[center][h3]The Qliphoth - the Final Hollow[/h3]
Lvl 14 Ms Fortune (167/140) Lvl 9 Goldlewis (116/90) Lvl 7 Sandalphon (78/70) Lvl 4 [color=ef6069]Grimm[/color] (31/40)
Midna, Junior, & Rika’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt, Zenkichi & Edelgard’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet, Pit, Primrose & Therion’s [@Yankee] Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Roxas, Ganondorf, & Captain Falcon’s [@Double]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 3002[/center]

Fighting Consul D was always going to be tricky, no matter how many people were up against him. More combatants meant less time any one hero needed to bear the brunt of his fury, but it also increased the risk of friendly fire incidents and generally getting in one another’s way. Confident that greater numbers meant nothing against his wide-ranging magics, D welcomed the Seekers’ five-on-one challenge with open arms and dramatic flair. When Geralt offered his rebuttal and stepped forward to lead the charge, the battle was on.

After the indignity of what happened to her before, Nadia was eager to pay D back, and with interest. This time, though, she knew to keep her head on straight and do this the smart way. Duels might be her specialty, but after all her time with the Seekers, Nadia could tag team with the best of them. She skirted around the edges of the battlefield, neither too close nor too far from the action, to irritate D with shots from her newly-recovered handguns until Geralt or Roland created an opportunity. Then she pounced, leaping into to apply extra pressure or land follow-up attacks for her friends. Her speed and aerial mobility could get her to D reliably, provided he wasn’t casting magic. Her team needed to be careful about being too passive or spending too much time on D’s minions, since the vampiric Consul tended to unleash his magic the moment he got any space.

Fireballs flew, flame pillars erupted, blood rained down, and meteors scorched the earth. Of course, he was no slouch in close quarters either. His challengers quickly found that his scythe was no joke. It could fend off the heavy blade of Geralt’s cleaver, and even turn away Roland’s expert sword strikes despite its ungainly heft. Their clashes, however, brought the Fixer to his Zenith, and as he gained Powder of Life, the sorcerer Consul scowled. “A ward…? How irritating.” He then snorted, his eyes narrowed. “But if that’s as high as you can rise, you’ll find I can fell you as many times as needed!” From his cape he conjured a verminous wave of black rats, and the fight continued.

If one thing could be considered constant about the battle against the Gravemind and its accompanying Consuls, it was the noise, amplified by the almost amphitheater-like shape of the arena within the Final Hollow. The roar of flames, the chorus of undead voices that railed and rebuked, the visceral sounds of organs and limbs as they were made and unmade, the thunderous report of various firearms, the furious clashes of instruments of destruction against shields, armor, and hateful flesh, the frenzied utterances of O’s animals and the metallic screeching of his machines, the voices of the heroes raised in effort, or callout–it all made for quite the din. Tensions were running high, and not just for those traumatized by A’s stresscasting. Any Seeker not hindered by severe tunnel vision could see that their numbers were starting to dwindle.

Through the chaotic clamor, however, there came a ray of hope. Bright blue sigils of holy light appeared by the heads of everyone within Sandalphon’s network, whether actively engaged in battle or momentarily standing back. The archangel’s familiar and welcome voice, deadpan as ever, helped to center and soothe them in the midst of their turmoil, as if even this utilitarian miracle possessed curative properties. “Attention, everyone. I’ll keep this brief. Sectonia and Edward are well, but unable to continue fighting. We have ascertained D’s weakness: light, incantations, and miracles. Pit has also flushed out O’s real body. The team fighting A is experiencing abnormal stress that cannot be allowed to escalate further. In light of this bulletin, please reallocate personnel with all haste. And call me if needed.”

