaw in its demise. Her demonic eyes latch onto the object curiously and she turns to draw closer. Her gaze narrows sharply, however, when the scientist gets in her way.

"A moment, if you will, 'my love'."

The small demoness stalks purposefully towards Rhiannon, her mischievous smile returning all the quicker when she sees the blade's adverse reaction to being handled. The sickly purple fire from before begins to flicker around her outline in a nimbus of dark energy.

"I believe that the claim to that weapon is mine."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Cowards." He says, towards Aerith and Tifa. "Run if you want...but I am not going to allow that weapon to exist as I draw breath." he says, the keyblade is leveled again. The ShinSec get in his way...and he frowns, "So I see, that is what the Shinra is all about, they care nothing for their own people..." the ground shakes, Angantyr focuses his power through the weapon, as Leida makes the claim...well, it would come to this, he supposed. He wondered when she grew a spine, or rather...when the demon got control again. However, he is more powerful...but he is drained. It would be iffy, but he can't afford to stop here. He doesn't know where the Judge stands either...

Angantyr barrels through, fine, then lets do this..

He aims, not to strike the guards, but to break through their forces, aiming to swing the blade in a downwards strike...he aims to try and strike the blade with everything he has left.

Aerith has posed:
Coward she might be, but after seeing what Rhiannon was capable of here, there was no way she would stick around to become a science fair project again. One day, it would happen... just not today.

But she can't help but watch as he strikes, trying to do to this weapon what he'd done to the Black Beast. She took a quick glance around the room... the soldier, the judge, Rhiannon, and Leida. Leida especially, since her aura had changed radically.

What happened was anyone's guess, but Aerith did not like his chances. "Wait," she muttered. "I want to see this. But get ready to move just in case this goes bad."

Chita has posed:
Slowly pushing himself up, Chita listens as the chaos died down and people spoke. Wait... it turned into something else? Another weapon? Heh... when would this madness end. Not sure what to make of it, he heard Rhiannon approach the sound that impacted nearby, the Shinsec move to get in the way, Leida say something about it being hers and... everyone else saying they were going to leave, except Angantyr. That Judge was currently unaccounted for as to what they would do.

"No, none of you are going to do a damned thing to it, take it or otherwise! You already unleashed that beast on us once, Angantyr, and you will not do it again!" Quickly jumping towards the weapon and stumbling just a bit on some rubble on the ground, as Angantyr tried to get through Shinsec towards them, he said, "Give me the weapon, Rhia, now, or move away so I can get it myself!" It wasn't a grab as in 'I'm going to take this and run' so much as he seemed to have some idea regarding it. Plus... with him having the weapon, it was two targets, not just one, for those interested.

Montag has posed:
Montagsays "Think what you like I got a job to do."

There will be hell to raise, he is going to possibly chew the higher ups faces up but one thing at a time and knowing where Rhia is means he can keep an eye on what she's doing. He watches Ang make his choice, he moves, his reflexes are not inhuman, yet? He's damn fast the rifle's moved up into firing postion and he fires off a shot he'd loaded to deal with the creature there's. He pulls the triger, there's a thunder crack a the round is fired.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"What did I--Whoa ho!" The burst of energy forced Rhia's hand off the blade, and she frowned, disappointed. "Still stubborn I see." She mumbled, shaking her hand a little and letting the sword be.

Her gaze flitted to Cirra and she smiled. "Simply, a scientific curiosity." That wasn't much of an answer. But it would have to do as her attention then switched to Leida.

"Oh?" Curiosity overwhelming, Rhia held her hands up in a motion that pretty much said. 'go ahead'. She took a step or two back to give Leida room. "Well then, my love. Do go ahead and try. Even if I can't touch it, seeing it from afar is enough for me." And in the meantime, she watched the others file out...of the wrecked room. Sheesh, this was going to cost another fortune.

Thankfully Shinra had plenty of those.

Angantyr though began to barrel through, aiming to do just as he'd done back in Narshe; put an end to her scientific dreams early. And yet...she didn't lift a finger to stop him. Between Leida, Shinsec, and Chita. What did she have to do anyway?

"Ahhhh, as violent as usual I see." The woman commented from off to the side, hand resting against her cheek as she took in the proceedings with an almost casual air.

Glancing at Chita, she simply rolled her eyes. "Well, I currently have no say in this matter. I would say that you would need to go through your dear friend, Angantyr, my love, Leida, and our ever capable Montag."

Leida has posed:
"I think not."

