Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 254: Sephiroth Showdown (Platinum Challenge Part VI)
February 16th, 2006.
Nick Caligo (GM): o/` Advent: One Winged Angel o/`. Metal and those who escaped the explosion up above soon join those who didn't down below, amidst a pile of rubble. Several of your comrades--among them Garrick and Azure--are unconscious underneath it.
Nodal: "That was... that was a heck of a fall."
Spyke: "Such... power... He's not human, is he?"
Nodal: "What clued you in? The glowing eyes?"
Aetos struggles to picked himself up from under a pile of rubble.
Nodal walks over and helps Aetos get up.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth, though, wastes absolutely no time. No sooner does Metal land with a great thud than do Aetos and Nodal push themselves to their feet and spot the one-winged angel standing just behind Metal, on top of a large cylendrical structure. He hops off it for a moment and comes down from behind, sweeping his blade to strike Metal before hopping past and sweeping it back to strike both Nodal and Aetos in a single attack.
Aetos is certainly surprised, he doesn't even see the blade coming.
Nodal looks back just in time to see the blade smack into him.
Metal Man, filled with rage, charges at Sephiroth, shoulder first, intending to run him over and hurt him with his momentum.
Nick Caligo (GM): You smash directly into the back of Sephiroth's shoulder and run at him seemingly from four directions at once as you dash through vector after vector; you can't budge him terribly well, though... four hits.
Metal Man then tries to smack him with his feet while cartwheeling away from him.
Nick Caligo (GM): You backflip, and you bring your feet up, but they don't even whiff his chin.
Nodal throws his seeds up in the air to speed them up to face this powerful foe. He then races up to Sephiroth and uses his own sword to teach him a thing or two. Finally he jumps back to snap into a defensive stance.
Nick Caligo (GM): Your sword cuts his chest once before he parries the second strike effortlessly. Your hit's like a papercut.
Digifanatic starts his fare of the battle by thanking Nodal for his seeds, then wasting no time trying to give Sephy a nice Fire Punch to his chest.
Nick Caligo (GM): Your fist connects with his pecks, but... it feels like your hand hurts more than his chest does. Digi Failed. He quickly sweeps his blade from the shoulder, striking both you and Nodal at once.
Metal Man seems unnaturally focused, standing guard and his eyes full of rage; almost to the extent that his visor is red.
Nick Caligo (GM): His counterstrike pushes you both back a good distance, sending you behind Aetos.
Digifanatic takes the hard hit, but still has a lot of willingness to continue. Digifanatic then mutters a "This guy's crazy..." before preparing for his next move, a hopeful Running Charge into him. He's just trying to take his time for now, saving stuff for when it matters towards the end.
Nick Caligo (GM): Once again, you're far too slow. You hesitate so much before you make your move--which would have missed anyway--that Sephiroth makes a quick upward, vertical slash to repel you again, predicting your assault perfectly. Well, almost. As his blade whiffs the air and cuts a few of the hairs just above your ears, he turns around and sidesteps you, facing towards Metal now.
Aetos shakes off the blow from the sword and reaches behind him for his dex lightning-fast... he flips it open and scans Sephiroth.
Smash Dex: *Ding!* "Sephiroth. Statistics Unknown. health: 176/2000.
Special Notes: "...Nice knowing ya!""
Digifanatic: "Just hang in guys... we can take care of him soon enough."
Nick Caligo (GM): Aetos stands there drooling as he stares at the big bold "Statistics Unknown" flashing on his screen, dumbfounded that the Smash Dex could be so worthless. Hurry up!
Aetos pulls out a shiney old Pseudo cube from under his cape, he merely tosses it at Sephy... it should make a huge enormous explosion that would hurt him much..
Nick Caligo (GM): Ahh. Your pseudo-cube, whose filetype is no longer supported by this system, fizzles on impact; the explosion was still significant, but it could've been better.
Spyke dashes up to Sephiroth and lashes at him with two quick cuts of his saber, the green trail of energy lingering behind, before drawing back and holding for a moment... To unleash a wide-arcing slash with his saber bathed in blue electricity.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth's Masamune blade seems to reach out reflexively to block your attack; your saber clashes with the cold steel blade before you move closer and hit him in the hip. You make a powerful, electrifying upward slash, but Sephiroth only forces it back down...
Spyke is done after that.
Nick Caligo (GM): He immediately retaliates against Spyke with a sweep of his sword, knocking him back in Nodal's direction.
Spyke does noteven see it coming, and gets hit, hard.
Nick Caligo (GM): He leaps back amidst Metal and Digi and raises his arms, gesturing as though to raise a symphony; the earth bursts open and unleashes pillars of fire all around him.
Metal Man moves like... well. A man wearing immensely heavy armor, duh.
Nick Caligo (GM): Digi: Success. Metal: Failure. EGREGIOUS failure.The flames die down a bit after the initial blast.
Metal Man gets up; he clenches his right fist, and the metal actually CRACKS in it. His visor turns red; and he takes his axe in hand. His right hand glows with pure rage. It charges up... and is then released, in a furious punch. Metal screams out "DIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" to accompany it.
Nick Caligo (GM): You wallop Sephiroth in the chest, knocking him back a couple of inches. You're right in his face now. The whole time, Sephiroth's expression remains as placid and serene as ever, as though battle is the one place where he's truly at peace.
Digifanatic starts his turn by trying to Fire Punch him once again. Hit or miss, he takes a few steps back, stares at Sephy for a second, and then starts launching some of those bright yellow-and-black Hyper Beams at him...
Nick Caligo (GM): Your fire punch is caught by Sephiroth's leather-clad palm; the flames disperse harmlessly.
