[Metaplot] A City of Glass: A City of Change

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[Metaplot] A City of Glass: A City of Change

Who: Everyone
What: Time to explore other worlds in order to fix the last of the damage Isis created and restart the Cycle of Awakening.
When: June 11th
Where: Nautilus
Warnings: N/A but will update when needed
Notes: We will release the headers for the final battle over time to give people a chance to reply.

The last of the glass-sharded creatures shatters and turns into crystalized dust. The Wakened that have come to the End of the World are battered and some are wounded but they have won against the onslaught. They had come all the way here, battling the remnants of Isis' will, defeating her hordes of creatures, and restoring the worlds that had been touched by her powers. It is time for a celebration and then rebuilding once they have verified that the Light is once again shining down upon Chaos.

The cycle would be saved. Nautilus would be saved.

But the darkness within the End of the World shifts, shimmering eerily as a light but icy laugh fills the Wakened's ears.

And then the floor shatters, giving out from under them as a powerful force drives them down.

Down

Down

Down

Black slips into dark violet and then there's a flash of light before the group falls onto cobblestone. They look around them and see only a thick mist.

The mist clears and everyone in the group recognizes the surroundings.

It is the Central Plaza. But there's Isis' purple and crystal glass already making its way like a sentient serpentine wave.. The group scatters in different directions to avoid it and watch as the glass weaves past them and spirals into the air.

"Ah. So you are still alive. What an oversight on my part," a voice scoffs. The glass coalesces, forming a figure shrouded in light.

Those who have been here long enough will recognize her as the Deva of Glass. The one who had brought destruction upon Kalliste and then nearly upon Nautilus itself. But isn't she dead?

Another voice answers that question stirring in the Wakened's minds.

"A Shard. The last remaining part of Isis' will. That witch has hidden a shell of herself among her countless pieces to bring part of herself back to finish the vision that she had failed to accomplish. It seems as if I was not the only one who had thought of a failsafe. I'm honestly surprised you Wakened have gotten this far. I thought you would have perished before you even reached the first world."

Ursaems, the Deva of Entropy, walks into the scene, followed by those Wakened who had remained.

If they were here….that means that the battle is within the City of Change itself.

The Shard shimmers, the projection almost having a static-y quality to it before it solidifies into a form of solid light in crystalized form.

"Usraems. You double-crosser. I'll show you who has failed here," Isis's Shard hissed. She raised her hand and fired a ball of energy towards her previous double agent. The blast strikes Ursames and encases half of his body in crystal. The crystal starts to spread and it's clear that the rest of him will be trapped as well.

"Nngh-!"

"Not so fast!" a voice cried out. The other Deva arrived on the scene, staring down the Shard. They stood in front of Ursames and then addressed the Wakened.

"It'll take us some time t' free him from this glass. Go! Buy us some time! We will lend you lot a bit of our power," Antovil said, putting his hands in front of him. All the Wakened would feel a rush of power. Wounds are healed and energy is replenished.

The Deva turn their attention to freeing Ursaems. It is a tense situation. Perhaps one of life or death. But they did not fear it. They had the Wakened on their side.

The projection of Isis laughed.

"Oh you fools. You have not learned one bit. And that will be your downfall," she sneered and then summoned a horde of glass creatures of all shapes and sizes.

"Finish them! Glass them! I will have my Perfect Order soon enough!" she commanded.

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Isis' creatures snarl and lunge at the Wakened. They attack indiscriminately, howling and snarling as they attempt to claw or bite their opponents. Each slash will leave traces of crystalizing glass upon the Wakened's bodies that will spread and multiply quickly. The Wakened must fight and destroy the creatures as well as help each other fight the glassing processes by using Bending and the force of their will.

From one scene of fighting nigh-endless monsters to another, it seems.

Tiamaris couldn't say Isis didn't know her preferred tactics.

... He also wouldn't say that he was getting tired, but he was; he was only a Wakened, after all, and even an Immortal's strength could flounder.

He did know he wasn't alone, however, and did his best to restrain himself to distance-attacks, all infused with the intent to Unmake, Unmake, UNMAKE.

Azmuth was too small to be on the front lines even with Bending. He was more likely to be caught in the crossfire of someone else who thought the way was clear.

However, he could help in a support role. Allowing others to attack, he focused on Unmaking what crystalizing glass actually struck the Wakened of Nautilus.

He stripped some of the crystals off of one Wakened -- he didn't pay much mind as to who -- with a sharp jerk of one hand. Then he swept his other hand upward to summon a small barrier to prevent getting covered in the stuff himself.

Edited 2020-06-13 03:30 (UTC)

Connie wished she could be in two places at once. As it was, this had been terribly taxing, and she'd been feeling pretty weary. Luckily, once the other Deva joined the fray, they added their power onto hers. With that, Connie took in a deep breath, then surveyed the area. Ok. Clear head. Monsters were already attacking, and they were all just starting to try and piece everything together.

