Shamitako

Cardinal reached through reality, glimpsing a few moments into the future. In a span of time too small to count, she had learned all that Hiroki planned to do in the following seconds, perhaps even before the Hellfire Knight knew herself. Her power did not only reveal Hiroki's actions, but also the ones for her to take to achieve success. Over long periods it might fall apart, but in the short term it was infallible. Or at least it ought to have been. For although Cardinal knew exactly what Hiroki was doing, her paradox had found no path to victory. She was clearly stronger, yet she was being overwhelmed so easily with no way to turn things around. Was this the end? No. Watcher had promised. He had promised her that she would not fail. She was going to win her freedom, no matter what it took. Cardinal teleported above Hiroki again, but Hiroki didn't have a chance to respond as she intended to. The world flashed bright white around the battle for just a moment as Cardinal activated her signature, causing both of their mechs to totally vanish. They fell to the ground with Cardinal landing atop Hiroki, pinning the smaller girl down with her weight. But victory wouldn't come from just halting the fight, Cardinal had to stop Hiroki for good. Her delicate fingers wrapped around Hiroki's neck as she attempted to strangle her foe. Her heart was pounding in her throat and her eyes wide with panicked fear as she tried to hold back tears. She felt sick, but she didn't stop. No matter what it takes, she told herself in Watcher's voice. If Cardinal didn't have the courage to do this, then the Prince of Nothing would have to.

Grima The man scratched his head nervously. "Well, not technically..." he said, "But she'll use it soon, she has to, so I expect she'll have it with her and be headed for somewhere secluded. Your best chance to take it is probably right when she tries to use it. There will be a brief moment where it will cut off her senses before it transports her." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of pills, "These should help with the timing. Ingesting one should slow your perception of time momentarily, which I believe you're quite comfortable with. With your skills, I'm pretty sure you'll have an easy enough time getting the device, but I should warn you: Once she realizes it's gone, she's going to be really pissed. The hard part won't be stealing, it will be getting away in one piece."

Grima "She may well have already left, yes." the man said, sounding unconcerned, "But if that's the case, it really doesn't matter whether I try to stop her or not, no? As for her identity, that would be Seeker." he seemed equally unconcerned by implicating one of the gods, "Or at least I'm pretty sure it is, I can't think of anyone else who would know where it was and also have reason to take it."

Hiroki's attack was successful in revealing Cardinal's position, but Cardinal's response to this was not at all what she expected. Instead of teleporting and attacking the wy she had before, Cardinal fired off a quick volley of three blasts, moving to the side with each. This created a wall of darkness that approached through Hiroki's attack and concealed the precise location of Cardinal behind them. It was an unexpectedly cautious move after her aggressive opening.

Cardinal wasn't listening anymore, she had made up her mind to fight, there would be no stopping her unless something drastic happened. Hiroki's fire was effortlessly absorbed by her barrier, but at least watching where the fire vanished gave Hiroki a decent idea of where Cardinal was. Which is why it was a bit of a surprise when it stopped vanishing entirely. Hiroki had only a moment to process what had happened before a burst of agony washed over her from above. Cardinal had fired a chunk of displaced space through the Hellfire Knight, damaging it and disrupting its systems, as well as creating a great deal of pain as it passed through Hiroki herself.

Grima "It was you or the singer." the man answered, "Everyone else is too involved, I can't trust them not to do something stupid." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph, handing it to Grima. It was of a small device in the shape of a triangular prism, the craftsmanship made it clear it was a piece of ancient technology. "It's called the Access Attain. It was in my possession until earlier today, but someone has taken it. It's how we originally planned to get the champion to the Plane of Nil, and I assume the thief is planning to go herself." Tai Adam winced at Tai's next question. "My own ego, really." he said with more than a hint of embarrassment, "Lord has been caring for me since I was a kid, and I let it get into my head that she did that because I was something ultra special. So I joined the tournament despite her insistence that I wasn't ready. I was acting like a brat, and it dragged everyone around me down." Nastasia Lain was dumbfounded by the note, and completely unprepared to stop Nastasia from drawing him in. Held so close to her, he could no longer contain himself. Tears spewed from his eyes against his will as his body shook with fear. "I don't think she's planning to come back." he whimpered weakly, "She wanted us to meet here because she doesn't want me to be alone." He pushed Nastasia back, a little rougher than he meant to, but kept a gentle hold on her arm, letting her know he wasn't trying to be rid of her. "Nastasia I... You.." He failed to bring the words out. The storm raging inside him begged him to say something more, but at the same time held him back. He let go of her and wiped his tears. But although it might have seemed like he was closing himself off again, that wasn't the case. He had simply had an epiphany. Despite her instructions, Lain chose to take after his mother. With a deep breath, he reigned in the turmoil. To say what he needed to say, he needed to be in control, otherwise it was meaningless. "Nastasia, I want you to stay by me." he said, doing his best to muster a smile, "A lot of people have left me, I don't want to see you leave as well. Because I value your friendship, and I really care about you as a person. And I think maybe..." he took another breath, "You care about me too?"

