*Minerva would walk along the path quietly, pretending her losing control of her emotions in the previous fight never happened. She wore her mask on the side of her head, giving the rest of the team a good look at what her face actually looks like instead of just the mask she was wearing for the entirity of the mission up until now. She drummed her fingers on the handle of her sword as she went.*

A young woman with blonde hair wanders causally through the forest, there's a curious look on her face while she stumbles across the group. The strange area before them is only mildly worrying, at worst. They're greeted in a slightly cautious voice, even as she waves and smiles. "Hello there, I suppose you all are here... Investigating as well? Fate Testarossa Harlaown, a pleasure to meet you no doubt." She'd approach them a bit more, examining the gathered group. That quiet girl is... Something, who knows. Perhaps the rest will make themselves known soon. "At any rate, do you mind filling me on... Whatever this place is? It's full of magic, but the details elude me for now."

As she joins the group, Fate would at some point feel a small pouch containing three little marbles in her pocket along with a note explaining what they are and what they do. When and how it got there is probably beyond her. [Please refer to point one of the rules for info on the life orbs. Alternatively, if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.]

[I'm off to bed. Not enough people, so I won't waste my night waiting. i'll bump the thread in a couple of days.]

"Wow, that sounds like a pretty complicated name. Anyways, that doesn't matter because I'm Tea Gardner. Mind if we can be friends?" Though the girl was just minding her own business, shuffling her own deck as she went, she didn't hesitate at all to go up and introduce herself. She played with her hair as she continued on with whatever she could remember off the top of her head. "As for this place...I dunno. I thought I was on a field trip for the longest time. And as it turns out, I wasn't. Crazy, right?" Ooc: Good night m9

[feel free to talk I guess. The forest is wide.]

[second attempt. Don't forget to read the rules up there. Edit: people are telling me saturday may be better. thoughts?]

[aight, so we're doing it today. The initial post still stands]

As before, Kali works on cleaning her gun. She'd already gotten knocked out the previous fight, but something that simple wasn't going to keep her from completing a job. She looks around at her companions, that annoying card game kid, another girl who looked... Too young to be doing this, but they did know what they were doing at least. And.. One she hadn't really seen before. Kali eyes the newcomer warily as she explains. "This forest is practically infested with Yokai. Think of 'em as minor demons. We're on our way to investigate a group who went missing. Apparently they were really strong so we shouldn't need to worry about 'em." Kali slings her large, blocky rifle over her shoulder before starting to move on. "Name's Kali. And if you're serious about joining in on this I expect you to pull your weight, ok Fate?"

Fate sighs upon hearing Tea speak, that's... Great, seems like a random civilian in a combat zone. Just great, but at least she isn't too bad. She smiles slightly and waves at the card holding girl. "Friends huh, yeah alright. And don't worry about the whole name, just Fate is fine." The merc gets a far more interesting response, the woman's eyes shine with recognition for a moment and her tone suddenly shifts. Going from casual and friendly, to blunt and focused sounding, the voice of a professional. F: "Kali hmm, I guess you're the one that Nanoha met briefly then. Right, Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown. Bardiche, set up." A golden bit of metal on her hand lights up for a moment, speaking in a monotone voice as light shines around the girl and leaves her wearing a military uniform with an axe with seemingly no blade in her hands. She twirls the weapon around for a moment with a nod to Kali. B: "Yes sir, combat-ready." F: "I'll be sure not to slow anyone down. Now, lets get moving."

Mara would be mending to herself and trying to recharge her tools a bit bruised up and annoyed with some antics on this adventure but nothing to much to waver her she was still beaming with some happiness. "I'll admit that these encounters have been less then stellar for me at least...I think I feel something in me slowly snapping. Should we run into another demon though I think i'll stop trying to get to close and just think up a better plan." She'd get up from her spot and nod at the others with some confidence back in her. "So then once everyone is ready shall we move out. Won't make any progress waiting here I must say."

"Enforcer? Great, another one." Kali keeps an eye on Fate as she pulls out another cigarette, it takes her a moment to light it and draw a deep breath before breathing out. "Well at least I can trust you to do your job then." Kali next looks over to Mara, one of her other companions who'd been quiet for a bit. It wasn't the best situation, but they did look to be operational "Don't worry about it kid. From what I've seen it seems keeping a safe distance is usually the best idea. We'll start from there."

As our fine adventurers once again gather, they set off towards the human village they had heard of. Not much happens on the way there, and before long, they would reach the border of the forest. Soon they should see the village, but what awaited them was naught but grasslands. Indeed, there was no village to be seen here. Though, surprisingly, a road does seem to stretch out from the forest our adventurers emerged from towards a patch of barren land. It seemed as though until recently, something, perhaps some buildings, were located there. But if that was the case, there was nothing left anymore. To the north of that patch of land, you could see rice paddies that were ready for harvest, as indicated by the tools scattered there. To the north-east, there were a few cows gently grazing as the bells around their necks rung in a soothing manner. In short, it was a peaceful scenery, if it weren't for the ominous moon that now hung low in the horizon, but eerily close to earth. What do you do?

* As Minerva hits the field, she would stop. Her fingers would stop drumming on her sword and she would look up at the moon, just watching it. Slowly, she would put her mask back on and breathe a deep sigh. She then glances over to the others.* Be careful. A field like this is a perfect place for an ambush. If the insect and the bird were anything to go by, the people around here don't like us and are more than willing to engage in combat.

As always, the girl seems to keep an airheaded mindset as she immediately starts skipping over to the north where the rice paddies are, ultimately walking past them but still stared at them as she pasts by them. Even making a little comment. "Wow, those look like they'd make for some great jelly donuts." Afterwards, she went northeast and looked at the cows, being impressed that she gets to see one of these. To most of the others her awe seems to be exaggerated, but to her it's genuine...somehow. "I never thought I got to see these up close in my life. So these are what burgers are made out of... That's nice to know! I wanna befriend one."

"Great, this crap again." It looked like there had been people here until very recently. If they had left they were in such a rush they had neglected to bring their animals. Definitely suspicious. Kali already had her gun out, so now she would bring it up to a firing position as she starts towards the cows, keeping an eye out about her "I'll take point. You kids cover me. If we're lucky they're just hiding in the woods or something. But its possible there's another Yokai about." not only possible, it was likely in fact. But that wasn't a thought she felt like making known just yet.... Besides, it seemed Minerva had already made that observation. Kali lets out a sigh as Tea runs ahead of her. Rather than argue, she follows a short distance after her "Nevermind. Tea can take point. I trust them." to be a decent distraction when the monster comes.

