Realistic or Modern [closed] Magik Hero U In-Character

[Nellancholy]

"Aha!" The fierce voice in Gleam's head bellowed. "Our foe's true form has been revealed! Let us lay waste to it before it causes more harm!"

"Oh, if only we could be gentle enough to preserve its heart for study..." The calm voice lamented.

"My thoughts exactly." Gleam pursed her lips. "Guess we can't have it all..."

Their little conversation was promptly interrupted by a circle of flame that gathered beneath Gleam's feet...

Fwoosh.

Without the slightest care in the world after having been shot at earlier today, she pulled off a graceful kickstep and front flip out of the way. Prism, being a little further back wasn't quite within the range of Fishlegs' next attack, a rippling fissure that swept along the ground...only to be nullified by the crystal that formed. With barely a moment to breathe, Gleam tucked and rolled again, staying low to avoid the aftermath.

"Phew...that's your doing, Prism? I shoulda figured. Cool power..."

Before Fishlegs could continue to assail the two...a decidedly girthy man barreled out of seemingly nowhere, slamming into it like a boulder.

"I will take the monster. You guys handle the Heart."

"Oh, certainly. Please, allow me." Gleam smiled. Carefully, she took aim, taking advantage of the momentary diversion...

Yet another throw of her chakram, smacking hard into the rippling, quivering Heart. Instead of embedding itself or falling flat, the weapon bounced off, striking one of Prism's crystals, bouncing off, and hitting the Heart again.

Then it did the same with the other crystal.

Having landed three solid blows on the Heart, the chakram sailed into the air, where Gleam allowed herself to catch it with a somersault.

Her heels clicked as she landed, and she looked up, hoping some effect had been had.

Juju ThatWhichShouldBe

 

[jmann]

Hector | EARTHQUAKE
The cries of a cat caught Earthquake's attention right as he went to run after the beast. He turned, seeing an unfamiliar form crumpled in the wreckage. Candace. With a jolt, Earthquake was by their side lifting warped metal off the pile until they could see the face. It wasn't Candace. What were they doing here? Earthquake's face burned with colour. Beads of sweat carved through the dust and ash. His once bulletproof demeanor had been replaced with what could only be described as dread.
"Ezek-" he caught himself, "What are- how- I..."
There was no steeling himself from this. He couldn't separate Hector and Earthquake when Ezekiel was in danger. Hector, no, Earthquake didn't even know their last name. They were just the cool boy in class that made him nervous.
"Go," Earthquake cleared his throat, "Go, you should, uh, get far away from here... it's not safe."
He didn't make eye contact. Nor did he respond to any quips or comments. He wasn't strong enough. Every minute with Ezekiel was spent regretting everything he'd ever said and wanting to run away and also impress them and also die inside all at the same time. That wasn't who Earthquake was supposed to be. These people deserved better. He couldn't do that to them; that's what he told himself at least.

As Ezekiel crawled from the wreckage, Earthquake dropped the debris behind them. He forced out a final comment before they got too far away.
"And, uh, stay safe? please?"
Earthquake turned and climbed into the rubble. Partly to reclaim his shield but mostly to escape from his own mind. The only thing keeping the stress from breaking his hero form was the terror of Ezekiel seeing Hector and everything associated with that part of him. He needed to be strong for his team and for himself.
Earthquake tightened the straps of his shield. As long as he could separate Hector and Earthquake, he could do the job.

Earthquake turned back towards the open doorway and began to run. Unlike the blind and scared sprint before, this would be the calculated athletics of a hero. Outside, his attention was not drawn to the monster but instead the new heroes surrounding a 'heart'. One muscular individual was chasing down the monster, delivering all the fury of a shonen anime protagonist. That meant it was up to the rest of them to take down the heart. Earthquake as a game character had a number of tricks to deal decent damage despite being a tank build, but this wasn't a game anymore. He would have to get creative.

Earthquake didn't know half of these people as well as he would have liked. The one throwing the chakram was decently clever, but the rest of their powers were a mystery. He could normally form plans with a good knowledge of the team, yet maybe improvising would be good for him. Nexus had the ability to teleport objects and people. With that, ideas rushed his mind and a grin crossed his face. He skidded to a stop before the heart, shield ready.

"Nexus! Ever heard of kinetic bombardment?"

---

Juju Solirus seasonedcat Nellancholy

 

[Solirus]

Nexus​

After fishlegs burst into flames and flung itself, Nexus could only move through instinct, having the flames almost burn his very being with the burst of air following afterwards knocking Nexus to the ground. His surroundings became blurry and an awful ringing plagued his mind. Only the subsequent screech of the creature and the heat emanating from it brought back Nexus's senses.

Standing back up Nexus quickly checked the new message on his phone. After a few moments of watching the heart appear Nexus saw as some of the members from the other team arrived, wondering where the other ones were. As each focused on their own separate actions Nexus waited idly by, waiting to be able to use his shapes once more, hesitant to move any closer to the danger. Not before long however, he saw earthquake rushing past him before stopping directly in front of the heart itself, turning around with very Hector type of grin.

Nexus paused, completely dumbfounded at the question. Of course he knew about kinetic bombardment, he'd written an entire essay about it alongside some experiments of his own. But in what world would it make sense to bring it up now...

With a heavy sigh Nexus created a new shape, around the size of a baseball but with the wrong feeling to it. Nexus prepared himself and threw the ball as far up as he possibly could having the shape move itself too for greater height and a better angle. Sprinting forward he waved his at earthquake as he crossed him, snapping his finger and transporting the large hero far up into the sky.

Whilst Earthquake was far up into the sky Nexus moved forward at the heart after watching gleam strike it with her chakram. Without wasting another second Nexus struck at the heart with his fist, noting how hard the thing felt yet how little his hand actually hurt. Nexus then began hitting the roots that were embedding themselves into the ground, damaging them slightly but unable to fully break them off as he tried to pull them off. With a slight look upward Nexus quickly dashed away from the heart. "Stand clear of the heart, you don't want to get yourself caught on the impact."

Juju jmann Nellancholy

 

[Juju]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Nellancholy (Gleam)
jmann (Earthquake)
ThatWhichShouldBe (Sol Invictus)
Solirus (Nexus)
Tiguidi (Twilight)
Cresion Breezes (Dopplewalker)
Juju (Prism)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Fishlegs unleashed the wave of flames from its mouth, but was quickly interrupted by Sol Invitus' simple and yet highly effective strategy. Had his primitive ancestors been around to see it, they surely would have been proud.

An audible crack sounded through the air, followed by a hissing yowl. Flames sprayed and sputtered out as Fishlegs stumbled from the impact of the punch, its head thrown to the side from the violent motion. When it snapped back, posture straightened, its jaw sat at an odd angle and did not close. Pointed teeth had shattered, and a black ichor dripped from its broken jaw as readily as the sparks.

Meanwhile, Gleam had led the charge in attacking the heart. Using the cover made by Prism, she managed to evade the short burst of flames and remained unscathed besides her previous burns, which seemed to sting anew from even the brief exposure to the flames' heat.

Thanks to Sol Invictus' attack, it didn't last long, and the creature was distracted enough for her attack to go unchallenged. Flung like a pinball at an arcade, her chakrams ricocheted between the pulsing heart and Prism's crystals. Every strike left bright red gashes upon the heart, which oozed a thick black liquid and puffed with acrid smoke.

Seeing the heart under attack sent Fishlegs into a rage of its own. The air wiggled from the heat of its claws, now flexed towards the nearest attacker. Fishlegs lunged at Sol Invictus, slashing at him with the same primal ferocity as an angered bear. One such strike found Sol Invictus' gauntlet and didn't leave so much as a scratch, while the other tore at the hero's arm and shoulder.

Flames erupted from Fishleg's claws, searing flesh in a messy and violent burst. Had it not been for Sol's current buildup of strength, it was likely the entire arm could have been reduced to cinders. Instead, what was left was deep gashes and burns on a mostly functional arm. A few burns had been sustained on his face and chest, but they paled in comparison to the claw's wound. It hurt tremendously, even more when he moved, but the rage he felt could serve as a momentary distraction.

The fleshy heart twitched, bleeding from Gleam's attack. Instead of growing, it appeared to be focused on repairing itself. Black tendrils, like writhing worms, slithered their way to frantically weave over the holes in a web-like pattern. The roots dug deeper, but soon would also come under attack.

Nexus' punch easily tore apart a sizable amount of the roots, having already been damaged by Gleam's chakram strike. As if in response, more of the fleshy roots began to shoot into the ground, digging into and under the concrete.

Nexus was mid-dash when a black tendril burst from the concrete and latched onto his foot, turning his dash into a tumble. Another one shot from the heart itself, and wrapped around his arm, and both began to slowly tug him back towards the heart.

There were not many instances when the Magik Hero known as Nexus could not whisk himself away with a quick teleportation. This was one of them. The moment he felt the fleshy tendril snag his foot he could sense something very wrong in the core of his being. He felt a chill within his bones, not too unlike the first time Moki's magic had blessed him. It felt like he was torn between two realms, not fully physical in each.