Digifanatic misses even worse with the beams. He retreats back to the group, defending.
Nick Caligo (GM): You can see into the deep pool of energy that resides behind those eyes before you unleash your hyper beams... as the light from them clears, you realize they ate the side of a building. Sephiroth's gone. Only a few purple-black feathers remain.
Digifanatic: "Oh... WHAT?"
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth's right behind Digi.
Digifanatic: "He's doing something big, I imagine..." *currently doesn't realize this, of course.*
Aetos: "Digi, behind you!" he charges at Seph with his spear pointed outward, about to ram into the angel.
Digifanatic: "What?"
Nick Caligo (GM): Failure. He grabs hold of your spear over Digi's shoulder. He hurls you back over his head, towards the side of a building. Success. You plant your feet on the side of the building. Your legs work like springs, attempting to restore you back to your original place. Gonna do anything with this momentum that Sephiroth's imparted to you?
Aetos ricochets off the building wall, he flings back toward Sephiroth with a wind scimitar growing and forming in his hand, he get's close and slashes at Sephiroth in quick arm-swings.
Nick Caligo (GM): Your first attack hits him; makes him lose ground a bit. Your second is caught by his blade. There's an explosion of wind as your weapons clash; causing them to hang in mid-air.
Spyke takes it more slowly this time, knowing that Sephiroth has demonstrated great skill in avoiding his last attack. He lunges at Sephiroth and slashes with a wide arc, before tilting his saber blade back and cutting back and across, from Sephiroth's hip to his shoulder, and then once more, vertically down, before leaping back and taking a defensive stance.
Nick Caligo (GM): You score a single hit before Sephiroth parries the other two with insane, lightspeed swiftness.
Spyke growls and pushes against his weapon for a moment before leaping back. "Too strong... And too fast... You're a monster..."
Digifanatic: "We're getting there..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth smirks and narrows his eyes. He quickly leaps off the ground. One jump and he's got to already be a hundred feet in the air; he can go higher than Zelda could even with Farore's Wind.
Spyke: "... You have got to be kidding me..."
Digifanatic: "Not this again..."
Nick Caligo (GM): The wind he raises with the sheer strength of it makes the hair on the back of your neck prickle; you almost feel like you're going to be struck by lightning. He lands in one of the alcoves and raises a hand to you... he begins to take on an aurora-like glow.
Nick Caligo (GM): Spyke's surrounded by the same glow.
Spyke blinks and cants his head. "Mmmm?"
Nick Caligo (GM): Failure; in a mere moment you can feel yourself being crushed utterly in every aspect you could possibly imagine. Your SP has dropped to 0, your health is now exactly 1, and all good status is off, including Nodal's seed.
Spyke: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He yells out and then slumps to the ground, his body suddenly weakened by the... whatever that was...
Nick Caligo (GM): To make matters worse, Sephiroth is dropping towards you at an alarming rate, sword raised overhead...
Spyke falls to the ground and rolls a bit with gravity to avoid.
Nick Caligo (GM): Was that a hit? I sure hope not, for your sake. His blade makes a major fissure in the ground, but thankfully it wasn't one through your armor.
Spyke: "... You... sick... What did you do?..."
Sephiroth: *He grins down at Spyke, and in a commanding, yet almost melodious voice, says, simply: "Heartless... angel."*
Editor's Note: At the time, Nick thought it was "Sin Harvest", but what Sephiroth actually said in KH was "Descend... Heartless angel."
Metal Man takes this time to charge at Sephiroth with his right shoulder again. After that, he'd wildly punch Sephiroth not once, but twice.
Spyke: "..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal finally manages to pull off the first consistent round of hits; he rushes in at Sephiroth after he lands and belts him from every direction before taking up his fist at one side and slamming it into his jaw; then rushing over to the other side, and doing it again. *wham-wham-BAMF! BAMF!* Two hits; damage, and two more hits.
Digifanatic starts by giving Spyke a Healing Spray, hoping it'll help him stay around for at least one more attack... Digifanatic then then decides to try to launch a Microwave at Sephiroth...
Nick Caligo (GM): Your microwave collides with his head, splintering to pieces. He clutches his forehead and rubs it, growling and glaring in your direction. Apparently he didn't find that little trick amusing.
Digifanatic rounds out the turn by trying a Forward Slam at Sephy. Digifanatic then misses from the air... he retreats back to the others, turn over.
Nick Caligo (GM): You get in his face, sure enough, but you're deflected quickly back to the little corner where Nodal's currently knocked out.
Aetos closes his outer senses, focusing his mind on sephiroth... he projects himself into the mind of a fallen angel, and searches for a way to beat him... *Mimic..*
Nick Caligo (GM): Your spirit is cast into an abyss. This one isn't filled with darkness; rather, geysers of green, fluid energy rocket up from all sides, and a brilliant light shines from below.
Nick Caligo (GM): Suddenly, all this green energy arcs down from above and smothers you... yet you soak it all up like a sponge. You feel yourself growing stronger every second. Ability 1: Power Shift -- You obtain a brilliant orange-gold glow, almost like neon, and gain +25% STR and AGI. Ability 2: Omnislash -- A special Machinegun slash attack. Accuracy +6, Damage +15, adds two hits for every five over his Defense you get. Costs 10% of your SP, +10 more SP. (So it costs 10+(10% of max) SP)
Spyke is done... "I won't hold out much longer anyway..."
Aetos stars to absorb the powers of the royal syrup, his energy being restored in a matter of seconds.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth quite agrees. He growls at Digi, quickly leaping at him--but not without taking a quick one-armed slash at the heavily wounded Spyke on his way there. He spins around, slicing at Digi hilt-first as he approaches.
