featherduster | ( sheep ) ic inbox

[ Pandora’s hand twitches towards the crack in her face. ]

Regardless. I won’t submit to the likes of you.

[ Watches her hand. Watches her face. ]

Seems like you're not quite used to pain, Miss Goddess. Whatever your cause is, it isn't worth it.

No one's even sayin' anythin' about submission, either...

In the act of being brought here you've already submitted to a mortal's hands -- or coils, as it were.

If you intend to escalate regardless, because your pride won't let you bend further voluntarily? I hope you'll remember this day with regret. I truly do.

That sounds dangerously close to a threat.

[ Her nails extend and sharpen. ]

[ WELLLLP

Immediately trying to put himself between her and Styx and Charon. Naturally. ]

[welp.

at least that gives him some cover to pull his gun discreetly, getting ready]

Sounded more like a lament to me.

[he doesn’t shift, or doesn’t appear to. but he’s been letting a spell build and drop and build and drop through this exchange to cut down on time if it comes down to a fight after all.

the air feels…tight. everyone smells sand on an out-of-place desert breeze.]

Consider it a last chance to back down, rather.

It is a last chance. For all of you.

If backing down means letting you hurt people unchallenged, then no, we're not.

[ He is giving Styx a Meaningful Glance out of the corner of his eye ]

[no worries, gun is already cocked and ready to fire some honeysuckle

which, of course, means he's shooting at the reflective bitch, around Vash.]

[soft]

Open Gate.

[the field around them all turns into a desert landscape, without warning. it doesn't hinder them -- the sand isn't quite real, the blasted grey sky isn't quite real, though there's enough arid heat and sense of grit in the air to hint that it might be real somewhere.

three centaurs are charging down the dunes towards Mirror in a thunder of hooves, heads and human torsos encased in beaten iron armor, long lances of the same material aimed at her from three directions. what up.]

[ Oh she is not going to just get shot this time. She falls back into her chair and - dissolves into it? It's as if she dove backwards into a pool of water. The honeysuckle shot impacts the throne a moment later, leaving a black bullet hole in its wake. The lances, too, go through it in three spots, just shattering the throne to pieces.

From the small lake of glass at their feet, Pandora laughs. ]

--I forgot about the damn mirror jumping thing!!

[ Pulling his own gun out and circling the glass pond so that they have it more or less surrounded, between the three of them. ]

How the hell do ya forget somethin' like that?!

[they might have it surrounded, but uh. fun fact: Styx is in the middle and he is for sure. not gonna stay there depending which direction Pandora pops up.]

[who the fuck knows if Charon is actually where he seems to be and triangulated properly, fucker’s really working the illusions right now

it’s fine though he’s mostly here to throw spells, he does not need to be as up close. thoughtful, as another one sets up, and the desert and centaurs fade out, replaced by black thunderclouds overhead]

One wonders how damaged a mirror must become to render it unusable, no?

I advise figuring that out quickly, little mortal.

[ Because a thick shard of glass comes roaring up out of the glass, aiming directly for Vash's leg. Not enough to cut it off, maybe, but plenty to impale and stick if he's not fast enough. ]

[ Fortunately, he IS fast. It does still rip a hole through one of the tails of his duster though, which just increases the irritation. ]

Shut up! It's not my fault I'm not used to weird megalomaniac mirror ladies!

[ ANYWAY, firing a single round at the mirror pond she dipped into, mostly to see what the fuck that does ]

[opens his mouth to yell something back at Vash but then just

oh wait shit.

he's wearing reflective things.

MOVING TO TRY TO GET THEM OFF BEFORE SHENANGIANS]

[god help Styx because Charon's busy]

Royal Passage.

[darkness falls over the area, though Minuet, Styx, Charon, the pool of glass, and the spiked tower remain visible, still limned in daylight. an alien wolflike thing taller than any of the men steps out of the shadows, blue-furred, huge curving spikes jutting up from its back and crackling with lightning.

which! it is aiming at the tower rather than the glass pool; a vicious white-hot bolt.]

[ Multiple things happen at once.

The first - a gunshot rings out. The spot where the bullet impacted blackens, the glass going inert. Whatever magic Pandora has going for her, it's still clearly getting nerfed when it gets hit with honeysuckle. At least as far as the effect extends, which is a small but decent radius.

The second - lightning descends on her little tower, reducing half of it to molten slag. The other side tips precariously, only stopped from toppling and shattering by way of being propped up by said molten pile. As the next few seconds pass, it will begin to melt and cool as well. There's an according cry of rage and pain, and that's when -

Just as the daylight dims, just as Styx gets his hands on the frames ... twin shards of glass impale backwards into his eyes. ]

[do you know? he's probably had some eye trauma at some point thanks to being in an assassin death cult who can fully heal with magic science medicine or whatever.

but probably that trauma didn't involve MIRROR SHARDS DIRECT HITTING FROM THE BACK SIDES OF HIS SHADES.

he tries to jerk his head back, but it's too fast, between one blink and the next. and then there's blood and he's screaming. maintaining a grip on his gun, though, and firing down at whatever glass is nearest him while his free hand continues to try to pull the shades from his eyes. kind of hard to do when impaled on them.]

Edited 2023-12-02 03:28 (UTC)

[ How fast can Minuet move, exactly? Unclear, but he darts over to Styx faster than he's ever moved in the pasture to date. Truly throwing himself against the powercap.

He doesn't waste time with a warning of any kind; grips Wolfwood's lapel with his flesh hand and uses the metal one to grab the mutated glasses and yank. ]

You'll pay for that.

[said quite calmly, if breathlessly; the magic is telling on him, and he takes a gulp of something from a small ceramic bottle he was holding in his hand.

he cannot do more for Styx than Minuet is doing, so he presses on. the darkness shivers but doesn't fade; the wolf snarls and crouches low in place, as he repeats the spell. but between his needing to heal and needing to cast, the others have a few seconds to act before he can bring more lightning.]

Edited 2023-12-02 03:45 (UTC)

[ While the others are distracted, then, the firm glass under Charon's feet begins to soften. First sludge, then abruptly quite wet. Care for a dip? ]

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