Fate's eyebrows rise a bit, curiously staring at the woman for a moment upon hearing her comment. "Another one... Not a fan of the TSAB specifically, or just military types in general? Either way, yeah you can count on me doing my job. Though if range is our best choice, I'm at a disadvantage. Shoulda brought Nanoha." She nods to Minerva, of course they are. That's great. Violence is hardly a favorite pastime, but she is after all a soldier. The woman stares at Tea, she's smart enough to know what Kali is doing. It sickens her if she's being completely honest, but since knocking the girl out isn't a valid choice for now Fate simply observes and prepares to move. "Trust her, right... I'll be sure to keep an eye on it though. She seems, a bit childish to be running this kind of thing by my reckoning." Hell, trusting her 10 year old kid before this girl seems wise. But oh well, nothing to do but follow and get ready to act for now.

Mara would scratch her head and look in the many forking directions before her. She couldn’t make a quick decision though since everyone else was already moving ahead so she decided to head northeast as well stick with the crowd. “I feel like I was just saying lot to do this but ok then. Though it’s a good point to keep eyes peels and alert every single damn place we go there is a death sentence at our heels.” She would trudge in the back of the ground just keeping watch and meddling with her tools to recharge them in case they do get strikes.

*Minerva would look over to Kali at the suggestion to have Tea take point. She smiles slightly.* I can agree to that.

One of the cows closes in on Tea with a loud "moooooo". While the animal doesn't seem to be afraid of the group, it still decides to stop a short distance before you. It then walks left, right, back to the left... Almost like it was in a cage and simply couldn't proceed. Suddenly, a feminine voice speaks to the group. Its position or origin is hard to pinpoint, but it vaguely sounds like it's coming from behind the group. "Why are you here? Who are you? If you've come for the humans that live here, then you're too late!"

Fate turns around in an instant, moving far faster than any human should as her bladeless axe points towards the source of the sound. She speaks out in a calm voice with a smile on her face. "I'll go in order with those questions. Why we're here is looking for a group of people that came through, apparently they vanished. Who we are... I'm Fate Testarossa Harlaown, we aren't so much a coordinated group, as a bunch of people who met by chance." There's a pause as she addresses the last point, taking a few moments to think. "As for that, could you tell us why? I wasn't even aware there were people here, but I'm curious where they went. If you don't mind."

"And what exactly do you think covering someone is? You're kinda new to this aren't you Fate?" Kali lets out a sigh, taking another puff of her cigarette when she hears a voice from behind her. The woman immediately turns around, swiveling the barrel of her gun in the direction the voice seems to be coming from "Name's Kali, mercenary for hire. we're looking for a couple of people who passed by a few days back and haven't been heard from since. Don't reckon you know anything about it?" Kali checks her gun, which glows with a soft red stripe that indicates its loadout, before spitting out her cigarette "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. But given how these last few meetings have went...."

* Minerva stays silent before looking away.* I'll leave the talking to you two. If you could, try to avoid conflict.

Mara would just linger in the back of the group. She would keep a stern eye on who this female was in case she tried something and a intervention was needed. She’d mutter under her own breath as she observed with a strange gut feeling. “I question the chances that this just goes the same as the last two times. I’d give it a few mins at tops before someone makes a move or sets off an explosion...” She fiddles with her staff a bit and just keeps open eyes and stays on watch for now with not much input otherwise.

Forgot password rip, this is still Tea. "Oh, that's pretty cool." The girl mimics the cow's movements by walking in the same direction, still staring at it instead of focusing on her group of friends behind her. She talks to the cow some more since she feels as it's the best thing to do. "Can we be friends?"

"People who came through recently... that must be those trouble-makers !" The woman mutters to herself. She comes out of hiding from the edge of the forest, and makes her way to the barren patch of land. This time, she talks and makes herself heard of everyone. "My name is Keine Kamishirasawa. Given our previous "guests" I don't suppose you're up to anything good. I won't let you lay a single finger on the villagers! I will protect the humans at all cost! Now bring back the moon you miscreants !!! Spiritual Birth「First Pyramid」!" Where she stood, a giant pyramid suddenly rises tall and strong. Even though it just appeared, the stones look weathered, almost as if it had always been there for centuries, or even millennia! Suddenly, the sandy stone blocks of the pyramid begin shuffling, revealing three large canons on each of the four sides. Keine herself seemed to have been swallowed by the giant construct, though her voice remains: "Give us back the real moon or get lost ! We already have enough trouble with the neighboring youkai as is !" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cow swings its head which causes the bell around its neck to ring. "ringalingaling!" It then follows up with a short but energetic "mooo!" to tea's general direction.

"..... Well that's a new one." Kali looks down to her gun. It was a nice gun. Then back up to the pyramid. It was a much bigger gun. She didn't have any great ideas for breaking through the pyramid, so she simply walks around its perimeter, keeping her gun up as she shouts back "Weren't you listening? We're looking for a couple of missing people, why would I know anything about where the moon went? Or care? Just tell us where those trouble-makers of yours passed on to and we'll go away. That's the easy way."

Fate sighs a bit as the construct appears, no shots fired yet but that doesn't exactly bode well regardless. Give them back the real moon, oh lord this woman is misunderstanding. "We aren't aware of anything they've done, and we don't possess any belongings of yours. I'd love to help though, and if you've got problems maybe we can lend a hand with them." Her voice calls out loudly, staring towards the pyramid curiously and preparing for the hopefully not coming attack. She'd hold up a hand to Kali, trying to indicate a pause to the merc. Though if she does so remains to be seen. "This is quite the misunderstanding Kamishirasawa-san, at least as far as I can tell. There's no need for violent conflict." Despite those words though, she does have something for getting through the pyramid if forced. Though Fate would rather not, as her calm and friendly voice would hopefully indicate.

Mara watches the pyramid rise sky high with eyes of shocked nature. At least she called it but that doesn’t make her any more happier. “Well I did say she was probably gonna do something like that. In any case I doubt she’s willing to reason not does she really look like she wants to scrap with any of us. Don’t suppose we could try and look elsewhere cause I really don’t know if I can project enough shielding against those cannon. And I already been getting shot far to much anyway...” Even with those words she’d still ready her Absorption shield incase they are fired upon just to buy some time.

Forget this. *Minerva mumbles. She drums her hand on her rapiers handle.* We aren't here to hurt your village and we don't have the moon. We've had issues with Yokai as well. We might be on the same side. May I ask you to listen to us

"Oh, thanks!" She's so occupied with her new friend that she doesn't really know about the pyramid that had just materialized behind her, but nevertheless, she takes out a random card from out of her pocket and shows it to the cow. "You know what this is?"

One canon points towards mara, another one points to Kali and the last one point to Minerva. With the canons carefully trained on their targets, a few stones at the base of the pyramid begin to shuffle, resulting in a small rectangular opening. Out of it comes Keine. "So... You're not here to hurt the village? What are you doing here then? Why would you be roaming around the village at this time of the night, on this specific day? It's all too fishy if you ask me. Why are you here? What do you intend to do? Who sent you and what's your relationship with those jerks from before ?! And don't even think of tricking me! I can control these canons from here if needed!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cow lies down, winging its tail left and right. It looks straight at Tea with a curious look in its eyes. Could it actually understand her?

