Magical Fracas, Episode 4: School Rumble?

[Teal Mage]

A guarded expression on her face, Mia's gray eyes flicked from the green clothed girl to Mernarker. She held the black handled knife loosely in her hand still, and didn't seem to have any intention of putting it away.

As Mernarker began to explain himself, she inched closer to Alex, idly noticing that his aura had returned to normal. "Alex," she whispered, "what do you think?"

Alex's expression had smoothed since the appearance of the auburn haired Verda, becoming unreadable. "Seems like there are a lot of awakened mages in our school." His flickered shifted sidelong to Demi.

Mia nodded; she was being to feel like the amateur here. "I can't fight them. This Timeslip's drained me more then I thought. I might freeze at this rate."

"I'll give you some of my power." Alex replied in a whisper, assessing the red bond between the Goth and him, "Let's give them a chance." He empowered the link, turning the invisible line into a ribbon of red magic.

Mia's eyes widened at the influx of power, she didn't think Alex would be able to do something like that, especially without his own aura darkening.

"...I just wanted to know what was going on, and perhaps help out..." Mernarker finished, looking nervous.

Projecting his voice so it could be heard clearly on both sides of the hallway, "My friend Mia might be able to explain that better then me." Alex said, gesturing to the girl, "She isn't exactly a stranger to magic."

"Sorry," Mia began glancing at Mern; through her expression still said she didn't trust him, "this whole thing has me on edge." She glanced back toward the other mage, then to Demi, and back to Alex, "As I was saying before you arrived, I think we're in something called a Timeslip."

"Its a magical event that causes the flow of time to behave oddly, move faster, slower, in reverse, or stop altogether, depending on the spell. Obviously," she smiled humourlessly, "this is a freeze. Normally these sorts of things can only be noticed by people with magical powers, and originate from a central point." She glanced back at the female mage again, "The roof in this case."

"But that might not be the case," Mia added, now musing aloud, "if the time freeze didn't grow stronger whenever the bell tolled, it would be simple enough. But it does, which means something's causing the bell to ring. Either it’s really complicated and is operating on a timer of some sort or," she glanced at Demi, the unnamed girl and Mernarker, "another fully realized mage is controlling this."

"That’s what I know." Mia finished, confidently flipping her wheat blond hair.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

It didn't really take a genius to notice the recognition flicker in Iriumi's eyes. That subtle ribbon connection between Mia and Alex made her and Ivy arrive to the same conclusion. It was him!

As to Mia's next few comments, Iriumi displayed mild confusion. "Wait, the freeze is growing stronger?" she asked, her slender brow drawing close in a slight frown. The whisper of breeze and leaf around the mage seemed to grow louder, a voice carried through the rustle of ivy.

"Good morning, children of magic," Ivy spoke pleasantly in that soft voice of hers, her words carrying clearly to the others ,"I am the Orichalchum Ivy, and my partner stands before you. She is currently unaware of the effects of the drain due to my self-sustainability. We are currently looking for a priestess and an angel, who might gain advantage by linking up with us. This way, we may confer some of my abilities onto them and sustain us through this small predicament."

"Again."

"Again," Ivy agreed amicably, before the rustle of leaves fell silent. Iriumi adopted a more calmer stance. She'd lowered her weapon long ago, but was still cautious of Mia. Whatever her magic is, it's not Autekkan or Verda-type, and therefore possibly dangerous. And what's with that crazy outfit?!

[Arhra]

"Sis, we probably don't have to blast through it with everything! If it works like our shields do... Then if I hit it in multiple places simultaneously, it should be weakened enough in this direction for you to punch through it."

"OK." Mitsuko said, raising her weapon high an offensive stance for an overhead swing and focusing her energy, a Celestial Sphere materialising in front of her.

Akari's horrendous overkill of magical arrows shot force, azure lances circling around and striking the sphere from every direction. The cycling pattern on the sphere went crazy, flashing through its sequence as magic crackled over it.

Mitsuko took a step forward and swung Bright Day down through her Sphere, a planar slice of energy erupting out of the slash and stabbing into the barrier, struggling against it.

Jax's teleported bomb went off and the sphere's surface broke up, expanding into a large blue sphere marked by irregular dark ripples, giving the impresison of being a circular hole in space. The pattern rapidly started to stabilise again.

["Dimensional space is open. Hurry - barrier is regenerating."] Bright Day chimed.