Gone is the usual childish playfulness in Leida's tone as she bares her proverbial fangs at those attempting to get between her and the dark blade. Her aura of hazy energy flares from a faint tingling sense of unease to a roaring bonfire of swirling negative power. Black skeletal hands of ink and purple fire erupt from the ground, dozens of grasping clawed limbs that attempt to latch onto the legs and feet of both Angantyr and Chita and pin them down or atleast slow them for a few moments.

The massive demonic arms of ink emerge from her back and shoot forward, some filling the air around the blade in a protective sheath with others attempt to swat away the would-be interlopers. Leida herself leaps, pulled foward by her supernatural limbs towards the blade, stretching out her hand for its handle.

This could be just the thing she needs... the final item to prepare the way.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
THe fighting breaks out again, Leida goes for the sword of nothingness. Cirra's eyes narrow as Montag says 'I got a job to do'.

"So do I."

Cirra clenches her fist as darkness curls around it, her eyes glowing golden like a Black Mage's. She reaches her hand out towards Leida as if to grasp her at this distance and then slams down. Gravity itself attempting to drag her to the ground.

"I'm going to put that thing in a deep dark hole!" Cirra spins around, smashing debries with her gunblade, sending the chunks flying at the demoness. "And if you don't want to be in one too, get out of my way!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Guns start leveling on Angantyr, he fights through it, even as he comes up on some poor ShinSec guard, he punches him right in the face. He attempts to break through the line, even as darkness from Leida tries to slow him down, he trunts, his fist swinging as they latch on...the strength of the Dark Knight simply seems to be too much to be hindered as such. He roars, unwilling to stop even as darkness tries to sap his life away, and he growls again, "IF YOU THINK THAT IS ENOUGH, LITTLE DEMON, YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN!" he growls, "It seems I failed to instill enough lessons in you...or someone else beat me to the punch." he says, "And you...Rabbit. You're interfearance will end now. You call me the one to blame for this creature, but if I had not stopped the Black Beast, it would have /consumed more hearts/. This creature would have been stronger...but you continue to blame me, while you STAND with Shadow Lords?!" he says, as the brilliant energy of the Keyblade shines again. He roars, running full speed as the light seems to trail behind him.

"I will not allow ANY MORE INNOCENTS TO BE TAKEN BY THIS WITCH! REMEMBER MY NAME, SHINRA! I AM ANGANTYR VESPAR...STRENGTH TEMPERED BY COMPASSION!" he swings the weapon, a brilliant light as the weapon litterally seems to be extended, aiming to swing in a wide arch. The light doesn't just tear through things, but litterally everything infront of him.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's eyes widened. This was no longer a good place to be. She'd seen his Tyrant Breaker before, and knew of its devastation. But she had to watch... so she shielded herself and Tifa from the devastation. At the very least, she would know who came out with the weapon in the end, so she could do something about it later, depending on the results.

Besides... she was worried about Chita. It was certain that he was not taking this well, and having a keyblade leveled at him did not make things any better.

There was no getting involved for her. So as the debris bounced off of her magical barriers, she watched and waited.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"Oh dear...all of this chaos..."

Rhia had fallen back to a far end of the room, seating herself on a miraculously still intact office chair. Crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap again, she took in the scene happening before her eyes. "Nothing is more entertaining than the squabbling of mortal beings. Vying to prove that their way is true and just...Mhmhmhm~"

An amused giggle followed. She didn't really care at this point what happened. Well, of course she had an interest in the sword, so it going into the hands of someone who wouldn't destroy it would be ideal. But for now...

She'd watch and wait.

Chita has posed:
Suddenly he felt something surrounding him and Chita curled up a bit, trying to guard himself from the attack and grunting in pain as it tried to claw at him and hold him to the ground. Of course, much at the same time he got pinned down, Angantyr started gain, stroking his ego by pretending he was compassionate. Compassionate even as earlier he claimed the only one suffering would be Rhiannon, or constantly trying to kill others. He took a chance and summoned his weapon before throwing it straight towards Angantyr, the Judge Sword passing harmlessly through to cut away at his defenses as he curled up and took a painful attack.

He still stood, though.

