2026-04-26: Halloween Havoc
- Log: Halloween Havoc
- Cast: Haruka Konno, Hyousuke Suzuki, Kasumi Yoshizawa, Makoto Niijima, Remi Ryuuja, Ren Amamiya, Shinobu Shimizu, Tamaki Uchida, Umie Akabane, Yukari Takeba
- Where: Sumaru City/Rengedai Ward
- OOC Date: 2026-04-26
- IC Date: Tue Oct 30 2012
- Summary: It's Halloween in Sumaru, and even the farmers' market is getting in on the festivities. Stalls are loaded down with fresh produce of every variety, seasonal decorations adorn every inch of the paths through it, and some particularly enthusiastic attendees have even decided to don costumes. However, the piece de resistance amidst it all is the Gourd Lord - an exceptionally large pumpkin displayed during the last few days of the month. Its grim and grinning features are set ablaze every night, casting an eerie orange glow across the landscape whenever night falls upon the city, like a beacon calling out to those that lurk beyond the veil. So grand is its visage, and so carefully-crafted are its features, that even Sumaru's demon denizens have come to see what all the fuss is about, a cadre of Pyro Jacks chief amongst them. Every night, the gather around the thing to play and make merry. Every night, the dance and sing around it, their revelry echoing out into the chilly autumn air. Every night, as the Dark Hour falls upon the city, a deep and booming laugh shakes Earth, and chills those foolish enough to stand too near to this odd display. While some would advise keeping an eye on these nightly gatherings in case something untoward is going on, it's probably nothing... Right?
<Pose Tracker> Multiboss has posed.
The Dark Hour robbed the world of light as much as it did life. The clamour of bustling cities became an eerie stillness, disturbed only by an errant breeze pushing otherwise stagnant air between concrete behemoths. The glimmer and glow of urban nightlife was snuffed out like a candleflame, replaced instead by the moon's sickly glare, pale as it was weak. No pinpricks of light sat beside it - the stars themselves seemed to have been consumed by the yawning void of the sky, lost until the turn of the hour.
Even colour itself was swallowed by the Dark Hour's supernatural tides. Vibrant hues were stripped from surfaces in an instant, with sickly tones left in their wake. Yellows and greens reminiscent of bile flooded the landscape, staining everything from the lowest patch of grass to the towering heights of the buildings reaching into the air above. Some stray bodies of water provided a contrast to it all, but whether the sanguine red they possessed was a welcome contrast was debatable at best. A modicum of colour could be found in the roaming Shadows and Demons that clawed their way past the veil during that accursed time, but they were not things to be admired or observed. Where the scenery was dull, they were outright dangerous.
That was why the vibrant, orange, glow that shone from the Sumaru farmers' market had stirred such rumours. Bright as a beacon and never once faltering all through the hour, it was almost blinding amidst the ravenous dark. Yet even that burning light was not the oddest thing there. Were one to strain their ears and listen, focussing their senses until the penetrated past the whisper of the breeze and the chatter of lurking demons, they might have heard something in the distance. Partying, it sounded like. The rhythmic beat of dancing bodies. The chanting of people singing in unison.
The hee-ing and ho-ing of many, many, Pyro Jacks.
Hyousuke rubbed his visor clean of any wayward flecks of dirt, and blinked to try and dislodge any dust that might have settled within his sight. He did it twice, in fact, a little unsure that what he saw was real, before slowly turning his gaze from the gathered demons to those he had approached them with. It was unlikely that anyone could see it, but beneath that mask, his mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally managed to figure out how to address the odd encounter.
"You guys are seeing this too, aren't you?" He asked, before finally settling his focus on the Pyro Jacks that had congregated in the middle of the farmers' market.
A chorus of hee's and ho's erupted from a ring of diminutive demons, all leaning from one side to the other in time with their shouts. The clinking and clanking of lanterns swaying with the motion was drowned thoroughly out by their chants, and the light that emanated from each of them was overpowered in its their entireties by the enormous gourd that sat amidst the dancing demons. It was a towering thing, standing as tall and wide as a house, with a gaping maw that belched orange light. Its hollow eyes were filled with that same fiery glow, casting flame-hued beams far into the night sky, even with the world plunged into the clutches of the Dark Hour.
Hyousuke inched closer, partly out of caution, and partly out of confusion. Despite the great many Pyro Jacks dancing in time with each other around that voluminous vegetable, none of them seemed to notice his approach. If any did, they certainly did not seem to care, instead being preoccupied by their merry-making that autumn night.
"I knew these little guys were kinda odd, but this?" Hyousuke, against his better judgement, turned his eyes away from them and towards those with him, pulling a face that shifted the edges of his mask just enough to indicate that it had happened. "This is new."
He watched for a little while, stepping around the display and canting his head, as if the different angle would provide any sort of insight. Predictably, it did not. All he saw was a ring of demons chanting and dancing, heedless of the human investigating them. Eventually, Hyousuke straightened himself out again, and moved to turn away from the group.
