.hack//DIVERGENCE Main

[Nighthand]

Ola Repth topped everyone off, or near as made no difference. That merely left Canti's cursed status and Takua's poison to deal with. Still, the Willowman seemed oblivious to the healing. He simply didn't care. Given the progress of the battle thus far, either the Willowman was resigned to his death, or he had tricks up his wooden sleeves.

Next up: Canti/Shadow

[Lord Canti]

(Hah-hah! and yes-now! His actions had paid off, and now they had the power of Sheena on their side! Excellent! Unfortunately...Ap Do ran out. Uhhh...Doh. Willow-boy's healing-phase appeared to be out too, though, and the crystals disappeared. Canti waited as Maoh attacked and Talal...erm... Well, he wasn't sure what Talal WAS doing. It was something, to be sure, but damned if he had a clue there. Some healing followed, which made him a little more confident about things right now. Then after that, it was his turn, and he...had been focusing carefully on just...one...thing.

Canti: Shadow, do you see what I see?

Shadow: No.

Canti: But you saw where it was, and that it's stuck pretty much on the other side of the first one.

Shadow: Yes.

Canti: And with that knowledge...go.

(Canti used a Speed Charm as Shadow ran for the exact other side of the Willowman to where the rightmost crystal had been seen. His motions were essentially a mirror of the previous ones, leaping to snag and bite down on that crystal to free someone else.)

[Nighthand]

Canti's focus on the location of the hovering, invisible crystal was admirable. As was his use of the speed buff that so easily gave him so many chances to act. He alone among the others could really let loose and try things, knowing he would have another chance.

His Curse ticked down as he used the speed charm, and it was astonishing how much of an effect it had. At least a quarter of his SP was suddenly just... gone. It seemed that the turn-based combat held the status effect at bay, but when unleashed, it was powerful.

Shadow dashed and jumped and clamped down where the crystal should be, but his jaws came up with nothing. They weren't just invisible, they were intangible, appearing only when the Willowman was sufficiently hurt as to need to draw upon their power for his healing shield.

Next up: Takua/Vesica

[Takua]

A few things had readily become apparent, although Takua somehow doubted that the cycle would hold. This was a test of intelligence, which meant that surely it wouldn't be so easy as whittling down the Willowman's remaining defenses until it had no crystals remaining. Part of that was certainly that Canti's curse shredded his SP, which made Takua wonder about what would happen when his Poison ticked over. Instant death? It was possible. Hopefully it would only be grossly magnified damage instead of a one-hit kill. Takua wasn't feeling exactly so confident about that though...would Resurrection even work in this little minigame they were playing? There would no reason why it wouldn't, but the Wavemaster wasn't feeling perfectly confident about that.

Strategy though said that it would be best to keep pushing and let Sekai keep him topped off. Did he trust them to do that?

The hold on him loosened, and Takua shook his head. He couldn't risk it, but he also didn't want to waste his own actions by healing himself. Nor did he want to attract the most hate right now, when he was one of the more fragile people on the team. Three antidotes and two restoratives found themselves into Vesica's paws, and one of those antidotes was used on Takua immediately. With any luck that would be swift enough to catch the damage...if not he'd just have to pay the price.

[Nighthand]

Takua felt nausea, the urge to vomit, rising up in him. The poison seemed to ebb and swell, growing bold and terrible by the end of his turn, but Vesica's timely antidote removed all fear and feeling immediately. The relief was palpable, and just in time. Status effects were cured across the board, save for Canti's curse, which could be mitigated in a number of ways.

The vine tightened around Takua's leg once again.

Next up: Canti/Shadow again. Silly high speed character.

[Lord Canti]

(The Twin Blade frowned as Shadow was unable to sink his teeth into the crystal on the other side of the Willowman. The disappointment on their of their faces was highly-noticeable. It HAD been a good idea. It just didn't go anywhere. Very irritating... Well, Canti had only to wait a short while as Takua cureg himself and presumably was stocking Vesica upfor more of the same. That meant that his Curse would soon be-)

Canti: Whoa!

(As his turn suddenly cued up, he was surprised by two things. First, the speed of it, and second, the sudden gulp of his SP. Considering his level and his items, Canti actually viewed his condition as extremely low-priority. For instance, right now, he wanted to try something. It had as much chance as anything else around here, so why not? Canti flipped a card at the Willowman: The Tower. If the old boy wanted to play with status effects, well why not all of them? After that, he had Shadow lunge and try to bite something vital off of him.)