"Yes, I blame you, you dumb, arrogant bastard! All you have done for so long is try to murder and kill your way through anything that gets in front of you! I have been working for nearly the last half year to keep any more bloodshed from happening and when you destroyed the blade in Narshe, you unleashed all the pent-up suffering hearts inside before I could find a way to end their pain! You released them, and they came back as this! NOT AGAIN! YOU WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN! GO PLAY HERO SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Not having any other weapons, Chita pulled the only thing in his inventory out, a piece of a broken spear. It was one broken in half long ago, the top half. He never used it because he had other weapons, but now, thanks to Rhiannon's idiocy in calling this meeting, he had none. Except this. "The only reason I left you alone before was because Maira begged and begged me not to turn you into Archades, not to execute the warrant for your death! I am through, I have tried to deal with you for far too long and been far too lenient!" The spear fragment glowed as he quickly slashed away the magic arms and such holding him down before jumping back and throwing the spear straight for Angantyr. This spear, unlike so many others before, unlike so many recent fights... wasn't to defend. He was aiming to gut Angantyr with it here and now to prevent any more issues from coming up. He'd have to deal with the remorse later.

Remorse, even for him.

Montag has posed:
Montag is already reloading his rifle again as things are going mad.

"Miss Zellen I suggest you withdraw from here right away."

he's tot to keep doing his job, there will be much booze later for now he's linng up his shot he takes aim at Ang and snaps off a shot at him, before moving his aim to someone else he seems to have someone else in his sights too, that being Ledia from the looks of it here. He opens fire without another word on her as he pulls back he's got others to deal with he listens to Chita but doesn't know much about what he's saying. He doesn't encounter those people very often honestly and he wants to see this mess cleaned up sooner rather than larter, the shell casing form his shots have hit the floor at this point and he's already moving to reload.

Leida has posed:
Completely focused on the two obvious threats to the sword, Leida is caught completely offguard when Cirra steps into the fight as well. The gravity blast slams her down hard, further shattering the already ruined floor and peppering the small girl with dozens of tiny cuts. Black blood flies from the wounds, spattering the area around her with with hissing droplets that scour the ground.

A girlish squeal escapes the tiny demon as she bounces and comes to a halt, her breakneck rush for the blade stopped several feet short. It doesn't take her but a moment to recover, however, and Leida turns to face the new threat with a wry grin.

"Human, you wield the darkness as if it were a blunt club like some sort of muscle-bound ogre. Typical of your foolish kind. Allow me to show you how a true artist wields the shadows!"

The wounds littering Leida's body simply seal themselves shut before the eyes of all, the thin slices left by the storm of rocks vanishing with small puffs of smoke as if cauterized into nothingness. She lifts a hand as if to call upon her power again but the bellowing of another voice interrupts her plans.

Whirling around to face Angantyr, Leida hisses at his words and her shadowy appendages mesh together protectively over the blade, forming an impenetrable wall of darkness. The light sears into them, boiling away the inky limbs in a pillar of ash and steam but still the barrier holds.

The demon recoils as if struck, clutching at her arms in pain but her determination holds fast. "You will not interfere, Angantyr! Nor you, woman! I cannot allow it!"

As if on cue, a tidal wave of darkness rises up from the ground, pouring out of the dark corners of the poorly-lit room to crash about the dark knight. It clings to her body like some foul viscous ooze, attempting to seep into the cracks in their armor, the exposed flesh of their previous wounds. They can feel its touch attempting to draw the resolve from their bodies, the resistance from their very souls, even as it corrupts everything it touches.

A shot rings out and the slender demonette staggers heavily as a large caliber round penetrates through her body wholesale to embed in the floor at her feet. She grits her teeth in pain and frustration and with an angry glare, turns her darkness upon the ShinRa troops as well.

"No one will stop me!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The judge, who was supposed to be supprisingly injured decided to unleash the power he was saving up. It was all, obviously for this moment where he would turn the tide against them. Angantyr should have expected this, should have realized that Chita was using this as his chance. Angantyr's eyes go wide, trying to parry the blade...

But Angantyr does not fall.

Angantyr grips the shaft of the lance and breaks it easily at the shaft, his eyes blazing with pain and anger.

He can't even bark out a proper retort, having blood come out of your throat makes this kind of hard. He tries to tap into the strength of the Berserker, he needed something, anything, to stop this from becoming a horrible monstrosity...from more lives becoming consumed.

"Better to play at hero.." he manages one retort, "Than fail at being a villain, you self grandizing little <GOOSEHONK>."

Then Shinsec finish the job that Chita started, firing rounds into his back. Angantyr staggers from the blow, turning to lash out at them...he even gets a few, punching them out. They didn't know better, but right now...they were dooming this world. Angantyr's rage at failing was only triumphed by the fact that he was loosing blood.

Another shot comes from behind, and he finally sinks to his knees. The keyblade disappears and he groans...Damn it...

Not like this.

/NOT LIKE THIS/!

