Example Combat
Apr 1, 2016 8:58:03 GMT -7
Post by serp on Apr 1, 2016 8:58:03 GMT -7
The following is a battle between four example characters. If you're not sure how something works, you can look to see if it's demonstrated here. If this still doesn't make things clear, feel free to PM the staff with any questions.
In a real fight, you don't know for sure the exact stats of your enemies (or your allies, for that matter). However, the exact power and immunity levels of the combatants are listed here so you can see how they work.
Onmyouji
Power Theme: Paper charms inscribed with various effects.
Powers:
Aggression (Destruction) 5: Explosive charms with power that exceeds C4.
Aggression (Confinement) 3: Sealing charms can restrict the target's movements.
Interference (Depowering) 3: They can also drain the target's superpowers.
Immunities:
Maneuver (Field) 4: The sealing charms can drain superpowered effects from an area.
Accumulation (Summoning) 4: The explosive charms are well-suited to clearing an area of weak hostiles.
Interference (Obfuscation) 1: Position-tracking charms give mental awareness of where the target is.
Youkai
Power Theme: Manipulating and merging with shadows.
Powers:
Maneuver (Speed) 5: Move at the speed of light, but only along something else's shadow.
Accumulation (Summoning) 2: Craft obedient shadow beasts.
Interference (Obfuscation) 5: Deepen darkness and raise shadows into concealing curtains.
Immunities:
Aggression (Destruction) 4: Harden shadows into a durable armor.
Aggression (Confinement) 4: Slip through the shadows to escape any hold.
Aggression (Subdual) 5: Shadow-infused biology doesn't respond to trauma in the same way.
Cantor
Power Theme: Perceiving her allows her to enter one's mind.
Powers:
Accumulation (Information) 6: Once inside a mind, it may be read with ease.
Accumulation (Enhancement) 7: As the battle continues, there are more opportunities to be perceived.
Interference (Obfuscation) 7: Erasing perceptions and memories from inside a mind is straightforward.
Immunities:
Accumulation (Information) 5: If anyone figures out anything troublesome, that knowledge can be erased.
Interference (Obfuscation) 7: As long as other people can see what's going on, their minds can be read for that information.
Interference (Reversion) 4: It's difficult for opponents to even realize that there's something they need to revert.
Chirurge
Power Theme: Dissecting people and superpowers and reassembling them, potentially with "improvements."
Powers:
Aggression (Destruction) 4: Chirurge's power allows her to cut apart the very essence of things with her scalpels.
Interference (Reversion) 7: Injuries are just opportunities to be put back together with a more robust design.
Interference (Depowering) 7: The very source of a target's powers can be disassembled.
Immunities:
Aggression (Destruction) 5: Chitinous armor that's infinitely more durable than anything inorganic.
Accumulation (Enhancement) 6: Any advantages can be lost in an instant to Chirurge's power.
Interference (Depowering) 7: In contests between powers that stop other powers, this one tends to disassemble the other first.
PANOPTICON post:
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 online
Running aberrant conflict search heuristic.
Scanning satellite imagery... clear.
Scanning public security footage... clear.
Scanning private devices... anomaly located. Beginning detailed analysis.
Onmyouji post:
The moonlit construction site was deathly quiet. It was fortunate, Onmyouji supposed, that there wouldn't be any innocent bystanders nearby to worry about, but it was still creepy. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Youkai was still there, then peeked around the corner. Her heartrate picked up as she saw the squat form of Chirurge among the abandoned equipment.
Onmyouji made the hand motion that signified an enemy spotted. She hesitated. That tall shadow a short distance from Chirurge, was it Cantor? Impossible to tell.
(Admin note: The first round, the players publicly post their introductions to the battle, and then secretly send the latter half of the post, describing their actual actions, as a PM to the admins.)
Youkai post:
Youkai was reluctant to let Onmyouji take the lead here, but she didn't bother voicing her objection. There wouldn't be any point. Instead, she followed closely, frequently glancing behind for pursuit and absently checking over her equipment under her coat. Her footfalls were silent as she drew on a small portion of her power to glide along the shadow of the nearby wall.
At Onmyouji's hand signal, Youkai instantly slid next to her in order to take in the situation for herself.
"Looks like Chirurge is separated from Cantor," she whispered. "Let's do it."
Cantor post:
Briefcase in hand, Cantor strode alongside Chirurge. The retrieval of the artifact had gone without incident, and now it was just a matter of getting some distance from the dead drop before signaling Praetorian, lest anyone locate the residue of the portal and trace its origin.
Then she sensed it. When unpowered people spoke of feeling eyes on them, it was purely an intuitive thing. But for Cantor, it was altogether more reliable. Two minds flashed into her consciousness, located somewhere off to the right, and without even thinking about it, she worked herself just far enough inside the both of them to erase their impression of seeing her. She would have to let them perceive her somehow in order to exert further influence, but visual contact would leave them far too many inconvenient options.
"Chirurge," she murmured with a small smile. "I do believe we're being underestimated."
Chirurge post:
Chirurge's patience was already wearing thinner than usual, and that no small statement. Running fetch errands put her in a murderous mood. And so, Cantor's words only served to make her expectations for the night a bit brighter. As always, though, the anticipation was diluted by a measure of cynicism.
"If you're fucking with me again, Cantor," Chirurge rasped, "I will end you."
PANOPTICON post:
Of course it was just like Cantor to tell of an incoming attack without actually specifying who was attacking or where it was coming from. Chirurge decided to figure out an appropriate form of revenge at a later date.
The warning wasn't entirely useless, though. Under her robe, Chirurge drew one of her scalpels and tensed for an imminent attack.
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Youkai
Cantor took a few steps away from Chirurge. She can take care of herself just fine. For a moment, Cantor contemplated leaving her partner to fight alone. Would this be the day that one of them would finally get around to killing the other?
For the thousandth time, Cantor sighed and set aside the idea. It wouldn't be a sure thing, even three-on-one, and there would be other consequences afterward besides. Instead, she raised her voice, singing in a language that had been dead for a thousand years. Her voice would reach the ears of those she had hidden herself from, worming into their spacial sense and destroying any ability to coordinate attacks.