Cardinal seemed dumbfounded. "Undo? He can't do that." she mumbled, "That's against the rules." She became so lost in thought that it almost seemed like she had forgotten Hiroki was there. And when she finally came out of it, she was different. "It doesn't matter." she said firmly, "Whatever Lucifer is up to, I will deal with it later. Here and now, you are my obstacle. I will defeat you, I will escape, and I will beat him too. The one thing I will not do is surrender, not when I'm so close." Cardinal motioned upwards with her arms, causing a pitch black sphere to surround her in her entirety. It was so dark that it was now impossible to see her against the equally dark world they occupied. She didn't wait for Hiroki to be ready, a chunk of nothingness broke away from the rest and flew towards Hiroki. She had already seen what Cardinal's attacks could do, now she would have to find a way to overcome them.

Tai "Don't ask me what he was thinking, but I figured it was the least I could do to back him up. It helps that she threw that tantrum during your fight with the Hellfire Knight." Adam explained as best he could, "Maybe he just felt bad. I tried to ask him what was up, but he just told me to tell you, 'Cardinal says thanks, but it's too late for her to stop.' and then he spent like five minutes berating himself for messing up. "Anyways, that's a trick I learned from a shitty midget goddess. It uses a similar technique as the glitch, but it's more like a manual activation than an automatic failsafe, it would work even if you built your mech through meditation. Though you still need to be fast, it's more reliant on your reflexes as a pilot than the mech's innate speed. Also I don't think I could do it again if you asked me to, I have no idea how she manages to do it every single time." Adam didn't avoid explaining the technique because he was trying to hide it, he just didn't really know how to explain it. It was something he'd done in the heat of the moment, and he still wasn't sure how it had actually worked. Grima "I was hoping you would, erm, retrieve something for me." the man said, surreptitiously closing the door so as to avoid any onlookers, "I am aware of the circumstances of your parole, but this is of great importance. If it matters, I'll take the blame when the time comes." Grima could tell from the man's tone that he was being very serious, but this whole situation was still pretty fishy. Nastasia Lain shook his head, "I came looking for her and I found this note she left, but it doesn't say anything about her. It's just some advice, doesn't even make sense. 'Don't be like your dad, take a clue from your uncle. An opportunity is coming.' Like, what does that mean? She hates Uncle Sain, why would she want me to act like him? And I don't even know what my dad is like! And an opportunity? What opportunity? Opportunity for what? What the fuck is an opportunity?!" Lain looked like her was going to explode, clearly he had a lot on his mind. Nastasia would be a little surprised that Lain was opening up so much to her. They had known each other for some time, but he had never been this exposed. He always felt a little distant, like he was chasing after something else. But right now, when he was close to breaking, he was baring his heart for her.

Cardinal shrank back even further in the face of Hiroki's confidence. It may have been bluster, but Cardinal was clearly not equipped to notice. Which is why she was so confused by Hiroki's following statements. It took her a while to sort through just what Hiroki had said. But unfortunately, Hiroki's words were not beyond Cardinal's capacity to rationalize. "Of course he did, he sent you here." she said, her voice still quivering, "He sent you here so I can beat you, and by beating you I can finally be recognized by the Planes. So I don't care if you want to fight, we're going to fight." She didn't sound entirely like she'd convinced herself, seeing as she still hadn't attacked, but she also hadn't backed down. It didn't seem like a diplomatic solution was possible yet.