A cold dread filled his mind like sea-water, bringing with it a sensation of impending doom he couldn't understand or shake. It was as if he was the only one in the world with the knowledge that everything he loved would be destroyed. It was maddening and confusing, but not enough to make him lose himself. At least, not yet.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
​

┌── •✧• ──┐
seasonedcat (Ezekiel)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

"Hello? Hello? Is anyone still there? Is that.... thing... gone? Can I come out now?" shouted a hoarse voice from within the burnt factory. It was the factory worker, who up until now had been cowering under an upturned desk in the control room. It seemed to have worked before, and so too had it worked again.

The flames had burnt out, absorbed by Fishlegs, but the smoke remained. He coughed haggardly and wondered if he had been forgotten about. He gingerly walked across the debris-strewn floor, eyes wide and alert at even the smallest of sounds. It came as no surprise that upon seeing Ezekiel's battered form he let out a cry of alarm.

"My word you nearly scared the life out of me! Are you alright, boy? What are you doing here?" just as the man asked, the hint of suspicious caught in his eyes. The wheels began to turn, and the connections began to link. He lifted up a shaky finger, mouth agape. "Now hold on... are you-"

"A magik hero? Yes!" Moki's cheery voice came from above the man, causing him to jump and scream yet again. The small fluffy creature sat atop Ezekiel's head, absentmindedly kneading the boy's hair like a cat preparing to sleep. "Though you're not supposed to know that! Could you keep a secret for Moki, please?"

The man was speechless, his mind trying to piece everything together in a way that made sense. Nothing worked.

"Moki is happy to see you survived, Candace! Though your EGO will need to recover for quite some time before you can safely use it again! Until then, you're about as fragile as a typical human! Oh... that being said, Moki advises you and Franklin get to higher ground! The top of this rubble pile will do!"

Moki leapt down from Candace's head and gracefully lead the way over the rubble, their dainty paws finding balance on even the most precarious concrete block or singed metal beam. "Come, come, quickly now!"

"H-how did it know my name?" The man aptly named Fanklin sputtered, though he did in fact follow the order to move.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

 

[Tiguidi]

TWILIGHT​

Twilight had kept her distance from Fishlegs, blasting away at the monster with her lightning bolts. After being slightly singed by the piscine monster, she had decided to play much more smartly. It was obvious now that her ‘role’ was that of a ranged damage dealer so she’d play as such.

Turned out that there were many more monsters outside -and that Team B was in trouble. “Annnnd now Fishlegs is entering its second phase…”, she mumbled to herself, getting ready to defend herself when she noticed the pitch black pool of foul liquid appear under the monster’s feet. “Hey, if we need to use ranged attack, that might be in my field!”, she exclaimed to her allies with a forced grin. “Woo, Invictus, let’s go!”, she cheered when Team B’s muscle man barreled into Fishlegs like the muscly man he was.

“Please remember not to reveal your location with loud noises during battle.”, came the elderly voice from her staff. “Stealth is an immense advantage, especially when presented with an opponent’s weak point.”

“I-I know…! It’s also important to cheer for our allies!”, Twilight argued in an ushered voice, though knowing full well that the staff-monkey was right.

“I am not berating you, I am simply pointing out mistakes in your judgment so you can grow into a better warrior."

’Alright, alright, I get it, sheesh…’ Sighing inside, Twilight shook those thoughts away and focused on Fishlegs instead, only to notice the wound the monster had inflicted on Sol Invictus and the danger Nexus currently found himself in. Lightning crackled between her fingers but she found herself hesitant at attacking, fearing her highly volatile attacks would hit her teammate. ’Argh, no time to think!’

So she fired anyway.

A bolt of lightning shot out of her staff in a loud CRRRRACCKKKK, heading straight toward the heart, if not a little behind it to reduce the chances of it damaging an unintended target.

“If someone can do anything to get Nexus out of there, now would be great!”
Nellancholy jmann ThatWhichShouldBe Cresion Breezes Juju seasonedcat Solirus

 

[Nellancholy]

A loud CRACK split the air as Twilight seemed to regain her momentum, mounting another intense elemental assault onto Fishlegs' heart.

"Nicely done, Twilight." Gleam muttered. This day just kept getting harder and harder. She simply had to wonder if any of these people were as apathetic to the game as she was before, or if they had all entertained the idea of being heroes like their game characters, in their heart of hearts. Crafted something that reflected what they enjoyed, and their true selves, at least to a point.

Because as more roots rose up from the ground, holding that guy Nexus in place, Gleam quite heartily wished her heroic form had a more useful weapon for these purposes. A sword or a scythe, some damn thing like that. The "chakram" in hand could certainly strike sharply enough to cut through some things, but she wasn't sure it would have enough leverage to break Nexus away cleanly. And she certainly wasn't going to get so close to that thing to make sure.

"Hark, an ally ensnared! Fly into the fray! Strike hard! Finish it off!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I counsel caution. Now how about we find something nice and sharp to cut him out with..."

"No time for that." Gleam sighed. But she had to do something to give Nexus a chance to extricate himself. With all that she had in hand...

"Alright." The fact that she could run far faster and leap far higher than she did in her usual form was not lost to her. Gleam backed up a little and broke into a sprint. With a hop off the ground she landed on a piece of protruding debris, using it as a springboard to gain another 10 meters or so of height. Gambling another's life on her next throw, Gleam tucked into a ball, spinning like a certain spiny animal for a few swift rotations...and then loosing her chakram to spin straight down like a sawblade. Her flight over Fishlegs and its general vicinity might take her close to Earthquake's falling trajectory, and with any luck her thrown chakram would be able to cut the roots holding Nexus, allowing him to pry them off and get out of Earthquake's way.

Tiguidi jmann Solirus

 

[seasonedcat]

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊Enoki𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊
Enoki almost joined the girl in sobbing as she quickly grasped onto them. They almost didn't want to move anymore, the sure weight of relief weighing heavy on them now that the adrenaline was wearing off. At Moki's appearance and response, Enoki let out the tension in their body as they stumbled to a stand, pins, and needles flying through their knee. Picking up the small child, Enoki cradled them as they took them back to their mother.

they offered her a smile, trying to seem less tired than they were as they did so. When Moki instructed them to stay with the humans, Enoki almost jumped for joy; they no longer had to be burdened with saving anyone filled them with great relief. As Moki left, Enoki's mind drifted briefly to their hope to reverse the magik hero thing. They wondered if it was too late for that, now that they had already dove headfirst into the whole thing. So Enoki stood awkwardly watching the family cry over each other, the tension in their body returning with every crackle of the burning buildings. What if there were more of the things? Enoki couldn't help but grip their bow tightly as they tried to seem less on edge than they were.
Juju
---
Ezekiel
Ez let out a groan as the rubble was pulled off of him. Shedding the last piece as he stumbled into a standing position, catching himself on Earthquake's arm. Thankfully he only had minor scrapes and bruises due to his EGO, his headwound seeming primarily artificial. He recovered his swimming vision rather quickly, though the aches in his body would take longer,

"would you believe me if I said I just wandered in?" he chimed lightly, wincing as he touched the scrape on his head, "So much for my secret identity..." he laughed. His small smile fell as Earthquake seemed to be having none of his jokings; he shifted uncomfortably at the serious tone. Rubbing the back of his head, he nodded uneasily, "Uh, yes, sir, no need to worry about lil' ol' me." he provided with a little salute, flinching again as he accidentally hit his forehead with his hand.

he watched Earthquake leave with a saddening look, picking up the still worried Beans at his feet. Holding her gently, he placed his chin on her head as he spoke, "was it something I said, or was my appearance that disappointing?" he humored to the other,

"I think those eye bags could scare anyone away." Beans spoke, her voice still a little worried.

"Hey! Not my fault. I didn't think I'd need to wear makeup today..." he hissed back to her. At the scared cry of another, Ez also jumped, Beans' fur ruffling as Ez's scare also scared her. At the man's question, Ez was about to deny even knowing what he meant when suddenly a soft weight appeared on his head, a familiar voice soon following. "my child!" he cooed lightly at the appearance of the other, a look of joy filling his face quickly.

as Moki took off, Ez was quick to follow, only looking back at the question from the other man. Ez offered a shrug, "They just kinda know stuff like that," with another smile, Ez took to following Moki again. Of course, Ez was not as graceful as Moki and stumbled through the rubble. Beans even grew tired of the constant tripping and broke free with a paw to Ez's face before following behind Moki, closer than its owner,

"So where are we off to, Momo?"
Juju jmann

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

He does not stop moving after he lands the blow. He does not even pause. Fury runs in his veins more than blood right now, as Sol immediately pulls himself through the air with gravity. The flickering flames around the great monster he ignores, even as they scorch his flesh, as he tries to fly his way to behind the nape of the Monster's neck. The wrathful hero attempts to plant his feet directly upon the Monster's body, reaching up with his mighty arms to grasp the monster's head, and then *wrenching* it backwards. He heaves as if he was trying to hold up the sky, or pull the world by a rope. Trying to break the monster's neck using its own head as leverage.