Action: Accumulation (Enhancement) against Accumulation (Summoning)
Without bothering to wait for an answer, Youkai reached into her coat and withdraw a flashbang grenade. She threw it over her shoulder, then charged toward Chirurge. In her other hand, she drew her combat knife.
The flashbang exploded behind them, and Chirurge was shielded from the blast by Onmyouji's body-
Just as planned. Youkai slid along Onmyouji's brief-lived shadow at lightspeed, her knife streaking at the unaware Chirurge!
Action: Maneuver (Speed) against Chirurge
Onmyouji nodded. "Here we go." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of origami birds. She flung them at Chirurge, settling down into a combat stance as the birds began to flap their wings, heading unerringly at their target.
At the last moment, they unfolded themselves, revealing arcane inscriptions that, if one had the necessary knowledge to read, and if one were close enough to read them, would be very concerning indeed. The command was one that Onmyouji was quite used to writing: EXPLODE.
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Chirurge
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Youkai results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Accumulation (Enhancement) against Accumulation (Summoning) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Maneuver (Speed) by Youkai against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering)
Aggression (Destruction) by Onmyouji against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's immunity, +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 15%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 10%
Current openings:
None.
(Admin note: Notice that power usage and immunities are reported without the exact level here. Also note that the PM'd posts by the combatants were each made without seeing the others, so each is left open-ended to be resolved following this post.)
Chirurge post:
A brief flutter of paper was the only warning before the air around Chirurge erupted in a volley of explosions. The sheer force of it slid her along the ground until she could gain traction with her hands, but she was otherwise unconcerned as she turned toward the source, the smooth black armor under her robe shielding her from any real damage.
A moment later, a black streak solidified in front of her, and Chirurge let the scalpel drop from her hand before reaching out with practiced ease, catching Youkai's incoming knife arm. She caught Youkai's other wrist in her other hand to fend up the predictable followup punch, and as Youkai shifted her weight to deliver a punishing kick-
A third arm emerged from Chirurge's robe to catch Youkai's ankle. And then a fourth arm emerged as well, driving a fist into Youkai's gut. For a brief moment as the fist made contact, Chirurge could sense the intersecting lines of space, time, and power that made up the girl's existence. In that brief moment... Chirurge pulled, throwing it all into disarray.
(Admin note: Now that the battle has begun, each public post describes the resolution of the last round's secret actions. The last resolution post can be used to determine how successful each character's attempts were.)
Youkai post:
Youkai only had time for a moment of confusion and a frenzied attempt to salvage the attack before the fist caught her in her midsection. The impact sent her flying, and she tumbled across the ground before hitting the concrete wall, hard.
She coughed, tasting copper on her lips, and when she tried to quickly spring back up to her feet, the world seemed to spin and distort. The singing. She hadn't noticed it at first, but it had begun while she was reeling from the attack. It seemed that Cantor was here after all, and Youkai had a sinking feeling that trying to direct a shadow servant like this would be borderline impossible. On top of that, the punch had done something funny, and now Youkai's shadows were flickering erratically like the last fitful embers of a dying flame.
Youkai began slowly forcing herself to her feet. There was no way she could give up so soon.
Onmyouji post:
"Youkai!" The helpless cry was all she could manage. Cantor had revealed her presence, and Onmyouji was feeling the effects as well. Onmyouji wasn't sure if she could even walk straight enough to arrive at Youkai's side, and even if she could, Chirurge didn't seem to care the least bit about being bombed.
Damn it... There had to be something she could do!
Cantor post:
The failure of the two heroes' initial attack was amusing, but Cantor couldn't help but feel a bit left out. She continued to sing by rote as she stood off to the side, unnoticed. The lyrics were entertaining, describing the capture and ritualistic mutilation of the singer's enemies, but of course they were wasted on listeners of this era. A shame. Cantor idly considered her options as she moved to the next verse.
PANOPTICON post:
Cantor changed the pitch of her singing as she drew closer to Onmyouji. The more overt the perception, the better, after all. She was almost close enough to whisper in her opponent's ear, but there was no need. As Onmyouji began to be able to hear the singing more and more clearly, Cantor forced herself inward, pushing into her target's mind and psychically ransacking it.
She found what she was looking for, and destroyed it. Onmyouji would be suddenly blind and disoriented, unable to target effectively. Without halting her singing, Cantor implanted a message into Onmyouji's mind.
"Careful with those explosives, child. It would be a shame if you hit your partner. Chirurge would prefer to have her in one piece."
Action: Interference (Obfuscation) against Onmyouji
Chirurge pulled her arms back under her and rapidly crawled toward her slowly recovering foe. She didn't bother wasting her breath on taunts as she slowly reached a grimy hand toward Youkai.
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Youkai
If attacking doesn't work, then... Youkai abruptly lashed out with her shadows, blocking the meager moonlight and drawing layers of darkness around herself and Onmyouji. It was nothing more than a delaying move, she knew, but they desperately needed a chance to regroup.
Action: Interference (Obfuscation) against Cantor
Attacking Chirurge was looking like an exercise in futility, but Cantor was nowhere to be seen. She had to be close, though, and considering that she hadn't been hit by the barrage against Chirurge, the two of them probably weren't sticking close together. And if she's not next to Chirurge, she's not next to Youkai, either...
That left a very wide swath of ground to cover, but Onmyouji had plenty more bombs to use. She abruptly swung her arms out, releasing a flurry of origami bird explosives everywhere but where Youkai and Chirurge were fighting!
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Cantor
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Youkai results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Interference (Obfuscation) by Youkai against Cantor results in FAILURE due to greater-or-equal suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering)
Interference (Obfuscation) by Cantor against Onmyouji results in PARTIAL success due to lesser suppression by immunities, +3% combat advantage
Aggression (Destruction) by Onmyouji against Cantor results in FAILURE due to greater-or-equal suppression by Cantor's Interference (Obfuscation), +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 23%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 20%
Current openings:
Chirurge can DISABLE one of Youkai's powers for 20% combat advantage
(Admin note: Because Chirurge's interference power resolved before Youkai's, Cantor's immunity never came into play and isn't revealed.)