What was supposed to be a long journey had turned out to be mere moments, or at least it felt that way. Hiroki now found herself in a completely empty black room. She couldn't make out the dimensions with her eyes, but her instincts told her it was square, and a good deal smaller than the arena she had occupied before coming here. Cardinal didn't seem to be here, but Hiroki could tell that she was in the right place. This tiny pocket of blackness tucked away in the corner of reality was the Plane of Nil. It was rather pitiful, really, this little box was the great danger they had all been fighting to stop. A window appeared beside her, or maybe it had always been there and she just hadn't been able to see it until now. Through this window Hiroki could see a place unlike any she had ever known. It was another room, one covered from head to toe with strange containers, bags, books, and toys. At one end of the room a girl with long, unkempt black hair was sitting at a computer, wearing an oversize t-shirt and no pants. Hiroki couldn't see what she was doing at this angle, but the girl seemed totally engrossed. "You got here fast." Hiroki saw the girl's lips move, but the voice came from behind her. When she turned to look, she found the girl again, but this time in a much more recognizable form. Cardinal, dressed in an unusual black and white dress, her hair now neatly combed. Although she was a good bit taller than Hiroki, something about the girl seemed very small. It wasn't merely her slight frame either, this girl was nothing like the other gods, let alone Arcturus or Watcher. All of the other powerful entities Hiroki had stood against had exerted their power through their mere presence. Yet compared to her, this girl seemed insignificant. Again, Hiroki had to wonder how such a pitiful thing could be a the great threat she had been training to fight. Even having seen Cardinal in action, she couldn't help but question if there had been some mistake. "You're here to stop me, right?" Cardinal sounded afraid, and visibly seemed to shrink back, "Well, I don't plan to back down, so don't think you can intimidate me. I'm not going to lose, because I don't have anything to lose." Cardinal seemed to brace herself for combat, but made no move to attack or even summon her defenses.

Nastasia Nastasia clutched a note from Seeker in her hand. It was uncharacteristically vague, simply asking her to meet the god at her temporary quarters here in Pride. They'd only been here a few hours, so it was curious as to what Seeker might find so important as to speak to her about at this time. If it were urgent, they could have spoken on the train, and if it could wait this long, surely there were more pressing matters to discuss with the other gods. Unfortunately, she would not receive a proper answer today. When she knocked on the door to Seeker's room, it was answered by a different god, Gryffin. He didn't seem surprised to see her, though that was mostly because he looked very worried about something. "Nastasia? Where's my mother?" Gryffin asked. Nastasia noticed that he was holding a piece of paper in his hand, apparently he'd received a similar note. Tai Tai had been locked in his room on the train, and upon arrival in Pride had promptly had the situation repeated with a prison cell. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in here, but it didn't seem all that long yet. Considering his position, it would probably be a long, long time before he was let out. Or so he would assume. This assumption would be proven wrong when the door to his cell was opened for him. "You're not exact free yet, but they said I could let you out of your cell." Adam said, "Aries told everyone that Cardinal was threatening you, and I corroborated his story. It was the least I could do after what you did for me back there. Thank you, by the way, I haven't had a fight like that in years." Grima Grima wasn't exactly imprisoned, but she didn't think it would be a good idea to leave her room right now. Until Queen said she was off her leash, she needed to be careful to avoid any missteps. Unfortunately for her, a misstep decided to open her door. An older man with receding hair that had been dyed to look more like the black shade it had held in his youth, his brown eyes still clinging on to the spark of youth. He didn't knock, just announced he was going to enter and barged in. His labcoat nearly got caught in the door as it swung shut behind him, he made no attempt to close it properly, but he kept one step ahead of it. The way he entered showed a ridiculous sort of confidence that Grima couldn't help but be impressed by. "Pardon the intrusion miss, but I would like your help." He announced, his voice surprisingly soft considering the scene he had just made.