With that, Sandalphon allowed her sigils to dissipate and returned to her silent vigil in the Avenger’s Comm Center, her unblinking eyes fixed on the light screen in front of her. Though Edward and Sectonia were ultimately fine, which she’d confirmed personally via External Information Network when they arrived, the fact that they’d invoked Palico Rescue in the first place was worrying. According to what Ace said, only one more person could expect such salvation. Then the Seekers would start sustaining casualties for real. Sandalphon drummed her fingers on her arm restlessly. Though part of her wanted to stay in the Final Hollow after Pit summoned her and do whatever she could to help, the archangel had managed to be rational about what she could and couldn’t do. Her own fatigue aside, her miracles and especially her shapeshifting needed time to build up via damage. All her expenditure during the Lilith fight meant that she’d bring almost nothing to the table if she did warp in. Better to do her real job and coordinate things from afar to get the Seekers functioning like a team.

After a sharp inward breath, Sandalphon lifted her mic to her lips and reached out again, this time targeting specific Seekers. “Blazermate: Goldlewis, Ganondorf, Falcon, and Ace need medical attention. Midna, Ace, Primrose, Ms Fortune, relieve those fighting A as soon as possible. Pit, your new target is D.” Though the young angel was no doubt eager to make up for his slip-up against O, he did not need to be any more emotionally charged, and his abilities would be better used against D. “Junior, Rika, your target is now in the structure behind you. Juri…” Sandalphon could see the martial artist already peeling away from the D fight to speed toward O’s new base. Whatever the archangel was going to say, she thought better of it. “Play well.”

Sandalphon switched off her mic, then breathed deep. Nineteen Seekers remained on the field. Grimm, Zenkichi, and Edelgard still opposed the Gravemind, while Roxas and Geralt would hold down the fort against D as the four against A rotated out. She suspected that Captain Falcon and Therion would naturally gravitate toward D alongside Pit, while Ganondorf and Goldlewis joined the others against the Gravemind. That left just Juri, Junior, and Rika to hunt down O, and Blazermate on general support. Sandalphon believed that this was a good breakdown, but against foes like these nothing was for certain.

Down in the thick of it, some things were easier said than done. For a few moments, the fight against D seemed to favor the five Seekers. They could attack in quick succession, and from a variety of angles. When tipped off about O, though, Juri up and left, and D quickly started to find his footing. He gave Geralt and Roxas a murderous stare, incensed by their taunts. “I am nobody’s prey. Wield light against me, and you’ll soon see the folly in your selfsure provocations.” D threw up his off hand to cast Dominus Hatred, and as his opponents’ eyes turned skyward to trace the green ray’s path, he made a move of his own.

He hurled his scythe at Roland as a blazing wheel that the Fixer clashed with, the air filled with the clangs of steel against steel. Roland won out and sent the scythe flipping into the air, only for D to teleport up, seize the scythe, then drop on him with a meteoric guillotine impact. When the Hateful Flesh soared in D sidestepped it, then hooked the cleaver with his scythe. He yanked the blade down into the ground, planted his foot on it to keep it in place, then severed its connective tendon. “Knife knowin’ ya!” Nadia arrived the next second, ready to sink Athame into D’s unprotected back, only to get jabbed in the gut by the butt of D’s scythe. The counterhit made her stumble, and D whirled around with a horizontal slice. Nadia hadn’t stopped believing, though, and she stopped the Consul short with her extended knee to finally land her Blue Monday counter. “Hah! Don’t ‘count’ me out!” She grabbed D, hoisted him off his feet, and threw him over her shoulder to the ground. When she went to elbow drop him, however, he transformed into mist and streamed away, meaning the feral’s elbow hit the ground instead. “Yowch!” Grimacing, Nadia got up just in time to crouch-block another wave of rats, which pushed the four Seekers back to neutral.

[i]Beep, boop, beep[/i]. Sombra’s hacking skills made quick work of the antiquated firewall pre-installed in the doors at the base of O’s Command Center. With the lockdown lifted, Juri could waltz right inside, taking the chance to cast an impatient side-eye glance back at Junior and Rika as they hustled over from the ruined Polar Bear exhibit. As they rushed toward the Command Center, however, O himself stepped in to impede them. “Little brats!” His voice resounded from the pair of disembodied red eyes descending toward them. “My poor bears…don’t you know they’re endangered!?” Angry that they’d survived so long, and more than a little rattled by his own close shave, O got down to business. First, he created [url=https://i.imgur.com/XcC7Mcu.png]the Scorpions[/url] around them, trapping them inside a desert-themed arena where giant mechanical arachnids played the role of highly-overtuned bumper cards. Then he constructed a [url=https://i.imgur.com/SbEiZnU.png]Drop in the Ocean[/url] ride on top of it, putting a pit of freezing water right in front of his Command Center. Once built, the crane immediately went haywire, swinging around its submersible pod like a wrecking ball. “I’ll just have to endanger you, too!”