"Are you even listening?" Kali lets out a sigh, spitting off to the side as she points her gun in the air, still ready to shoot but not directly at their new.. Friend "We were hired by a miss Remillia Scarlet to find those two idiots. Got pointed to this village by some of those Yokai you were complaining about. Now we good to go or do I need to reload?"

"Remilia?! So you're in cahoots with that vampire !! I knew you were up to no good! You can't fool me anymore!" Swiftly swallowed back in by the large pyramid, Keine disappears as the building comes to life in a mechanical roar. Light gathers within the canons. Before long a big blue laser shoots towards Kali, Minerva and Mara, dealing some big unaspected damage if it hits. While the gathering of energy takes time, the beam itself is faster than the eye can see and will deal some serious damage if it hits, so you'd best be careful. As soon as the first salvo was unloaded, the canons would begin charging anew.

Bugger. *Minerva would quickly draw her sword and slash at the ground. A large chunk of the ground would rise up, acting as a shield for her from the laser. She would look over to Kali.* What did you do?!

Since Kali's fairly close to Minerva, she'd go ahead and dive for the cover her.... Acquaintance had so thoughtfully provided them. Given the type of enemy they're facing, Kali would go ahead and put her little gun away. "How should I know? Lets just deal with it." Kali would glance back out of cover for a bit as she brings out and loads her pistol. Instead of its usual soft red glow it'd carry a faint, pale-blue one "If anyone can spot out our actual target for me I can take care of them. Not too much I can do about a tank like that though."

Mara already having her Absorption Shield up was able to minimize damage taken but it was still knocked back bit by the impact. "I don't remember inventing a floating target over my head. Ok Look I know you wanna try and reason with her but I really think she's gonna be stingy. Do any of you have a plan otherwise we need to back out or become cannon fodder I can tell those things pack a punch. She'd get back up and raises her shield up again to cover her. Not entirely confident in any quick ideas sprouting she'd try and holster her weapons trying to draw attention from the cannons on her as she stand in a more open area, anything to buy the others more space and time is her idea of a good plan so she does just that.

Fate mutters a curse, so this is how it's gonna be huh? Fine then, she can work with this. Doesn't want to work with it, but doing so is simple enough. She bursts into motion, much like the attack fired by their foe, she rushes up into the air as an impossible blur, yellow energy cracklng within her weapon as the movements take place. "I still really don't want to fight you, but if you insist upon resorting to violence over a simple name being said then very well. We can do that." The cannons take a moment to charge as has been noted, a moment which the mage is glad to take advantage of. Bardiche goes click and what looks like a very large bullet shell is ejected from the weapon, a monotone voices rings out from it as well. B: "Get set, Trident Smasher!" F: "Raging Thunder, crash down!" With a few words, a large yellow runic circle is formed at lightning speed. Equally quick three massive bursts of lightning fly out from her weapon. Each one aiming towards a different cannon upon the building and crashing outward from the runes, even as its caster maintains motion through the air and keeps her eyes upon the target. Despite the vast power behind them though, if their enemy were struck directly she'd merely find herself battered and bruised with light burns rather than turned to dust. Her pyramid has no such benefit, however, and depending on its toughness might well be torn up and lose some cannons. - PLAYER ACTION - A whole lot of lightning and raw force being shot at three of the cannons.

Tea looked back on reflex, thinking that maybe some large-scale beam had been fired back at where her other friends are. Due to this, she smiles at her friend, before setting the card that she showed the cow where it sat. "Alright friend, you can have this as a sign of our friendship. Eat it if you want to, but just know that I'll come back soon." The girl waved, and then decided to go west to go and look for things...if there were any. Either way, she still doesn't actually know that there's a pyramid firing laser beams around the place. --Player Action-- Go west.

While the three targets come out unscathed of the initial salvo, they owe their safety to the rapid defensive measures they managed to set in place. Meanwhile, Fate goes on the offensive and attempts to blow up the cannons! One of them is hit right inside the barrel, causing it to malfunction and explode, thus blowing a solid chunk of the pyramid. This does not however cause any debris to fall as the pyramid bits simply vanish into nothingness before it can fall to the ground. As for the other two strikes, their aim was just a bit off, causing some more blocks to fall from the pyramid, but only to reveal a second inner layer of solid sand stone blocks. "So, you won't go away and you won't go down either... In that case I'll have to make sure you can't harm the humans here! Origin Sign「Ephemerality 137」" At the base of the pyramid, the blocks shuffle once again. This time, instead of Keine, a young man, seemingly in his thirties, comes out wielding a spear in one hand and a blue crackling orb in the other hand. On his back, hung a scarlet bow and a few arrows made with wood that resembled charcoal. Keine begins talking again: "It is said that history is like a long flowing river... But who's to say how that river flows? Who can say what truly happened eons ago? Jinmu, protect the land you once governed !" The young man runs up the pyramid, lance in hand, and jumps towards Fate. He then makes a wide, powerful sweep aimed downward at her to make her hit the ground again. Jinmu, now in the air, activates the power of the orb to levitate there. The canons finish charging during this brief exchange and shoot their next salvo. One aimed at Mara, and the other one aimed at Kali and Minerva's Hiding spot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cow looks at the card with as blank a stare as a cow could muster... Heading west from the patch of grass where the cows were grazing leads her back to the small road that connects the pyramid to the rice paddies. There are some agricultural tools there, and looking closely, it seems like there are footprints as well. From where she is now, heading south would lead her to the pyramid. following the path north would quickly make her reach the rice fields. East, where she came from, the cow still stares at the card. To the west, you can see the rest of the forest from which you and your party emerged. The trees seem less dense there though, as it is the outer limits of that forest. There as well, you can see what look like tools in the distance. What will you do?

Kali looks up at the onslaught from her relatively safe position and grind before nodding to Minerva “Looks like we have a plan. Minerva, you cover me, I’ll cover Fate, and Fate destroys the pyramid.” while they have time, Kali trains her sights on the person emerging from the pyramid. Once he makes his leap, commuting to a direction, she aims a touch ahead of him before firing her magnum As soon as the bullet leaves the chamber, an unearthly chill can be felt death itself passes through the air towards its target. ++Action++ Shooting Jinmu with pure death

I go along with the group consensus. * Minerva channels her powers into a small orb at the tip of her sword and plunges it into the ground. The ground shakes before exploding into a floating field of rocks trapped in a field of gravity. With a few conducting swings of her rapier, the rocks form together, creating a multi layered shield in order to block incoming laser fire.* It's a shame she isn't firing canon balls. Why is it that Egyptians always use lasers in their attacks anyway? --Player Phase-- Graviton: Barrier Field (Creates a barrier out of the nearby terrain to defend herself and allies around her from enemy attacks. Current barrier: Earth Barrier- Nullifies Electric based attacks on the barrier. Can be destroyed by all other attacks. Barrier HP: 1000)

"As far as I can tell maybe she's just channel from whatever godly spirits laying in that crypt. Ra? Anubis? The God of flashy lasers?" Mara would follow in suit ready her absorption shield for another hellish barrage but moves a bit closer to any nearby cover expecting that its gonna go down and need a quick repair. "Well they can shoot all they like I don't like it but can take a few flashy lights! Just make this quick and let me know when I can scrap those cannons into heaps of steel!" ++Action++ Move a bit around the field to cover. Readies Absorption Shield for incoming cannon blasts.