Archangel vs. the Councilor Thomas stayed quiet throughout Nastasia's grandstanding, but his confidence was returning all the while. Upon the completion of her question, it peaked again. A thunderous crash stole the crowd's attention from Nastasia. One of Thomas's discs had fallen from the sky and landed behind him. Electricity arced through the fog, turning him to a silhouette. The disc he rode was resting on the ground and he was kneeling atop it. He put his hand to his face, covering his patched eye, and began to laugh as the remaining discs crashed down around him. A maniacal cackle echoed through the arena as he rose to his feet, the flashes of lightning mixing with it to perfectly frame the villain as he was. "Is that it?" Thomas asked, his laughter coming to an abrupt end, "You could have made any number of requests, yet you challenge my ego?" His arm swung out to point an accusation at Nastasia as she sat atop her fortress, "It is you who have fallen prey to ego. You present yourself and your will to challenge me, but you are not my foe." He gestured to the crowd, "We stand as one, not for ego, but for vengeance. Vengeance against the tyrant who tore down our way of life, and who, in the name of freedom, became our oppressor. You are merely a means to an end, a method through which will will restore order to this land that has been consumed by chaos. Indeed, the ayes have it, as you have wished, my ego will never defeat your will. But our righteous retribution will still strike you down as we carve our path to freedom!" The discs rose into the air again with Thomas standing triumphantly above them all. "My friends, I plead with you: Remember what we are here for. The spectacle of battle is but a fleeting joy, you must not let your heart be swayed by daring actions or flashy displays. I do not stand here as a man, but as the embodiment of our indignation! With your help I will win the day, and we shall overcome the tyrant god Blink!" "He's right!" a voice shouted from the crowd. A hooded figure raised themselves up from their seat. They were short, nearly as small as a child, but their voice carried as though the air itself were speaking for them, showing them to be a practiced speaker. "Blink destroyed our very way of life, we cannot lose sight of that just because a castle decided to jump. Because of her, our once simple lives have been filled with uncertainty. Thieves and brigands of all manner run rampant through our streets, yet she turns a blind eye to them, instead choosing to dismantle a group of bakers for trying to hire delivery boys." Thomas recalled the event, but had lost interest in the stranger's speech, instead trying to recall where he had heard their voice. "Many of us abandon our very lives rather than live them out in this hopeless place. Our children starve while she laughs upon her gilded throne. She pretends to be a victim because she was born a peasant, all the while condemning us to eternal poverty. I thought I had overcome my blindness by conquering the world, but I had only blinded myself to the plight of those standing right in front of me." Thomas realized the obvious answer too late. The stranger cast off her cloak, revealing her identity to be Blink. He was awed by her appearance, so quickly after he had crushed her. Every time he kicked her down, she got back up. It was truly beautiful. "You are all right to challenge me." Blink continued, "I'm a fucking awful ruler, and I've pretty much ignored anyone who didn't agree with me. It's honestly a bit crazy you guys didn't decide to throw me out sooner. But you know, he's really not any better. How many of you would actually be better off with the council system? A lot of you would find your lives even shittier than they are now. And if you wouldn't be fucked, look around you. Look at all these people who stand beside you, can your conscience really accept crushing them beneath your heel? I get that you can't trust me, so don't Don't put your faith in me, put it in her." Blink pointed to Nastasia, "Nastasia has no part in my failings, in fact she's been pretty critical of me, but she still stands against the Councilor. You may not know her, but you have certainly felt her. Her resolve has resonated with all of you, and you chose to stand by her willpower. Enough with these political games, put your trust in your heart. Why don't we all join in the clash of spirits between two combatants who are giving it their all?" The crowd became a quiet murmur, growing slowly louder until it reached a ferocious din. Rage towards Blink, arguments between themselves, and announcements of their votes all combined into a cacophony of uncertainty. But through the uncertainty reached Thomas's ability, and he knew what their answer was. Gritting his teeth, he admitted defeat, "The ayes have it." His ability could not be activated by Blink, but it didn't matter. If he cheated her out of such a clear victory, it would be meaningless when he finally crushed her and made her his once again. And so now he would have to fight. Not in spectacle or as a means to an end, but for the sake of fighting. His discs began to orbit around him rapidly, altering their angles in a totally unpredictable pattern. Nastasia would almost certainly defeat him now, but that wouldn't stop him from giving this fight his all. Vallkyrie vs. Finale Grima's charge was met with a snarl of rage from Artemis. The audacity of the action was unthinkable, she couldn't accept it. In her rage, she stepped forward to meet the charge, and this was her undoing. Blinded by anger, she forgot one of the most crucial aspects of her own mech design: It was ridiculously top heavy. And so that single step was enough to completely undo her balance, nearly sending her sprawling to the ground. She used her mech's arms to right herself, but it was too late. During her momentary lapse, Finale had been forced to cease firing mortar shells, giving Grima just enough of a break for her t make it through the minefield without being completely destroyed. Her armor and shield were battered to the point of uselessness, but it didn't matter any more. She had closed the distance, and the stumbling Finale would have no chance to defend herself.