Nick Caligo (GM): He lands just behind Digi and whirls around, leveling his blade at his shoulder, having missed his attack at him.
Spyke groans, his armor recieveing a giant gash... He's on one knee now... groaning.
Digifanatic: "Someone try and guard Spyke if they can..."
Spyke is not dead just yet...
Nick Caligo (GM): Astounding. How much health?
Digifanatic: "I'll be willing to if nobody else does..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Digi: While you stand there and talk, Sephiroth takes a shot at eviscerating you. *STAB.* *CRITICAL HIT.*
Digifanatic is hit big...
Spyke: "Digi!"
Nick Caligo (GM): Digi's stabbed hard and sent flying through the air.Let that be a lesson; enemies won't just stand there and let you discuss the battle that's taking place in a committee.
Julian: *A familiar blue warp portal opens up on the ground behind Sephiroth, with Julian Sawyer rising up out it(Sans fedora). He's got his fist reared back behind him, it glowing like bright white sphere. He survey's the field...* "Alright, Metal's there, Aetos' there, New guy's over there... Think that's a beaver. Metal, heads up!" *Julian launches his fist forward, trying to connect with Sephiroth's back and.
Digifanatic is flung wildly... he realizes he shouldn't be screwing around like that...
Metal Man would follow up the unexpected attack by trying to hit Sephiroth with his fist of RAGE as he came into range. HaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHH *PUNCH.*
Nick Caligo (GM): You strike Sephiroth dead-on; he's sent flying, giving Metal just the right element of surprise to hit.
Digifanatic starts the turn by trying to continue taking care of the evil beasty boss the best he can. He starts off by trying to pull off one more round of the HBM at Sephiroth, hoping it works this time... Digifanatic then keeps missing with these things... he just defends again.
Nick Caligo (GM): You're apparently the one guy he can see coming from a mile away; he leaps high into the air, landing right smack dab in front of you again, his bright green eyes piercing into your mind. Damage: 487/2000.
Aetos begins to overflow with astounding energy, it begins to seep though his person and into his spear... it starts to drag him, surprisingly... Aetos feels the power... he knows what to do... he starts to charge with his spear, his increased speed and strength, along with the spear tugging him forward, make his charge extremely fast and threatening. He jumps into the air and is practically soaring through, he zips down and stabs right into Seph with incredible force, wish a burst of bright orange-golden energy exploding off of the contact.
Nick Caligo (GM): You score five consecutive hits; you strike faster than Metal could earlier; if light had any kind of sensation, this is probably what it feels like to move as fast as it does. Sephiroth is caught completely by surprise as the signature move of his nemesis is scarred into his body once again... perfectly. damage, total. *COMBO.* Energy flows rapidly into the tip of the spear as it seems to pull itself back over your head and lift your feet out from under you; you slam it down through Sephiroth's body with nigh infinite power. His body seems insubstantial to you; all there is now is the explosion of light and energy that leaves beautiful rings of blue and gold to ripple outward.
Julian: "...Whoa. What's up with Aetos?"
Spyke: "... Woah..."
Digifanatic: "Indeed..."
Metal Man is silent, possibly because all he's doing is maintaining a deadly red aura around himself.
Nick Caligo (GM): Spyke could still see the shadow of Sephiroth standing amidst the explosion of light and energy left behind by Aetos's final slash.
Spyke reaches down to his own side, his hand open, whisps of electricity balling together... His eyes glow a silvery-blue as he concentrates...
Nick Caligo (GM): That'd be the dud.
Spyke can't concentrate through the pain, and the ball shatters in his outstretched hand, causing some harm that nearly kills him... He growls and reluctantly defends.
Nick Caligo (GM): Spyke seems to be malfunctioning under his weakness. Sephiroth turns around, recognizing that Spyke's weak the way a wolf recognizes the scent of freshly drawn blood, and then spins around with a slash... odd, he's nowhere NEAR Spyke right now. Then he'd see it; the tip traces a path of black energy through the air, and it forms into a swarm of eight dark balls which spread out towards Spyke.
Spyke: "..."
Spyke doesn't sidestep in time. Spyke then is down and out, for the third time this mission.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth claims his first kill of the day with the reploid before turning his attention back to the bigger threats. He leaps up high again and touches his feet down on one of the ruined ledges of the building, taking another wide slash and sending a semicircle of dark orbs towards the rest of you. The circle spreads itself too thin to hit most of you, though I detect that Julian might be in danger.
Metal Man is... SLOW.
Aetos merely glares at the dark energy and it flees from his semi-demi-godly form.
Julian just BARELY can't move out of the way in time.*
Metal Man takes the hit, being slow as dirt. However, he's tough; so it isn't all bad.
Julian: "Whoawhoawhoa HEY! Get back here!" *Julian shakes of the damage and launches after Sephiroth with his Rocket Boots, trying to grab onto him once he gets to him.*
Nick Caligo (GM): You latch onto Sephiroth's arms, but you wind up nearly getting grabbed yourself; he's got to have the power of an aircraft carrier in his left bicep alone.
Julian pulls away from Seph's counter-grab.* "Alright, that didn't work... Try this!" *Julian rears back with his left leg, and spins, trying to catch Sephiroth in the head with a Winding Kick.*
Nick Caligo (GM): *Whap!* Your foot slaps him in the side of the head.