Tea's a tiny bit overwhelmed by all these possible choices that she can make, scratching her head and looking around. "Do I? Wait. But where? Oh, I wish I had my cow friend..." She stands in place deep in thought for a few more seconds before slapping her cheeks, preparing herself for whatever comes her way. Now she goes west once again in hopes that there is a bountiful event waiting for her. --Player Action-- More west.

Fate smirks a bit upon hearing Kali speaking, she'd reply too. Though as the whole group notes, she's talking to all of them mentally. Well, that should work I think. And I've taken the liberty of setting up some telepathy, simple spell, should keep her from hearing our plans. The lance using man would find his downward blow going wide of his target, the mage having rushed up further in an inhuman blur as her weapon shifts around. She's closing in on the pyramid, and trusting Kali to handle their new foe. B: "Get set, Hakken Form!" Her device takes on the shape of a long blades scythe, a glowing yellow beam of magic making the weapon up. B: "Hakken Saber!" The scythe blade doesn't stick around for long, instead rushing with a wide slice that sends it bursting towards a cannon with incredible speed. In addition, this attack would linger for a while and try to cut deep, before exploding the energy beam with a word from it's sender. --Player Action-- Dodge and don't focus on what's his face. Send powerful physical attack at cannon /pyramid which then explodes for more damage.

Kali shoots Jinmu. The young man, although his traditional armor is capable of withstanding quite a bit, it was never made to resists to guns. In fear, the young man recoils and falls back to the ground with an elegant back-flip. Meanwhile Minerva and Mara focus on defense. With their guards put up, the canons can't seem to actually hit them. Fate aims to destroy yet another canon, and succeeds. While their attack power is immense, their defense is quite lacking. With her attack, she even manages to create another hole in the pyramid's walls, thus revealing the second layer here too. "It seems you're intent on breaking into the fortress... I won't let it happen! The people here are counting on me ! Ambition sign「General Headquarters Crisis」 Throughout history, many strange events took place. Events that have altered the world; events that failed to leave an impact. Still, if they were recorded, then surely they must mean something to someone." Once again, the blocks shift, but on a far smaller scale this time. Instead of having each gigantic block move, it is the very structure of those same individual pieces that changes. Now, on regular intervals and on every floor of the pyramid, small square holes have appeared. Out of these holes, rifle barrels protrude. The infantrymen inside the pyramid take aim towards Fate and Minerva and shoot a salvo of gunshots. The two face a veritable hailstorm of bullets. Jinmu, now back to the ground faces his assailant. He takes the scarlet bow from his back and draws at the same time three of the coal-like arrows he has. the arrows suddenly catch fire as they are placed on the bow. The three smoldering arrows are then released to fly towards Kali. If they hit, they have a high chance of burning her, as well as causing blindness for three turns because of the smoke. Burn would slowly sap her health while the blindness would drastically reduce her visual accuracy. The last remaining canon takes aim towards Mara, if only to keep him busy and away from the fray. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tea heads west and reaches the edge of the wood. There, you find some tools like axes and saws. Just a tad further in, you can see a small hut. If you're observant, you would also take note of the footprints that are scattered all over the place. Lastly, on one of the cut tree stumps, there is a small basket covered by a linen cloth with some embroidered letters on it.

*Assuming the bullets were actual bullets, they'd get caught in the Gravity Rift around Minerva's shield, becoming useless as they are used to reinforce the shield. Minerva grits her teeth.* May I suggest if you are planning on something, you do it before they actually get serious. I can deal with gunfire, but if they actually start trying, we may be in trouble. Of course, if this is them trying, disregard what I just said.

As she arrives at the aforementioned hut, Tea takes a note of the footprints that were scattered around...but knowing her, she will probably forget about it soon enough. "Hello? Are there any friends I can make?" The girl says to the thin air that takes up the atmosphere. After looking around some more, she decides to approach the tree stump and stare at the basket that was left there. "Whoever made this, it looks nice!" --Player Action-- Secret Technique: Do nothing.

“Similar notion I doubt this is the full extent of their power. Now if someone could give me a bit of space I need to recharge my equipment in a quick instant please!” Mara would take notice of the cannons trained on her and cursed under her breath. “Darts I jinxed myself a bit to soon I think. Gonna have to do it on the go.” ++Action++ Shields up to take one more barrage. Will try to take cover and recharge.

"You serious? There are like, eight things in existence that resist those and I just so happen to run into one." Kali mutters a curse to herself before focusing her attention back on the warrior guy. With no other real cover near her, Kali'd hide behind Minerva and her shield, taking the chance to reload her pistol "Stop whining and keep fighting. You happen to do a great job of being cover. Long as you can keep that up we can wear 'em down eventually." Once reloaded, her signature magnum begins glowing a faint red. And with a momentary pause in the enemy's fire, she takes the chance to pop back out and fire three shots at Jinmu, one at his head, two at his chest --Action-- Switch ammo to red (normal bullets) Three shots at Jinmu

Fate chuckles a bit as the rifles come flying out towards them, seems to her like Minerva has things in hand. And even if any stray shots found their way towards the mage, they'd just clank harmlessly against the magical barriers of her armor, despite looking like not much, it's actually supernaturally tough as their foe would likely quickly realize. She begins preparing a counterattack while shouting out. "This is all still a misunderstanding, but I'll remind you I didn't start this fight, Miss. Get set Bardiche!" Glowing yellow runes take shape over her scythe, a new blade of energy forming on it as the woman rushes forward in an inhuman blur of speed. Soon enough she'd weave her way across the battlefield and begin slicing away at the final of their foe's cannons, hitting at it with a flurry of quick and powerful blows that send magical energy bursting into with sparks on each hit. --Action-- Physical/Elec hits attempted on cannon