With all that chaos outside, Juri could be forgiven for rolling her eyes, hacking into the elevator, and riding up to the top floor all on her lonesome. The moment she arrived, though, she found herself greeted by an unexpected sight inside the futuristic dome: a miniature tropical rainforest, surrounded by tall [url=https://i.imgur.com/XhlwB7l.png]electric fences[/url], with no sign of O anywhere. Instead she spotted an animal she hadn’t bargained for: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/6y71TJT.png]Tyrannosaurus Rex[/url], a sixteen-foot monstrosity of cruel claws, massive fangs, olive-green scales, and primeval ferocity.

By now, the Gravemind was definitely suffering from all the Seekers’ attention. After Sectonia parted one of its tentacles, her allies picked up her mantle, starting with Zenkichi and Midna. The detective struck first to take a big bite out of one tentacle with One-shot Kill, leading to the deployment of Floodfested reinforcements. After the Twilight Princess turned the tables on an eximus-led Mutalist raid, she used the frosty Osprey and her Beast Legion to pull off a high-flying stunt with the Dead End Express. Thanks to the extra wind power, its absurd cutting ability was more than enough to sever the tentacle and leave the Gravemind at two. Ace wasn't quite as lucky when he went for a third and took some punishment in the Gravemind's grasp, but he'd still done a lot of damage. Add to that Primrose’s magic and Edelgard’s unrelenting offense, and the Guardian was hurting.

Once Primrose kindled his flame, Grimm took center stage. He first stretched the strands of his cape into the ground, adding insult to injury after the dancer’s splendid Moonlight Waltz with a bed of spikes from below. Of course, it was a fine line between the Qliphoth ended and the Gravemind began, so most of his spikes popped out of the flesh heap itself. After that, Grimm around between the mob of Floodfested being demolished by Zenkichi and leaped above the fray to put the Peacock Strut to good use. He hung in the air like a paper lantern, then belted out a torrent of scarlet fireballs that fell upon the Gravemind like rain.

The Guardian did not like all this one bit. Having realized that its current strategy wasn’t working very well, and having lost a great deal of biomass in the process, it set about making a change. A cacophony of rumbling and snapping resounded through the hollow as it retracted its remaining limbs and began to consolidate its bulk. Extraneous tissues were broken down and emitted as toxic gasses that shrouded the Gravemind’s body as it transformed. [color=olive][b]”KILL ME? A RIDICULOUS NOTION. YOU MIGHT AS WELL TRY TO KILL THE EARTH, THE SKY, THE STARS. THE UNIVERSE IS, AND WE ARE!”[/b][/color] It became stronger, denser, less a sprawling heap and more a reinforced pillar. Then the upper and lower parts of the Gravemind both violently split into three, and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/oaQ4zE0.png]ambulatory colossus[/url] was born. With three enormous heads, one wielding a gruesome infested scythe, the Gravemind declared itself anew. [b][color=olive]”I AM A MONUMENT TO ALL YOUR SINS!”[/color][/b] It reared up, then slammed two of its newly-formed legs against the ground to unleash a knockdown-inducing shockwave.

Those tremors helped drive Ace, pushed back by the toxic miasma, even further away. With Blazermate only able to heal one person at a time, and the rest of her prospective patients grouped up, the hunter had yet to be healed, which meant that he couldn’t risk racking up environmental damage. With all the magic flying around thanks to Consuls and Seekers alike, Ace was more than a little queasy, and not fully cognizant of his surroundings. The Gravemind’s transformation had disturbed the other fights nearby, the brawl against Consul D most of all. Still under attack by Roland, Roxas, Geralt, and Nadia, D used the distraction to veil himself in another bat tornado, then charge an unknown spell. By the time his opponents realized he was up to something, it was too late to stop him. “Demonic…” the Consul called, surrounded by dark magic. “Meggido!”