Metal Man charges at Sephiroth again, the strange illusory appearance making it seem effortless and deadly at the same time. "Rrrrgh. Stupid building!" *Metal would power up, and instead of trying to hit Sephiroth, he'd try to punch the building over...*
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal rapidly pumps his fists into the wall like a madman, finishing with one last groundbreaking smash. His fist impacts against it seemingly harmlessly... and then it starts to crack...
Julian: *looks down.* "...Good thing I'm flyin'."
Nick Caligo (GM): Finally, the whole wall seems to crumble, and the building begins to tip towards you. It just so happens that EVERYBODY is threatened by this tremendous falling object. Julian more so than anybody, really. >.>;
Metal Man (GM): .oO(If I were up against an army this would have been considerably more useful.)
Aetos was preparing to make an incredible leap, but... running is good too..
Julian: *Flies up and away, or to the side if that isn't the option.*
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth turns around and slashes the side of the falling building; instantly, a plume of dust and shrapnel rains down. He disappears through it. The concrete and iron rains down on you from all sides; in moments the entire battlefield is transformed. Everyone except Metal takes damage unless they've got evasion. And yes, that's for a SUCCESSFUL save.
Aetos gets slammed down from the debris, he nearly fades away..
Nick Caligo (GM): The dust, smoke, and debris finally clear; the battlefield's changed completely.
Julian: "Damn Metal, you tryin' to kill us all?!"
Nick Caligo (GM): You're in a forest of downed girders, fallen slabs of concrete, broken machinery, and anything else that you might find in an office building. Aetos's turn... Sephiroth's nowhere in sight. If you want to find him, you'll have to make a.
Metal Man responds, twitching noticeably. "I... was just trying to crush him... he will pay!"
Julian: "Crush him ON THE GROUND!"
Metal Man gives Julian the look. Of the type Alys might have done while unimaginably angry. It may not be trance, but you don't want to tick him off any further.
Aetos manages to pick himself up, well... he pushes off the ground and the power pushes him into the air... he lands gracefully on his feet. Aetos realizes how scathed and harmed he is... he pulls out a shiney mushroom from under his flowing white cape... he chomps it down and his orange-gold aura shines with rejuvination. He then looks around, examining where Seph might have run off to.
Nick Caligo (GM): You'd think it'd be impossible to spot Sephiroth any more, but you made a connection to him when you mimiced him. You can almost smell him... there is him far off in the distance... running straight at you guys. He leaps and bounds over the rubble like it was NORMAL for him, springing off the fallen slabs and girders like some kind of monkey. It'll take you 2 TP just to get to him.
Aetos growls angrily and gets into a defensive stance, yelling out a battle-cry... "HAA!" he growls at Seph as he makes his way to the group.
Nick Caligo (GM): Spyke's revival platform brings you to the scene.
Metal Man: "HAA? What... HAA? What is that?" *He stares at Aetos, wondering where Sephiroth is to boot.*
Aetos's shining aura glows more intensly as Sephiroth gets closer and closer to it..
Spyke growls and steps off, not doing anything just yet...
Nick Caligo (GM): Damage: 1119/2000. You all feel the wind picking up through the cavernous ruin of the building; Aetos would see Sephiroth leap up and kick off the ceiling, coming straight down at Metal with a slash to be reckoned with.
Metal Man can't dodge anything really. He's hit head on.
Nick Caligo (GM): He sweeps both arms out to the side, and suddenly is lifted to his feet... he makes the same gesture as he did when he summoned the pillar of fire. "... I will lead you to the promised land!" his voice echoes deeply through the ruin; it's almost as though the ruin itself were an extension of him. A brilliant white aura imparts itself unto him; it shines almost as though from his very heart... you have this odd feeling that you're really in for it now...
Julian: "...Aw hell..."
Metal Man stares at it directly, laughing. "The promised land is dead, fool. Everything you care for is gone. Nothing is left for you to lead us to!"
Nick Caligo (GM): He gives a single flap of his wing, and he disappears instantly in a blur of black and purple. Julian manages to spot him appearing just behind you and shouting "Dodge this!" at the top of his lungs. He leaps through the air horizontally, spiraling with his sword, moving fast enough to almost summon a tornado.
Julian: *Ouch! Julian atleast gets to see the oncoming doom, moving back from the cutting...* "Oh yeah? Well dodge THIS!" *Julian flattens his hand and rears it back, then attempts to PUNKSLAP Seph upside the head, trying to send him into the building shell.*
Nick Caligo (GM): Hit! Sephiroth's thrown back a ways, but not terribly much.
Julian: *Not quite. Julian reaches into his back pocket and produces... a PEZ Dispenser! Julian pops out a tab, which quickly expands into a KeroKero Cola. Julian downs the can, crushes it, and tosses it over his shoulder. Full Health for all!*
Nick Caligo (GM): Julian: The kerokero tastes funny... You notice the expiration date on the can is sometime around 1952... As a result, everyone gains +5 health. That's right. There's many fights when those items will work, but not this one.
Julian: *Bleh!* "Expired? What the hell!"
Nick Caligo (GM): As a side note, Julian, you're moving way too slow.
Metal Man, now powered up by burning rage, turns towards Sephiroth and zips at him like a lightning bolt. SUPER POWERED SHOULDER CHARGE.
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal crackles with red electricity before zooming straight into Sephiroth repeatedly; you can hear the supersonic explosions echoing through the air as he seems to become lightning.
Metal Man would finish that off by punching Seph around. His punches were fiery, and it was like he was on steroids.
Aetos shakes his head woozilly... "Expired..??! iggh..." his head clears up quickly and he nods at Sephiroth. Aetos holds his spear out before Sephiroth, and in a flash of orange-gold light... Aetos appears on the other side of Sephiroth, as if he stabbed right through Sephiroth in an instant. Some explosions of energy blow off of Seph in a mere moment... [Omnislash... just kinda changed the description to suit a closer-range..].