He didn't just want to beat on it, after all. He wanted to destroy it. To tear it apart. And even as it thrashes and struggles, Sol refuses to let go, instead leading out a blood-curdling roar of wrath to match the monster's own animalistic cries. The two locked in battle, a hero and a monster, contending as was the way of myth since time immemorial. But then, Sol looks up, and sees Earthquake descending from the sky. He grins, as they grapple with each other. For it was a further truth: a hero need not fight a monster alone.

"Make a wish motherfucker!"

And then they both watch as Earthquake's falling star descends upon them.

 

[Juju]

┌── •✧• ──┐
seasonedcat
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Moki let out a purr of delight, tail swishing happily at the praise and cuddles given by Ezekiel. Of course, it wasn’t long before they remembered why they were here and they hopped down to lead the way.

“Up to safety! You are very weak in this form, so Moki wants to make sure you and Franklin do not get hurt!”

They spoke in a matter-of fact tone as they hopped between the rubble, and did not elaborate on what the aforementioned ‘danger’ was.

“Even with such unexpected circumstances, Team One has overcome the odds and adapted well, just like true Magik Heroes! Team Two…” their voice sounded a little quiet, and they stopped their rambling quite suddenly after mentioning the other team. It was clear they did not mean to bring it up.

In the silence, the sound of battle raged on outside. Magic crackled, shouts were made, and the beast nicknamed Fishlegs hissed and roared.

After the brief pause Moki continued again like nothing was amiss. “We are close now! Once that heart is destroyed, the area will be safe again!”

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

┌── •✧• ──┐
jmann (Earthquake)
Solirus (Nexus)
Tiguidi (Twilight)
Nellancholy (Gleam)
ThatWhichShouldBe (Sol Invictus)
Cresion Breezes (Dopplewalker)
Juju (Prism)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

The air crackled from Twilight’s attack, the magik light arcing across the battlefield to strike at the bloated heart. Bathed in a brightglow, it quivered and spasmed wildly, the new tendrils it would have wrapped around the trapped Nexus now flailing. Yet even as it was zapped with lightning power, it stubbornly held onto Nexus in a deathgrip. Twilight’s effort was not in vain, however, for the attack had uniquely served to stun most of the heart’s defenses and stop the tendrils from pulling Nexus for the time being.

Seizing the opportunity, Gleam was quick to provide support. Her flourish of acrobatics and precision sent her chakram down like a saw-blade upon the extended tendrils of the heart, and completely severed the tendril holding Nexus’ arm. After tearing through one, the chakram continued to bite into the remaining tendril, managing to rend a tear large enough for Nexus to rip free and scramble away.

Thanks to the coordination of the two heroes, Nexus was freed of the heart’s tendrils and his mind recovered instantly from the strange feeling of dread. He managed to flee far enough to avoid Earthquake’s impact.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs seemed to notice Earthquake a little too late, having been completely distracted by Sol’s attack. The monster tried to rush in the heart’s defense, only to leave itself open for Sol’s devastating and brutal attack. Its neck was snapped at an odd angle and it let out a guttural hiss as it crumbled into a crouch.

Above it all, Earthquake fell down with shield at the ready. Be it a leap of faith into the air, or the ability to handle the monster while he took on the heart, he had placed his trust in his allies and it shone on his shield like a sun.

At last, the hero crashed down with all his magikal might. Crushed under Earthquake’s shield, the heart caved inwards on itself, its sides bulging dramatically outwards like a water balloon being squeezed. The ground shook and Earthquake was almost lost from sight in the rotten swell of black and red. A harsh light shone through the heart’s translucent mass until finally there was a sound like shattering glass and the heart exploded.

Earthquake would be the first to notice that instead of the gunman, bubbling magma poured out of the broken heart in a rolling wave, flooding the ground. Prism, who had been watching on the sidelines for most of the battle, noticed it too.

Panicking, she did the only thing she could do. She hastily threw her spear, its blade sinking into the pavement near Gleam and Earthquake. The second the spear made contact with the ground, it erupted into a mass of crystals just large enough to stand above the tide.

The other crystals, which had been used to protect Gleam from Fishlegs’ attacks earlier, now formed little islands amid a sea of black and red lava. There were two of them, and each was just big enough to hold one person. Besides these, the security office, fence, and rubble of the factory were the only things standing above the lava. However, unlike actual lava, none of these items seemed to be melting, nor did the air sear the flesh of anyone standing on them. An intense heat could be felt from the molten liquid, yet it did not seem to share all the traits of the magma it replicated.

The lava extended in a wide circle around the factory and left a mirage, like shimmering air above pavement in the summer. Peering at the environment around the factory would now reveal a startling sight. The forest was completely reduced to flat ash, creating an endless landscape of grey interrupted by black skeletal trees. Across the barren distance, the smoking rubble of the neighborhood could just barely be seen. The sky above was a muddy red that rained with soot. It was completely different from the burning forest they had seen mere moments before, and even the stars were impossible to see. Something about it was clearly not right and enough to make someone question their sanity.

☆ Twilight was closest to the two smaller crystal islands, and would be able to make it to one in time before the lava hit.

☆ Nexus was also in range, though uniquely equipped with teleportation magik.

☆Dopplewalker, whom had been inactive during the fight, was equally the furthest from all three crystals and would not make it to any of them without some help or clever tricks

☆Gleam was still falling when the magma flooded out, but was directly above the largest island of crystal made by Prism’s spear toss.

☆ Ezekiel and the aptly named Franklin were already safely on top of a rubble pile that Moki had led them to in anticipation of the heart’s rupture.

☆ Earthquake, who was more resistant than most, had a few moments before the flow of magma backflowed and swelled around him. He could feel the flesh of his feet and lower legs burning, as if dunked into a tub of too-hot water. However, he could easily reach the large island of crystal before his EGO had any severe damage. Maybe he could even get assistance from a friend.

☆ Prism grabbed the security guard bridal-style and raced against the flow of magma. She tossed the man up onto the flat roof of the security office, and only then leapt for it herself. She managed to avoid most of the magma, burning only one of her lower legs as it propelled her upwards. The pain made her cry out and fall into a crash-landing on the roof, cradling the softly glowing appendage. Rushing to her side, the security guard helped her sit up and offered words of comfort Prism didn't quite hear. Instead of charred flesh and gore, her foot was encrusted in crystals of purple light that did little to show the searing pain she felt. Until it had time to regenerate, her EGO would be [crippled] and unable to run.

☆ Sol Invictus was in a very dangerous position, yet one that also had a unique opportunity. Fishlegs was twisted and damaged, yet still alive. With its head hung at a strange angle, it struggled to break free of Sol’s grapple and flee into the magma that rushed towards them. The flames on its skin had also been nearly instantly snuffed out.

Sol had a pretty clear choice; he could continue to hold onto the monster, preventing it from fleeing, or release it in favor of finding safer ground. His buffed resistances would allow him to last in the magma flow for some time, but it was uncertain how long he could sustain it before fatal damage was caused to his EGO. The pain would be immense, though his wrath would serve to dampen it tremendously, as it had done with the scratches and burns. The feeling was quite an intoxicating one…

“Wonderful work, heroes!” Moki’s voice echoed above the hiss of scorching bubbles. The creature stood on the rubble pile and watched them all, “With the Heart destroyed, the monster can be permanently destroyed! It is very weak now… please hurry and defeat it before it gets away!!”

As if in response, Fishlegs let out a shriek. In its broken and weakened state, it seemed like one last powerful attack could finish it off for good.

The glow in Prism’s crystals began to brighten over time and soon cracks were forming along their base. Prism scrunched up her soot-covered face and shouted to her team, “Quickly! Rex and I can’t keep up these crystals much longer!”

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

 

[Cresion Breezes]

#776598 #c6b5c9
Interactions: Ezkiel ( seasonedcat ), Moki ( Juju )
​

When she landed, Dopplewalker coughed a few times from the instant surge of bright flames and smoke that filled the area. This body was more robust than a mortal one, but as one whose magicks are based on sensory perception, the sudden teleportation was a terrible idea for someone with her power set. She looked up at her surroundings that have entirely changed and tried to think about what had happened in the previous moments. "...I...What?" But in a moment the dizziness was cleared by an intense feeling of heat, and it turns out the brightness wasn't really from flames, but the fact that there was surging magma.

Holding her head and brushing the now annoying long locks of hair out of the way, although it was strange that it didn't catch on fire. It seems like the extending magma wasn't actually what it seems to be. Dopplewalker waved her hand and summoned two thin afterimages that were barely solid enough to be used as essentially stepping stones. Some parts of the clones burnt and crumbled, but as she ran and dashed on the collapsing human-shaped constructs more appeared, albeit they are becoming thinner and thinner. As the form of the clones began to devolve into ambiguously human-shaped piles of substance sticking out of the lava pool like some sort of bizarre body part bridge, Dopplewalker seems to have become concerned.