[Nighthand]

The Tower: one of the extremely powerful scrolls found only in the Yamiyo server, created long ago by some hacker with a bit of talent and the irritation at the tarot deck in-game not being complete. It was potentially incredibly potent, or a waste of a move; it cast a series of rapid-fire dek spells to massively debuff the enemy. The spells, more or less overlaid on each other in terms of effect, briefly fogged the area around the boss with graphical particles. When they cleared, a series of icons had appeared over the head of the Willowman. Though many of the dek effects had missed, the decreases to physical defense and evade, magical evade, earth, fire and darkness had all taken hold.

Shadow's subsequent lunge and bite had an easier time tearing through wood made soft by magic, and the marks it left looked like they hurt.

Next up: Sheena

It was with a certain amount of glee that Sheena accepted her release from the shackles of the crystal boss gimmick. Given her choice, she would rip the vine from her leg the first chance she had and tear the Willowman apart, but she had promised Nall not to ruin their chance at winning the elite over to their side, however distasteful it was.

When Canti laid down the debuffs, and one was a reduction in physical defense, it made her all the more gleeful.

The vine loosened around her leg, and she took a moment to massage her muscles, tight from her captivity. As she did, what appeared to be small wires extruded themselves from her wrists and arced out to touch her fingernails. The molded down, touching her skin, looking almost like a wireframe skeleton of her hand. She had no trouble moving with the wires, and indeed didn't pay them any attention whatsoever. Then, with a burst of speed, she dashed up to the Willowman and slammed her fist into his gut. A resounding crack, like a tree snapping in a tornado, was the only sound for longer than seemed likely. The Willowman stood in place, unable to have dodged, unable to have defended himself, unable even to recoil away from the attack. For Sheena, it was like punching a building. For those who knew Sheena, they knew the building usually lost.

The vine tightened and took hold, and only then did she straighten and walk back to her place, controlled by Xenobia's gimmick and not her own free will. The place where, on a normal human, internal organs would be, on the Willowman was cracked and splintered wood. Oh yes, he would be feeling that.

Next up: Nighthand

Nighthand, watching Sheena's display of power, was inspired into his own. It wasn't until his turn actually came that he realized, much to his dismay, that he was indeed still trapped in the vines. All he could do was strain against his bonds and glare with envy at the damage Sheena had done with a single blow. He had never seen those wire gloves before, and he wondered what affect they had on her already-monsterous strength.

Next up: Talal

[Talal]

To watch her friends made her proud. They each had their own remarkable talents and ways of thinking. Evident by the fine balance between attack and healing that was happening. Sheena's attack was impressive in many ways. The young Twin Blade could only dream of having that much physical strength but to be fair, Talal knew she had her own powerful weapon. She just needed to learn how to use it without the whole going literally crazy or getting so worked up that she lost control. So far the dark haired girl had only managed one attack under control against the hydra and it had lacked the potency the out of control attacks had. Her hands never stopped the subtle movements. Her continued effort to reign in the sound waves around them in hopes of using a controlled strike against the crystals that kept their more formidable members captive.

Skin tingled as the sound gathered in her vecinity and it made her wonder if the areas it was being pulled from were now void of sound. Did sound work that way? It seemed logical but The World and especially the Yamiyo server were far from logical in the way things worked. Feeling the vines loosen her thoughts went immediately to Canti. She could easily incorporate a toss of an item in his direction and still keep up the movement needed to manipulate the sound. Problem was, she didn't have anything that would cure a curse. Her eyes looked over to him conveying this or so she hoped. Gestures were always at the whim of the one trying to interpret them. Movements once again became larger and more artistic as Talal's confidence in what she was doing grew. The turn would be over soon based on previous rounds where the player chose not to act so she used all of the available time to pull as much sound in as she could and at the very last moment her arms reached out in a grand circle. As her hands came together at the top she pulled them down to her chest with clenched fists and then pushed them straight out in front rapidly. Her fists opening at the very end wrists together, fingers out-stretched and palms facing the Willowman pushing the sound at the group of crystals last known location with a focused sight.

[Nighthand]

Talal's focus blast of pinpoint sound was inaudible as it gathered, the merest whisper heard by anyone other than herself and the Willowman. Even the sounds of battle were dimmed and drained, as she pulled and tugged at them to build her power. The massive snap of Sheena's attack just added to the power in Talal's hands, and at the very peak of her turn, she focused and unleashed the sound on where she knew a large crystal to be.

While invisible, she could still hear the crystals, the sound they gave off. That meant, logically, that they were affected by sound. Physical attacks, spells and direct contact did nothing, but sound...