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth's fully prepared now; gold and white explosions of energy accompany every single clash between your weapons. You end the assault face to face with him, staring into his eyes... he looks quite thoroughly shocked about something that he sees in your face. Well, not particularly. It's just that he's angry looking rather than placid looking. He pushes his blade off yours and raises his sword into the air; the already dark atmosphere seems to only get darker...
Aetos returns the angry look, then observes.
Nick Caligo (GM): Soon enough, it seems like the only light here is that which flows forth from his soul. He quickly takes a swing at both you and Metal from mid-air... and then another, at Aetos, and another at Metal, and another at Aetos and Metal simultaneously... he strikes just as fast as Aetos was a moment ago. It's sheer insanity with a weapon with as much reach as his has. He's like a force of nature, totally unhindered. He finishes by lingering in the air for a moment, sword held up over his head. As he prepares to swing it down on both of you, he screams, "Show me what you've got!"
Metal Man shows off the fact that he doesn't move.
Nick Caligo (GM): Both of you are caught in an explosion of dark blue energy as he impacts the ground, casting debris in all directions.
Aetos shows that he isn't going to be afraid of him... regardless of how much he hurts Aetos.
Metal Man is hit hard... and still standing.
Nick Caligo (GM): As soon as the light flows back into the room, Sephiroth's disappeared...
Metal Man: "Is that all you've got? Phah!" *He spits.*
Aetos is breathing heavily... "Come back, so-called Angel... I'm not finished with you..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Julian's health is instantly reduced to 1, his SP to 0, and all status is worn off.
Julian: *HURK!*
Nick Caligo (GM): You'd all see the aurora gathering around him... and Sephiroth several meters away.
Spyke is no match for any of these titans, and he knows it... He just helps out as best as he can with a series of saber slashes, the air behind his weapon glowing with the heat and energy of his weapon. His weapon assails the air, hoping to connect a few times with the wall of an adversary, seven times...
Nick Caligo (GM): You make like Zero in X4 and abuse an apparent button glitch. In the process, though, you only manage to score two hits.
Julian's Rocket Boots barely avoid cutting off, instead powering down as he lowers to the ground and collapses. After collapsing, he reaches into his back pocket, pulls out another PEZ Dispenser and takes out a tap that materializes into a Royal Syrup on himself. And then he stops moving, resting up for his next turn...
Metal Man uses the almighty powers of his current form to... open a spray can and spray healing spray on his wounds? And then... nothing.
Aetos speeds up to Sephiroth and does a spin just before him, he raises his foot and then slams it downward into Sephiroth.
Nick Caligo (GM): *WHAM!* Your foot connects hard.
Spyke lowers his head slowly, eyes only partially closed. What's still visible begins to glow in a crackling blue energy, as new whisps of electricity form in his open palm... he looks up at Sephiroth as the ball of electricity finally forms with a loud crack, and then followed by a second as it splits in two, the other leaping into his other palm. He rushes at Sephiroth and brings both at his chest, almost like punches.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth flaps his wing and disappears faster than the eye can see; he's gone before you're halfway to him. Your sparks surge through the air and explode against rubble. You feel the pain. Sephiroth lays into you from behind with a direct hit... You're sent hurtling through the air after your sparks.
Metal Man winces, despite looking like a berserk maniac.
Nick Caligo (GM): You impact against a metal beam.
Spyke doesn't even realize what hit him when he's sent suddenly flying in the direction he was moving. He slumps to the ground after making a loud clang, dazed. @_@
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth flaps his wing, disappearing again and reappearing this time by Metal, whom he tries to grab hold of by the chestplate. You're snatched off your feet and hurled through the air in Julian's direction. It's not like it even hurts at all... until you realize what he's doing. He moves faster than he threw you, making it to Julian's position in a single bound and taking a wide slash at the both of you just as Metal reaches the exact right spot in the air...
Julian: *And Sephiroth can't hit a man lying prone in the rubble!*
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal's definitely hit for another He's slashed out of the air and is about to ricochet against the ground. Sephiroth finishes by spinning around and taking one last final slash at Julian's back to finish him off. *CRITICAL HIT.*
Julian: *OUT.*
Metal Man goes to tumble.
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal rolls along the ground and back to your one knee, bracing himself up with the palm of his hand... his visor's cracked. Julian respawn moments later.
Julian: *Spinal cord and various other vitals organs severed/destroyed, DEAD. 2/3 lifes.*
Metal Man: "Good thing I have duct tape at base."
Julian's body is quickly absorbed into a generic blue warp portal, which about 3 seconds later spits him right back out. "...Now that's just LOW, killin' a man while he's down..." *Julian dashes at Sephiroth and tries hitting him with a Backflip kick.*
Nick Caligo (GM): *Whap!* You boot him upside the head. damage; even your double knockback has no effect.
Metal Man uses his stored up stuff to first charge into Sephiroth with one last overpowered shoulder attack, again flying at high speeds. Then he reverts to normal and uses another healing spray on himself.
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal strikes Sephiroth almost faster than Aetos's omnislash did earlier; 1876/2000.
Spyke dashes at Sephiroth, his saber held straight ahead, trying to pierce him in the chest with a lightning-imbued stab.
Nick Caligo (GM): *Whiff.* Sephiroth just -turns- out of the way of the stab.