Chirurge post:
The wall of darkness that suddenly blocked Chirurge's approach only stalled her briefly. She surged forward the last few feet, reaching blindly, then closed her fingers around the form within. The shape of Youkai's power came into her mind, already slightly distorted, and Chirurge tweaked it again, watching the lines writhe as if in pain.
The darkness vanished as if someone had turned on a light, allowing Chirurge to see her own hand gripping Youkai by the throat. She lifted Youkai off the ground, her other arms slowly sliding out of her cloak to pin the hero against the wall.
"It's over," Chirurge rasped.
Cantor post:
Cantor smiled as she saw her words sink in, the paper bombs fluttering around her like so much chaff. The sudden darkness made her tilt her head in puzzlement, but it vanished quickly enough. She glanced over to where Chirurge had the shadow girl at her mercy.
"Mm, too bad," she imprinted onto Onmyouji's mind. "Looks like your partner went and irritated Chirurge anyway. This won't be pleasant for her."
Youkai post:
As the hand seized Youkai's throat, she abruptly realized her mistake. Stupid, stupid... She had been too concerned about hiding Onmyouji, too disoriented to realize that Chirurge had seen where she landed, and hadn't gotten away in time. Now she was caught.
Another pulse of Chirurge's power hit her, but this time it didn't go away. Her control over the surrounding shadows faded, and the protection of the surrounding darkness disappeared. She choked as the hand lifted her by the throat up into the air. She felt sick - not so much from the pain as from the realization that she had failed.
We got in over our head. We've already lost. We're going to die. Was it Cantor's power that was influencing her to think this way? The singing was still pounding in her head, making it impossible to keep anything straight. Youkai closed her eyes.
Onmyouji post:
The disorientation and blindness hit Onmyouji's mind like a mack truck, and as she struggled to figure out what was going on, the sound of Cantor's voice overlaid atop the constant singing made her blood run cold. She was a step ahead of me. It was true - using indiscriminate explosions now would be worse than useless. Onmyouji hurriedly withdrew her power, letting the paper birds fall like snow around the construction site.
It was beginning to get difficult to think. As Onmyouji struggled to come up with a strategy, something felt... off. Like trying to hold onto a memory of a dream after waking, it seemed that things were slipping away from her. What is she doing to my mind...? Thoughts of being hollowed out, unable to act for herself, unable to remember Youkai's face, came unbidden to her mind. It was too terrible to contemplate, and she pushed past it to come up with some solution, any solution.
She gritted her teeth, imagining Youkai at the mercy of Chirurge. Can this still work...? Praying that her partner was still in a state to fight, that she'd understand what she needed to do, Onmyouji shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Youkai! Now!"
PANOPTICON post:
Cantor rifled through Onmyouji's mind, breaking and casting aside anything that wasn't relevant to what she was looking for. Ah, here we go... She found where Onmyouji was keeping count her remaining explosive tags and her plans to use them. Cantor examined them closely and settled on a few counter-strategies.
That completed, Cantor continued to search. Odd. It seemed that Onmyouji still had some hope for victory. Cantor looked closely at the details...
Action: Accumulation (Information) against Aggression (Destruction)
The signal from Onmyouji was unexpected enough to startle Youkai out of her building despair. They had gone over the known details of their enemies before the fight, of course. Chirurge's armor had been an unpleasant surprise, but there were some things they knew for sure from previous battles. In particular, Chirurge was primarily a healer. That was why they had tried to take her out first.
Failing that, they had some contingency plans to attack Cantor and prevent Chirurge from healing her, but that required the use of Youkai's shadow servants, who would have a hard time running interference in this singing. Youkai couldn't imagine what Onmyouji was thinking here... but there wasn't really anything more to use.
"Descartes-" Youkai choked, her hand around her throat and the ravaging of Chirurge's power making it hard to speak. "Descartes, go!"
A many-legged being of darkness crawled out of Yume's shadow, its myriad red eyes surveying the battlefield.
Action: Accumulation (Summoning) against Interference (Reversion)
Chirurge was beginning to grow impatient with the slow progress. As always, in her fights at Cantor's side, victory was a matter of slowly closing off the opposition's options, then finishing them off once they couldn't fight back. She looked closely at Youkai's power and saw the part responsible for letting her move through shadows. With this part gone, at least, it would be safe to begin finishing up.
Onmyouji's shout caught Chirurge's attention, and her eyes narrowed as she looked back at Youkai.
"No more wasting time," she rasped, and then she tore out the selected portion of Youkai's power. Simultaneously, her many arms went to work with their scalpels, hacking away at the shadow girl's flesh.
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Youkai
Action: Take opening against Movement (Speed)
The plan had been to take out Cantor with the explosive tags had been a failure, but not for the reason the singing woman had assumed. After all, she had planted a tracking paper on Youkai before the battle, and even blinded by Chirurge's power, she could still ensure that the tags in that direction didn't explode.
She had also planted tracking paper among the explosive tags she had scattered before Chirurge blinded her, and one of those tracking papers was mysteriously moving back and forth, right behind her. Found you, Cantor. She had stepped close enough that any explosion capable of hurting her would endanger Onmyouji herself, but there were some downsides to that move.
Onmyouji abruptly spun around toward Cantor, sealing tag in one hand, the other balled up for one last desperate punch!
Action: Aggression (Confinement) against Cantor
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
DISABLE used by Chirurge against Youkai's Movement (Speed), -20% combat advantage
Accumulation (Information) by Cantor against Aggression (Destruction) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Accumulation (Summoning) by Youkai against Interference (Reversion) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Destruction) by Chirurge against Youkai results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater immunity, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Confinement) by Onmyouji against Cantor results in SUCCESS, +30% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Destruction) immunity granted by Accumulation (Information)
Youkai cannot use Movement (Speed)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Interference (Reversion) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 23%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 60%
Current openings:
Onmyouji can CAPTURE Cantor for 20% combat advantage
(Admin note: The immunity Onmyouji and Youkai have to Interference (Reversion) depends on the user not having an immunity to Accumulation (Summoning) that's level 2 or higher. Cantor and Chirurge do currently have an immunity at level 7, but that's reliant on Cantor's own Accumulation power. If Cantor is affected by the CAPTURE opening, then she suppresses as though all her powers are level 0.)