"Tsk!" She looked at the rubbled factory which was of a vaguely familiar shape, but the landscape had changed completely. It felt reminiscent of the strange place she was put in during this transformation and those teleportation sessions, it could be that it wasn't real, well, "real" is quickly becoming more and more ambiguous of a term as the night went on. Dopplewalker felt a bit drained, creating too many afterimages might have led to this, it wasn't easy being a one-man army after all, she should have been more conservative with the magicks. Although by her hazy memories, perhaps being conservative with her ability wouldn't have been a good idea at the moment.

As more of the clones crumbled the hero can feel her magic being drained by the extensive mass production of human-shaped stepping stones, but there was still a good way before any solid land. "...Right, this body... it's supposed to be sturdier." She whispered to herself while one of the clones she stepped on was engulfed by flames. "W-wait, what are you planning?" The snake-like familiar that had returned to its animal form asked.

Closing one of her eyes Dopplewalker aimed for the silhouette of the rubble in the distance, those crystals would be too risky, they were way too small of a target. The crumbling clone beneath her feet suddenly got a much more solid-looking glow to it. The hero brushed the annoying hair out of the way once more, pointing her finger in a couple of different angles at the rubble piled. As the hero raised her hand the familiar seems to be catching on to what is happening. "Hey! Hey! Wait for me!" It shrieked while wrapping itself tightly on Dopplewalker's wrist, the hero paid no mind as she was concentrated on something else.

-snap-

With a crisp finger-snapping sound followed by an explosive echo, the solid clone beneath Dopplewalker detonated as she positioned herself in a specific manner. If her calculations were correct, it would propel her somewhere onto the rubble.

The landing would be hard, and so will taking an explosion by her own making, but not knowing what the mystery magma-like liquid did Dopplewalker rather take some chances with conventional injuries. The cracking of what sounds like joints ligaments and bones plus a minor ringing in her ears definitely confirmed that hypothesis. There was someone else on the rubble though...someone who she vaguely recognizes as someone at the initial meeting. But she could care less right now, because Moki was also there, up somewhere safe while just having brought her to the middle of nowhere almost in a pool of magma.

"...Yeah, Team 2...I'm not sure either, I wonder what happened..." Even with ringing pre-tinnitus, she caught something that Moki said, though it was a bit strange for someone who just fell from the sky to add to a conversation so casually. Her voice was a bit hoarse and weak from being exploded and smashing into concrete, but it somehow sounded...happy? She chuckled afterward while gasping for air, looking up at the blood-red sky. "...I would use my power to go back there and check, I'd even try to help, but as you can see, I'm not doing too well right now." She added rather calmly, she tried to raise her hand and gave a weak snap, only a few wispy currents of energy appeared, shapeless and formless.

 

[Nellancholy]

"W-whoooooa...!" A decidedly undignified yell escaped Gleam's lips as Fishlegs' heart erupted with a prodigious quantity of fluid that wasn't quite burning, but would definitely, certainly hurt if she touched it. Her eyes flicked over her surroundings as she fell. Could she land on some debris? Could she surf on her chakram safely?

Any of those concerns were rapidly cast aside as a large barrier of crystal formed beneath her, catching her as she fell on her front. "Oof!"

"What a fortuitous turn of events." The calm voice quipped.

"Merciful enough that we shall not burn today! We cannot say the same for our foe!" The belligerent voice interjected. "Terminate it quickly, that this foul effluence may be expunged!"

Gleam blinked, the crystal crunching beneath her feet as she got up and evaluated the situation. One of the fighty types had crushed the heart, but was swamped by the corrosive fluid. Another was wrestling Fishlegs, but was in equal peril if he happened to take a few seconds too long to finish it off and extricate himself. Everyone else seemed to be relatively safe, but...

“Quickly! Rex and I can’t keep up these crystals much longer!”

Just lovely. Damn it. The only thing she could do to help was...

The crystals continued to crinkle and flake beneath her heels as she got a running start.

Leaping into the air once more, Gleam carefully aimed her trajectory, kicking off Sol Invictus' broad shoulder and spinning in the air as she jumped again. Really wished she wasn't wearing heels. With a horizontal spin, she threw her chakram at Fishlegs' midsection one more time, hoping it would mangle the monster and give Sol an opening to get free. "Quick, smash it! Then get over here!" Maintaining her momentum, Gleam leapt off the next crystal, before finally alighting on the pile of rubble next to Moki and the other two.

ThatWhichShouldBe Juju seasonedcat

 

[Solirus]

From the tentacles of the heart and his predicament, Nexus's heart almost dropped into dread, only to be revitalized from swift work of his teammates, freeing him from the grasp of the heart and allowing him to move far enough from the Earthquakes shattering arrival.

The resulting lava that began to spread was however wildly unexpected, prompting Nexus to quickly look at his surroundings.

"Sir, it is in your best interest to avoid making direct contact with the contents pouring from the remains of the heart"

"Nexus, be sure to also teleport your teammates to safety as well once you've gotten yourself safe"

Both his familiars advised him as Nexus dashed towards the office and leapt to the rooftop, landing on his feet and quickly turning with two shapes in his hands. The first one he threw at Earthquake and as soon as it reached him, Nexus teleported Earthquake to his side atop the rooftop. Next he threw the other shape at Twilight, curving its path to avoid even the slightest chance of fishlegs from intercepting it. With a snap of his fingers Twilight was teleported alongside the small group atop the rooftop.

"Nice job Earthquake, you have to work on your landing though." Nexus spoke to earthquake patting his back. Before he could comment on anything else he looked back at the ground level, seeing dopplewalker and gleam both arriving at the rubble in the other side, but Sol still wrestling with fishlegs. "Just hang on Sol! I'll be able to teleport you up in a few seconds."

jmann Juju Cresion Breezes Nellancholy ThatWhichShouldBe Tiguidi

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

The Magik Hero has a realization. The voices of his familiars echoing in his ears, piercing through the haze of anger. The fight was almost done, the heart destroyed, and before long everyone would be fine. Hope blossoms in his heart, knowing that the end of the battle was in sight, and Sol begins to redouble his efforts as he shunts the power of his gravity-manipulating gauntlets. It wasn't enough to just kill Fishlegs! He had to survive! Everyone had to survive! And so the Magik Hero begins to float up into the air, trying to wield the force of gravity to for him to fly up and pull on the creature's head. It was no longer attached by any bone, after all! He just had to pull hard enough, and let its body weight do the rest as he tore its head from its body!

"I'll be fine! I can fly! If anyone can hit its neck after you get to safety, do it now! We're so close to decapitating it!"

 

[jmann]

Hector | EARTHQUAKE
The impact rocked Earthquake to his core. Every muscle in his being hurt, even ones he didn't know he had. His arms were reddened and gave sharp pains any time he tried to move. He'd broken his wrist before, but this was far different. He hardly felt teleporting from the exploding monster heart to the roof. He thought he croaked a thank you but he just as likely imagined it in the delirium. The sun-baked concrete was all too warm and welcoming. It was a nice spot to shift back, he thought. Maybe he could relax and the danger would go away.

But that same part of him also knew that wasn't an option. It was his laziness that got the other team killed. It was his idea that got them in this situation to begin with that now threatened everyone else in the team. Earthquake reached for his shield and found a warm mush instead. He shot upright, trying to ignore the shattering pain running down his spine. He saw a deflated Pogo lying spread eagle beside him. Earthquake picked them up by their stubby arms and laid them in his lap.
"Come on, buddy, one more time, for our friends."
Pogo let out a whine and looked even more deflated than before. They were running on fumes, but so was Earthquake. The battle would be over soon and they would both need a long, long rest. In a flash, the creature hanging off his arm became a glistening golden shield once more.

Earthquake pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the worrying click of his knees, and surveyed the field. The lava was pouring over every inch of the courtyard. Thankfully, everyone was on their way to safety, but the monster was escaping. That wasn't acceptable. There was no way they had struggled for so long just to lose now. He unstrapped the shield and gathered his strength, readying his stance for what could've been the most important throw of his life. He whispered into the metal,
"Let's do this, buddy, let's be heroes."
Earthquake darted forward and threw the shield with every pained fibre of muscle straight at the creature's neck.
With that, he fell to one knee. He had nothing left, and was using what little strength he could muster just to keep himself awake.

---

Solirus Juju

 

[Tiguidi]

TWILIGHT​

The situation was, needless to say, getting tense. The boss fight against Fishlegs was actually going well as far as Twilight was aware but the newbie Magik Hero was slowly noticing that many of her teammates were, in fact, not doing so well. Fortunately, Gleam was quick of mind and managed to secure Nexus after his constraints got stunned by the electricity.

Still, her attention was laser-focused on Fishlegs and Sol Invictus. The lightning-wielding Hero tried to follow his movements in order to assist him with lightning bolts. “Argh, I can’t land a shot with him practically hugging Fishlegs…!”, Twilight clicked her tongue. Electricity crackled at the end of her staff, which she aimed in the enemy’s direction but the last thing she wanted was to hit Sol Invictus, especially considering he already was taking damage.

“Firing bolts of lightning is only one of your many tools, Twilight.”, the wise voice of her staff pointed out.