Spyke misses, growls, and steps back, his eyes narrowing... Spyke then brings up his free arm, covering his chest, in defense. *Done.*
Aetos stands there with his spear outfront, ready to stab... suddenly the aura starts to crackle, as if telling him to use his new gift, to it's full potential... he gives an angry glare at Sephiroth, and starts running at him, his spear pulling him for extra speed, he leaps toward Sephiroth and he starts to glide just over the surface of the ground at a great speed. Aetos starts to twirl around as if to drill into Seph. A moment before he came into contact with Sephiroth, Aetos' body exploded with the golden energy, he let out a horse scream and went right into Seph, he keeps going, right through Seph, he turns around near-instantly a few yards behind Seph. Aetos soars back toward Seph with another burst of energy, He begins surging with the energy, it seems to be overflowing his body... starts forming rays shooting off him, he comes in close to Sephiroth... once he lands the omnislashes... what will happen?...
Nick Caligo (GM): 3 hits from the first part of the Omnislash. He's still prepared... but having been beaten around as much as he has, Seph's starting to slip. You manage to sneak in three attacks from seemingly random angles that catch him offguard and deal damage total before your final, explosive slash hits him dead-on.*SHING!!!* You see something blue and crystalline shattering and emitting a spherical shockwave outward as you land the final blow on Sephiroth in an explosion of gold light... time seems to move slower in these moments as he falls backward, a look of shock and awe plastered on his face. Killed by Omnislash. Again. Damage: 2061/2000. The explosion clears and Aetos lands on his feet, the glow fading from his body... it was a big enough hit to have blown a massive hole in the shell of the building. A crater has cleared the debris... and Sephiroth lies in the middle of it, his wing tattered and broken.
Julian: "...Third time that's happened..." *relaxes from readying a KO Punch.*
Nick Caligo (GM): His eyes open. He slowly lifts up his arm, bearing his teeth in pain, wincing. He plants his palm in the dirt and pushes himself up, slowly, clutching his chest with the other hand. His sword, meanwhile--that huge Masamune blade--just juts out of the ground next to Aetos.
Metal Man: "Huh. I was figuring I'd beat him around some more before being slaughtered... and then he just... died."
Nick Caligo (GM): He coughs. "...The planet... is m... mine... Ha!!" He hops off the floor, arms out again, as though to summon another of his freaky attacks... he looks weak though. Too weak to really be a threat... except that he probably doesn't intend to survive whatever he's got planned... "... I WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT FROM ME!!" That's when you notice that enormous meteor hanging in the sky overhead. The one that looks to be about the size of the state of Texas.
Metal Man: "I should punch that too. Maybe it'll explode."
Julian: "...Aw hell. How we gonna stop that?"
Metal Man: "Do you have a large black hole, perhaps? Or... Klumsy could... uhh... delete it?"
Nick Caligo (GM): He growls, leering down at all of you... but especially Aetos.
Julian: "Maybe that sword'll do somethin'... Aetos! Pick it up!"
Nick Caligo (GM): The sky seems to become like fire as the whole world rumbles.
Aetos eyes the legendary sword, standing next to him... "We won't let you take it at all!" he grabs Masamune, and delivers and quick stab into his gut.
Nick Caligo (GM): Sephiroth winces, his own sword through his chest... his eyes roll into the back of his head... and he just... drops. He drags the point of the sword down before just sliding off it. His whole body bursts as it hits the ground, trailing off in streamers of green energy..... But that meteor is still up there... and the world is still shaking.....
Julian: "There you go... But what about the meteor..."
Nick Caligo (GM): *SHING!!!*
Metal Man: "...Do I look like an astronomer?"
Nick Caligo (GM): A ray of light beams down from above and puts a hole in the dirt just in front of Aetos. *SHINK!* Something lands there...
Julian: "..."
Aetos starts panting, he watches the hole form and the object reveal itself..
Metal Man: "It's like the shining. Except it has nothing to do with the movie of that name."
Nick Caligo (GM): In moments, the whole meteor dissipates slowly, burning itself into dust before exploding in a brilliant ball of flames, like a second sun. The ray of light fades away...
Julian: "...The hell was that?"
Aetos: "...I have a hunch, just a hunch." he says to himself.
Nick Caligo (GM): And sitting in that spot, where Sephiroth's corpse once resided, is an enormous, black, jagged-looking weapon. Some of you might be familiar with it.
Metal Man: "...What the heck is that?"
Julian: "No idea..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Aetos would notice something as well. The Masamune in his hand has transformed...
Julian: "Aetos, pick it up."
Nick Caligo (GM): http://kh2.co.uk/assets/kh/artwork/180.jpg This object sits, head down, in the ground before you.
Aetos leans down to pick up the black, jagged sword in his free hand...
Nick Caligo (GM): And moments later, following the black key is that enigmatic man again... he lands next to it and pulls it out of the ground. He then holds his hand out to Aetos... he'd feel the katana-like key trying to wrench itself from his grip, but also fighting to stay in it at the same time. He gives up after a few moments of struggling to take the key from Aetos. He just seems to stare.
Julian: "...The hell is going on... Who're you?"
???: "...Your heart must be very strong to be able to withhold the keyblade from me."
Spyke: "..."
Aetos stares back at him..
???: "And I'd thought I'd killed two birds with one stone.....It is of no consequence." He shakes his head.
Aetos 's stare turns into a sort-of glare... he needs no words to speak... he feels enraged, somewhat betrayed.
Metal Man: "Heart, eh? I didn't know those things were linked to such a thing."
Metal Man raises an eyebrow. Which could barely be seen.
Nick Caligo (GM): He looks up and around at the ruined building, then sets his eyes on Metal. "...Just like old times, eh? Heh. Do you remember the battles you just fought, Illian?"