"Good job everyone." Mitusko said. "Come on!"

She jumped into the portal.

Inside it was all still, a ringing silence in the air like after the toll of a bell. The floor seemed to be a still pond, ripples spreading out from where their feet touched it and propogating across the entire room. The center lit up as the ripples touched it, four bells in a simple housing spaced evenly around a metallic shape like a closed flower bud. It opened, metals pieces sliding and rearranging to form an abstract, vaguely humanoid shape, suggestive of a robed figure wearing an ornate headdress.

The Autekkan construct cocked its faceless head at them inquisitively, with a musical chime. "You are noise and motion where none is permitted. The judgement of the heavens has descended upon this place, as was decreed. Depart or accept your judgement."

[phil_]

Panko watched the Autekkans' display of power, seemingly without being noticed by anyone on the roof or in the stairs. They acted like a real team, had cool costumes, and used laser beams and beam spears. "Cool."

"Panko, what's going on in there?! Are you and that kid having a rematch or what?"

"Huh?" Panko replied outloud to Picky's voice in her head. "Wait, sorry. What?"

"I'm pretty sure that I felt Psycho's power for a sec. It cooled down really quick, though. Anyway, I felt some Verda magic for a bit. Also, there was some-"

"Autekkan magic?" Panko cut him off. "Yeah, I just watched some girls blow up this blue thing. Then they walked through it. I don't think they saw me."

"Well, I'm getting tired of banging my head on this barrier, so hurry up and do something about it."

"Right!" Time to be reckless. Panko hopped away from the safety of the doorway and into the portal. A little kid in a silly frog costume appeared behind the Autekkans with a "Huzzah!"

[Teal Mage]

"Well," Mia said, turning toward the green Verda, "I'm actually not sure if the field's getting stronger. It did surge when the bell rang, but it might have just been directly assailing our magical stores, instead of just holding its grip on time."

Earring jiggling, the Goth shrugged and turned toward the others. "In any case, I'd like to go get a look at the roof." Her black shoes clicking loudly on the hall's floor, she began to walk in the direction that Alex, Demi and Mern had come.

"Wait." Alex called, moving up behind her. Mia paused and glanced over her shoulder at him, giving him a curious look. "If you just want to see it, I can help with that." The blond continued with a small smile, "Let's go to the windows." He paused, the added in a louder voice, "The rest of you can come too."

Mia nodded, gray eyes now shining with curiosity, and the pair set off into the hall past Mern, to one of the clear windows.

Alex waved his hand over the reflective surface and whispered, "Dancing Colors." Red light frosted the window's edges, and the surface grew misty as colors flickered across the glass, eventually resolving themselves into a view of the Tohou's roof, just in time to catch a glimpse of Mitsuko vanishing into a rippling hole in space.

Beside him, Mia let out a breath, "Fascinating..." Alex wasn't sure if she was referring to his spell, the number of mages in the window, or the blue hole itself.

Experimentally, Alex waved his hand over a corner of the window, trying to call up of an image of Mitsuko, and her new location.

((OoC: Just seeing if I can scry what’s inside the sphere. He’s trying to get a second image, not dispel one for another. Arhra?))

[PhoenixFlame]

Akari rushed the barrier the moment the hole had opened, feet tapping audibly agaisnt the rooftop as she uncharacteristically did not fly. Given the nature of the field and her previous experiences with overextending herself, Akari was in no mood to needlessly waste power. However, she did not leap through into obscurity without preparations.

"Sattelite Expansion!" She ordered firmly, while swinging her bow out to her left side. As one, the twelve autonomous gun drones resting in Ceres Aphelion's armbits broke off and formed a ring at their master's back. Without taking any time to view her surroundings, Akari lept into the rapidly closing hole in the anomalous barrier.

["Hostile Contact, Six O'clock."] Ceres warned immediately as the pair had entered the anomaly. Whirling around in suprise as the Bellringer began to speak, Akari ended up face to face with a frog-costumed young girl. She couldn't help but notice Ceres' eyepiece had highlighted the girl with a red box.

"Um... Hello? You're not here to shoot at me, right?" Akari stammered in suprise, backing up slowly and almost bumping into Mitsuko as she did. Honestly, how else does one react to a frog-suited girl suddenly ninja-jumping behind them?