Cantor post:
The sudden surge of hope in Onmyouji's mind was all the warning that Cantor had before the attacks were incoming. She moved back, but too slowly, as the sealing tag stuck to her, and then the punch caught her full-on in the face.
Cantor stumbled backward, the tag sapping the coordination from her movements, then rolled across the ground. Her singing died out for a moment, but she found that she still had a slight presence remaining in Onmyouji's mind. She's still perceiving me somehow! Well, that could be used to Cantor's advantage, too. She raised her voice again, resolving not to give these two another chance to turn things around.
Youkai post:
Youkai forced all of her remaining power into the shadows armoring her, feeling the scalpels slicing mere millimeters away from her flesh. Just as her reserves were beginning to grow thin, the sound of a punch caught her attention. She actually did it...
Her shadow servant, Descartes, was doing loops in the air as it tried to come around to assist, but Cantor's singing was affecting its sense of direction as well. And yet, as there was a brief break in the singing, everything started to become more clear again.
Youkai glanced back down at Chirurge, sudden defiance in her eyes. It seemed that this wasn't over after all.
Chirurge post:
The scalpels were meeting unexpected resistance. Another power, perhaps? It would only delay the inevitable. Chirurge focused, bringing the now-twisted grid of Youkai's power to mind...
And then she heard the punch. Chirurge glanced over to where Cantor was suddenly on the defensive, then back to Youkai, growling in irritation. She met the shadow girl's gaze, weighing her options.
Onmyouji post:
The feel of her fist hitting home was an adrenaline rush like no other for Onmyouji. She rushed forward, blind but guided by her power, drawing more tags from her costume.
"That was for messing with my head, and this is for threatening Youkai!"
PANOPTICON post:
Chirurge threw Youkai to the side, galloping toward Onmyouji and Cantor at full speed, more to kill the former than the rescue the latter. If Cantor allowed herself to be fully trapped by those sealing tags, then it would be two against one, and Chirurge was beginning to think that even she would be unable to win against those odds.
She lunged for Onmyouji, all six arms extended and charged with her power!
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Onmyouji
The sealing tag was strangling Cantor, making her voice come out hoarse and quieter every moment. She wasn't able to look deep enough into Onmyouji's mind to find a solution.
So, she decided to abandon all pretense of subtlety. Restoring Onmyouji's sight, restoring the two enemies' ability to see her, raising her voice as high as it could go, Cantor lunged toward Onmyouji, intent on filling her perceptions and ramming into every corner of her mind!
Action: Accumulation (Enhancement) against Aggression (Confinement)
"Kant! Go!"
Chirurge's stranglehold was beginning to make her black out, but Youkai was determined to put everything she had into this. Already, she was directing her shadow servants to keep Chirurge from assisting Cantor, and she was already focusing on bringing a third shadow to bear.
Action: Accumulation (Summoning) against Accumulation (Information)
Pivoting on one heel, Onmyouji spun around, abruptly launching herself toward where Chirurge was holding Youkai. She only hoped that she wasn't too late. A sealing tag in either hand, she charged to the rescue!
Action: Aggression (Confinement) against Chirurge
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Onmyouji opts not to use CAPTURE
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Onmyouji results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Accumulation (Enhancement) by Cantor against Aggression (Confinement) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Accumulation (Summoning) by Youkai against Accumulation (Information) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Confinement) by Onmyouji against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering), +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Destruction) immunity granted by Accumulation (Information)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Confinement) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Youkai cannot use Movement (Speed)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Interference (Reversion) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Accumulation (Information) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 38%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 80%
Current openings:
Chirurge can DISABLE one of Onmyouji's powers for 20% combat advantage
Youkai can OVERWHELM the opposition for 80% combat advantage - Onmyouji and Youkai are victorious
Youkai post:
Youkai rolled as she landed on the ground, getting to one knee and pulling a servant up out of her shadow with each hand. She sent the two who were out already to slam into Cantor and Chirurge, relentlessly driving them back.
As the fourth shadow servant emerged, she began to slump, the effort draining the last of her reserves. She struggled to stay conscious as the rest of the battle unfolded.
Chirurge post:
Chirurge's arms caught Onmyouji's incoming attacks, and this time she didn't punch her prey away. Bringing the unfamiliar image of Onmyouji's power to mind, she wasted no time ripping and tearing it apart, ensuring that those damnable sealing tags wouldn't be an issue.
She was caught off-guard by the impact to her side, her grip on Onmyouji slipping, and the second impact knocked her across the construction site. She clambered to her hands and feet just in time to fend off another shadow attack, sliding backwards with each hit.
"Irritating," she rasped.
Then the portal opened to her side - a hole in space that showed a vast desert stretching off into the horizon.
"Time to go." Chirurge made it sound like a curse as she jumped through.
Cantor post:
Cantor frowned as Onmyouji went running off in the complete opposite direction. Rude, she thought to herself as she sang. Even so, the brief perception had been enough to find a solution.
She drew her knife, located the sealing tag on her left forearm, and chopped off the offending limb in one smooth motion.
She tucked her severed arm into her robe, and the pain only added to the volume of her voice as she raised it once again, feeling the other minds here begin to open to her-
And then she was cut off with a heavy impact, ending her song with an inelegant "guck." She rolled across the construction site, skidding to a stop next to Chirurge as the portal opened.
"Seems we spent too long playing around here," she said, no real concern in her tone. "But don't worry. We'll finish this another day." And then she followed Chirurge through the portal.
Onmyouji post:
Still reeling from Chirurge's last assault, Onmyouji struggled to her feet.
"Youkai, are you okay?" After rushing over to check on her partner, Onmyouji stood up and took in the battlefield.
"Guess we can chalk that one up as a win." Her gaze fell on the discarded briefcase, thoughtful...
In a real fight, you don't know for sure the exact stats of your enemies (or your allies, for that matter). However, the exact power and immunity levels of the combatants are listed here so you can see how they work.