Mara and Minerva stay on the defensive, but how long can they keep this up? Kali shoots at Jinmu, however, this time, Jinmu was ready for the gun attacks. He managed to avoid two of the shots but still ends up getting hit in his shoulder. Still, this much won't prevent him from pursuing Kali. Fate rushes onto the last remaining canon. with a flurry of attacks, she delivers a beating unto it. In addition, the electricity running through her attack causes this canon to go haywire as well and implode. Due to her proximity this time, Fate would almost certainly suffer from the explosion as well. "So you took care of my weapons... No matter. What you do, I can do better! I am Keine Kamishirasawa. I know all there is to know about the history of this world. And as of now... Your weapons are no longer a part of it ! Pseudo-History 「Were-Hakutaku's Arts」" The pyramid begins glowing in a faint blue light. As the aura grows stronger, you feel a wave of power washing over you. "I have erased the existence of the most frequent weapons of history. Swords, axes, spears and fire arms are no more. I don't think you could fight without them. Just give up and tell Remilia to not cause any trouble anymore. Misunderstanding or not, I won't let you harm my people." The next thing you know, among your team mates, any one wielding one of the aforementioned weapons would find it to have simply disappeared. Any variants to these weapon families would also have vanished into thin air. Naturally, this only applies to your team, and also extends to magical, mechanical or any other special variants, as the very concept of these weapons has been eaten. Jinmu and the soldiers inside the pyramid are still armed to the teeth. Jinmu who has now reached Kali, swings his spear at the woman's throat and stops just short of slicing it. Any movement on Kali's part would result in an immediate counter attack from him, both from his spear and his mystic orb. The soldiers in the pyramid shoot all around the remaining enemies, as a warning sign. If anyone moves, the next bullet would most certainly find their head. "This is your last warning. Go away, or face the consequence." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Looking at the basket, tea realizes that it's actually filled. based on the form, it's probably fruit or something like it. Tasty. "D-Don't come closer ! I-I'll kill you if you come near us !" A shrieking voice calls out to the young girl from behind. The door to the hut is now open and the young man that came out of it is frail and trembling. He looks no older than 17 and the sword in his hand betrays his fear, as it trembles furiously.

She gazes at the basket some more to further inspect whatever's inside, but it was pretty short-lived when the man had so suddenly come out of the hut. Tea turned to face him. "Oh, hey there! My name is Tea, what's yours?" She was...mostly unaware of his weapon, but probably would dismiss it if she cared to realize that it was shaking very much in his hands. At the same time, she left another card in her pocket in the case that the man wouldn't accept her friendship immediately. --Player Action-- Friendly Introduction.

*Minerva watches in wide eyed horror as her sword vanishes from her hand.* C...Claud... * Everyone nearby could feel gravity distort and become heavier. Minerva's shield falls apart. Her glare falls upon the Pyramid.* Keine...Kami...shira...sawa... Thief! You... stole... her... sword. Return it. Return it. Return it return it return it. RETURN IT! * Minerva charges gravity into her feet and launches her self at the Pyramid with an anmalistic screech, aiming to punch a hole straight in to the pyramid to get to the person who stole her sword from her.* --Player Phase-- Feral Charge (Heavy Physical Damage to side of the pyramid delivered with high amounts of anger)

Mara would try to top herself off as the dismantling process was complete. Though it was far from being safe in her mind. She watch as this pyramid began being makeshift and causing weapons to disappear right form thin air. This looked like quite familiar yet it was still cause her to be stunned by such work. “Did she just really...she erased weapons out of thin air? I...this quite bad I don’t think we should keep trying to insist on this she’ll snap us out rather then listen to us we should get awa-“ She was cut abruptly by Minevra’s sudden outburst. Another attempt to reason with everyone and back out blunders. She wasn’t sure what to do as the other took off only to remember in the moment that she was still holding onto her own weapons right now. Once realizing that she would act on it and reform her staff and shield into her arm cannon. ++Action++ Casts a surrounding barrier on Minerva as she dives in. Leaves Mara vulnerable though as she channels it onto her.

Fate chuckles a bit upon realzing that weapons have vanished... But there's one key flaw here, two really. Bardiche is currently in the form of a scythe, but even if he weren't... The Device is just that, a Device. Her movement can't even be tracked as a few words are said. "Shin Sonic Form, now." Before her speed was already superhuman, as most of her armor vanishes though leaving the woman with merely a black bodysuit. She'd suddenly just appear behind Jinmu. Speed having raised far higher and allowing her to easily dance between whatever attacks are sent their way by the pyramid. Jinmu would find a large and magically elongated scythe blade slicing towards him, truly stunning speed propelling the weapon both through his magic orb and allowing it to try and dissect him down the center. Once again, she begins speaking with telepathy. I actually think leaving would be best, but it seems our sword holding friend has screwed that up... So for now we do whatever we can, and hope to figure something out. ++Action++ Try to cut down Jinmu and his attack with greatly enhanced speed and power.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Kali lets out a sigh and, now almost completely unarmed, starts slowly backing away, hands up as a normal sign of surrender “I’ll have you know the bullets alone are probably worth more than your entire village. For the last time just....” She doesn’t even get the chance to finish before everyone is back to fighting again, not that she minds too much. For now Kali checks the bag she got near the start, just in case her crystal was needed. —Action— Not much

As the all consuming rage takes over, Minerva flings herself headfirst at the pyramid. Thanks to Mara's protection, she makes it unscathed there, despite the bullets flying all over the place. Once at the pyramid, she unleashes a destructive blow with a strength no regular person could ever hope to posses. Her strike lands true and manages to crack the pyramid up to the second layer. The first layer sees cracks forming all over it. It probably won't last long... The hole Minerva managed to create reveals that underneath the second layer lies a third layer of protection. "You will get your weapons back in due time, but only when I'm absolutely sure you bear no threat to this village anymore. I can see they mean a lot to you..." Jinmu, who would attempt to reach for Kali to take her hostage but this attempt proved futile. His body bisected, his last look was for the orb that had become two bright halves on the verge of imploding. Fate had struck true and managed to cut down both the phantasmal emperor and his orb. However, the orb was now running rampant. A couple fractions of a second later, a supercharged thundercloud had appeared above the trio. Then, thunder struck, hitting a radius of a few meters around Jinmu. Needless to say, both Fate and Kali are in range at this point. The lightning strike that fell would completely devastate the area, reducing the plants to smoldering ashes almost instantaneously. "Jinmu... He was a good ruler who protected his land and people. After him many followed. Not all emperors led quiet lives. Many were the targets of assassins. One such murderer was Taira no Masakado. This man who ravaged the country, crushed and burned all that fell under his heel... all for the sake of the people. Ambition sign「Masakado Crisis」" When the dust from Minerva's attack settles, a man with hair like a blaze and a body like a mountain emerges. Masakado, holding an odachi in his hand and a tanto hanging from his belt, advances with a sharp look in his eyes and a foul smile on his face. Rage distorting his traits, he then picks up his pace and delivers a series of three precise strikes to Minerva. One to the left knee, one to the right elbow and the last one to the neck. As he delivers the strikes, his Odachi glows a painful red with heat emanating from every strike. Being hit by this blade would instantly set his foes ablaze. Whether these attacks manage to pierce Mara's barrier remains to be seen. "I need to pick up the pace if I want you gone before sunrise.... It's against the rules, but... I don't have a choice. Land Sign「Three Sacred Treasures - Magatama」 " Once again, a pale halo engulfs the pyramid. When it subsides, engravings and vein-like circuits now shine on the pyramid's surface. With power coursing through it, the shooter's bullets become imbued with divine powers. Each bullet would, upon impact, burst into a small micro storm that slices all around it. The area of effect is quite contained, but if you're hit by the bullet, you'll be hit by the divine wind that ensues. Also noteworthy, is the fact that the bullets themselves are also powered up thanks to the mystical wind. If they didn't hurt before, they most certainly will now. Naturally, the shooters make use of their newfound power and aim at two of the ennemies. Since Kali and Fate are caught up in the roaring, thunderous explosion, they're hard to see. Thus, they train their sights on Mara and Minerva and shoot. Each will have to face a high amount of bullets aimed to maim them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I-I'm Morichika..." His frail voice trembles, but less than when he announced himself. "Y-You don't look like a bandit... What are you doing here? Wh-Who are you and what do you want from us?!" Still, his sword is pointed towards the young girl but Morichika gives no sign of wanting to get closer to actually strike. His legs would fail him were he to do so after all.