"Great. Even more Verda we haven't seen before. Look sharp, stop embarassing us." Ceres groaned in Akari's head, immediately snapping her into attention at the first use of her scolding voice.

"I-I mean don't interfere, citizen! We've got this under control!"

"We seriously need to work on your communication skills."

[ApatheticFoxboy]

Dojima heard the timed explosion, and felt a grin on his face. With the coordinated mage's attacks, the barrier that had protected the sphere broke. But the sphere's pattern was quickly stabilizing. Dojima rushed across the roof, leaping into the portal. On the other side of the portal he landed on his stomach. Ripples propagated from under him, and there was a ringing in his ears.

The backpack he wore broke away from him, and transformed into a clicking, chirping crab spider. The jittery mechanical bug puttered into the formation of Cere's gun drones. Floating amongst the satellites, it looked intensely interested in the drones' weaponry. It's eyestalks zoomed on the barrel of the drone's gun, and made a impressive whistle sound.

Dojima jumped up, his ears still ringing. He saw the metallic humanoid shape. It said, "You are noise and motion where none is permitted. The judgment of the heavens has descended upon this place, as was decreed. Depart or accept your judgment."

Dojima took a step back, "Crap… Listen. We don't want trouble. But we can't have school frozen in time like this. Not on the first day of school. So you've got to turn off this field right now or… um." Dojima couldn't think of a worth wild threat. "Jax, little help."

[Astral Harmony]

Shimizu spun around at the sudden outburst of "Huzzah!", almost blasting Panko until she got a better look at him. It was some little dude in a frog costume. "Hey, kid." she began.
"I'm a computer, paya!" Ponpon interrupted with interspaced giggling. "Stop all the downloadin', paya. Help computer, paya."

Shimizu felt a strong urge to smack her mechanical friend for that reference. "You should go back. It's going to be really dangerous so leave here, okay?"

She didn't wait for a response, and turned towards the strange guardian. "We don't have time to talk, just fight. I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but get out of our way or get destroyed."
Shimizu aimed Ponpon at the guardian. Her Star Brand warmed up. "You've got until the count of three before I fire."
"Mother!" Ponpon called out. "The scanner reports that the child behind you is a Verda mage, paya!"
"Aw, screw it! Three!" and Shimizu opened up with a Boom Burst before dodging to the side in an attempt to avoid any attack Panko may try.

[Krylo]

(OOC: Note, Panko in suit appears to be about ten or so. She's an elementary kid in so far as we know.)

Rei had followed the others into the rift, like a good little mage, and had kept his attention diverted between the Verda and the Autekkan construct, that is until Shimizu threatened the frog girl and then attacked.

He had been ready to react, and his body glowed brightly as his speed and strength increased, sending him flying directly between Shimizu and the frog girl, his arm raised toward the boom burst. A shield materialized almost instantly, Shimizu's attack destroying it but doing no further harm.

"She's just a girl, Verda or not," Rei stated as he dropped his arm, shaking it slightly, as though flicking dust from his sleeve, "And this thing has assaulted us both equally. We can't afford to fight a battle on two fronts right now... and we've no need to start wars."

He looked back over his shoulder at the girl, a smile on his face, and spoke as one would be expected to when addressing a child--kind but slightly condescending, "Thank you for coming to help us, but don't hurt yourself, ok? Let the grown ups handle this."

With that he moved toward the construct his face serious, Tenken having already informed him that the creature was of Autekkan make.

"Stand down. We are Auttekan Battle Mages. You have been inactive for a very long time, and the Judgement has been recalled. We have been sent here to shut you down as this is currently a civilian facility and civilian casualties will not be permitted. If you do not cooperate you will be considered a rogue device and handled accordingly," the boy bluffed strongly, as Tenken coached him.

Hopefully the construct wouldn't call the bluff, but if it did, he was certain they could handle it.

[phil_]

What was this? Panko had expected to break up some secret Autekka meeting, save the day, and maybe make Picky choke out a compliment. But they were all treating her like a little kid!

And then one shot at her. Panko was about to jump out of the way, but then a boy in a mask dashed into the blast to protect her. Off balance from preparing to jump, Panko fell on her side like a clutz. The boy was really cool... until he started lecturing her too!

"Hey! I'm not little kid! You don't need to... wait, I am a little kid..." she trailed off to herself. Darn it, she'd show them! Just as soon as she was sure about not jumping back out of the portal, away from the robot girl with the arm cannon.