Montag has posed:
Montag is not a happy man, he's not happy at all. Things are going to hell in a handbasket and he's going to pay for it later pretty dearly in all likely hood. Montag isn't down and out it yet. He's going to deal with it as he now moves in to see that Chita is also a problem. He has concerns about them going for the weapon.

"Get the hell away from the weapon rabbit man, this is your only warning."

Montag now turns his gun not on Cirra, but on Leida and he fires a quick burst shot at her, she nees to be brought down quickly as well.

Leida's powers do a number on Montag he's never been that good with magical defence but as her powers go though him and his men who still stand.

"I think not."

Montag fires again at Ledia, going for the center of mass.

Chita has posed:
Chita can hear Angantyr get hit, can hear him start to fall, mutter out his response, then nothing after a shot. He winces, looking rather upset with it all. He didn't want to have to do that... didn't want to have to hurt him after all this time. As much as he hated Angantyr... he knew Maira cared for him. He didn't want to upset her. Yet... what was done was done. Slowly raising from where he landed, no further attacks came his way before he heard... the voice of the Shinra Security officer... Montag, wasn't it? He thought he heard Rhiannon call him that. His voice was... familiar, but he couldn't place where.

"I have no calm with you, Montag is it? I do not want to use that blade, all I want is to dissolve it fully and release those who were suffering and trapped inside. I was here at Goug when the first Black Beast was unleashed... I helped to destroy it, and I am working to keep Rhiannon safe too! I do not want any more violence! Please, do not stop me from taking it elsewhere. If you take it... and Rhiannon gets her hands on it again, she could bind it to herself as she did the last one and be able to summon it right back to her from there on. It would be impossible to get it away and safely taken care of if that happens, without killing her."

The soft pleading came as he grasped around on the ground for something, anything, to use as a weapon. There was still that Judge, who was fighting Leida... why was Leida acting like this? Wasn't she... different before? "The weapon will not be misused any further, and no one else in that weapon has to suffer! No more lives should be needlessly lost! Just back off and let me erase it from existence without setting loose another mistake like this was!" And once again he oriented himself after a moment and lunged for the weapon, hoping to grab it and get it away from Cirra and Leida. Montag seemed like a decent, honest, man. So, he gave him the benefit of the doubt that he could believe what he was saying. Plus, Rhiannon /had/ vouched that he could keep that Judge Sword on him, so perhaps that was credit towards his intentions.

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
Rhia whistled in appreciation at the display of powers being thrown about. "My...I am honestly impressed that man is still standing." She mused, eyes following the battle. Angantyr has fallen in a rather dramatic display, taking down a number of Shinsec officers with him. That just left Chita, Leida, and Cirra.

"...Perhaps I should vacate the area." For reasons other than her own safety. "I will find out what happens later, no doubt." Chucklig at that, the woman sidled along out of the way of the combat zone. And in the meantime, she threw out a few orders to some Shinsec personnel to kindly deposit Angantyr's body to a hospital. Having him wake up in Shinra HQ after all of this would be a problem.

Hopefully Cirra would forget about arresting her.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra quickly crushes a vial in her hand. The blue glow suffusing her body before the darkness wave smashes into her and can invade it. She comes through the tidal wave with arms up over her head, protecting her from the damage at least partialy. "Unlike /your/ kind I'm not wholely dependant on it either!"

She spins the gunblade at herside. "And you artistry? Very well."

The Judge moves, leaping from the ground to an almost impossible height to grasp the edge of a concrete pillar, tastefully descorated with a ShinRa banner. Cirra grabs the banner and runs directly around the column and swings off byy the cloth banner in her grip, spinning through the air with the red cloth trailing behind her in a spinning vortex as she comes down at Leida. THe Gunblade is swung. *BLAM* the cartridge fires, propelling it, and her faster around.

*BLAM* it fires again, Cirra raising the weapon up in an ascending.

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

The weapon keeps firing, sending Cirra in a spiral of slashes until the cylander is expended of all it's amunition and as the Judge goes into her final spin she slides the weapon back into it's sheath at her side and grasps the other end of the spiraling red cloth to wrap it around the back of Leida's head to pull her closer.

Closer....

And right ont he lips, Cirra kisses the demonic woman, and starts pulling her energy out of her.

Aerith has posed:
So that was his plan, was it?

Even as Angantyr fell, she wanted to do something else to help, but definitely could not move for the time being. She was busy keeping her shields up, just to keep herself and Tifa from being shot up or crushed by the rocks.

Then Chita dove for the weapon. He was right about one thing... it would have to be him, or no one. Rhiannon would use it to kill again. Leida would use it for far worse things. It would have to be smashed apart again, or...