“Not really in the mood to try something new in this situation…”, the Magik Hero mumbled. The moment Twilight noticed an opening was when the heart exploded, the sudden sound causing her to lose focus, the lightning dispelling from the lack of concentration (much to her displeasure. “Dude, c’mon…”, she mumbled, slipping into her usual accent for a moment.

“Twilight, I believe you might want to look at your feet…”

“Huh? What do you- Oh sh-!!” Immediately jumping back, Twilight stopped trying to attack Fishlegs, her eyes momentarily glued to the lava that flowed on the ground. Her panicked eyes quickly glanced over to the crystal constructs conjured by Prism. Yeah, if she hurried, she’d be fine… right?

Any thoughts of climbing onto the nearby crystals were brought out of her mind as Twilight suddenly found herself on the rooftop, along with most of the party. “Huh? What just…?”

“It appears that your ally with teleportation saved you the trouble of climbing to safety.”, the monkey-turned-staff remarked.

“That, I noticed…”, Twilight mumbled under her breath. “Thanks for the TP!”, she raised her voice at Nexus, waving at him in thanks. “With that being said, though…” Approaching the edge of the rooftop, Twilight began channeling lightning once again through her staff, keeping her eyes on Fishlegs in the distance. She wouldn’t let that monstrous fish thing get away that easily. Positioning herself similarly to how a sniper would, she aimed her crackling staff at the monstrosity.

Assuming Fishlegs wouldn’t die from Earthquake and Sol Invictus’ attacks, a good lightning strike in the head would hopefully finish the job!
Nellancholy seasonedcat ThatWhichShouldBe Juju Cresion Breezes Solirus jmann

 

[Juju]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Cresion Breezes (Dopplewalker)
seasonedcat (Ezekiel)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

As if in anticipation, Moki stepped lightly to the side just moments before Dopplewalker’s flashy (albeit rather painful) arrival to the rubble pile. They brightly greeted the hero as if they were discussing the weather, and had not just escaped a fiery demise.

“Ah, hello Dopplewalker! Moki is happy to see you are unhurt thanks to some clever thinking! Well done!”

When Dopplewalker brought up the other team Moki’s tail swished slowly from side to side and one of their ears gave a flick. It was hard to read the expressions of an non-human creature, but the way their paws shifted seemed to suggest they were uncomfortable with the topic.

“Do not worry, the neighbourhood is now under control. Moki has left Enoki there to help the injured survivors until human rescue teams arrive. It won’t be long now.”

As if on queue, the sound of firetrucks and ambulances could be heard in the distance. The question regarding the second team was avoided for the time being.

“Moki thinks it is best to rest and regain your strength for now! The mission shall be ending shortly. Once things have stabilized here, we can all regroup.”

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

┌── •✧• ──┐
Nellancholy (Gleam)
jmann (Earthquake)
ThatWhichShouldBe (Sol Invictus)
Solirus (Nexus)
Tiguidi (Twilight)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Mere moments after Nexus transported his allies to safety, Prism’s crystals exploded into bursts of purple and blue energy, sending out a shower of prismatic shards and dust. Splashes of the lava sprayed up into the sky, the closest of which splashed Sol invictus and Fishlegs.

“They could explode!?” Prism sputtered, forgetting about her wounded foot out of disbelief of what had just happened. If she had known, she probably wouldn’t have used them as impromptu structures.

Prism glanced over the group present, taking a headcount. Everyone who had been on the field of battle was present, though she still didn’t know where Ez, no, where Candace was in all this. She had seen him go into the factory and not return. She couldn’t help but worry about the worst-case scenario, but she had to focus on the murder-fish at the present moment.

She watched as In one jarring motion, Sol cracked Fishleg’s head upwards and propelled himself with a short burst of flame from a gauntlet. [[just a note here. Sol didnt use gravity powers, but instead used his flame bursts to propel himself upwards]]

Now that he was above the ‘lava’ it was clear that Sol Invictus’ legs were absolutely covered in the menacing liquid, his ego’s pants coated in a mix of sizzling red and inky blacks. Although hidden by the fabric, the skin of his legs was charred horribly, though the iconic smell of burnt flesh was strangely absent. It was just one of the reasons why the damage to his EGO was hardly noticeable to Sol at the present moment, yet not the primary. Although the wrath of the moment had begun to slink away, its presence still lingered.

Fishlegs flailed in an effort to get free, clawing wildly at Sol’s chest and midsection. It likely would have been gored into ribbons, had Gleam not sent a chakram strike as support. It caught one of Fishlegs’ paws mid-strike and mangled it into uselessness.

Just as Sol had said, Fishlegs’ neck was pulled taught in an unnatural length. It was the perfect opportunity, quickly taken advantage of by Earthquake’s heroic attack. Despite his own exhaustion, Earthquake spent the last of his strength in one final strike. None of the power was wasted.

Like a flower clipped off its stalk, Fishlegs’ head was lobbed off by the shield strike and flew free in a spinning spiral. The head plopped into the ‘lava’ with a splash, but did not grow still. Broken jaw and all, the head and its severed neck slithered away through the water like an eel.

It was fortunate that Twilight was poised to deal with such a trick. Lightning staff at the ready, she was quick to adjust to the monster’s flight and sniped it in the ‘lava’ with a quick and powerful lightning strike. The head writed in place, twitching and shrieking, before sinking into the ‘lava’.

Fishlegs’ headless body let out a gurgling hiss, its body crumpling in on itself with every movement. With a sluggish swing, it made one last attempt to claw Sol-Invictus, but the action only served to scatter the limb into a burst of ash flakes. Smoke curled up in flickering black tongues, sharp with the tang of burnt concrete.

The surrounding area took on a similar appearance, with pieces of the black sky falling down like snowflakes. Like a whirlpool, the lava began to drain downwards around Fishlegs’ disintegrating form, spinning faster and faster into a blur. Then, with a shattering crack, the sky and its surroundings fell away. The concrete returned without a trace of the lava, and the barren horizon was now occupied by the burning forest. A starry sky could even be seen between the clouds of smoke. It was clear that no matter what had happened, things had returned to normal.

All at once Fishlegs’ body vanished in one last blaze, burning down into a pile of softly glowing embers. Atop of it sat a black sphere, shiny like wet ink with an iridescent sheen reminiscent of oil. Nestled so gently as it was in the ashen remains of Fishlegs, it looked like a rare dark pearl.

As soon as the fight was over, Sol Invictus would find himself overwhelmed by the accumulated wounds he had sustained. His arm was mangled and burnt, his chest was gored and steadily bleeding out a wispy, glowing fluid (you can choose what colour your EGO bleeds!), and his legs were horribly burnt. The pain and exhaustion crashed down upon him, and he found himself unable to move without help. He could feel his EGO becoming dangerously unstable, and would likely break soon if he didn’t receive any help. Should he move or push himself in any way, it would likely shatter completely.

Aside from the vast collection of wounds he had sustained, splotches of black stains could be seen on the exposed skin of Sol’s back and chest, as if ink had bled through both sides of a paper page.

With the lava gone, Rex was free to transform out of his weapon form. With a poof of sparkles, the spear vanished and was replaced with the fluffy familiar. Quickly, Rex rushed over to Sol-Invictus and prodded the hero with his paws. Turning his head towards the others collected on the rooftop, the familiar began to call out with tiny barks. Sol wouldn't be able to understand his words, but Prism would.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

┌── •✧• ──┐
Nellancholy (Gleam)
jmann (Earthquake)
ThatWhichShouldBe (Sol Invictus)
Solirus (Nexus)
Tiguidi (Twilight)
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
Prism & Rex
​

With Fishlegs defeated, Prism could finally turn her attention away from the fight. With the help of the security guard, she stood up gingerly and quickly took a headcount. Everyone who had been in the fight was accounted for, except for Dopplewalker who had been last seen heading towards the factory. She looked over the group present, taking quick notice of their health. Gleam looked to have some burns on her abdomen, and Earthquake looked like he had been hit by a truck and about ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Still, generally speaking they were alright. Everyone else seemed to have received minimal damage. Prism let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging.

"Well done everyone. Earthquake, that was one hell of a stunt." She said, her voice more strained than she would have liked it to be. "You all were amazing... but mostly, I'm glad you're all ok."

Even if they won, she couldn't shake the feeling that she couldn't take credit. While the others had been in the midst of the fight she had been useless on the sidelines. Was she protected the security guard or was she just afraid to engage? She should have done more. Maybe then the others wouldn't have got hurt. She didn't even know where Candace was. Could he be hurt too?

In the middle of her self critique, she could hear her familiar calling, "Prism! Prism! Sol Invictus is really hurt!"

Prism blinked in surprise "Sol Invictus..."

Ignoring the pain of her destroyed foot, Prism set off, jumping down from the roof. Her landing was messy, and she bit back a cry of pain. It was only a fraction of what her other teammates were feeling, so she soldiered on without allowing herself to rest.