Onmyouji
Power Theme: Paper charms inscribed with various effects.
Powers:
Aggression (Destruction) 5: Explosive charms with power that exceeds C4.
Aggression (Confinement) 3: Sealing charms can restrict the target's movements.
Interference (Depowering) 3: They can also drain the target's superpowers.
Immunities:
Maneuver (Field) 4: The sealing charms can drain superpowered effects from an area.
Accumulation (Summoning) 4: The explosive charms are well-suited to clearing an area of weak hostiles.
Interference (Obfuscation) 1: Position-tracking charms give mental awareness of where the target is.
Youkai
Power Theme: Manipulating and merging with shadows.
Powers:
Maneuver (Speed) 5: Move at the speed of light, but only along something else's shadow.
Accumulation (Summoning) 2: Craft obedient shadow beasts.
Interference (Obfuscation) 5: Deepen darkness and raise shadows into concealing curtains.
Immunities:
Aggression (Destruction) 4: Harden shadows into a durable armor.
Aggression (Confinement) 4: Slip through the shadows to escape any hold.
Aggression (Subdual) 5: Shadow-infused biology doesn't respond to trauma in the same way.
Cantor
Power Theme: Perceiving her allows her to enter one's mind.
Powers:
Accumulation (Information) 6: Once inside a mind, it may be read with ease.
Accumulation (Enhancement) 7: As the battle continues, there are more opportunities to be perceived.
Interference (Obfuscation) 7: Erasing perceptions and memories from inside a mind is straightforward.
Immunities:
Accumulation (Information) 5: If anyone figures out anything troublesome, that knowledge can be erased.
Interference (Obfuscation) 7: As long as other people can see what's going on, their minds can be read for that information.
Interference (Reversion) 4: It's difficult for opponents to even realize that there's something they need to revert.
Chirurge
Power Theme: Dissecting people and superpowers and reassembling them, potentially with "improvements."
Powers:
Aggression (Destruction) 4: Chirurge's power allows her to cut apart the very essence of things with her scalpels.
Interference (Reversion) 7: Injuries are just opportunities to be put back together with a more robust design.
Interference (Depowering) 7: The very source of a target's powers can be disassembled.
Immunities:
Aggression (Destruction) 5: Chitinous armor that's infinitely more durable than anything inorganic.
Accumulation (Enhancement) 6: Any advantages can be lost in an instant to Chirurge's power.
Interference (Depowering) 7: In contests between powers that stop other powers, this one tends to disassemble the other first.
PANOPTICON post:
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 online
Running aberrant conflict search heuristic.
Scanning satellite imagery... clear.
Scanning public security footage... clear.
Scanning private devices... anomaly located. Beginning detailed analysis.
Onmyouji post:
The moonlit construction site was deathly quiet. It was fortunate, Onmyouji supposed, that there wouldn't be any innocent bystanders nearby to worry about, but it was still creepy. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Youkai was still there, then peeked around the corner. Her heartrate picked up as she saw the squat form of Chirurge among the abandoned equipment.
Onmyouji made the hand motion that signified an enemy spotted. She hesitated. That tall shadow a short distance from Chirurge, was it Cantor? Impossible to tell.
(Admin note: The first round, the players publicly post their introductions to the battle, and then secretly send the latter half of the post, describing their actual actions, as a PM to the admins.)
Youkai post:
Youkai was reluctant to let Onmyouji take the lead here, but she didn't bother voicing her objection. There wouldn't be any point. Instead, she followed closely, frequently glancing behind for pursuit and absently checking over her equipment under her coat. Her footfalls were silent as she drew on a small portion of her power to glide along the shadow of the nearby wall.
At Onmyouji's hand signal, Youkai instantly slid next to her in order to take in the situation for herself.
"Looks like Chirurge is separated from Cantor," she whispered. "Let's do it."
Cantor post:
Briefcase in hand, Cantor strode alongside Chirurge. The retrieval of the artifact had gone without incident, and now it was just a matter of getting some distance from the dead drop before signaling Praetorian, lest anyone locate the residue of the portal and trace its origin.
Then she sensed it. When unpowered people spoke of feeling eyes on them, it was purely an intuitive thing. But for Cantor, it was altogether more reliable. Two minds flashed into her consciousness, located somewhere off to the right, and without even thinking about it, she worked herself just far enough inside the both of them to erase their impression of seeing her. She would have to let them perceive her somehow in order to exert further influence, but visual contact would leave them far too many inconvenient options.
"Chirurge," she murmured with a small smile. "I do believe we're being underestimated."
Chirurge post:
Chirurge's patience was already wearing thinner than usual, and that no small statement. Running fetch errands put her in a murderous mood. And so, Cantor's words only served to make her expectations for the night a bit brighter. As always, though, the anticipation was diluted by a measure of cynicism.
"If you're fucking with me again, Cantor," Chirurge rasped, "I will end you."
PANOPTICON post:
Of course it was just like Cantor to tell of an incoming attack without actually specifying who was attacking or where it was coming from. Chirurge decided to figure out an appropriate form of revenge at a later date.
The warning wasn't entirely useless, though. Under her robe, Chirurge drew one of her scalpels and tensed for an imminent attack.
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Youkai
Cantor took a few steps away from Chirurge. She can take care of herself just fine. For a moment, Cantor contemplated leaving her partner to fight alone. Would this be the day that one of them would finally get around to killing the other?
For the thousandth time, Cantor sighed and set aside the idea. It wouldn't be a sure thing, even three-on-one, and there would be other consequences afterward besides. Instead, she raised her voice, singing in a language that had been dead for a thousand years. Her voice would reach the ears of those she had hidden herself from, worming into their spacial sense and destroying any ability to coordinate attacks.
Action: Accumulation (Enhancement) against Accumulation (Summoning)
Without bothering to wait for an answer, Youkai reached into her coat and withdraw a flashbang grenade. She threw it over her shoulder, then charged toward Chirurge. In her other hand, she drew her combat knife.
The flashbang exploded behind them, and Chirurge was shielded from the blast by Onmyouji's body-
Just as planned. Youkai slid along Onmyouji's brief-lived shadow at lightspeed, her knife streaking at the unaware Chirurge!