"Well, it's weird, but I'm not seeing anything super dangerous. I think we should fan out and-" Whatever thoughts Hyousuke had on the matter were cut short by a booming voice that exploded into laughter that sent tremors ripping through the ground. He staggered back, looking for the source, and began to hear it speak.
"INTRUDERS, HO!" The voice shouted. Just those two words were spoken with such volume that they felt like hammer strikes, bludgeoning into the bodies of those gathered with staggering force. The Pyro Jacks jolted and came to a screeching halt at the voice's presence, and all of them looked towards its source... the pumpkin. They scurried and scattered to the edges of the market, watching and waiting, their weapons raised and held towards the humans they'd ringed around, ready to cut down or incinerate those that tried to flee. All the while, the voice continued to speak, ringing out from the pumpkin's mouth like the booming of thunder overhead. Its features, once hollow carvings in the shell, contorted into an arrogant sneer, directed at those gathered below its imperious gaze. "WHO DARES TO APPEAR BEFORE THE SOVER-HEE-EIGN OF SQUASH? WHO STANDS IN THE PUMPKING'S PRESENCE?, HO?"
Vines as thick as telephone poles erupted from the earth in a shower of dirt and foliage, sending those few Pyro Jacks still close by careening and stumbling away from the tendrils rising like geysers. The clamorous booming of them breaking free of the ground was joined by deafening creaking, cracking, and groaning when yet more of them emerged from the vicious vegetable's underside, twisting about each other into a mass of fibrous legs holding it aloft. Others struck out through its sides, scattering orange fragments to the ground as vine-green 'arms' emerged, the ends coiling into hammer-like bludgeons, held at the ready to beat intruders into paste. The crowd scattered away from the object of their worship, screaming and hollering about the arrival and how it would deal with the intruders, but all was drowned out by the enormous demon pumpkin's last address.
"I AM THE GOURD LORD, AND YOU WILL BOW TO YOUR NEW KI-HEE-NG, HO!"
The vines that had risen from the ground, writhing and wriggling in place, lashed out like whips towards Ren, Yukari, and Kasumi, seeking to lash their feet to the ground with fibrous binds. Though tough as rope and thicker still, they were whip-fast and blurring through the air.
Meanwhile, Shinobu, Remi, and Maki were pelted with a hail of sharpened seeds, launched from the glowing crater that was the Gourd Lord's yawning maw. Strong as bullets and fast as well, they blinked through the night air and shot towards the three like a volley of machinegun fire.
Tamaki, Makoto, Umie, and Haruka were not spared from the onslaught either. Flaming orbs launched from the Gourd Lord's mouth as it turned its attention upon them, streaking out like comets in the dark.
AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Strike skill Binding Vines on Ren Amamiya, Yukari Takeba, and Kasumi Yoshizawa! AS: Ruin: Multiboss gains 1 Limit! AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Slash skill Seed Shred on Shinobu Shimizu, Remi Ryuuja, and Maki Sonomura! AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Candle Cannon on Tamaki Uchida, Makoto Niijima, and Umie Akabane! AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Candle Cannon on Maki Sonomura! AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Avoid Neutral! Tamaki Uchida takes 93 Fire damage from Multiboss's Candle Cannon. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Worst! Yukari Takeba takes 120 Strike damage from Multiboss's Binding Vines. Critical Hit! AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added! AS: Block Neutral! Shinobu Shimizu takes 39 Slash damage from Multiboss's Seed Shred. AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 50 Fire damage from Multiboss's Candle Cannon. Avoid Fire! AS: Multiboss has readied for combat with Gourd Lord! They are adjusted! Ready for 9 opponents! AS: Multiboss's turn has ended. AS: Counter Worst! Remi Ryuuja takes 108 Slash damage from Multiboss's Seed Shred. Critical Hit! Resist! AS: COUNTER! Multiboss takes 57 Slash damage in return for their attack! AS: Avoid Neutral! Ren Amamiya takes 59 Strike damage from Multiboss's Binding Vines. Critical Hit! AS: Block Best! Makoto Niijima takes 22 Fire damage from Multiboss's Candle Cannon. Resist! AS: Avoid Best! Kasumi Yoshizawa takes 12 Strike damage from Multiboss's Binding Vines. AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Why is Tsurugi, of all people, here? She's definitely not part of the neighborhood watch, that's for sure. And she definitely didn't arrive with the others, either--no, she heard about the goings on and has been keeping her own eye on things.
Look, she has a lot of demands on her decision making, and one of them is that she dispose of dangerous creatures, of which this certainly qualifies.
And so a figure clad all in black has been keeping watch from a safe distance: black fencing mask, all black fencing suit, a heavy gray revolver in a holster on one thigh, a rapier in a black scabbard on the opposite hip, and a dagger sheathed on her back.
She is also here because she is angry, and there are very few things that are acceptable for her to take her anger out on.