Leida has posed:
Several more bullets rip through the air mercilessly tearing gaping holes through the small girl's body, but the injuries just don't seem to last. Every cut, gash, and puncture simply fills up with bubbling darkness and returns to the state it was before. Even her clothing seems to be mending itself as if it too were a part of her demonic existence.

Despite her extraordinary resilience, however, it's obvious that being the center of attention is taking its toll on the demonette. She can do little but defend herself, locked into a disadvantageous position with her need to defend the blade. The demonic arms of shadowfire lash at Chita, tearing ragged trails of purple corruption through the air in a volume that completely prevents him from approaching the sword unless he wants to test his own fortitude. A few reach up to swing at Cirra as well but her graceful acrobatics manage to evade every attempt, allowing her to add her own volume of fire to the barrage against the small demon.

Leida staggers over and over, intent merely on biding her time until the moment is right. Her attention is very forcibly grabbed, however, when the dark knight uses a tactic she most certainly didn't expect. The slitted gold and red eyes go wide for a moment but as she feels her essence being drawn away it takes all of her effort not to simply laugh. She doesn't succeed completely.

Pushing away enough to break the kiss, Leida gives her attacker a coy smirk. "Really, if that's what you were after there are easier ways to ask. But let's not ruin the moment."

Several more shadowy arms erupt from the ground, a massive gaggle of stretching inky limbs that encircle both of the women, pressing them together into a tight vice-like embrace. An overwhelming wave of darkness floods outwards from Leida, seeping into the judge's body and much like her kiss, it draws at her very life force, pulling at the edges of her soul.

As an added insult, Leida resumes the kiss, squeezing Cirra tightly against her wispy body.

Montag has posed:
Montag looks over to Aerith for a moment at Aerith and barks out at him.

"Take Ang ang get him out of here, him ending up in a Lab tube is going to be bad news for everyone. Get Ang and take him out of here."

It won't do anything for Montag in the long run to make sure Ang gets out, but it's what he can do and better than letting Rhia get her hands on him.

He gets a radio that both is good news and then something that chills him. That one he doesn't have to get the blade. The thing that scares him as Rhia says there are other ways to get one. She might make more and that makes him feel sick. His rifle's empty at this point and he needs to reload. Montag reloads his weapon spared Leida's wrath for the moment.

"I got my orders, leave now."

Chita has posed:
With everyone distracted and apparently Montag deciding to trust him(as far as he's aware, he has no idea about any orders), Chita grabs the blade and yelps. He didn't know how large it was and grabbed a hand around the blade itself. Hand bleeding, however, he now knew which way the blade was facing and ran the back of his fingers quickly up to find the hilt of it and grabbed at it, pulling it out and jumping backwards with it before saying, "You are outnumbered and the blade is taken! I will not give it up without my death coming first and surely you both know that will not happen before Shinra's security forces gun you down."

The weapon, as held by Chita, was held in a reverse grip and blade up behind him to try and half protect others from getting to it. Hopefully they didn't call him on his remark, because while it was true, he was running out of strength fast. He had enough for one big burst, but... beyond that, he's pretty well exhausted.

Zero-One has posed:
Some distance away, standing on the roof of a Goug building, two beings in shrouding black coats and hoods look up at the continuing battle within Shinra HQ. One of them looks through a pair of binoculars.

The other speaks impatiently. "Well?"

The figure with the binoculars lowers them and offers them over without looking. "It's bad. They got to it first."

The second figure takes the binoculars and looks up through them at the battle. "Well, that's a hell of a mess." There in a pause. "Almost makes me want to join in."

"That's against orders. No contact." The first figure snatches the binoculars back. "Let's get out of here. We have a report to make."

"Shouldn't we wait to see who gets the remnants?"

"Won't matter. They'll be obvious enough."

The second grunts, and the pair turn to leave through a Portal of Darkness.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Every. Freaking. Time. She uses this it ends up being someone that can turn it against her!

Cirra needs to find a new way of draining someone's life force.

"On the contrary." Cirra says in the break in the kiss. Leida tries to turn it back onher, but Cirra turns aside keeping the kiss to a corner of her mouth, a spark of life force returning to Leida regardless.

One hand releases the cloth banner and Cirra spins around aiming to wrap it around Leida's leg liek a whip. "I like spontaneity." she yanks on the cloth, attempting pull the demonette right off her feet.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith gave a nod. Yes, that's fair enough. He had it, but the question was... would he be able to do what he'd said? This was an entirely different weapon, with different priorities. It had a single minded focus to destroy the target of its ire, and that kind of determination was difficult to stifle.