Kali takes a step back from Jinmu, slipping one hand into her bag of crystals, only to find the ruler was there no more. "I'm about tired of this fight too..." As the thundercloud forms above her and Fate, Kali brings out a fairly small, green crystal, and throws it at the ground. "Lets see what this does." --Player Action-- Kali uses the green crystal (only one in her possession, unless we're the packhorse for them now)

*Minerva is hit by Masakado, thought the barrier mitgates the damage and stops the burning. She spins her head, her glare on him. Her center of gravity shift, allowing her to stand on the side of the pyramid.* You're in my way. Move. * She raises her arm towards the ground. Gravity intensifies on Masakado as a crushing force and pulling him off the Pyramid, out of the sky and crashing like a meteor into the ground if the attack is successful. Due to the field generated from the attack, any bullets coming her direction would find the same thing happening to them, falling to the ground as they enter the field around her. Assuming all this was successful, she would turn back to breaking through the defences around the pyramid.* Give her back. --Player Phase-- Field: Crushing Aura ( Creates a field around Minerva that sends anything that enters it hurtling to the ground)

A green mist rises from Kali's smashed crystal and quickly solidifies into a human form. Before Kali now stands a young girl with white hair and two swords hanging from her hilt. Next to her, a small white puff floats lazily. Underneath her short hair, her gaze is intense, but not without care. With a stern voice she says: "I am Youmu Konpaku. For this one time, I'll be at your command. Just tell me who you want me to cut down."

"Oh, a bandit? No no, I'm just a school girl that's a bit lost, you know? I just wanted to be your friend..." She goes on casually with the conversation, inching closer and closer to him with a smile on her face. Now noticing the weapon that he holds in his hand, she merely took glances at his trembling form and the sword being pointed at her. Seems that she'll act further depending on what he does. "Say, you do have somebody around here that's supposed to protect this place, right? Seems very quiet. Not enough people here for me to talk to about friendship and card games." [--Player Action--] [Friendly Introduction: Part 2]

Kali blinks for a moment when a young, seemingly human girl pops out of the crystal, as opposed to some burst of magic or a monster. For now she simply flips her hair dramatically. "Name's Kali, but introductions can wait until I find the real you. For now your target is Keine Kamishiro.. Kamshi.. Kamishiraw..." Kali gives up on the last name and simply points to the pyramid currently dominating the field. "The girl commanding that pyramid. I trust you have some idea."

"hmm... The pyramid... I'm first and foremost a sword fighter. I'm good in a straight up fight, but that thing's a fortress. I don't have enough power in this form to guarantee that I'll be able to hit Keine... But I'll give it my all !" With these words, Keine departs. Eyes closed, one hand on the hilt of her sword, a strong breeze causes her hair to flutter around. When only a few meters separate her from the building, she announces: "Soul Cutting 「Ascension To Nirvana」" Heaving the Roukanken - or "tower sword"- high above her, pink and purple dots begin to gather on the ground and slowly drift skyward. These are the souls of the departed and they return to imbue the girl's sword with their power. Soon, as the spirits drift like a storm around her, her blade is coated in the blooming embrace of the dead that now forms a destructive sheathe around her sword. The Roukanken is a naturally long sword, but it now extends far beyond the realm of what could be called as such. Reaching high, even higher than the pyramid (and that's saying something) Youmu dutifully brings her sword down. "I'll cleave the spirits that reside in there to pieces !" The blade falls down on the pyramid and for a brief moment, all is silent. the shooting has ceased, the thunder has gone quiet, the clashing of blades fades. The spirits of the dead whisk all away from their mortal coils and for a second, all gaze upon the god-like cherry blossom that blooms eternally in Nirvana: the Saigyou Ayakashi. Gaze upon its beauty and bask in the joy it procures you, for only the dead should see it before they leave. When the spirits settle down and return from whence they came, Youmy is no more. Her essence disperses and coats all party members in a thin green aura that will protect them from any incoming harm in the next round. -Action- 「Ascension To Nirvana」: cut "foe's spirit"(I know what I mean) and grants damage immunity for one turn to all party members.

Mara felt like she was running out of options for herself more so then anyone else. Devolving chaos does that to you but it doesn’t relive her or allow her to clearly think. She takes notice of a fray of bulletproof about to be launched on her and Minerva and moves more instinct now. She removes the barrier and recast it on herself in a fancy yet threatening manner perhaps to just grab the attention of her allies and onto her. “Why even bother anymore just hit me with all you got you won’t leave a scratch when i’m Done!” ++Action++ Recasts barrier onto self and tries to move into the line of fire of both her and Minerva. Tries to be threatening and draw some attention onto her.

Evading lightning huh, that's one hell of a trick. She could pull it off, too. But that'd leave Kali wide open as well, so instead her beam-scythe is pointed towards the air as another cartridge clicks out from the weapon. F: "Bleh, should have figured his magic would do something like that. I can protect us though." B: "Defenser Plus!" A golden glowing shield of magic would be placed above Fate and her ally, covering them and catching any crashing bolts which rush towards them. This does have the side effect of leaving her distracted for the duration of the attack, but she'll be back to speed again soon enough. There is a limit to how much damage her shield can take as well, but even if it broke through the damage dealt would be far lower than if it went unblocked. ++Action++ Magical barrier against the thundercloud.