A [url=https://i.imgur.com/U2QD4Md.png]huge explosion[/url] of collapsing stars amidst pitch-black magic went off at his position, big enough to threaten not just his opponents, but the Gravemind’s as well. Even if blocked it would still chip off a third of its victims’ life, but those unprepared for it -like Ace- had only one saving grace: Roland’s Powder of Life. In the wake of D’s destructive blast, Ace found himself partially restored, but only for a moment. Seeing the hunter separated from his allies, D rushed to make an example of him, and despite the health granted by Powder of Life Ace still happened to be below the Death Scythe’s threshold. With a single lunging slash, the monster hunter fell.

“ACE!” Nadia wailed, running forward with one arm extended. Instead of the ground, however, her companion plopped down on a cart manned by a crew of phantom palicos, much to D’s stunned bemusement. The felynes disappeared with their cargo the next moment, leaving Nadia with flattened ears and reddening cheeks. “Oh, uh, yeah. Right. Ahem…” After clearing her throat, she turned her nasty grin on D, her grip tight around the handle of Athame. Forget Sandalphon’s orders–Nadia wasn’t going anywhere now. “Alright, D-lister. You’ve officially raised my vamp-ire. Better say your purr-ayers, ‘cause this is gonna hurt a clawful lot!”

D spun his scythe in his hands and planted its butt in the ground. “Enough talk!” He warped forward, weapon raised for a scything blow. “Have at you!”

On the arena’s right side, A didn’t stay down for long. He saw how the fights were going against O and D, as well as the state of the Gravemind, and made his choice. Though vulnerable to attack for a few moments, his core quickly began to accelerate, glowing bright and brighter to the sound of a rapidly beating heart. Finally, the Consul’s body melted away in a burst of virulent purple light, and Moebius A came to be. It stood before them, easily twelve feet tall, a being somewhere between [url=https://i.imgur.com/9cozgyl.png]mechanical monstrosity[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/NwbWj0u.png]ancient abomination[/url], an armored biped of demonic aspect adorned with bulbous black eyes, a spiky crown, and a heart-shaped protrusion on his back.

[b]”Behold, the heart of this World of Light!”[/b] Moebius A proclaimed, its arms held wide in welcome embrace. [b]”Father and mother, alpha and omega! Moebius, incarnate! And you…”[/b] On one side of its face, a cluster of three black pearls bulged, while on the other a single red eye peered down. A glowing crimson lemniscate shone within it. [b]”You still don’t know what you’re up against. You are but figments, who flatter and delude yourselves. Can the nail go against the finger? The finger, against the hand? You are born of Moebius, same as I!”[/b] It lifted its arms up, claws turned toward the outside. The Gravemind obeyed, pulling its terrible puppet strings, and the demon tree infested by its flesh bent to its will. A dreadful crackling and groaning filled the Qliphoth as the ceiling far above the arena began to tear. When A drew his arms apart, as if ripping into some cosmic corpse, the canopy of the Qliphoth split apart. Fragments of twisted, fleshy wood rained down but not timefall, for the Qliphoth towered above over the clouds. Instead the Seekers could see the pale blue sky, and above that the [url=https://i.imgur.com/zpr1hJk.png]moon[/url], pitted and scarred in a fundamentally unwholesome manner.

[b]”Behold, the body,”[/b] A pronounced, drawing its clawed hands downward. [b]”Of which the Gravemind is but the head. Behold, the infinite malignity of the stars!”[/b]

Far above the Qliphoth, the sky appeared to warp, distort, and darken. Horror gnawed at the frayed edges of the Seekers’ sanity as the day seemed to turn to night, and yet the moon still shone, aglow with some inner radiance. Then, in a scene conjured from feverish nightmare, [url=https://i.imgur.com/TeuoXtT.png]the moon[/url] burst from its celestial eggshell, and slowly stretched out its execrable limbs to smite the battlefield below.

[center][i]Three cycles until the Brother Moon’s impact[/i][/center]