Maybe she would pay him a visit when this was over.

For now, she directed her attention to Angantyr, and made her best attempts to get him out. After all, this Montag was only doing his job. Maybe he would come down to Seventh Heaven and have a drink... and maybe the first round would be on her.

Leida has posed:
Leida plants her thin-lipped kiss but manages to miss the target, drawing out only a meager tickle of the precious life-energy that she needed after such a demanding battle. Even worse, her distraction proved the ideal time for that loud-mouthed rabbit to snatch away the blade.

The demon girl grits her teeth and growls but before she can get out a witty comeback, the cloth snags her legs from behind and yanks them out from under her. Letting out a surprised squeak, Leida falls backwards and lands heavily. Her head slams heavily against a jutting bit of the ruined floor and a sickening crack can be heard.

The girl lies still, allowing the wound to remain open long enough to spill some blood out on the ground. Hopefully, she can buy a few moments by pretending to be out for the count. Motionless, she draws upon her inner reserves, flooding her body with fresh shadows that she slowly siphons from the dark room. It might just be the edge she needs to keep going.

Montag has posed:
Montag sees Chita pick up the blade, he's got his orders, he knows Rhia is capable of doing and what would happen if the blade gets away. He warned Chita to keep baxk he's got the blade and he shake his head. More people will die if that blade is taken away, for Rhia will attempt to remake it, if his ploy to his superiors fail it's bad news again.

"I said drop it, sorry got my orders."

He notices Ang's being healed and he says something itno his mic while the Shinsecs are moving back to secure the entry point Grunts and Death Sweeper drones can be coming for this room.

As for Montag he gets up ane he takes aim attemptuing to shoot the blade out of Chita's hands.

"Nothing personal."

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra watches Leida take a tumble and crack her head. Oh well someone will pheonix down her. It's foolish but /someone/ will do it.

Cirra discards the banner and turns towards Chita as he picks up the sword. "Tch, fool!" She grasps the hilt of her gunblade and moves back across the room in a swift run, raising the blade of the weapon and then slaming it down on the ground to send another crack through the floor to try and trip the Veirra up.

Leida has posed:
After a few long moments, Leida hears movement away from her prone body. She cracks a single eye ever so slightly in time to see Cirra moving away to assault the new owner of the dark blade; though he's unlikely to be its owner for long in his condition.

Rolling over onto the front, the demon pushes back to her feet noiselessly and summons up her dark energies once more. Unholy healing floods through her small frame, sealing over the wound in her head as if it never were and knitting away at the lingering bullet holes. She's still banged up but the fight hasn't gone out of her yet.

Once more the inky hands of shadow erupt from the ground as she lifts her own into the air, drawing them from the darkness as a puppeteer might. They claw and grasp at everything in range, attempting to pin the remaining soldiers against the walls and the floor while Cirra and especially Chita get the majority of the attention. Larger, more deadly looking claws erupt from the air itself, swirling vortexes into empty voids spitting out disembodied limbs that swing their deadly claws like scythes at the pair of armored warriors.

"That sword /will/ be mine!"

Chita has posed:
Panting and looking worse for the wear, one party seems to drop and all that leaves is... Shinsec, in the form of Montag, and... the Judge. Damnit, why a Judge. Why does he have to fight a Judge. He had no problem with her, and for that matter, he had no problem with Montag either. They were both doing their job, seemingly, and for that matter both probably had the same intention. Well, he didn't know WHAT Montag's intentions were, other than 'doing his job', and Cirra had mentioned locking it away in a hole.

Of course, before he could respond, he heard something in his mind. "N-no, I will not! No more blood shall be shed, least of all by you, so be quiet while I find a way out!" Chita talks aloud, not towards anyone specific... was he talking to the weapon. Then Montag spoke, and Chita curled up and brought the sword in front of his chest, center mass. He couldn't see remotely where Montag was aiming, but from his time in a clan, a moogle he knew had taught him how to try and defend against ranged attackers. Guard center mass, if they're smart, they won't aim at outer targets. Of course, he still got hit by the bullet, and while it did hit the blade, he was knocked backwards by the force of it. And eventually knocked onto his back by the attack from Cirra.

"Stop! There doesn't have to be any more bloodshed! I will not use this weapon to hurt any of you, period! I will not hurt you with it! All I want is to see it safely destroyed! SAFELY!" Of course, Montag had orders and likely wouldn't back off and he knew nothing of Cirra... he had to do something before he was gunned down. Something... but what. Then suddenly Leida was back and another attack came. Chita was grasped at, cut, legs bleeding.