Archangel vs. The Councilor Nastasia's gambit was absolutely mad. Even the unshakable poker face of the Councilor was taken aback. And not just taken aback, he was downright shocked. With one snap of her fingers, Nastasia had taken away his entire lead, and turned the match in her favor. She may not know just yet exactly what she had done, but it was clear from the crowd's reaction that she had turned their hearts against him. For indeed, while his charisma and political actions motivated them to side with him, in this world there was nothing more powerful than the childlike glee that came from watching two hearts cast aside everything else and clash with raw spirit. But Thomas was far from crushed, quite literally in fact. Even as he scrambled to formulate a plan, he regained his composure and quickly backed out of the path of the behemoth that was careening towards him. For the first time, however, he didn't have anything to say or do. There was no taunt or attack to meet Nastasia when she landed. He was not crushed, but neither did he have the power to crush Nastasia.

Archangel vs. The Councilor Thomas's discs were designs specifically to handle explosions by absorbing energy from the attack to launch themselves away, so they made no attempt to resist. However, Nastasia's ability was too powerful to redirect easily, and it took all of Thomas's power to rein in his mech, preventing him from performing a proper follow up. It looked like Nastasia had won that exchange. But looks could be deceiving. "That was quite impressive." Thomas said, speaking to the crowd, "Tell me, would all of you like to see me do the very same thing?" The crowd announced their opinions in a jumbled mess of voices with no distinctive answer. But the Councilor's mech knew the voices of their hearts, and a clear result was found. "The ayes have it." Thomas announced, "And I have you, Archangel." One of Thomas's disc's launched out again, but it was different this time. Faster, moving unpredictably. This was a real attack, not one for show. The disc easily moved into a close range, glowing with energy. "What was that you said?" Thomas mocked Nastasia smugly, "Oh right, I remember. Holy shroud of retribution, release!" An explosion identical to the one Nastasia had just created spread out around the disc, threatening to bring Nastasia down with her own unique attack.

Archangel vs. The Councilor The same instant Nastasia snapped her fingers, the discs spin slowed. It was almost imperceptible, the crowd wouldn't notice it, but Nastasia caught it. And it was enough to tell her thay what followed was intentional. The explosion sent the discs flying apart in opposite directions. But it was not a wild flight. No, the discs arced towards Nastasia in a pincer attack, using the momentum from her explosion to multiply their speed and power. And this was not all, from the cloud of smoke she had created, two more of Thomas's discs appeared. The tore along the ground vertically, kicking up sparks and dust as they approached. This second attack was even less threatening than the initial strike, it wouldn't even dent her armor if it hit. All Nastasia actually had to worry about from a combat perspective was the pair of discs arcing at her from opposite directions. But combat wasn't quite everything she had to worry about. Valkyrie vs. Finale The dust began to clear, allowing Grima and Artemis to search for each other in the fog. Artemis wasn't surprised to see Valkyrie strafing towards her, and it wouldn't pose any problem. The array of mines covered her easily, a direct approach from any angle would be dangerous. Once again, she let lose with her mortar, hoping to bombard Valkyrie into submission before the mines even came into play. "What a worthless fight." Artemis announced, "You refused to back out, but you're not even giving me a challenge. Why are you even here? If you don't have the skills to win, you shouldn't come to the battlefield."