As the vine tightened around Talal's ankle, a chime sounded, resonating sound between Talal's attack and the crystal she targeted. Subtle shifts in the chime hinted at the sounds gathered before, until the final massive crack of Sheena's attack. With that crack, the chime broke like shattering glass, and the Willowman staggered to his knee. Behind him, the crystals appeared and the large one Talal had targeted crumbled under its own vibration.

At the same time, the Willowman's gauntlets cracked and fell off like so much dry, dead bark. The Willowman stood and resumed his position, but the crystals remained visible for a long extra moment. Then, to the aggravation of Talal's ambitions for further attacks -- and to anyone else looking for a precise hit -- they began to circle and spiral in abstract spiral patterns. As they moved, they faded once more into invisibility.

Even so, Talal could rightly feel her pride in circumventing the rules of the game and shattering a crystal they weren't meant to touch. Perhaps she could even do it again, though the accumulation of sound and tracking the crystals would be much more complex.

Next up: Demorian

Demorian was dutifully impressed by the ingenuity of Talal's technique, and how easily she seemed to pull it off. Sure, it took time to set up, but what good attack didn't? People like Sheena were far from the norm.

Unfortunately, impressed was all he could be, as he was still fully bound. Instead, he studied the bark from the Willowman's gauntlets intently. It was not inert and had not faded. In fact, as he watched, it began to sprout new life in the form of tiny tendrils and leaves.

Next up: Sekai

[Sekai]

Sheena, the voices in her head all agreed with varying degrees of awe and wariness, was nothing short of terrifying. Sekai watched, eyes widened to comedic proportions as the Fist Fighter prepared herself and launched forward to slam a fist directly into the Willowman's stomach.

All four of them silently promised never to give the happy go lucky woman a reason to ever, ever turn that force in their direction if they could help it. Big promise, especially where the newcomer and Kira were concerned with their respective attitude and general disregard for any kind of authority.

There's disregard for authority, and there's suicide. I'm pretty goddamn happy living, thanks, There was a too cheerful note in Kira's voice that implied the former Ruem princess was having ideas she probably shouldn't.

Probably plotting to get her sister's ass kicked, knowing her. Hey! It's my job to read your thoughts and intentions, not yours.

December gave the impression of a shrug, admiring as it might have been with the distinct impression of analyzing the way the bouncy fighter moved. She remained blissfully silent for the time being, much to Sekai's relief.

The newcomer, however, didn't see it fit to do so. Just who the fuck are you people anyways?

There were chances that came once in a life time, and, feeling a bit over- and under-whelmed as she was, Sekai took a page out of Kira's handy guide to snark and sarcasm. Your worst nightmare, clearly.

Have I mentioned how much I love you today? Because I fucking love you, little one. Kira's voice came amid the sounds of hysterical laughter.

Sekai's legs shifted, slipped back into a grounding stance as she crossed her in front of her in obvious preparation for retaliation that was sure to come. Defense. Healing. Defense. Observation. That was the role she assigned herself.

Flashmail!

Please keep an eye out for the gauntlet and bark remains... I do not like the way they are growing sprouts.

Demorian would likely have seen it, however many others... she wasn't sure, but alerting them seemed like the best course of action.

[Nighthand]

Sekai was right to be wary of the sprouts growing at an abnormal rate from the cracked and broken remains of the Willowman's gauntlet. While she watched and waited in a defensive stance, the sprouts grew and multiplied, forming a small patch of what looked like clover. It continued to grow slowly, seemingly ignoring the restrictions of turn order.

Next up: Takua and Vesica

[Takua]

Watching what was going on, both Vesica and Takua decided simultaneously to never get on Sheena's bad side. The insane power demonstrated by the fist fighter scared him more than any power he had seen so far. Vesica, for her part, simply saw suicide...much like her former owner, there was a line between insubordination by being a little shit and walking in front of the bullet. Talal was also impressive, shattering a crystal even while they were invisible. The creature's bracers broke, leaving six total more crystals.

Takua knew well enough what he would do, especially now that he wasn't poisoned anymore. His SP was pretty good...it wasn't likely he could hit the crystals right now, but just in case they were hittable he was going to try anyways. Another Yarthkins Rf cast on the Willowman while Vesica used a Restorative to get rid of Canti's curse. The Twin Blade might not have cared, but Takua did. And Vesica didn't feel like charging into the midst of a third level summon today either.

[Nighthand]

Takua once again proved himself to be the king of spellcasting amongst their group, at least among those who were free and active. Perhaps Nighthand or Demorian would levy something more damaging, or perhaps not; a third level summon was majestic in its power. Only Raine for sure would out-do him at this point, and she wasn't here.