He did the only thing that came to mind, then. He staggered to a stand, shifted the weapon into his left hand, only to do something that would likely cause even more damage to the structure, and possibly put his own safety in danger. He summoned his Judge Sword into his right hand, leapt up, and struck straight down at the floor between where Cirra and Montag, and Leida were. He literally tried to blow the floor out from under them and cause them to fall down through the floor.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr's body jerks when he recieves just enough healing to stand, but not enough to keep fighting.

He hisses, throwing his arm back, his eyes blazing at Aerith. "You...You could have /stopped/ this, you could have aided us, and STOPPED this. The lives that will be lost, come on your head.." he hisses at Aerith, "Don't touch me." her unwillingness to help was noted...he tands, there is mostly a hole in his chest, the spear still there, as he looks to the retreating bunny...damn. But this place was too busy, Leida was still alive...and he knows first hand her strength. He looks at the Judge.

"Constantine. If you want to to either continue living, and not be used as a breeding experiment by Shinra, follow me." he says, and a corridor opens, before jumping inside. He can't do much but escape.

Montag has posed:
Montag is able to get off a shot as Leida gets back up and turns her power upon him. He manafes to just endure it as Leida gets back up.

"Tch just like a Raven."

Montag lines up a shot with Leida, the screamin demon thing that is wanting the blade, is the worst thing they could go for it then comes chiat's attack he looks at it.

"Go."

Is all Montag says to Cirra and Ang, he staggers lines up a shot on Leida and then opens fire emptying the entire clip trying to catch her, while she goes for Chita.

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Arhg, the demon is still awake. Cirra turns after attacking Chita and the giant claws tear through the ground, "Damn and blast!" She leaps backwards as her armor is torn into. she stumbles backwards as the Judge Sword fractures the floor even more. "Are you insane?!" She questions the thought processes of the other Judge and leaps upwards, grasping a lighting fixture and swingign from it by one hand.

"Are you trying to kill everyone or just yourself?!"

Cirra Constantine has posed:
Cirra tchs, "Another time, Beserker." She swings from the lighting fixture and lets go, covering herself with her arms and pulling up her legs as she breaks through one of the remaining windows. It shatters outwards as the Judge plumets through the air.

Cirra uncurls and plants her feet on a cable, sliding down the steel cable with sparks flying from her armored boots. THe cable curves downwards untill it runs along side a passing train that winds down towards the lower city.

Cirra calmly steps off the cable and onto the passing train, carried away deeper into the city.

Leida has posed:
More gunfire results in more demonic blood staining the already thoroughly ruined floor. Leida winces and diverts some of her attention to protecting herself from the relentless onslaught of the ShinRa troops. One in particular seems quite hellbent on keeping everyone away from that blade, though for what purposes she can't seem to grasp.

She takes a step towards the blade but the floor shifts and groans even at her light step. The demon hesistates for a moment at the noise, suddenly aware of how fragile the footing is - but it's too late. A large section of the meeting room collapses underneath her sending the demon plummeting into the darkness below with several tons of rubble right behind. From the resounding crashes, it's probable she went through a couple more floors before stopping.

The dust settles and after several seconds of stillness it seems that they demon girl has finally been driven off.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith huffed and dusted her jeans off. "So that's the thanks I get for saving his life..." She sported a grimace now. "And Tifa decided to leave while I was protecting us, too. How am I going to explain this to Maira..." She sighed and glanced toward Chita. Well, now she knew who the weapon was going to. Whatever Montag's orders were, it could not stay in this building. Rhiannon might build another one... but only if it's destroyed. If she had a hold of it, she'd use it.

"Look, all due respect..." she glanced toward the still armed, still hostile man. "I don't like you. Your people tortured me and turned me into an experiment when I was the age of two. But I'm going to give you some advice... let him have it."

She turned her full attention toward Montag now. "What happened to Goug and Narshe will be considerably pleasant compared to what Rhiannon will do if she keeps this weapon. Let it leave this building and I assure you, the worst that could happen is that it'll get buried and lost to time."

She had no idea what the best case scenario would be. But she had to reassure him of something. "It's either have more deaths on your head, or stop this now and have far less incidents."

Chita has posed:
As Cirra makes her exit, after questioning his sanity, and his plan to break the floor works with Leida falling through, it just left the exhausted Judge standing atop where the conference table used to be, panting and holding the blade behind him with one arm, the other now without a weapon. It was just him...
Montag...
And the security forces that were working to keep the rest safe. Wait... now he recalled.