Time to get serious.

Connie levitated several feet off the ground, angling her sword and flew into the monsters swiftly, menace on her face. She didn't pause now, not yet, she struck out at the creatures with all the speed she could muster, taking care to try and maneuver them away from Azmuth.

She hoped there would be more Wakened to help those who were already getting crystalized.

Of course. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. It never was. Leia glared at the shadow of Isis as she spoke, then Bent herself into her Force-ghost form. It was actually easier to maintain than her physical body anymore, and it made it more difficult for the glass creatures to catch hold of her.

"You're the one who hasn't learned," she said, grabbing hold of glass monsters with the Force and slamming them into each other to shatter them. Another advantage of being a Force ghost; one didn't need breath to talk. "Beings like you never have the decency to stay dead. But we'll shatter you as many times as it takes."

So... remember how there were reasons Agatha hadn't been sure Bending was safe for her? Agatha has now been filled with energy from the Devas like the others. Some who have seen Agatha's memories might have some idea what might be coming. But few if any of them had ever seen her on coffee. And this was so much more than coffee....

The redhead started almost vibrating as she pulled out her death ray with one hand. But they were in the city. And she had two hands. The other came up to her mouth and she whistled sharply, the power following through her translating into soundwaves of power, pitched to, you guessed it... shatter glass. But the whistled did more than that. Lots more.

Most of the Wakened have met a few of the dingbots by now. Many have met the construction bot, and the reindeer, and the fighting bot that was being driven by Rotom. They all heard that whistle. And they all came to rejoin Agatha and join the fight. The huge construction bot, the multi-limbed nightmare that was the fighting bot. and hundreds upon hundreds of dingbots. And then the side panels of the Reindeer opened to prove it equipped with a fair number of deathrays of its own.

A smaller group of dingbots came foward more slowly because they were carrying things. A sapre death ray for Agatha. Her ion collectors. Her lightning ray. Connie's death ray that they brought to Connie. And seeing who was there, many Dingbots doubled back to each of the Wakened warrior's homes to fetch weapons they held and bring them. Consider yourselves rather rapidly armed.

"SHOWTIME!" Agatha yelled as a command, and all the Clanks of hers present went on the attack at once. "Everyonewhodoesnotwannadieshouldgetbehindmerightnowthanks!" Agatha said quickly, still virbrating. Then aiming at the glass creatures both of her death rays began to fire....

Isis's projection snarls, furious as the Wakened defeat wave after wave of her horde. She can feel herself weakening. Summoning glass creatures took energy and that chipped away from the remnants of her will. No matter! She too had chipped away at the Wakened.

She can finish them off.

The Shard shatters and then reforms itself, creating a projection that stands tall in the plaza. She steps forward with a thunderous crunching sound as glass takes over the entire area. The whole plaza is covered in the same crystal-like purple and blue glass, sharp and uneven all over. It's crude but Isis can smooth it over once she's finished with this lot.

She will have her Perfect Order if it was the last thing she did.

"How is this for change?" she bellows, sending out a wave of glass projectiles.

"Wakened! This is our fight for survival, so it is! Aye, this is the very last of that traitor’s will, and she will fight ye with all her might, but we know your will shall champion the day over hers! Don't let her encase you in glass, don't let her stop change and time itself!" Nictyx called out. They have freed Ursaems and will join in the fight.

But make no mistake: it was everyone's fight.

Well no kriff, was Leia's immediate thought as she dodged waves of glass projectiles. It wasn't as if she hadn't been doing that or anything.

What she actually said, however was, "Oh you can bet I will. I didn't live and die a rebel just to let reality be taken down by a piece of cheap costume jewelry!" She grabbed glass projectiles out of midair with the Force and sent them hurtling back toward the Isis-thing. She caused thick vines to crack through the glass-covered ground and wrap around the Isis creature's legs, both hindering er motion and attempting to crush the legs themselves.

She may only be a Wakened, but she was Leia Kriffing Organa. It was time to show this prehistoric b*tch how they did things on her side of the galaxy.

Nita, harried but full in her power, was having her own words with the glass itself, telling it how to be sand again. There was a full aura of white blazing up.

Not the white that paralyzed, froze everything into stillness. The white that supported, the white that comforted.

The transformative white.

And, of course, there was water - a wizardry whose material found plentiful source in Nautilus' streams, and their link to what had been Cyrus' sea.

Nita was summoning a beach to the center of the Plaza; a beach, with its ever-eroding shore. How was THAT for change?

Nita managed a brief smile at the thought, but did not speak. Let's give it to 'em, Bobo!

And there came a sure and staid /Yes./ in reply.

