[B][I]Conor and Joshua, and Omega[/i][/b]

Conor put up a barrier of pure force to shield his body against Clarissa's attacks, before turning back to Clone!Omega. This left him vulnerable to Real!Omega's Shadowbolt, as well as the bind that was placed there. Thankfully, his barrier covered all of his body, mitigiating the damage done, although said damage was still great, and the man was still being bound by the shadowbind... 

Ken Saddler, meanwhile, managed to protect himself with a magical shield, but was also focusing on protecting what civilians he could, putting him out of the battle. That said, he was able to react with a smile in response to Joshua's arrival, and, using Law to sustain the shields that he had placed on the civilians, making them last for a few hours, he went off with the man...

[b][i]Catherine[/i][/b]

Elizabeth had Timespace, and so was capable of dodging even stuff that went at lightspeed, like lasers. However, she was now on the defensive, withdrawing from the battle as if routed...although an astute observer would see that Balthazar was advancing towards Catherine, parrying what lightning bolts (from the latter's earlier self-electrocution) had come at her. Now, Balthazar was making Catherine's [i]clothes[/i] explode, hoping for a defeat by modesty.

[B][I]Eise[/i][/b]

Not an illusion, but a Hardlight Hologram this time, created through a mix of light manipulation and telekenetic force; apparently, Elizabeth wasn't the only master of Energy in this room. The two were in the upper floor, where Silas would soon be going, but the latter cannot see them thanks to a combination of Mentalism and Energy, as well as Law. And, knowing that he cannot match Eise in a straight fight, Akira had filled his Hardlight Holograms with Law energy (small-e), which dealt damage unhealable by Magic to those it struck. Yes, it was unfair, but Akira was 1.) the equivalent of a boss monster, and 2.) Eise was evidently superior to him, forcing the MMO Maker to use very dirty tricks... 

[b][i]Silas[/i][/b]

There were several Akiras now, duplicates made by a combination of Mentalism (to make them seem like the original Akira), and Energy (to make them unbreakable by willpower), and Law (to give them substance). One was running to the upper floor, others were sneaking towards the front doors, but, Silas would have a hunch and follow the former.

When he got there, of course, he would find nothing, nothing at all. But, with a master of illusion like Akira, who knew? Then, a voice would resound from everywhere and nowhere at once:

"Silas von Wainright, son of Adric, surrogate son of Raj. I don't suppose I can interest you in an offer of godhood in a virtual world, can I? But I think I know just what you want, what the Agency promised to give you, but which I can do - have done - better."

"You want to know who killed Raj, right? The one who ordered - note, my use of the word ordered is a hint - his murder. If you will leave me alone, if you will turn to your 'friends' fighting for their lives down below, I might just tell you. Wait, no!" Akira's voice replied with sardonic laughter, "you already know in your heart who ordered the killings. However, by dint of my powers of Timespace, [i]I know who did the exact killing[/i].

"[i]She is here right now.[/i]"

Hopefully, this would distract Silas from using his magical senses to see how Akira was hiding himself...and also prevent him from aiding Eise.

[B][I]Some Seconds After[/i][/b]

Suddenly, time stopped. No, it literally did as all Nonpracticing Magi (aka 'normal' humans), except Joshua froze, along with derbi not being manipulated by Magi. Even drops of blood from whatever civilians were not protected by Ascot, Conor, and Thaz were suspended in the air. ArcU had struck; this was the first part of their 'surprise', the one that lay hidden in the unused third of the Convention Centre.

The second part...was a large mechanical spider, one that burst out from said unused third and took advantage of the time-stop to avoid being seen by cameras or any equipment that would transmit data to the real world. This mechanical spider had a gigantic gun on its back that first fired a microwave beam that can destroy all Energy Shields, then followed that up with a laser that would destroy most obstacles thrown by matter.

For non-lethal battles, this was augmented by Suppression Foam Sprayers outfitted in its mouth; Suppression Foam being a kind of sticky foam that was made with all Nine Schools, and thus suppressed all powers. In short, this was a weapon designed against Magi. As it advanced towards the fighting in the lower floors, it seemed as though none can stop it, that it, along with the time-stop, would -

Then, it halted, caught in a time-stop of its own. Ken Saddler, from his place near the exit, was stretching out his hands, exerting great effort into keeping the mechanical monster stuck in chrono-stasis. However, even a few moments of this were tiring, and he was visibly straining. Then, his expression changed into one of shock, as his burden seemed to fade away...but why?

The answer was a boy, a boy who had turned off his invisibility suit, and was standing there now, helmet off (though his eyes still had Pure Technology contacts that allowed him to sense motion), and stretching his hands out, too, using both Timespace and Energy to hold the enemy in conjunction with Ken Saddler's efforts. Ascot had revealed himself at last.

This was the signal for Omega to turn against Clarissa and the others by surprise...

As for Silas, he would get this telepathic message:

[I]Sile, help the Spirit-Possessed guy for now! Then turn against him once Akira's subdued![/i]