The spell hit a wide enough area that that it covered both the invisible spinning crystals and the still-growing shrub that had sprouted from the Willowman's gauntlets. Only the Willowman seemed affected, the heavy rocks cracking against his armor, while the grit and sand scoured away at it.

Canti's curse was removed easily enough, of course. As was, when Takua's turn ended, his speed buff. Like Canti before him, Ap Do only lasted so long, and it was Takua's turn to have to cast it again. All the while, the little shrub happily grew and branched out, growing denser and denser.

Next up: Canti and Shadow

[Lord Canti]

(The Tower card was a wonder gem. With many status abilities being in most cases a hit-or-miss opportunity with there being alot of factors laid in to make it a possible miss, this was the whole set called in at once to bring about a possible multitude of change. Of all the card items Canti could be saddled with, it seemed that the Yamiyo ones were perhaps the best to have around. Thanks to that, his physical defense, all of his evasion, and defense against three elements were reduced significantly. That was when Sheena had been released. And upon being so, she decided to make her opening attack epic and mighty, hitting the Willowman WTF hard with some sort of unfamiliar technique. That loud crack brought a smile to the Twin Blade's expression. He loved it! Sheena beating the snot out of someone was a wonderful sight! Clearly, he had guessed right. They were in the right to smack this guy around and release their more veteran friends in the process. Even better, Talal had managed to shatter a different crystal, when that seemed to govern something about their foe's gauntlets. Strange... Did that mean his physical attacks were less so? That his defense was down further? He wasn't sure, but it had to hold some benefit. The bark, though...)

Ding!

(Canti received a Flashmail from Sekai about what was growing there. Yeah... That thing was growing awfully fast, and not in a turn-based way either. It was just sort of growing out even as they took turns, without delay. It also seemed rather unaffected by Takua's earth attack, even though that was a full-fledged summon he was using. Didn't seem right. Well, Canti wasn't going to let the grass grow underneath his feet, so to speak. He knew how to capitalize on this mess. With his Curse stopped, he had some SP left and this seemed like a good time to use it. Pointing his hand out, the winged Twin Blade charged up a Darkness Flame shot, a penetration blast aimed right where Sheena had punched him. No magic evasion or darkness defense to speak of, this was going to hurt like a you-know-what. Not quite like the Fist Fighter's opening attack, but capitalizing on it to add injury to injury. The blast fired off, and that leaves us with...Shadow.)

Canti: Shadow, I want you to kill that shrub.

Shadow: Should I piddle on it? That usually works on with real dogs.

Canti: I don't think we wanna try that on for size. Tear it up, I think.

Shadow: I don't wanna be eatin' bushes.

Canti: No no no, just kill it, if you can.

(And so, he decided to find out if that was possible, Magic had somehow ignored the happy little shrub, so here comes Shadow basically jumping on it with a STOMPA-STOMPA-STOMPA, CLAW-CLAW, RIP!!! before returning to his position and seeing if that got them anywhere.)

[Nighthand]

Canti's darkness blast was potent indeed, and it slammed into the Willowman with the accuracy and force seldom seen, simply due to the lack of potential evasion. The boss could do little but stand and take it. Meanwhile Shadow leaped into action, even as the shrubbery was filling out and a succession of white and pink flowers were blooming. Shadow took a swipe at the shrub, and to everyone's surprise, the shrub swiped right back!

Shadow found unexpected resistance with the bush, which shook itself away from the bogey's attack unfettered by the turn-based limitations. It made a noise akin to a snarl heard through rustling leaves, and a shape resolved itself. Some leaves matted back, others perked up, and it became clear that the shrub was not so much a shrub as it was a wolf-shaped elemental. It was smaller than Shadow, though not by much, leaner but with a harder to define shape made up of branches and leaves. Two small pink flowers formed eyes, tufts of leaves made ears, and sharp-looking thorns adorned the face and the ends of both limbs and ivy tail. Unprepared for the evasiveness of the suddenly mobile shrub, Shadow's attacks failed to hit more than a passing blow before the vine control took over and forced him back into place.

The wolfbush lunged in return, seeing stationary, defenseless prey. Mere inches from Shadow's snout, a vine stabbed up from the ground and pierced the core of the elemental. It froze in mid-air, landed softly, and padded back to the Willowman's side. Xenobia, it seemed, would respect the rules she had established.

What had breaking the gauntlets accomplished? Did each piece of armor hide such threats?

Next up: Maoh