Archangel vs. The Councilor Thomas took note of the energy his opponwnt directed towards the crowd. It was apparent that she had been warned of what he could do. But that wasn't all, even through the fog it was impossible not to pick up on her charisma. Since she knew what was going on, there was no reason to hide his abilities for an opportune time. Instead, it would be much better to make his move as quickly as possible before she could circumvent him. "Yes, let's." He answered, immediately sending two of his disks flying towards her. They orbited around one another, the electricity holding them together flashing wildly as it arced between the spinning disks. The attack was not a particularly powerful one, putting momentum towards the spinning took away from its forward momentum, but it was still enough that it wouldn't bounce off his opponents armor harmlessly. The crowd was mesmerized, of course, such was the intent of his action. Hiroki Watcher chuckled, though Hiroki was definitrly not in on the joke. It wasn't a wholly illogical answer, in fact it probably made the most sense given what she knew. But that was always the thing, they never knew. If any of them would just stop to think for a second, they'd realize that what Cardinal was doing was an impossibility, that something else must have been going on, and that they needed to look deeper if they wanted to stop her. If Cardinal's actions were taken at face value, the gods' plan was an excellent solution. Create someone powerful enough to challenge a god, defeat Cardinal, and Nil fades away. But it was such a superficial plan, it didn't even account for the possibility that Cardinal was never the god of Nil to begin with. And now Hiroki would finally see the truth of the matter, far too late for anyone to change the outcome. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but that answer is wrong." Watcher told her, "The correct answer is ten, though seven or fourteen would have been an equally correct response." Watcher flicked his fingers again, and another portal like the one that had brought Hiroki to him opened up beside him. "You can contemplate why on your way to meet Cardinal." Watcher said, not so subtly telling Hiroki that their time together was done. Valkyrie vs. Finale Valkyrie's reaction was impressive, it took a lot of cool to react reliably to such a wild attack. Though Grima's mech was slow, Artemis took a while to regain her balance after the throw, so she was only just barely ready in time to meet Valkyrie's charge. "No thanks." She said, her voice a mixture of anger an confidence. On of her arms moved around to her weapon, but rather than grabbing it, it reached inside the morter tube. The shell it pulled out was cast towards the ground between Finale and Valkyrie, just far enough to not damage Artemis but still close enough to knock her backwards, kicking up a cloud of debris in the process. Artemis was sent into a backwards somersault, used her mech's arms to spring even further back at the end of it, and landed as far away as she and Grima had started. It wasn't a perfect maneuver, now that the wall was at her back, she wouldn't be able to do it again, nor could she perform another back throw should her foe manage to get that sort of momentum towards her again. But Artemis didn't plan for either of those things to matter, she would batter her opponent into the ground before they even got close. As the debris and fog blocked her view just as much as her opponent, she didn't have the ability to open fire on her foe, Artemis once again pulled out the mine layer, intending to place mines between herself and Grima once more. Melee level 6 bonus used Astra vs. Supernova A stroke of luck. Supernova diving underneath him actually guaranteed Adam the opening he wasn't sure he'd get. Bow all he had to do was execute. Sorry Amelia. He thought. She'd be mad that he'd even attempted this, but it would be wrong for him to not give it his all. Phase punching was just the first step, a beta technique built using a poorly understood theory. There was something more beyond that, something Adam would never have attempted in a million years. "Well, I guess this is a million and one then." He chuckled to himself. Adam's mech vanished from around him, momentarily leaving him exposed as he fell. It reappeared again almost instantly and arcs of shadowy lightning flashed around it. Once more it vanished, but this time Adam went with it. The place Adam vanished to was truly a land of nothingness. He could not sense anything, it was like his mind and body had been completely separated. He almost panicked, but his willpower overcame his fear and he thought as quickly as possible. If Blink could survive his nothingness, then it was at least possible. He steadied himself and tried to reach ou with his senses. It was hard to explain, but even this nothingness felt like it existed, which meant he had something to feel with. It didn't take long to realize that he sensed a warm sensation. It was behind him, where Supernova had been. He didn't know what it was, but he knew who. And so he willed himself to pass behind that warm feeling. It didn't feel as though he was moving, more that the feeling was moving instead. Regardless, he knew that Supernova was in front of him. He opened his eyes, not having even realized he'd involuntarily closed them, and as he did so the real world snapped back into view. He'd done it. From Tai's perspective, it was as if Astra intently teleported from one location to another, like the speed glitch Tai had used earlier. But there was in fact, something entirely different about this technique. Before his mech had properly reentered reality, Adam outstretched his arms so that his hands were inside Supernova's back, fusing the mechs together when he fully reformed. On top of this momentary intagibility, Adam had maintained his momentum upon exiting subspace. Using that, as well as every last ounce of strength he could muster, he yanked Supernova downwards, activated his ability to remain in place, and sent the two of them into a wild spin. His armor was nowhere near heatproof, and Supernova's heat threatened to melt not only his hands but his entire mech. But that was the plan. His humans hands were in agony, he might have been safe but he still felt the pain as Supernova's energy tried to burn them off along with his mech. He only had to hold on for a few moments before Astra's hands melted free of Supernova and sent the fire mech careening towards the ground at unfathomable speeds, but those moments were moments of raw pain. There was no way it was enough. Even if Tai did absolutely nothing to defend himself, the amount of damage Supernova would take was nothing compared to the damage it's proximity had caused to Astra. Adam's mech was a half melted hunk of metal, the limbs there hadn't melted off entirely were fused in place. There was no possibility for him to fight any more. But that in itself was a victory. For the first time in his life he could truly say that he'd given it his all. And so, as the last gasps of his consciousness faded with his mech and his limp body fell from the sky, he had only one thing to say to Tai: "I had fun."