Action: Maneuver (Speed) against Chirurge
Onmyouji nodded. "Here we go." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of origami birds. She flung them at Chirurge, settling down into a combat stance as the birds began to flap their wings, heading unerringly at their target.
At the last moment, they unfolded themselves, revealing arcane inscriptions that, if one had the necessary knowledge to read, and if one were close enough to read them, would be very concerning indeed. The command was one that Onmyouji was quite used to writing: EXPLODE.
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Chirurge
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Youkai results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Accumulation (Enhancement) against Accumulation (Summoning) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Maneuver (Speed) by Youkai against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering)
Aggression (Destruction) by Onmyouji against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's immunity, +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 15%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 10%
Current openings:
None.
(Admin note: Notice that power usage and immunities are reported without the exact level here. Also note that the PM'd posts by the combatants were each made without seeing the others, so each is left open-ended to be resolved following this post.)
Chirurge post:
A brief flutter of paper was the only warning before the air around Chirurge erupted in a volley of explosions. The sheer force of it slid her along the ground until she could gain traction with her hands, but she was otherwise unconcerned as she turned toward the source, the smooth black armor under her robe shielding her from any real damage.
A moment later, a black streak solidified in front of her, and Chirurge let the scalpel drop from her hand before reaching out with practiced ease, catching Youkai's incoming knife arm. She caught Youkai's other wrist in her other hand to fend up the predictable followup punch, and as Youkai shifted her weight to deliver a punishing kick-
A third arm emerged from Chirurge's robe to catch Youkai's ankle. And then a fourth arm emerged as well, driving a fist into Youkai's gut. For a brief moment as the fist made contact, Chirurge could sense the intersecting lines of space, time, and power that made up the girl's existence. In that brief moment... Chirurge pulled, throwing it all into disarray.
(Admin note: Now that the battle has begun, each public post describes the resolution of the last round's secret actions. The last resolution post can be used to determine how successful each character's attempts were.)
Youkai post:
Youkai only had time for a moment of confusion and a frenzied attempt to salvage the attack before the fist caught her in her midsection. The impact sent her flying, and she tumbled across the ground before hitting the concrete wall, hard.
She coughed, tasting copper on her lips, and when she tried to quickly spring back up to her feet, the world seemed to spin and distort. The singing. She hadn't noticed it at first, but it had begun while she was reeling from the attack. It seemed that Cantor was here after all, and Youkai had a sinking feeling that trying to direct a shadow servant like this would be borderline impossible. On top of that, the punch had done something funny, and now Youkai's shadows were flickering erratically like the last fitful embers of a dying flame.
Youkai began slowly forcing herself to her feet. There was no way she could give up so soon.
Onmyouji post:
"Youkai!" The helpless cry was all she could manage. Cantor had revealed her presence, and Onmyouji was feeling the effects as well. Onmyouji wasn't sure if she could even walk straight enough to arrive at Youkai's side, and even if she could, Chirurge didn't seem to care the least bit about being bombed.
Damn it... There had to be something she could do!
Cantor post:
The failure of the two heroes' initial attack was amusing, but Cantor couldn't help but feel a bit left out. She continued to sing by rote as she stood off to the side, unnoticed. The lyrics were entertaining, describing the capture and ritualistic mutilation of the singer's enemies, but of course they were wasted on listeners of this era. A shame. Cantor idly considered her options as she moved to the next verse.
PANOPTICON post:
Cantor changed the pitch of her singing as she drew closer to Onmyouji. The more overt the perception, the better, after all. She was almost close enough to whisper in her opponent's ear, but there was no need. As Onmyouji began to be able to hear the singing more and more clearly, Cantor forced herself inward, pushing into her target's mind and psychically ransacking it.
She found what she was looking for, and destroyed it. Onmyouji would be suddenly blind and disoriented, unable to target effectively. Without halting her singing, Cantor implanted a message into Onmyouji's mind.
"Careful with those explosives, child. It would be a shame if you hit your partner. Chirurge would prefer to have her in one piece."
Action: Interference (Obfuscation) against Onmyouji
Chirurge pulled her arms back under her and rapidly crawled toward her slowly recovering foe. She didn't bother wasting her breath on taunts as she slowly reached a grimy hand toward Youkai.
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Youkai
If attacking doesn't work, then... Youkai abruptly lashed out with her shadows, blocking the meager moonlight and drawing layers of darkness around herself and Onmyouji. It was nothing more than a delaying move, she knew, but they desperately needed a chance to regroup.
Action: Interference (Obfuscation) against Cantor
Attacking Chirurge was looking like an exercise in futility, but Cantor was nowhere to be seen. She had to be close, though, and considering that she hadn't been hit by the barrage against Chirurge, the two of them probably weren't sticking close together. And if she's not next to Chirurge, she's not next to Youkai, either...
That left a very wide swath of ground to cover, but Onmyouji had plenty more bombs to use. She abruptly swung her arms out, releasing a flurry of origami bird explosives everywhere but where Youkai and Chirurge were fighting!
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Cantor
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Youkai results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Interference (Obfuscation) by Youkai against Cantor results in FAILURE due to greater-or-equal suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering)
Interference (Obfuscation) by Cantor against Onmyouji results in PARTIAL success due to lesser suppression by immunities, +3% combat advantage
Aggression (Destruction) by Onmyouji against Cantor results in FAILURE due to greater-or-equal suppression by Cantor's Interference (Obfuscation), +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 23%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 20%
Current openings:
Chirurge can DISABLE one of Youkai's powers for 20% combat advantage
(Admin note: Because Chirurge's interference power resolved before Youkai's, Cantor's immunity never came into play and isn't revealed.)
Chirurge post:
The wall of darkness that suddenly blocked Chirurge's approach only stalled her briefly. She surged forward the last few feet, reaching blindly, then closed her fingers around the form within. The shape of Youkai's power came into her mind, already slightly distorted, and Chirurge tweaked it again, watching the lines writhe as if in pain.