Metal Man: "All of them. They are as much a part of me as my skin."
Julian: .oO(Missed somethin' again...)
???: "Wish I could say the same..." He looks to the sky. "I've felt rather out of my skin for a long time... just imagine, though. All these battles are just little stepping stones on the way to something bigger. Something grander than anyone could concieve..."
Julian: *Just keeps silent like he usually does when he has no idea what's going on.*
Spyke does what Julian does, furrowing his brow in thought..
???: "It's all part of the grandest scheme of all time... but I wonder? If these battles are part of you, does that mean you're an intregal part of the grandest scheme of all time?"
Aetos just keeps silent like he usually does when he has a somewhat deep understanding of what's going on.. He reaches into and under his cape... calmly pulling out his dex... he flips it open and scans The garbed man. "It's time to reveal yourself."
Nick Caligo (GM): *Ding!*
Julian: .oO(Hate it when people talk like this. It sounds so... condecending? I think that's the word.)
Nick Caligo (GM): Metal Man, real name Illian Macgregor. It proceeds to tell you Metal's bio... but you scanned that guy.
Metal Man (GM): *After remaining silent for a bit, he points at the mysterious person. * "How could you be me?"
???: "Heh... the smash dex. I remember it well." He turns to Aetos. "It never lies... I've been wondering that myself for a long time now, Illian."
Aetos nods... agreeing with the two of them... how..
Metal Man: "Well, I can assure you I've been here first. That precludes you from being original... at least, in the sense of being the first seen."
Metal Man stares at the person, trying to make out any details that might jog his own memory.
???: "..." He walks over to Metal slowly, his lanky arm swinging the keyblade up across his shoulder... he stares into that visor. He's the exact same height as Metal and everything.
Julian: .oO(...*braintwitch.* He's METAL?! What the *censored* is going on?!)
Nick Caligo (GM): He then swings the black key directly across Metal's face. His helmet would shatter, and his real face would be revealed.
Spyke: "..." .oO( There can't be two, can there? )Oo.
Metal Man steps back one step, mainly so that its only his helmet that was shattered. The appearance of a man with wild, brown hair and crystalline blue eyes could be seen... he appeared fairly generic, save for his nose, which was rather angled (Read: somewhat larger than average). His mouth, with dull, red, cracked lips, smirked, revealing some shiny white teeth, but not many.*
???: "...You look just like me."
Julian: .oO(*censored* time travel... THAT'S Metal?)
Nick Caligo (GM): He steps back from Metal. "...Then I guess I really am no one after all... heh heh heh... heheheheheheh..."
Metal Man: "You're almost as fruity as Tridus. You know that?" *He looks at him some more; his voice sounds strangely more powerful without the helmet on.*
Nick Caligo (GM): In moments he breaks into maniacal laughter.
Julian: .oO(...Goddammit, now we're gonna have to fight him.)
Aetos shakes his head in disgust..
Metal Man just... stares, for the moment. He thinks of merely repairing his helmet, despite the freakiness happening. "You've got my laugh all right."
Julian: .oO(...I wonder where my hat went. It was gone when I woke up from that nap...)
Nick Caligo (GM): He just... fades away.
Julian: "...So what the hell was that?"
Metal Man: "Don't look at me. I don't know. This has nothing to do with me."
Metal Man looks left and right, picking up pieces of his helmet. "He could have asked. It comes off easily enough."
Julian: "Mets, this apparently has EVERYTHING to do with you."
Aetos: "I don't think any of us knows this full story, though, Julian..."
Nick Caligo (GM): Meanwhile, Aetos would probably realize he's holding a really nifty keyblade.
Metal Man: "What? No. He's just delusional. -I- -am- -the- -only- -one-."
Julian: "Time Travel. "
Metal Man: "There is no possibility of that. No one could have such an ability... Even the Solarians can't do it."
Nick Caligo (GM): Aetos's special prize for completing the Platinum Challenge alive:
Aetos shakes his head, then looks at the blade, "This... seems to be from the remains of an angel..."
Julian: "We did it! ...Alright, Kuja did it, but still!"
Metal Man: "What? Kuja didn't help us here."
Metal Man seems confused.
Nick Caligo (GM): One-Winged Angel - Damage: +40, MNT +2, Critical 20/X3, Rank 5.
Julian: *mumbles something.* "Alright, nevermind... Anyone know where my fedora went?"
Metal Man: "I don't wear hats, so... no."
Nick Caligo (GM): The entire setting shimmers away into brilliant platinum sparkles, save the keyblade in Aetos's hand. In moments, you're standing amidst the familiar red stone of the Holo Tomb... but not in the main hub. A giant, platinum safe lies just before you... the handle slowly begins to turn, and the door slowly swings open...
Metal Man: "I sure hope I get something good. I participated in almost every challenge ever made."
Julian: "Now where are we... Hey, vault."
Nick Caligo (GM): A brilliant, rainbow-colored glow greets you from within, creeping out of the crack in the door slowly.
Metal Man: "Most of those other flakes went off and got killed by Kuja or went mad."
Julian: "Wha?"
Nick Caligo (GM): Finally, the door's open. And inside, there is...
Metal Man: "Star Steel, my man. He was in it with us, then Kuja killed him."
Aetos twitches at Metal's comment about the people going mad..
Nick Caligo (GM): ... All the chaos emeralds that you don't already have.
Aetos blinks.
Julian: "Whoa!"
Aetos: "No... way..."
Metal Man: "Huh. Ain't that odd."
Nick Caligo (GM): And Klumsy, standing there and leaning on one of them. "Yeah, I, uh, gathered 'em up... after Kuja banished you guys." He adjusts his glasses. "Kuja's too strong... beating him is gonna be a real trick. I know... I tried."