The beach Nita summoned combined with the Isis-thing's own alterations of the ground gave Clu an idea. He pressed a hand to the glassy ground, bending it into numerous hexagonal segments. Then, those segments erupted out of the ground in individual hexagonal pillars in a seemingly random pattern, shattering clusters of jagged glass and hindering both Isis' ability to get clear shots at the Wakened and her ability to move anywhere.

Yet, if she touched the pillars to try to break them and clear her way, she'd find that their surfaces were sticky, as if they were covered in glue, though there was no visible indication that there was anything different about them. Even the fragments would stick to her if she did break them, not only hindering her further, but marring her pristine, glassy surface with bits of rubble and grit. Have fun with that, glassy glitch-head.

Edited 2020-06-17 03:13 (UTC)

With the beach coming to combat Isis's takeover, Connie added her own power into the mix. The Shards that were coming now Connie was stopping herself in midair, shifting change in the air so that now projectiles were being redirected or just stopping short of where they're supposed to be.

Again, Connie is flying and putting her all into stopping these from attacking the Wakened: this is taking all of her concentration, but preventing the success of the shards hurtling toward the Wakened would give them the chance to launch their own offensive attacks.

For obvious - to him - reasons, Paps couldn't go with them to the fight, but hen the fight came here...

A swarm of purple akumas came from every possible direction, converging on the combat. The question of whose side were they on was still very much a reasonable one, of course. But any who reached to accept the Akumas would get the power boost he was so practiced at giving. The question is... would anyone be desperate enough to try...?

Connie had never let go of what Papillion was to her, or how it felt to know that she had been influenced to cause damage to the Nautilus and possibly people around her. When she saw the Akumas she was immediately livid at the idea that he would be trying to attack them even now. Slowly though, she figured that maybe he was, in his own way, trying to help. She knew what the akuams did, and had seen how they worked.

This was their last battle. It was a really horrible idea, and Connie took a moment to wonder if doing this was really just an unconscious way of her trying to grab power.

No, she decided. People's lives are on the line. If you can protect this place...save it...wouldn't you at least try>?

Connie thought of Steven back home and, somewhere, someday, Miguel. She took a breath, spied an akuma near her, and took it.

Finally! One person willing to step up and accept the power. Though who it was surprised him.

"We shall discuss issues of debts or favors later," he said in his usual arrogant way, directly into her mind. "The Miraculous' are useless to me if they are destroyed. Take this power and turn it against the glass! Shatter through!"

DEBTS?! Oh, she had a debt for him she intended to make him pay for later. But she was not going to think about that now, not while she needed to stay focused.

And indeed, she felt the change. There was a flurry of purple and Connie emerged as Lady Anemone, clad in blue and white robes that looked remarkably from the Jedi order, but with a mask that covered half her face and boots that allowed her to levitate.

"Time to crush this glass for good!" She said, with a hint of sinister intent in her tone. She flew at the glass with renewed strength, smashing through with tremendous force and moving onto the next target.

Ava had not managed to get most of her powers back, but she had her Keyblade again at least. Seeing someone else with a half mask and robes. She gave the girl a small smile, unaware that the transformation was anything to be concerned over. She readied her Keyblade and timed her jump to move with the other masked girl so that they would hit together.

It wasn't quite the same as fighting alongside one of the other Foretellers or her Dandelions, but it was still a companionship that she missed.

There was a whirlwind of emotions, and for a moment Connie considered attacking this strange interloper before realizing she was also helping in eradicating the menace that was the Deva of glass.

The true enemy.

Connie let out a laugh that was quite unlike her, and now they WERE fighting in tandem as Connie could see what she was doing and, despite having the akuma, understood defeating this enemy required precision.

What was more....that blade of hers was impressive.

Privateer Pirate had seen the Akuma... and was now keeping a close eye on Connie as he fought, not sure which side Papillon was on, and fearing the worst... but having also seen that Connie had accepted the Akuma. He trusted Connie, and did NOT trust Paps. So he was just watching for the moment, while still making bad puns to break the glass.

He had every right NOT to trust Papillion, and while Connie was in her right mind, she was still fighting against the selfish emotions of letting others fight while she fought alone. While she still was of the mind that working together suited them best, her fighting style was more vicious and had her tearing into crystals pretty savagely.

Clef had missed what had happened with Connie and was focusing on spells to unroot the glass so that others could more easily destroy it.

And maybe he'll only vaguely feel Connie, akumacized, crushing the corpse of glass left behind, making sure to pound them to kindling.

Oh no, is that her violin?

Agatha heard the violin and turned. "Connie!"

She rushed to the girl's side, blasting glass as she went with her death ray.

Oh? This was unexpected...but helpful.

"Take the left, I'll take the right."

Akumacized Connie sounded husky, and, well, dangerous, but certainly meant business. She was certainly not holding back her playing, and as her hands played the melody, the crsytals continued to break.