Youmu's attack leaves the entirety of the pyramid silent. No more gun shots can be heard and Keine give no sign of life. However, the pyramid still stands strong and the lady inside with it. Youmu also grants the entire party protection from any damage for this turn. At the base of the pyramid, Minerva distorts the gravity around her, causing Masakado to fall to the ground. Unable to move, all he can do is glare intensely at Minerva. That is, only until Mara comes along. Masakado, while he is a great warrior, he does have a bit of a temper problem. As soon as Mara's words reach him, he turns his head towards the newcomer and begins crawling in her direction as best he can under this intense weight in order to escape the gravity field. Meanwhile, Fate erects a bright barrier to protect herself and Kali from the thunder that now assails them. Meanwhile, both Kali and Fate can see Jinmu's body now slowly turning to ashes and though his body his no more, his bow, arrows and lance remain. Neither Keine nor the soldiers inside the pyramid are in state to act this turn. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A school girl?" At the sound of these words, Morichika immediately calms down. "Does that mean you came to join Ms. Keine's school? They say that her knowledge rivals that of Hieda no Akyuu ! Oh, but to answer your question, yes, we do have a guardian: Keine herself. She's both the teacher of our village and our protector! And she does her job far better than that lousy shrine maiden..." His now energetic voice betrays the admiration he holds for Keine. "But you shouldn't stay out there ! Come inside, I'll lead you to where the other villagers are. It's dangerous outside right now. " With his duty back in mind, he prompts Tea to follow him into the shack. "You see, the Youkai have been very agitated recently. I heard that both the Hakurei maiden and the magicians from the forest of magic went out to solve this incident, but we haven't heard anything since. You should stay in our village for a while, at least until it's safe again."

* All distractions cleared away, Minerva turns her attention back to the Pyramid barrier. She forms a small black orb and pushes it into the cracks in the wall she made and causes it to expand. Using the newly created hole, she passes through the Gravity void and into the pyramid, recentering herself so she can land on the floor.* Keine. You stole her from me. Unforgivable. You will return her. * Minerva would start heading deeper inside the Pyramid, looking for her target. As she does, the void created by the gravity orb vanishes, leaving a hole. All debris trapped in the void by the attack falls down the pyramid.* --Player Phase-- Graviton: Gravity Void (Creates a void that repels all objects around it by causing Gravity to push outwards from the orbs centre. Can grow in size or shrink by Minerva's will. Can be passed through by Minerva and others that negate the effects of Gravity.)

Kali nods to Fate, it feels a little weird being the one getting protected, but she's most certainly not going to voice any complaints "Not bad, and it looks like I got us some time too. Lets get moving" Kali would casually scoop up the spear, bow, and remaining arrows from Jinmu's body, though she was more familiar with guns, these weapons would have to do for now, especially if there's some kind of magic. Once she's equipped, Kali would run for the pyramid's entrance after Minerva, though she's glad to stay out of their way, she can't very well expect to affect much from out here --player phase-- Pick up Jinmu's gear, running towards the pyramid entrance.

Tea giggles a bit at his little admiration for Keine, seems like that's going to be noted for a while. But at the same time...while she wouldn't want to abandon her friends, like her cow, surely they're fine whatever they may be doing. "Oh, sorry I was actually still in school, but I would like to check out the one that this Keine has. Speaking of, you seem to be fond for the village guardian. You're not in love or something, are you?" She snickered like any school-girl would, and took a slight glance back before continuing with her new friend, following him towards the shack. At the same time, she whistled a little tune as she shuffled her deck for fun. "That'll be fine, actually. I would love to see your village, after all. I did have plans, but they can wait for now. Also, what was that about a shrine maiden?"

"Oh that actually got his attention? Wasn't expecting that to actually work and he looks peeved!" She would take a few steps as Masadoko tried to crawl right to her position a bit unsure what course of action to take but she whips up a quick solution to this problem. "Well sorry bud but i'm not interested in doing a duel like this night." ++Action++ Fires a explosive burst shot on Masadoko only to knock the target out.

Fate nods to the woman, rushing forward in her usual blur once again and aiming to press onwards with the attack. The woman flies directly above, 2 'bullets' filled with raw magical power clicking out from the beam scythe and causing electricity to crackle around it wildly. F: "Rage of the skies, crash down and tear my foes apart!" B: "Thunder Blade!" As her incantation finishes, about half a dozen large powerful blades made out of raw lightning would start crashing down towards the pyramid. Cutting deep and fast as the enhanced power from the cartridges allows them to. Finally, upon either reaching the inside or as far as they can, each one would explode in a massive burst of booming electrical power. ++Action++ Cartridges, basically mind charge. Aka major boost to damage. Thunder Blade, powerful lightning physical attack, followed by large explosions of more lightning.

Look who's back after a week of deadness. Minerva ends up carving a path through the third layer in order to finally reveal the inside of the pyramid. In front of her, a long, narrow corridor stretches out into the darkness, though at the end, you can see that the path splits in two. On the walls, strange glyphs represent an esoteric story of men and monsters as well as what seems to be a hybrid between the two. It is dark inside, but as the night has made you used to the darkness, you can kind of distinguish the general shapes of the corridor. Kali would end up seeing Minerva heading inside the pyramid. The spear she picked up is engraved with runes of which the meaning has been lost to time. Still, instinctively, you feel like no armor could protect you from a stab with the tip of this weapon. The scarlet bow feels warm to the touch and you feel like anything launched on its strings would immediately be set ablaze. Masakado, now free from the crushing gravity, displays the speed of his reflexes by blocking Mara's shot with his blade and shielding himself from the explosion with his armor. In the same movement, Masakado lands prone on his feet and initiates a mad dash towards his opponent as he emits a bloodcurdling roar. Once close enough, he delivers another series of deadly slashes aimed at knee, the elbow and the neck. The heat emanating from his Odachi is enough to sear the flesh on contact and set the opponent ablaze were they to be hit. With her destructive attack, Fate causes waves of thunderous blasts to rain down on the pyramid. The numerous cracks on the first layer widen, now covering the entirety of the pyramid. Large chunks of the first layer begin to crumble and fall off revealing the second layer. The first layer is as good as useless as far as defenses go. Still no sign of life from Keine or the riflemen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "M-Me ?! In l-l-l-l-love??? No ! Never ! I would never dare to harbor feelings for someone as magnificent and beautiful as Miss Keine ! Ah, but you won't be able to see the village right now. Because of the youkai attacks, Miss Keine hid the village. A few people like me were outside when that happened, so we hide out here and inside the pyramid she created to protect us until the danger is over. Still, I'm amazed you managed to come all the way here without getting hurt. I heard that the forest was practically flooded with youkai and monsters these days. Anyway, just follow me." The young man crouches down and scratches the ground for a bit to reveal a hidden handle. Lifting up the trapdoor reveals a flight of stairs downwards that leads into a corridor heading back towards the plain. Morichika heads down the stairs and gives you a sign indicating you should follow him.