She knew it would be bad, but when she got close enough to see the state of Sol's EGO it was still a shock. Any human would have likely died from these wounds, but judging by the 'blood' flowing everywhere, she was sure the EGO would not last much longer. Wincing, she knelt beside Sol and offered up as much comforting words as she could. "H-hey, hang in there alright? We have a healer on our team as well."

Moki had said EGO death didn't affect the human beneath the hero, but even still she knew the wounds hurt just as much. She quickly motioned at her familiar, "Rex, go find Candace. We need to patch up Sol."

"On it!" Rex yipped, taking off at a dash towards the factory.

He passed by Moki on his way, paying no mind to Dopplewalker, the creature, or their conversation. The familiar stopped in his tracks when he came face to face with Ezekiel, head tilting to the side curiously. His eyes moved between Beans and Ezekiel, piecing the two together. "Oh no, this is a problem! Sol needs healing!"

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
​

 

[seasonedcat]

Ezekiel
Ez smiled at his furry friend, "You don't need to worry about me. I will be fine-" his voice was cut off by his ankle buckling, sending him tumbling into the rubble. Thankfully, there wasn't anything sharp underneath him at the time, and he was able to catch himself before injuring himself further. Ez flushed at this, coughing out a light laugh as he pretended that didn't happen.

as Ez was recovering from his fall, a sudden crash next to him caused him to jump, tripping again, falling on his back this time, "What in the seven hells FUCK WAS THAT?" Ez proclaimed loudly as he once again stumbled up, his butt stinging. He lightly glared at Dopplewalker as she continued talking like she didn't just slam into rubble at high speeds.

at the sounds of sirens and such, Ez's ears 'perked up,' "not to be that guy, but shouldn't we, uh, skedaddle before the press or cops get here?" he offered, "I doubt we would want to make the news about magik heroes this quickly...?" Ez laughed nervously. The last thing he wanted right now was his face to get on the news, especially when he wasn't in uniform. The thought of his parents discovering where he was made his skin crawl.

their little convo was interrupted by Rex running over to them. Ez was about to glomp the cutie with hugs like he did Moki before he was met with the message he had. Ez felt his stomach drop as he tried to keep the panic out of his voice, "oh shit, um, lead me the way!" he called out to the other as he began to follow him. Beans took this as the opportunity to stop grooming herself and glare at Ez, her stare giving off a look that what Ez was doing was stupid. Ez gave her a 'shushing' motion as he went to follow before remembering something quickly.

pulling his phone out of his pocket, he clicked the button for his ego again; the light surrounding him shuddered as it encased him, sputtering in places before it finally fit around him. The first thing Ez noticed was that he did not feel like he did when he first put on the EGO. His body still felt heavy, and aches of pain still coated his body. Dark bruises and some sparkly yellow blood still covered some of his outfit and cheeks. He felt weaker in this form, his very skin heavy as his insides tried to keep the whole thing from bursting at the seams. Ez, of course, just looked to Rex with a smile, "almost forgot to put on my outfit!"

picking up Beans before he went, the two took off toward the group, Candace hardly any more graceful than he was when he was Ez. As the two made it over to the group Ez smiled at them all, "Your savior has arrived!" he chimed out. His face quickly fell at the sight of his team. Fear gripped his stomach so much that he felt like he would puke. Everyone was so hurt; could he be of any help?

pushing back his worries, he spun with Beans, quickly turning into her guitar form, "Who's ready to rock!" he offered as light-hearted to the group as he began to play. A soft tune started to play in the air, the allies closest to him and Sol feeling the relief the most, their pain and injuries healing. As Candace strummed, he couldn't help but feel the skin of his body tighten as if he had used a cheap soap. His eyes had fallen shut in the music, but he soon realized they were too heavy to open. Swallowing back a large wave of nausea, he kept playing.

Candace could feel his EGO going taut as he continued to strum, his fingers feeling like lead. Even the weight of Beans felt too much for him, his muscles burning from strain as he forced his body to push through the pain. He gathered anything still left inside him to go through so the others would heal. Candace couldn't even remember where he was in the song, the notes stumbling slightly as he ended, the piece falling off a bit crudely.

"ta-dah!" a small pant burst through his lips as he forced the words out, "now that's what I call soothing music!" he weakly added. Only as he opened his eyes to see how the song had affected the others did he notice how much his head was swimming, dark spots clouding his vision. His weak laugh slowly died in his ears as he realized he couldn't hear anything, his body light as a feather as everything vanished.

Candace's body began to sway before a cracking noise could be heard, cracks forming in his skin before it broke with a dull light, not even having enough energy to burst brightly. Ez's body crumpled to the ground, blood trickling down his nose against his now pasty pale skin(even worse than usual). As he fell, Beans turned into cat form, quickly dashing away so she didn't land atop him, gazing at the other with worry and fury.
Juju Cresion Breezes jmann Nellancholy Solirus Tiguidi

 

[Juju]

┌── •✧• ──┐
seasonedcat
Cresion Breezes
ThatWhichShouldBe
jmann
Solirus
Nellancholy
Tiguidi
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

“Do not worry, Candace! Moki will ensure all heroes are safely out of the vicinity. Focus on your teammates and Moki will handle the rest!” As usual, the creature vanished in their characteristic fashion.

Spoiler: Enoki Gayming

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second. By now Enoki could see the flashing glow at the edge of the neighbourhood, painting the smoky air in streaks of brilliant red and blue. The fallen tree at the end of the street had halted the emergency vehicles, but it would not take long before it was cleared out of the way.

The little girl Enoki had saved had fallen asleep on her mother’s lap and didn’t seem to notice the wailing sirens. The boy, on the other hand, began tugging on his mom’s sleeve and waving a hand. Even the old man, who was hard of hearing, looked up with a face full of hope for some normalcy. As the group of survivors turned their attention to the emergency vehicles, a chiptune chime came from Enoki’s phone.

“Level clear!” came Moki’s purring voice, the sound hinted with a 8-bit choppiness reminiscent of the MHU app’s menu effects.

The fluffy creature appeared from out of Enoki’s phone, and jumped onto the hero’s mushroom hat. With paws on the rim, Moki leaned over until their upside down face was directly in front of Enoki’s nose.

Long ears flopped down and dangled loosely as they spoke, “Excellent work, Enoki! Moki is sure these people are very grateful, but it is now time for us to leave! Please excuse Moki for a moment!”

Without even saying goodbye to the survivors of the neighbourhood, Moki teleported Enoki away into the starry void they had witnessed before the battle.

Rex trotted after Candace, tail wagging side to side with each pawstep. He tried his best to support Candace’s uneasy stride, but his tiny body was more of a hindrance than anything. Fortunately, Candace made it to Sol in time to stabilise the EGO.

Sol Invitus’ wounds stopped bleeding when the music started, though the worst of the burns remained. The gouged claw marks across his arm had been knitted back together in imperfect ridges. With the soot mostly brushed away by the magick, it was easier to see the black stain on his chest, and the fact that it was unmoved by Candace’s healing song.

Earthquake’s aches mostly subsided, though the exhaustion remained, and even Gleam’s old burn no longer hurt.

Prism felt her pain vanish in the music, and was amazed that her foot was now healed of its burns. She stood up, testing it out, “Amazing! I feel s-”

She looked up at her friend just in time to see him teeter over and his EGO collapse. Dashing over to Ezekiel, Prism caught her friend before he hit the ground and quickly turned her back to the others in hopes of sheltering Ez’s identity. It was unclear if she was quick enough to hide him in time, but she had to at least try (feel free to choose if your hero caught a sneaky peek). She wasn’t sure what would happen if the heroes broke the anonymous rule, but she didn’t exactly want Ezekiel to find out.

“Oh no! Candace overexerted himself!” Rex whined, pacing in a circle around the two nervously “Can I do anything to help?”

“Let’s just get him away from the others for now,” Prism said tightly, her brow creased with worry.

Maybe it was just the strength of her EGO, but she couldn’t shake how thin and frail he felt. When did he last eat? When they got back to the cafe she was going to make him the biggest bowl of soup and make sure he ate it all. The thought made her chest tighten and her eyes sting.

Rex was quick to chip in his ideas, “Ok! Lets see. We could hide behind the little building there, or maybe in the broken factory! Oh, or maybe the woods!”

“Oh no! That isn’t very good! An EGO broken twice in a very short amount of time?” Moki’s chipper voice said from beside Prism’s ear. She couldn't help but flinch in surprise. The creature was perched on her shoulder, but she hadn’t heard or felt them appear.

“Is he going to be alright?” she sputtered.

They nodded, “Oh yes, of course! Only some minor discomfort. Nothing permanent! With some good rest he will be as good as new! Trust Moki!”

Moki then tapped Ezekiel’s head with a paw, teleporting him, Prism, and both their familiars away in a burst of pixels and sparkles. The creature then landed deftly through the vacant space left by the two and trotted across the concrete to where Fishlegs had been. There was a shallow crater in the concrete from Earthquake’s devastating attack, but Moki paid it no mind. They stopped only to look down at the swirling, black orb that had made its home upon the cremated corpse of Fishlegs.