The darkness vanished as if someone had turned on a light, allowing Chirurge to see her own hand gripping Youkai by the throat. She lifted Youkai off the ground, her other arms slowly sliding out of her cloak to pin the hero against the wall.
"It's over," Chirurge rasped.
Cantor post:
Cantor smiled as she saw her words sink in, the paper bombs fluttering around her like so much chaff. The sudden darkness made her tilt her head in puzzlement, but it vanished quickly enough. She glanced over to where Chirurge had the shadow girl at her mercy.
"Mm, too bad," she imprinted onto Onmyouji's mind. "Looks like your partner went and irritated Chirurge anyway. This won't be pleasant for her."
Youkai post:
As the hand seized Youkai's throat, she abruptly realized her mistake. Stupid, stupid... She had been too concerned about hiding Onmyouji, too disoriented to realize that Chirurge had seen where she landed, and hadn't gotten away in time. Now she was caught.
Another pulse of Chirurge's power hit her, but this time it didn't go away. Her control over the surrounding shadows faded, and the protection of the surrounding darkness disappeared. She choked as the hand lifted her by the throat up into the air. She felt sick - not so much from the pain as from the realization that she had failed.
We got in over our head. We've already lost. We're going to die. Was it Cantor's power that was influencing her to think this way? The singing was still pounding in her head, making it impossible to keep anything straight. Youkai closed her eyes.
Onmyouji post:
The disorientation and blindness hit Onmyouji's mind like a mack truck, and as she struggled to figure out what was going on, the sound of Cantor's voice overlaid atop the constant singing made her blood run cold. She was a step ahead of me. It was true - using indiscriminate explosions now would be worse than useless. Onmyouji hurriedly withdrew her power, letting the paper birds fall like snow around the construction site.
It was beginning to get difficult to think. As Onmyouji struggled to come up with a strategy, something felt... off. Like trying to hold onto a memory of a dream after waking, it seemed that things were slipping away from her. What is she doing to my mind...? Thoughts of being hollowed out, unable to act for herself, unable to remember Youkai's face, came unbidden to her mind. It was too terrible to contemplate, and she pushed past it to come up with some solution, any solution.
She gritted her teeth, imagining Youkai at the mercy of Chirurge. Can this still work...? Praying that her partner was still in a state to fight, that she'd understand what she needed to do, Onmyouji shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Youkai! Now!"
PANOPTICON post:
Cantor rifled through Onmyouji's mind, breaking and casting aside anything that wasn't relevant to what she was looking for. Ah, here we go... She found where Onmyouji was keeping count her remaining explosive tags and her plans to use them. Cantor examined them closely and settled on a few counter-strategies.
That completed, Cantor continued to search. Odd. It seemed that Onmyouji still had some hope for victory. Cantor looked closely at the details...
Action: Accumulation (Information) against Aggression (Destruction)
The signal from Onmyouji was unexpected enough to startle Youkai out of her building despair. They had gone over the known details of their enemies before the fight, of course. Chirurge's armor had been an unpleasant surprise, but there were some things they knew for sure from previous battles. In particular, Chirurge was primarily a healer. That was why they had tried to take her out first.
Failing that, they had some contingency plans to attack Cantor and prevent Chirurge from healing her, but that required the use of Youkai's shadow servants, who would have a hard time running interference in this singing. Youkai couldn't imagine what Onmyouji was thinking here... but there wasn't really anything more to use.
"Descartes-" Youkai choked, her hand around her throat and the ravaging of Chirurge's power making it hard to speak. "Descartes, go!"
A many-legged being of darkness crawled out of Yume's shadow, its myriad red eyes surveying the battlefield.
Action: Accumulation (Summoning) against Interference (Reversion)
Chirurge was beginning to grow impatient with the slow progress. As always, in her fights at Cantor's side, victory was a matter of slowly closing off the opposition's options, then finishing them off once they couldn't fight back. She looked closely at Youkai's power and saw the part responsible for letting her move through shadows. With this part gone, at least, it would be safe to begin finishing up.
Onmyouji's shout caught Chirurge's attention, and her eyes narrowed as she looked back at Youkai.
"No more wasting time," she rasped, and then she tore out the selected portion of Youkai's power. Simultaneously, her many arms went to work with their scalpels, hacking away at the shadow girl's flesh.
Action: Aggression (Destruction) against Youkai
Action: Take opening against Movement (Speed)
The plan had been to take out Cantor with the explosive tags had been a failure, but not for the reason the singing woman had assumed. After all, she had planted a tracking paper on Youkai before the battle, and even blinded by Chirurge's power, she could still ensure that the tags in that direction didn't explode.
She had also planted tracking paper among the explosive tags she had scattered before Chirurge blinded her, and one of those tracking papers was mysteriously moving back and forth, right behind her. Found you, Cantor. She had stepped close enough that any explosion capable of hurting her would endanger Onmyouji herself, but there were some downsides to that move.
Onmyouji abruptly spun around toward Cantor, sealing tag in one hand, the other balled up for one last desperate punch!
Action: Aggression (Confinement) against Cantor
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
DISABLE used by Chirurge against Youkai's Movement (Speed), -20% combat advantage
Accumulation (Information) by Cantor against Aggression (Destruction) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Accumulation (Summoning) by Youkai against Interference (Reversion) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Destruction) by Chirurge against Youkai results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater immunity, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Confinement) by Onmyouji against Cantor results in SUCCESS, +30% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Destruction) immunity granted by Accumulation (Information)
Youkai cannot use Movement (Speed)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Interference (Reversion) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 23%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 60%
Current openings:
Onmyouji can CAPTURE Cantor for 20% combat advantage
(Admin note: The immunity Onmyouji and Youkai have to Interference (Reversion) depends on the user not having an immunity to Accumulation (Summoning) that's level 2 or higher. Cantor and Chirurge do currently have an immunity at level 7, but that's reliant on Cantor's own Accumulation power. If Cantor is affected by the CAPTURE opening, then she suppresses as though all her powers are level 0.)
Cantor post:
The sudden surge of hope in Onmyouji's mind was all the warning that Cantor had before the attacks were incoming. She moved back, but too slowly, as the sealing tag stuck to her, and then the punch caught her full-on in the face.