Hiroki Hiroki's demand gave Watcher pause. It wasn't every day someone spoke so directly to him. And for her to use the same words as that madwoman, it struck him as poetic. He actually felt tears well in his eyes before he stopped himself. "There are some answers that must be worked for." He said, "If you can answer a question of mine, you will have your own answer. So tell me: How many Planes are there?" It was a simple question with an obvious answer, but anyone could tell from the fact it was being asked that the obvious answer was incorrect. No, the answer was the number at the core of everything, and the number that would soon come to represent Hiroki herself.

Astra vs. Supernova Adam wanted to protest that he was already beyond saving. If he lost here, then it would all fall apart, and he didn't have any chance of winning, it was a given that Supernova's next attack would decide the battle. But something made him stop. Why did it have to dscide the battle? Had he really given up already? No, he couldn't. Not because of his responsibility, but for his own pride. There was a time for humility, he'd learned that the hard way, but nothing made now that time. There was one thing he could try, though the likelihood of it working was virtually none, it wouldn't be fair to himself or his opponent if he didn't do it. And so he raised his arms in a defensive posture, braced himself for the incoming attack, disengaged his lock, and plummeted towards the ground. Valkyrie vs. Finale Artemis was almost caught off guard by that move. It was certainly reckless, not the sort of thing you'd expect from such a design. Unfortunately for Grima, reckless wasn't going to be enough. With no way to change her trajectory, she was unable to avoid Finale's arms reaching out to grab her shield and using her momentum to redirect her around Finale, into the minefield. Artemis didn't let up either, immediately unleashing another volley of mortar fire towards Valkyrie the instant it hit the ground. Hiroki "This is the world I was born to, and the one Cardinal currently inhabits. It's quite the lovely sight." Watcher ignored the important question again, "Though nowadays it doesn't look much like this. In fact it's impossible for anyone to survive there for more than about seventeen seconds, not that time still has any real meaning there."

Hiroki Watcher shrugged, "Nothing really, I'm just passing the time." he said. The world changed again, now an extremely strange looking plane covered in some kind of green plant that looked like a carpet and with a strikingly blue sky straight out of a fantasy world. "Here's the thing:" Watcher extended the back of his hand towards Hiroki, "According to the rules, you and Arcturus can always force an endless battle against me. But it's been a long time since I was beholden to the rules." Watcher flicked his first two fingers three times, beckoning. Obeying his command, the energy within Hiroki burst forth, flaring out between them in a burst of raw power. And then it shrank. Growing increasingly small, Hiroki's power floated over to Watcher and settled above his hand, small enough that he could place it in his palm if he wanted. Hiroki felt as though a part of her had been torn away. "If I wanted, I could take your power right here and now, you would never again be able to create more energy. That means no mech, no star powers, none of it." He shook his head, and Hiroki's power floated back into her, growing again as it returned, "You asked why I made Cardinal what she is, and it's simple: I have already succeeded as the destroyer, and I wish to create a hero who can undo my actions. Cardinal trusts me, I'm like a father to her, but I have every intent to betray her, ensuring your victory and the safety of Tempest."

Hiroki "It will be some time before you are able to fight again, let's go for a walk." Watcher completely ignored Hiroki's question and began walking away. There didn't seem to be any choice but to follow. The white void slowly began to turn pitch black around them, starkly contrasting Watcher's white suit. "I told you that everything Arcturus said was true, but I withheld something." Watcher said as the white void finally vanished entirely, dropping a curtain of blackness of Hiroki's eyes, "You see, you cannot trust a word I say, and indeed Arcturus was mistaken about something." An explosion tore through the space around them, the shockwave threatening to send Hiroki flying away from the nothingness she stood on. A bright blue light now illuminated the blackness, a star had appeared next to them. "There are rules that govern this universe, four elements whose influence can be accessed by manipulating our very souls. These elements signify an endless cycle of power, and each cannot usurp their place in the cycle." The star turned purple and began to flicker, Hiroki didn't understand what this meant, but she knew it had fundamentally changed. "These elements are also paired, which allows the cycle to reach an equilibrium. Most important for this equilibrium is energy, which is capable of creating balance with light, the element of destruction." The star changed again, now not so much a star as an orb of pure white. Under this new light, Watcher himself seemed to glow. "You see, light can never defeat energy, and so as long as these two powers remain balanced, there can be no destruction. This balance is a fundamental rule of the reality we inhabit. I believe Arcturus told you of this relationship, correct?" Watcher went silent, apparently finally listening to Hiroki as he waited for her answer.