“Ah, Moki sees that the monster did not fully transfer its core. Well done heroes! You defeated a Page on your first day! Moki is so proud!” They purred, pawing at the little pearl much like a cat would to a stray pen.

Moki flicked their ears backwards, as if having heard something inaudible, and turned their head to look at the newly healed Sol Invictus.

“And…Oh dear, that is not good. Not good at all.” Moki said with the same cheery voice. They stepped closer to Sol Invictus and inspected the black stain on the EGO’s chest and back. With head tilted slightly, they sat down next to the recently healed Hero. “Usually this is only seen when a Vice is very strong. Heroes should always be mindful not to let it get the better of them! Sol Invicus should be much more careful in the future…”

They tapped Sol Invictus, and like the others, he disappeared.

Moki then hopped to each remaining hero, teleporting them away until all that remained was themselves, and the two confused workers of the factory. The creature trotted back over to the black pearl, now giving off a faint mist, and picked it up in their teeth.

Then they were gone, just in time to miss the fire trucks that zoomed into the factory’s entrance.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

---

---

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ back at the park... ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆​

Despite all having been teleported at different times, the heroes arrived back at the park in unison. Instead of the glowing surface of the pond, they stood (or perhaps laid) on the floor of the wooden gazebo that stuck out on a little island over the pond. Ivy hung like curtains down from one side of the arched roof, spinning around the support beams like garland.

Moki sat neatly on one of the metal benches, tail tucked around their dainty paws and eyes glowing in the dimness of the park lights. They looked over the group of magick heroes, smaller in number than it was when they left.

“With the factory and neighbourhood cleared, your first mission is complete!” Moki declared as the heroes adjusted to their current surroundings, “Now it is time for rest and recovery! Moki shall contact you for the next mission, but magick heroes can always stay connected with the MHU app! Moki wishes all heroes congratulations and a wonderful night’s rest~!”

Prism still held onto Ezekiel, while Beans laid like a fat loaf of bread over his face. It was unclear if this was her best attempt at protecting her hero’s identity, or if she was simply trying to suffocate him in his unconscious state. Maybe it was just a comfy spot. Regardless, it drew Rex’s attention. The fluffy creature jumped up, landing on poor Ezekiel’s stomach, and began to bark frantically at Beans.

Politely excusing herself, Prism quickly withdrew from the crowd and took off at a brisk walk towards the park exit. She must have said something to Rex, because the barking fell silent as the four drew further away from the group.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

((The first act is now complete! If your characters would like to interact, or ask Moki any questions feel free to do so now. If not, simply wrap up your character’s night and write [[TIMESKIP]] at the end of your post!))​

Nellancholy​

Spoiler: Special comment for Gleam

>> When Callisto got the chance to check the recorded footage, she would see that both the audio and video were heavily distorted during the entire meeting at the park, leaving pixelated blobs instead of Magik Heroes. The audio doesn't make any sense, containing conversations of gibberish and completely cuts out anytime Moki spoke. Most notably, the video greatly stuttered whenever Pandora, Starponaria, or Potentia were in the frame. The video steadily becomes more and more corrupted, before eventually cutting out completely during the point when the heroes traversed onto the pond’s starry surface and Moki teleported them.

ThatWhichShouldBe

Spoiler: Special comment for Sol Invictus

>> Although Alex would experience the typical phantom pain of his EGO’s injuries, Sol would find himself inflicted with a unique ailment that the others had not suffered. He could not see the stain on his human form, and yet he could feel a dull ache or itch in his chest, like an infection had settled in. Any attempts to sleep were met with vivid nightmares, leading to a sleepless and perhaps disturbing night.

 

[Nellancholy]

"..." The thought of hiding her identity before the other simply did not occur to Gleam at the moment. In a second, she simply melted away, leaving Callisto behind. So many questions were in her head, and frankly, who was behind the metaphorical mask was the least of her concerns. What was a Core? Well, really it was fairly evident, but what were they made of? Where did they come from? What exactly did they do, other than make drippy alien monsters? What was a Page? Probably some term from this weird game. And Vice...

Moki wasn't easily plied, or more likely it was just ignorant. Either way, she couldn't let a mystery like this go unsolved. And if it took playing this little game to get answers, she didn't mind. Leave no stone unturned, no fact uncomprehended. That's how she always did things.

The voices in her head had quieted down for now, but she got the feeling she hadn't heard the last of them.

"Be seeing you, Moki. Stay fluffy."

She didn't bother to speak to the other heroes for now: everyone was tired and there'd be a long walk home.

---

"Look, I'm sorry about the interference, I swear the camera wasn't damaged, I'm gonna send it back to you-" Callisto mumbled, her blurry eyes barely managing to focus on the screen in front of her.

"Caliban, Caliban." Mr. X's voice was measured, but not exactly reassuring. "I believe you. Of course, I have people who'll do their best to salvage what they can from the data and identify the other attendees. If anything, this proves that whoever's behind this game has significant technological capabilities at hand if they're able to mask themselves on recordings in real time. My employers are likely to step up their efforts into this investigation, and I believe you'll have a part to play in that. In the meantime, get some rest. You've got school tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure..." Waving her hand dismissively, Callisto shut off her PC and rolled her chair over to her bed, which she promptly fell into.

That wasn't a dream or a hallucination, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. Nothing in this world was so cliche. But where did these abilities come from? Why were they chosen? Questions to answer. And she knew she'd find the answers, one by one.

She closed her eyes. She would not dream of fire and smoke tonight.

Wait...she never told Mr. X how old she was...

[[Timeskip]]

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

Sol Invictus is tired. So very tired. But there are some things more important than fatigue. He drags himself to his feet, ignoring his aches and pains, and locking his eyes on Moki. He takes in a deep breath. There were so many questions to ask. So much he wanted to know. This little creature had dragged him into this, even for a good cause. Why? What for? How did it know all of... this? But that didn't matter, did it? There was only one thing, one thing, that really mattered right now. He clenches his fists as he speaks, his words quiet but resounding like the rumble of thunder, each one heavy with the weight of trepidation.

"... What happened to the rest of Team 2? Where are they? Are they okay? What... what happened to Pandora?"

For a moment, he suspects he knows the answer. He hopes he doesn't. He really hopes he doesn't. Because if it is what he thinks it is... Then there would be something he never thought he'd have to bear, walking away from this. The weight of loss. The weight of surviving where others did not. Almost as an afterthought, he adds another question, as he feels the ache in his chest, like a sucking wound.

"... And what's... Vice?"

---

Alexander would not rest well that night. As he tosses and turns in bed, he is visited by fell dreams. Dreams of monsters, yes, but he didn't fear the monsters. He knew he could fight them. He knew he could beat them. No, what torments him is not the monsters at all. What Alexander sees is the lost. The other Magik Heroes that went missing that night, the other members of Team 2 that did not return with the rest. He saw Pandora dragged off, yes, but he didn't see Starponaria's fate before he slept. Nor had he known Potentia's, or even precisely Pandora's. But his nightmares disagree.

He sees the moment of their 'deaths' in perfect crystal clarity. Their EGOs wounded and bleeding until they fail, and then the humans beneath- Screams. Light fading from eyes. Blood. So much blood...

Then he wakes in the night, sweating. Alexander tries to sleep again, but the cycle repeats. It's only the dawn that brings any relief.

 

[Juju]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Nellancholy
ThatWhichShouldBe
└── •✧• ──┘

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Moki purred at Gleam’s farewell, swaying their head to the side in amusement, “Moki will stay just as fluffy!”

It would seem that the pleasantries did not last very long. The battered hero Sol Invictus was the next to speak to Moki, bringing harsh words and even harsher questions. Moki returned Sol Invictus’ stare, their misty eyes full of far-off stars. Upon hearing the hero’s tone, their ears flopped down and they lowered their head as if bracing themselves. Their paws shifted and the tip of their fluffy tail twitched.

Silence followed Sol Invictus’ question, drawn out with Moki’s vacant stare. As far as the hero could tell, the creature seemed to be mulling over their words. Finally they responded.

“Moki does not know where Pandora is.” the creature said simply. “The same can be said for Potentia. Therefore Moki cannot confirm their current wellbeing. Moki shall search for them, but this will take time. For now, Sol Invictus should recover from his injuries and leave this for Moki. There is nothing else that Sol Invictus can do at the moment.”

They nodded their head, as if expecting the inquiry on Vice. “Moki shall do Moki's best to describe Vice, but cannot do so without also explaining Virtue. All humans have Virtue and Vice, heroes included. Virtue is the power of Light in a hero, manifested as their weapon against darkness, a familiar. It is what keeps humans going even in dire situations; things such as trust, courage, humour…”

Moki glanced at Sol's familiars as they said this, then turned their eyes back to Sol. The rustle of leaves went quiet, and the chill of the night pressed down on the little gathering of heroes. Moki's tone shifted with it and their voice lowered as if it would alert something nearby.

“Vice is the power of Darkness. Things that cause sorrow in humans; selfishness, greed, hate. Monsters feed on Vice, growing stronger and sometimes even influencing humans to do cruel and irrational things. Heroes are more resistant to this thanks to the strength of their Virtue, but are not immune. If a vice eclipses a hero’s virtue, bad things happen.”