Cantor stumbled backward, the tag sapping the coordination from her movements, then rolled across the ground. Her singing died out for a moment, but she found that she still had a slight presence remaining in Onmyouji's mind. She's still perceiving me somehow! Well, that could be used to Cantor's advantage, too. She raised her voice again, resolving not to give these two another chance to turn things around.
Youkai post:
Youkai forced all of her remaining power into the shadows armoring her, feeling the scalpels slicing mere millimeters away from her flesh. Just as her reserves were beginning to grow thin, the sound of a punch caught her attention. She actually did it...
Her shadow servant, Descartes, was doing loops in the air as it tried to come around to assist, but Cantor's singing was affecting its sense of direction as well. And yet, as there was a brief break in the singing, everything started to become more clear again.
Youkai glanced back down at Chirurge, sudden defiance in her eyes. It seemed that this wasn't over after all.
Chirurge post:
The scalpels were meeting unexpected resistance. Another power, perhaps? It would only delay the inevitable. Chirurge focused, bringing the now-twisted grid of Youkai's power to mind...
And then she heard the punch. Chirurge glanced over to where Cantor was suddenly on the defensive, then back to Youkai, growling in irritation. She met the shadow girl's gaze, weighing her options.
Onmyouji post:
The feel of her fist hitting home was an adrenaline rush like no other for Onmyouji. She rushed forward, blind but guided by her power, drawing more tags from her costume.
"That was for messing with my head, and this is for threatening Youkai!"
PANOPTICON post:
Chirurge threw Youkai to the side, galloping toward Onmyouji and Cantor at full speed, more to kill the former than the rescue the latter. If Cantor allowed herself to be fully trapped by those sealing tags, then it would be two against one, and Chirurge was beginning to think that even she would be unable to win against those odds.
She lunged for Onmyouji, all six arms extended and charged with her power!
Action: Interference (Depowering) against Onmyouji
The sealing tag was strangling Cantor, making her voice come out hoarse and quieter every moment. She wasn't able to look deep enough into Onmyouji's mind to find a solution.
So, she decided to abandon all pretense of subtlety. Restoring Onmyouji's sight, restoring the two enemies' ability to see her, raising her voice as high as it could go, Cantor lunged toward Onmyouji, intent on filling her perceptions and ramming into every corner of her mind!
Action: Accumulation (Enhancement) against Aggression (Confinement)
"Kant! Go!"
Chirurge's stranglehold was beginning to make her black out, but Youkai was determined to put everything she had into this. Already, she was directing her shadow servants to keep Chirurge from assisting Cantor, and she was already focusing on bringing a third shadow to bear.
Action: Accumulation (Summoning) against Accumulation (Information)
Pivoting on one heel, Onmyouji spun around, abruptly launching herself toward where Chirurge was holding Youkai. She only hoped that she wasn't too late. A sealing tag in either hand, she charged to the rescue!
Action: Aggression (Confinement) against Chirurge
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data...
Onmyouji opts not to use CAPTURE
Interference (Depowering) by Chirurge against Onmyouji results in SUCCESS, +5% combat advantage
Accumulation (Enhancement) by Cantor against Aggression (Confinement) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Accumulation (Summoning) by Youkai against Accumulation (Information) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage
Aggression (Confinement) by Onmyouji against Chirurge results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by Chirurge's Interference (Depowering), +10% combat advantage
Current conditions:
Cantor and Chirurge have Accumulation (Summoning) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Destruction) immunity granted by Accumulation (Information)
Cantor and Chirurge have Aggression (Confinement) immunity granted by Accumulation (Enhancement)
Youkai cannot use Movement (Speed)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Interference (Reversion) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Onmyouji and Youkai have Accumulation (Information) immunity granted by Accumulation (Summoning)
Combat advantage:
Cantor and Chirurge: 38%
Onmyouji and Youkai: 80%
Current openings:
Chirurge can DISABLE one of Onmyouji's powers for 20% combat advantage
Youkai can OVERWHELM the opposition for 80% combat advantage - Onmyouji and Youkai are victorious
Youkai post:
Youkai rolled as she landed on the ground, getting to one knee and pulling a servant up out of her shadow with each hand. She sent the two who were out already to slam into Cantor and Chirurge, relentlessly driving them back.
As the fourth shadow servant emerged, she began to slump, the effort draining the last of her reserves. She struggled to stay conscious as the rest of the battle unfolded.
Chirurge post:
Chirurge's arms caught Onmyouji's incoming attacks, and this time she didn't punch her prey away. Bringing the unfamiliar image of Onmyouji's power to mind, she wasted no time ripping and tearing it apart, ensuring that those damnable sealing tags wouldn't be an issue.
She was caught off-guard by the impact to her side, her grip on Onmyouji slipping, and the second impact knocked her across the construction site. She clambered to her hands and feet just in time to fend off another shadow attack, sliding backwards with each hit.
"Irritating," she rasped.
Then the portal opened to her side - a hole in space that showed a vast desert stretching off into the horizon.
"Time to go." Chirurge made it sound like a curse as she jumped through.
Cantor post:
Cantor frowned as Onmyouji went running off in the complete opposite direction. Rude, she thought to herself as she sang. Even so, the brief perception had been enough to find a solution.
She drew her knife, located the sealing tag on her left forearm, and chopped off the offending limb in one smooth motion.
She tucked her severed arm into her robe, and the pain only added to the volume of her voice as she raised it once again, feeling the other minds here begin to open to her-
And then she was cut off with a heavy impact, ending her song with an inelegant "guck." She rolled across the construction site, skidding to a stop next to Chirurge as the portal opened.
"Seems we spent too long playing around here," she said, no real concern in her tone. "But don't worry. We'll finish this another day." And then she followed Chirurge through the portal.
Onmyouji post:
Still reeling from Chirurge's last assault, Onmyouji struggled to her feet.
"Youkai, are you okay?" After rushing over to check on her partner, Onmyouji stood up and took in the battlefield.
"Guess we can chalk that one up as a win." Her gaze fell on the discarded briefcase, thoughtful...