What had the girl done to herself? Or was... was she breaking through? Finally? Agatha just nodded and headed for the glass on the left.

Connie as a fighter was certainly pretty strong and determined. Connie akumacized though? She was ruthless, crushing the crystals with no pause to the net, a look of dread purpose in her eyes. No warmth here, it was systematic, and Connie knew she needed that to do this.

She didn't doubt her strength not to be swayed by Papillion again. Her will, her purpose, needed to guide her, not a doubt or need for power.

Kaylin was also keeping an eye on her, having seen the Akuma. But unlike the Kaylin who had first arrived in the City way back when, this Kaylin was more aware that there were times when seeming foes might be on the same side for the moment. So she was doing her own flighting with her Pokemon, just keeping Connie in sight as she did to make sure the girl stayed aimed in the correct direction.

For the most part, Connie was on the level.

She was certainly more ferocious, that was clear. Where she'd been applying equal fight in offense and defense, once akumacized she was going at the glass full throttle, crashing hard into each with her sword, swiping mercilessly and seeming not to tire when she overextended herself.

"Yes! Chaos is the butterfly's flapping, destroy the glass that would make static statues of us all!"

Doesn't it just feel great to be cheered on by Paps...?

"How can this BE?!" Isis' Shard howled as a nasty blow landed upon her shoulder and a piece of it shattered. She swung at some Wakened and received more damage, causing her solid light form to crack and fracture.

Isis. The Deva of Glass. The one who conquered Kalliste. The one who nearly brought Nautilus to its knees both directly and indirectly is now literally falling to pieces. The elegant woman, dramatic and proud, was now not even a piece of her former self.

A crack forms on her face as she looks at the Wakened with such hatred.

" You…" she growled.

"Change brings suffering and pain in the end! The future brings uncertainty! It cycles over and over again. Ugly and brutal! You don't even know if Nautilus will be swallowed up by Chaos or break from the Light! You don't know if the Cycle will restart even if you defeat me! My Order means tranquility! Certainty! BEAUTY! PERFECTION!"

More of her form fractures and falls away but she still attacks.

"WHY DO YOU FIGHT FOR SUCH AN UGLY THING?!"

Kit Fisto launched an orb of water roughly the size of a motorcycle at her with the Force, and froze it into a solid projectile of ice with Bending before it struck her, further chipping away at her body. "Because the only peace you offer is that of the grave," he said calmly, but still loudly enough for her to hear. "Your perfection is that of a death mask. An ending with no possibility of a new beginning. I've learned in my time here that such rigid, unyielding order leads only to stagnation. That may be your folly, but it is no longer mine."

He manipulated a stream of water with the Force and with Bending to lash at her like an enormous whip. And as he did so, he punctuated his strikes with words. "Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force. You've chosen your path, just as I've chosen mine. We will each soon see where it leads."

"The more you talk," Tiamaris observed, voice for once raw from all the roaring and fire-roasting he'd been doing - what had changed about him?

"The more implausible and insane you make your preferred path sound. I had not known that was possible."

Those words were followed by a technique he had once threatened - "threatened", rather - a former Wakened with: an attack of intent.

This Isis will have NO power! She will simply not BE! I will not allow it, not against what is MINE!

An Unmaking... and an Unpowering, not that most might notice the distinction just now, in the midst of fighting.

"We will never allow that kind of future. Change is what makes everything different. It affects us, and makes us different too. If your aim is to destroy the way we can become better, than we are definitely against your way of living."

She had seen her teacher apply the Force and his bending with water, and likewise, use the element to aid him. She now used vicious cyclones of wind to dash hard against the Deva, and applied the Force to stop the projectiles coming at her Wakened allies. Despite how frantic and dangerous everything was right now, Connie found a calm that Monk Gyatso had instilled in her, and Master Fisto had tempered. Where Connie would have been lashing with ferocity, here she found herself alight and agile and fluid: indeed, Connie was a blur, a breeze that came and went but delivered her answer to Isis too.

/It may be ugly.../ Nita said - that beach landscape from before had shifted into more water than sand, the defused glass giving way to torrents of water.

She may have Woken in the Southern District, but her water affinity was in full strength here - and being put to even better use!

/But at least it's REAL! There is NO SUCH THING as perfection!/

A tendril of water-shaped will launched itself at Isis, in parallel with Kit Fisto's; if one looked closely, one could see the tailored venturi structures.

They looked like reworked chambered nautili.

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[Metaplot] A City of Glass: A City of Change

Shattered Glass

OTA! Or just form a chain; I have no preference.

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Sadly I lack the proper icon for this....

Perfection

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Sorry this took so long!

Did we pick a name for her?

I got chu!

WOO!

Re: WOO!

Re: WOO!

Re: WOO!

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Raison D'être

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