Metal Man: "...You tried to beat him... and you're alive?HOW?"
Julian: "...You're Klumsy? I figured you'd be more... menacing."
Nick Caligo (GM): He looks at his feet sadly. "Well, I... ran."
Metal Man: "...I see. In hindsight, that's better than the two times he nearly killed me."
Aetos looks downard, with empathy.
Klumsy: "...Well, tripped and fell about a hundred stories is more the term..."
Julian: "Ouch..." .oO(No wonder his name's Klumsy...)
Metal Man: "Third time better be the charm."
Spyke: "Must have been a fun little fall..."
Klumsy: "He had me figured for dead... too bad he didn't realize there's a LAKE right outside his palace!" He chuckles and snorts.
Julian: "...definitely figured you'd be more menacing."
Klumsy: "Anyway... I'm too scared to go back and fight him again. He's just... insane. He was toying with me, or I'd be dead."
Aetos nudges Julian.
Metal Man: "The only way I survived the first battle was because of other dead Questers piled atop of me."
Klumsy: "You guys can use these, though. With all seven of them, put into about... six of you, I figure... you should be able to take on his Trance Form. I know that's about as far as I got... Before he started kicking my butt, anyway." He adjusts his glasses and goes shifty-eyed. >.>
Spyke: "...So... What do these little jewel things do and why did we work so hard for them? They can't be that powerful can they?"
Metal Man bursts out laughing.
Nick Caligo (GM): "Well, they make you like Kuja... basically."
Aetos sweatdrops.
Julian: "...SO how do you make 'em work? I saw Charles slow down time with his..."
Metal Man: "Eh. What Charles did is unusual, even for emeralds."
Julian: "So what DO they do?"
Metal Man: "The normal use is just to become powerful."
Spyke: "...Mm... But will it be enough?"
Klumsy: "Well... usually you need rings to run these things. You guys, though. You're the Questers. You've got Smash power! You oughta be able to get by with just your own strength. All you need to do is call them out when you need them. They'll do the rest."
Metal Man: "Well, Kuja killed an ominpotent god who somehow spirited himself back from the grave to give him hell again in one hit."
Klumsy: "As to that, Spyke... well... I... really don't know." He looks at the emeralds again. "... They're kinda'.. small. And usually they're only used on ONE person, not six."
Julian: "...Right... Any difference between them beside the color?"
Nick Caligo (GM): "Nope. They're all exactly the same, just different colors."
Spyke: "Huh... Wonder why... Just to be identified from the others, maybe..."
Klumsy: "Nobody really knows." He shrugs. "Who cares!? Just use them!"
Aetos hesitantly gives out a snicker..
Julian: "Fine, fine... Say, you wouldn't happened to have seen my fedora, have you?"
Klumsy: "They're the only weapons left that are a match for Kuja."
Metal Man: "You know, if we hadn't been so busy holding trials and democratic votes back when Wolfman was around, we could have beaten the Platinum challenge back then."
Nick Caligo (GM): Klumsy rolls his eyes, reaches into his shell, pulls out a flattened fedora, pops it open, and tosses it to Julian.
Julian: *catches it.* "Hey! Be more careful with it next time you find it."
Metal Man: "By the way, what will you do now that we beat the challenge? I mean, you're... not... dead... and... this tomb is ancient, even by my standards."
Klumsy: "...Wha, this thing? You didn't beat it. Not really. I got more stuff hidden in here."
Editor's Note: No he doesn't. (Just check the next umpteen zillion logs.) :p
Metal Man: "...Oh. Right."
Spyke: "Why do you stay here anyway? Can't it... guard itself?"
Klumsy: "The Platinum Challenge is SUPPOSED to be for one person, alone. I bent the rules, 'cause you need to save the world. It guards me pretty nicely too!"
Spyke: "Oh yeah..." ^^;
Metal Man: "It saved him from Kuja's purge that time ago. That's proof enough for me. Even half-Questers got sent to Turion over that."
Julian: "Mmh..." *dusts off his fedora and put it back on his head.*
Klumsy: "It's about all I can do right now... but it's better than nothing. Go ahead. Take 'em. They're yours."
Spyke: "Huh... I wish I knew more about what happened..."
Nick Caligo (GM): +5040 for the fight with Sephiroth. But only to you who finished it.
Metal Man: "I would say, but it'd take a while and you might fall asleep and become less intelligent from it."
Nick Caligo (GM): Aetos: an additional 1260 for living through all this. Feel free to create a new set of moves for your keyblade if you so desire.
Nick Caligo (GM): -end-
Julian: .oO(When we get back, I'm gonna finish that nap I was taking...*
Spyke: "There's that much, huh, Mets?..."
Julian: "...Who're you, anyway?"
Aetos snaps out of his... solemn-ness... "Heh! He's a beaver" he grins. "I'm just kidding... He's Spyke, the Porcupine... Reploid... If it weren't for him, we might not have been able to beat Sephiroth!" he smiles at Spyke.
Julian: "...With his whiffs? And who was that guy that kinda looked like you?"
Aetos: "No, he did something more important then attacking, in my opinion... he supported us in the fight."
Spyke smiles at Aetos. "You finally got it right..." And then he glares at Julian.
Julian: "All I saw him do was miss... He might-a done something after I got hit with Heartless Angel, but I didn't see it..."
Spyke: "... Sephiroth was above any I've ever fought before. He was out of my league... But the fights before that, I had less trouble."
Julian: "Whatever. Who was that other guy?"
Aetos shrugs now...