An ambulance rushed past the park, heading for the opposite end of town.

“This is why Moki wishes for Sol Invictus to be careful.” They ended, nodding to themselves in hesitant satisfaction. “That is all Moki can say for now.”

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯​

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Sol Invictus

He's quiet, for a long moment. Moki's words had been... very carefully chosen. He couldn't help but notice the clear fact that Starponaria was left out of Moki's words. And as for the rest... Lost, and missing. At least he had a concept of the ache in his chest, now. Vice... a sickness of the spirit, the darkness in men. His wrath... No wonder. It'd flared up pretty bad during that fight. If it eclipsed his Virtue... Well.... The young man looks to his familiars, somehow instinctively knowing the answer to his Virtues, as the birds rested on his shoulders and nuzzled him gently. They didn't say anything, for they didn't need to. He already knew what he faced his Vice with.

Alexander would have Hope. And Loyalty. To steady him, even through the events of that night. There was still... a chance, wasn't there? Even if not for Starponaria, perhaps... There was still Hope for Pandora and Potentia. If they were taken, rather than lost... then they could still be fought for, couldn't they? There was still a way forward. And if so... He could work with that much, at least. He couldn't lose himself to fury yet.

The young hero turns for home, silent, and deep in thought.

 

[jmann]

Hector | EARTHQUAKE
Earthquake remained on one knee for a long time. If even breathing hurt his lungs, he could barely imagine the long walk through town. He thought of what Moki had said about missing heroes from team two. Earthquake should have saved them. He was strong enough, fast too. He should have been able to stop the monster and the heart with plenty of time to help the other team. A real hero would've done that. Earthquake in the games could do that so he should do it in real life.

Earthquake clenched his teeth and dragged himself up to his feet. With shakes in his legs, he stood with what few heroes remained in the park. His first instinct was to give words of encourage to help lift the mood despite the grinding in his ribs. In the end, all he could do was nod thoughtfully. No words came to him, he had never done anything remotely close to this in real life and had no frame of reference. Still, a hero should've known better.

Earthquake hobbled away from the group, insisting the solo night walk would do him well. He fumbled around in his tattered jacket pockets for his phone and his earphones that were fraying at the seams. In the dark days when it all felt lost, Hector enjoyed listening to the soundtrack from his favourite cozy farming sim.

Spoiler: Song

With a buzz and a bright banner at the top of the screen, message notifications came through from the Magik Hero app. They were from Sol, begging for help. Earthquake felt helpless before but now he felt truly awful. Sol Invictus had been asking for assistance this whole time and he never bothered to check his phone. What a stupid, stupid boy. That could have cost their lives all because he couldn't pick up the damn phone.

- - - - -

It took Earthquake most of the walk home to realise there was a button to revert back to his old form. He was quite proud of himself for finding the button tucked away in a menu, and wondered if he was the first in the group to know how to revert. He slept for long while that night, woken only by his worried parents in shock over the state of his clothes. He said he had been beaten up, which they seemed to accept as a possibility, despite their outrage.

[[Timeskip]]

---

Juju

 

[Tiguidi]

TWILIGHT​

“Woo, let’s go, team!”, was Twilight’s first reaction at seeing Fishlegs finally get destroyed thanks to everyone’s efforts. She tried to keep herself from grimacing at Sol Invictus’ current condition; damage done to EGO wasn’t reflected back to the human form afterward, right?

She waved toward Candace once he arrived at the scene, biting off her tongue so she couldn’t mention how their ‘savior’ had been knocked out earlier. Now wasn’t the right time to joke around like that… especially since he was doing some healing magic to soothe their pain. Twilight herself wasn’t too badly hurt compared to some of the others but the feeling of having these few wounds closing wasn’t a bad one.

The grimace finally came on her features as she saw Candace transform into his regular human form; he was definitely more exhausted than most after everything. “H-Hey Candace, you good!?”, she expressed her concern, only frowning when Prism and Rex got him away from sight. She understood it was all to protect his identity and all but seeing the healer go down wasn’t exactly reassuring…

---

---

Now at the park with the others, the reality of the situation hit Twilight like a truck; they won, sure, they did rescue people who were in danger, but even she could notice that a few of her teammates didn’t make it. If she wasn’t careful, could the same thing happen to her…?

She had a few questions for Moki but she felt as if now wasn’t the best time to ask such questions. So she instead took mental notes of them, forced a smile to nod at her teammates and proceeded to walk out of the park, trying to ignore how Gleam casually dropped out of her own EGO. With everything that happened, secrecy probably wasn’t on everyone’s minds, right now…

---

---

SAMANTHA FORD​

“God, that was so fuckin’ messed up…!”, Samantha yelled in her pillow, laying flat on her bed. She had managed to sneak back into her room and turned back into her regular self. The excitement from the night had caught up to her body, leaving her aching everywhere.

“I must say, however, that your performance was exemplary!”, came the familiar voice of her monkey familiar, which had returned from a staff back to his normal form. “Despite the difficulties, you managed to stay focused and played by your strengths to capitalize on the objectives!”

“Dude… Monkey… not now, please.”, Sam scolded her familiar, tilting her head to look at him with a deadpan expression. “Lemme just… recharge for a bit, ‘kay?”

“Dude? Monkey…? Err, why yes, of course, Twilight! I shall… keep quiet for now.”

“Much appreciated.” Finally mustering up the energy to get up to sit on her bed, Samantha glanced at her backpack, where she noticed corners of the homework that was due the next morning. “... Nah, too tired for this.”

[[TIME SKIP]]​

 

[Juju]

｡˚☁︎˚｡☀ ｡˚☁︎˚｡The Next day...｡˚☁︎˚｡☀ ｡˚☁︎˚｡
Cresion Breezes jmann Nellancholy seasonedcat Solirus ThatWhichShouldBe Tiguidi​

Date: Thursday, September 24

Time: Morning --> lunch

Weather: Bright and sunny. Cool in the morning, warm later in the day.

Location: Northside High School

The sun rose just as brightly as it always had, high above the buzz of the early morning commute filled that filled the air with its infinite repeat. Perhaps to most people it would be a forgettable morning to a forgettable night. To the surviving heroes, perhaps it was just a little bit more precious. Or perhaps it was soured with the knowledge of how ignorant it all was; heroes and magic were real after all, yet so too were monsters.

On the radio, the morning news covered last night’s fire, which had been caused by a malfunction in a local synthetic fertilizer plant. The fire had spread to the surrounding forest and a nearby neighborhood, but miraculously the fire department had managed to contain the flames before they grew out of control. Thanks to the efforts of the firemen and emergency response teams, nobody was killed or severely injured. There were a few brief interviews with the survivors, one being a single mother who profusely thanked the emergency team for saving her life. The interview was partially interrupted by her young daughter who fiercely insisted to her mother that a ‘mushroom hero’ had saved them from the evil smoke monsters. Such 'imagination' had brought a light-hearted aftertaste to what would be a traumatic experience for a child, who clearly was trying her best to make sense of it all.

Interviewers also asked the employee of the factory about what caused the explosion, but both the security guard and the chemical technician were very confused on the details. The technician simply said that the exact cause couldn’t be determined just yet, a response shared by the company’s representative.

Unfortunately, the fire would not be the only dark news on an otherwise bright Thursday morning. For Northside high school, tragedy had struck.

The morning news had simply stated that a drunk driver had hit a teenage girl before crashing into a tree, resulting in the death of both. No name had been given, but for the teachers and students of Northside, the news had travelled faster than expected. Misaki had died. There was no official announcement from the principal, but by the end of the morning the gossip had spread like wildfire. Vicious rumours had taken hold, one of the most disturbing being that Misaki’s body was so mangled that the family was forced to hold a closed casket funeral.
<<Please note that Dopplewalker was the only hero that knows Starponaria went down in the fight.>>

As if things couldn’t get worse, another student named Vivian labelle was declared as a missing person, with an active police investigation and search. Some students might even have noticed officers visiting the school office for questions.

Just before lunch break an announcement from the principal was finally made. Mx. Callahan confirmed that Misaki was indeed killed in an accident the previous night, and that students will be able to pay respects by posting heartfelt messages or pictures at her locker, which will be converted into a memorial to her. The principal also addressed the case of Vivian labelle, and urged students to bring forward any information that might help with the case. Furthermore, classes scheduled for the afternoon were cancelled, but set to continue the following morning. After lunch, regular school transportation would be available for those who need it and students were free to return home.

Rinya did not show up to any classes in the morning. Living alone with no close relationships to parents or friends had left nobody to report her missing. Although her absence was noted by attendance, a singular day of missed classes was not anything too alarming.
((Misaki was aka Starponaria
Vivian is aka Pandora
Rinya is aka Potentia))

<< It is currently lunchtime. The principal’s announcement was made just a few minutes ago. There is approximately 30 minutes before school ends for the day. There have been no messages or sightings of Moki since last night. Enjoy your downtime while you can ♥ >> ​