That voice... it was the one who helped him take down the Black Beast to begin with all that time ago. He was there the night it all began. "You... I remember you now. You were the gunner on the rooftops who helped me to penetrate the beasts weak spot and bring it down when it was unleashed on Goug." Chita spoke softly, obviously tired, not tryin to fight Montag at the moment, but not turning his back on him. "I was the Dragoon you saw... the one in the robes that likely looked female. You know I mean good... you know I am not going to let this blade kill anyone else. You helped me take down the black beast before... and now here we are again. Are you going to help me destroy what is left of it safely..."

He paused there, facing Montag with his chest fully exposed, "Or are you going to shoot a blind man who is only trying to help keep others safe, and return this blade to the very one who killed so many? If you try the latter, I will destroy this part of the building when I fall and make sure no one gets the weapon. Or you can let me go, and go check on your wounded... and come after me at another time. I have no reason to hide my intentions. Now is the time for words, not further violence or bloodshed, Montag. Be the man you were when you saved all those lives... don't let it go again. Do not..."

Montag has posed:
Montag breathing is ragged, he's going to line up anotehr shot with Leida but then she seems to go on her own. His life is going to be pain for Ang escapingm but? That's better than Rhia getting her mitts on him or worse Hojo. He now has to focus on what's left. That's being Chita's more Shinsec are moving in with Grunt drones in the lead.

"Drop the blade, I have orders to recover the weapon."

There is that hole in the wall, Chita might want to use it to get out of here. Montag is moving to pull the trigger, he seems to be not be planning to let him as he moves to line up a shot and pull the trigger.

"She'll make a replacement if I don't recover it."

He fires, Chita best fun.

Chita has posed:
Wait... he just realized. Aerith was here. Only...

Just as Montag lined up the shot, Chita went still. Something was wrong. Something was...

The sword. Chita stepped back and looked like he was uncertain about something, looking around as if he actually saw something before staring up at the ceiling and cringing back. Then as if suddenly realizing something was wrong he said, "Damnit, stop that! I already know!" What was that coming from underneath the silken band around his eyes? Was that... tears? Just a bit, he got control of it fast enough before realizing what Montag just said.

'She'll make a replacement if I don't recover it.' He grinned at that. "Yes, she will... if you let her, Montag. Do not... oh, and please don't hurt Rhia either, if you must stop her, she is with child." he said before bringing up the Nobody Sword and quickly spinning around to try and avoid any incoming attacks. "Aerith, protect him!" is all he said from then on out as he took a chance and leapt towards the wall. One last summon and fling of his other sword, the Judge Sword, was aimed right at the ceiling. He was trying to create enough of a distractino that Montag couldn't follow as he took a leap of faith out the window, the window he knew was there because Cirra broke it and made quite clear it was now an escape method and just where it was. If the Judge did it... there must be something there he can escape with. Or if not he'll have to make do somehow.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's eyes widen as she sees his tears, just enough for her to try and respond... until he begins to throw his primary weapon against the ceiling. Oh yes, it would more than likely smash them both, if it weren't for the pale blue defensive barrier she placed around the both of them.

"Chita, you have the worst timing." So that was why he was protecting her instead of taking her to the cleaners. Why could things never be simple? Now she couldn't rightfully touch her, putting everyone back on the defensive.

"I would take his advice," she yelled over the collapse. "If you let this happen, it's all on you! I don't like you people, but you seem different, so I'm going to let your involvement in this slide! Stop her from making another!"

Montag has posed:
Montag had his plans but it hinged on his superiors not being happy for all he knows. President shinra is going tow ant to throw these things at the Shadow Lords or Wutai but it's woth a try howeve the strike makes it so he can't follow him. He's forced back as are the other shinsecs the grunts start to chase but they are a moment too flow and he hears Aerith's words on her way out.

"...Secure the area, move make sure there's nothing else or no one else crawling about. Get medical teams down here stat and do not let them get sent up to the lab levels."

Oh Montag so needed a drink...

Aerith has posed:
Aerith made her way out of the building through a path only she knew about. Fortunately for her, it was the same old tower, and the same old layout... and she knew this escape route because it was the one she took, all those years ago, with her mother.

She never thought she would have to use it again, but things never went her way these days, did they?

Once outside the building, she glanced toward the slums. She had to pack her things all over again... there was a rabbit to follow. She had to know what exactly happened before he left. It was as if he saw something, cringed back in shock from something she couldn't trace.

If that were the case... there was no way he was in control of this new, terrible blade. She had to at least know how he was going to accomplish this.