You can't hide, coward. *Minerva starts walking down the corridor, running her hand against the glyphed wall. As she does, small piece of it start breaking away from it and orbiting around her. Same goes for any particle dust and piece of rubble as she walks past them* Come out before I tear away everything you love from you like you did to me. I'll bury you like the kings who belong in this rock. The more you make me hunt, the less patience I'm going to have with you when I find you. Stop being so difficult, thief. --Player Phase-- Field: Orbit (Grants a shield that deals physical damage on contact)

Pfft, totally knew it. He's got a crush. Nevertheless, with these middle school thoughts in mind, Tea decides to follow her new friend towards the route to the village, which includes trusting this trapdoor and the route that it hides. No reason not to. "Oh, I came with a couple of friends. Sadly, we got split up. I truly believe that I'll get to come and see them again." At the same time, since her question wasn't answered, she starts to shuffle her deck around and ask the same question again in a way that makes it seem like she rewinded time just to ask it again in the same way. "Also, what was that about a shrine maiden?"

“Oh sh-“ Mara would barley have time to speak her mind as a sharp pain hits her knees and causes her to be knocked back falter to the floor unable to get up from the harsh blow quick enough. She tried bare the pain and act quick to not be minced as she went on the defence to give her options. ++Action++ Casts a surrounding barrier on herself and to draw Masakado.

Kali tests the weight of the spear, taking a few practice swings before checking out the field again. With the pyramid still silent Kali runs forward to assist Mara by thrusting the spear at Masakado’s chest “You alright? Let’s resolve this quickly• —player action— Attempt to impale Masakado with the spear

The woman spins her scythe around, for now she just observes and prepares. More magical energy building within her weapon and body that would allow for more effective and impressive magic later if needed. She also calls out in a slightly annoyed tone. "I think it would be best if we all calm down now. This entire brawl has been pointless frankly, but it looks to me like things are winding down... I hope. So please, let's just put a stop to this." —player action— Charge magic, enhances next attack.

Minerva goes down the corridor, her shield growing thicker from the rubble left from the various impacts the pyramid has taken. On each side of the split a small flight of stairs leads to a large central room. In the walls are numerous enclaves that each contain a sumptuous sarcophagus. Each one is adorned with drawings representing various great rulers. The ceiling is surprisingly high and despite the lack of sunlight inside, you can see clearly thanks to the countless torches hanging like chandeliers from the ceiling. On the opposite side of the wall where she came from, two flights of stairs similar to the ones Minerva just came from. On the ground you spot the silhouette of a young woman with long silver hair and a blue dress. She's on the floor and seemed to have been unconscious. Yes, seemed, as she is now opening her eyes. Rubbing her head, she looks at you with a slightly confused look. But soon, her memories come rushing back. She stands up, and glares at you: "Huh, so you made it in. You're strong... But I won't let you harm the village ! Is there nothing I could do to make you turn away?" As she talks, she picks squats down to pick up her blue hat, placing it back on her head with one hand. With her other hand she seems to be feeling around for something. Meanwhile, outside, Masakado is giving Mara this look https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/286081621843640320/615616219000733699/unknown.png "This misstep will be your LAST, YOU FILTHY SWINE !!!" With Mara on the ground, Masakado takes a large step forward and brings down his gigantic sword upon him. As the recoil from the barrier causes the sword to fling back upwards, he uses that momentum to strike down again. And again. And again. After half a dozen of swings at full force, Masakado suddenly stops. He looks down towards the bloody mess this is now his right flank. He turns around, with the spear still sticking out of him and grabs Kali before throwing her at Mara. "Whether you be one, two or more, from the front or from behind... I'LL TAKE ALL YOUR FUCKING HEADS, YOU DISGUSTING PIGS !!!" Fate watches the scene from afar while readying her next offensive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The young man stops in his tracks when Tea mentions the shrine maiden again. "Hakurei Reimu is her name. She's the shrine maiden from the Hakurei shrine where the great Hakurei barrier is. She's supposed to be a pro at exterminating youkai and, well truth be told she's apparently unbeatable. But she's so lazy and often just causes problems for our village. You see, she always ends up making friends with her enemies... But those enemies are still a threat to us ! She's completely useless ! If only we could get another, better shrine maiden." He lets out a deep sigh at his wishful thinking and picks up his pace. As you make your way through the corridor, you begin seeing strange drawings on the wall that kind of remind you of hieroglyphs. In the distance, you now see that the corridor splits in two directions. "We're almost there ! Once inside, I'll tell miss Keine to let you in. You see, it may look like the village disappeared, but it's all thanks to her amazing powers ! She's actually a were-hakutaku! She can "eat" history and also create it ! She made it so that the village was constructed underground instead of where it normally is. And by eating those facts, she can bring the village back above ground ! She's so amazing isn't she?"

You... stole... her... from... me... *Minerva, recognising the voice of the woman, grits her teeth. Her shield forms into a wall between the two.* Keine...Kami...shira...sawa... Theif... Return it... to me... now... *The wall begins to shake as Minerva's red eyes shine.* GIVE HER BACK! *Minerva screams like a feral animal, enraged at the very sight of the one who robbed her of the thing she holds dear. Not even giving her a chance to comply, the rubble and rock shards from the shield begins launching themselves at high speeds towards Keine in a storm of shrapnel aiming to tear her to shreds. Not kill. Incapacitate.* --Player Phase-- Graviton: Bullet Storm (Deal X2-X7 Medium physical damage toall foes.)

Despite Morishika's bad-mouthing of the shrine maiden, hearing the words "friends" was merely enough to make her like this shrine maiden. "Aw, but won't the enemies not be enemies anymore after they become friends with her?" Tea takes in the environment around her, namely the fact that this village is actually a pyramid which is a bit shocking to say the least. As well as the person that made it that way. "...that's amazing, yep! Sure is. Now since you know where Keine will be, this split corridor won't actually be a problem, right?"

Masakado throws Kali, causing her to drop the spear and leave it in her opponent's side as she's sent towards Mara. With the other girl's barrier falling apart there's little Kali can do to avoid hitting her. However, Kali's still in great shape and as such she quickly rolls off of Mara "Sorry about that, you alright?"

Mara's barrier shatters before her to no surprise but leaves her in quite fatal position. Though the pain still stings right in her she forces herself to bear it and get right back up, she's able to stand but is close to wobbling over from the pain spike. Despite all that she still keeps some optimistic nature as she speaks to Kali. "No problem don't appologies its my job to take a hit. This person right here is just giving me the challenge like never before. Though it seems i'm at near death again so I may end up just being dead weight, don't suppose you have a plan?" She readied her arm cannon ready to project a barrier onto Kali if she can't do anything else and just readied herself to get battered around otherwise. "If not I can cover you for a few brief seconds before i'm out if that's anything to ya."

“Oh I have a plan alright.” Kali scrambles back on her feet. She left the spear with Masakado, which means she only has the bow and arrows. Kali was unpracticed with bows, as old as they were, but the arrows would still be useful. “It’s called ‘hold my beer’” The universal code for when you’re about to do something stupid. Kali takes out one of the arrows, holding it firmly in her hand as she runs back at Masakado. When the figure inevitably raises their arm to swing Kali aims to duck under it and jam the arrow through the hole in Masakado’s armor provided by the spear —player action— Attack the weak point (with an arrow) for massive damage