Hiroki Arcturus smiled reassuringly as Hiroki entered the portal, but his face turned to grimace as soon as she vanished. He was confident in her ability to fight, but first she would have to navigate whatever lies Lucifer laid before her. "You really should just learn to ask for help." he muttered to himself, "It would save all of us a lot of trouble." ~~~ The world flashed white as Hiroki stepped into the portal. A scene faded in before her, discolored slightly but still easily recognizable: a much younger Hiroki, hurt and frustrated as her opponent stood over her triumphantly. It had been her very first fight, an absolutely humiliating loss. Her younger self stood and looked towards her with a blank stare. Everything else faded away again, leaving her floating alonw with herself in this white void. As she floated there, she suddenly realized that she has switched places and was now looking on herself in the present. No longer a defeated child, but one of the strongest warriors in all the Planes. "Congratulations." a man's voice tore through the silent abyss from behind her, the other Hiroki vanishing in the same instant. He walked out and turned to face her, a young man with dark skin, brown hair, and ocean blue eyes that seemed to look through her just as the portal had. "I'm sure Arcturus already told you about me, and I should warn you: absolutely everything he said was completely true, no doubt about it."

Valkyrie vs. Finale With two thirds of the area around her now covered by a minefield, Artemis had reduced her opponent's approach options to one. All she had to do now was keep up the attack until even Valkyrie's defenses couldn't handle any more. Switching her weapon back to mortar mode, Artemis began raining fiery death on her foe once more, this time with no signs of letting up anytime soon. Hiroki Arcturus was patient as Hiroki reeled. This was a responsibility far too large for anyone to bear, truly she was handling it better than most. "I am just a warrior." Arcturus told her, "I have done many great things in my time, but making great choices is not one of them. But sometimes a warrior such as myself is presented with a choice that can't be ignored. We have to make these choices, difficult though they may be, and we may never know in the end if the choice we made was correct. "If you must have my advice, then I will say this: Whatever Watcher wants of you, do the opposite." Hiroki heard a cracking sound behind her. A jagged white line had cut through the air, distorting the world around it. Slowly, it opened, forming the shape of an eye floating sideways. Looking at it made her feel invisible, as though it could see right through her. "That was quicker than expected." Arcturus remarked, "It seems you've received an invitation."

Astra vs. Supernova Adam hadn't expected himself to do what he did, let alone Supernova to accept his request. So this whole situation was quite the surprise. But even surprised, he didn't hesitate or stutter. "I don't understand why you're here." Adam said, "The way you fight, you're not doing this for anyone else. You can't be, because you're giving your all to defeating me. And if that's the case, why are you part of this battle where you and I are just pawns for someone else? "I have a proposal: let me take your place. If I fight for Nil, then you can fight against me to save the world. Not for the sake of another, but for your own. Because if the world ends you won't be able to keep fighting." It was an absolutely ludicrous proposal, one that would only make sense to the most childish of people. But at the end of the day, the childlike passion for he fight was what had brought them all here in the first place. Some of them had lost sight of that, some, like Adam himself, had no choice but to give it up. But maybe Supernova could still escape, he could fulfill the responsibility of participating in this foolish tournament and be free. And if that possibility remained, Adam couldn't help but offer it. He only wished he could still take that route himself.

Hiroki "You would most likely know him as Watcher, though recently that's become a bit of a misnomer with how much he's been interfering." Arcturus explained, "He believes it his duty to take on the evils of the world so that heroes may rise and drive humanity forwards. It is his machinations that lead to Cardinal becoming the False God of Nil." Arcturus chuckled. It really was something, this scenario Watcher had built. Arcturus only hoped that Hiroki would find the right path where he had failed. "There is no help left for me, I have already failed. The responsibility now falls to you, you must choose the path that will save the world. My intent is only to give you all of the information so that you can find the right answer." He sighed and sat himself up better, looking Hiroki in the eyes, his gaze softer than expected, more like that of a parent than an enemy. "The following are the facts: Watcher will always take the side of evil. Watcher has convinced Cardinal to obey him. Cardinal is the only one who can defeat Watcher. And most important: Neither of them can defeat you." Valkyrie vs. Finale Going around, a typical response. The mines remained stationary as Grima moved to avoid them, but Artemis took the opportunity to launch yet more discs. Oddly, however, rather than creating another defensive screen, Artemis chose to lay the next set of mines behind her, leaving the path between her and Grima wide open for an approach.