She's kept to cover, but an indiscriminate spray of seeds comes for her--and with a shout she just charges into the attck, trying to push through it to lash out with her rapier. She gets an attack in, but the barrage of seeds gets the better of her and sends her flying back.
She lands with barely a grunt. She picks herself up, chuckling mirthlessly for a moment. "So the battle is to be joined, then."
"... very well."
She pulls the revolver from her holster and puts it to her head. "PERSONA!"
La Maupin rises behind her in glass and flame, a figure clad in red holding a chipped rapier. Both raise their rapiers to touch the blades, and winds surge up La Maupin's blade and down Tsurugi's--
And then in tandem, both charge forward towards the Gourd Lord, leashing out in coordinated assault.
AS: Tandem! Remi Ryuuja has used the Wind skill Blastbrand on Multiboss! 3 Hits! AS: Remi Ryuuja's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Night after night, a petite young woman watched, crouching on an adjoining building. Adjusting her red half mask and munching on an apple, her pink hood faintly betraying the outline of two hairbuns, she watched the nightly party.
With her investigations into the next possible phase of the Joker Curse seeming to point towards Sumaru City as a nexus point, Umie has temporarily suspended her Dark Hour jaunts through Shibuya in favor of Sumaru City, which is honestly more fun anyway, due to the presence of the aforementioned demons.
What night was is, when Umie first heard that deep and booming laugh? Or was the many Pyro Jacks that began to populate the area that first attracted her curiosity?
Demons coming back to the same decoration, night after night, could be a reason to keep an eye on things. For reasons!
... Like hijinks, that could be very fun to jump into! With that, we flash forward to...
NOW
".... My, my, what a fearsome little lord~"
The hooped end of the kyoketsu shoge is whirled around, gaining momentum above Umie's head, then allowed to let slack, flying through the air to loop around a close piece of the Gourd Lord, be it a stem or a vine. The pale pink of Umie's jacket is seen as she swings onto the Great Gourd, narrowly almost knocked aside by a flaming orb.
"Time to knock you down a vine or two, hee ho!" Umie cackles.
Umie is here for the Pyro Jacks for the moment, thank you very much.
Because they're cute. And she's having way too much fun.
AS: Weapon! Umie Akabane has used the Slash skill Blade Slash on Multiboss! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 42 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blastbrand. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 25 Slash damage from Umie Akabane's Blade Slash.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
There have been rumors about the farmer's market for a while now. Strange things happen after midnight around the prize pumpkin... It's worth looking into. She's taken on a job helping out so she has ulterior motives, too, to making sure everything goes smoothly. So, when a group gathers to investigate, Shinobu is there, too.
"Yeah, I'm seein' it, alright." Shinobu says with a nod to Hyousuke. Before them, Pyro Jacks dance in a ring around the pumpkin. "It's almost kinda cute."
She follows him as he inches closer. Step by step, until... a voice calls out, centered on the pumpkin. No - coming from it, as the massive pumpkin begins to uproot itself. And soon enough, they're surrounded.
"Alright. I'm taking my compliment back." Shinobu says with a sigh. She reaches for her duffel bag, drawing out her staff. "You really wanna mess with us?"
The pumpkin bellows, and attacks! For her, a spray of seeds flies out. Shinobu spins her staff in front of her to deflect the volley, though some still manage to make it through her defense.
"Well met, Your Gourdliness." Shinobu greets with a grin and a mock salute. "But, sorry, I don't think I will. ...In fact, I think you're putting me in the mood for some pumpkin pie."
Shinobu leaps toward the Gourd Lord, landing with a diving kick before bringing her staff down and leaping back. But as she does!
"You!" Shinobu gasps, as she spots Tsurugi. She frowns... but bites back any further comment.
...She doesn't realistically see any way she's responsible for this, especially if she's attacking the thing herself. She can try to get along, at least for now.
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Crushing Drop on Multiboss! 2 Hits! AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit! AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Normally, Joker would not be in Sumaru during the Dark Hour. The reason for this is deep and mysterious and surely has nothing to do with a bedtime strictly enforced by his cat. However, one Ren Amamiya was on a date with Makoto Niijima to the farmer's market to check out the Gourd Lord after they'd mentioned that their birthday coincides with Halloween and they wanted to do something in accordance with the holiday, even if it isn't the day of. While checking out the market, they'd heard whispers of rumors about Pyro Jacks gathering around the Gourd Lord at night, during the hidden hour...
That's why two of The Phantoms appear here tonight, perched atop a nearby building to survey the festive dance of spinning pumpkin monsters. Joker's grin is broad and sharp as they take it in, coat flapping beneath them as they lean a boot on the edge of the building.
"Looks like one hell of a party down there," they remark. They flash that grin at their companion. "What's say we crash it, Queen?"
It's then, though, that the Gourd Lord ROARS about intruders. This startles Joker--how did it notice them?--but as other Persona Users appear on the grounds, it becomes apparent they're not alone. That suits them just fine. They share a decisive nod with Queen, then leap down and stride into the firelight as vines erupt from the earth. They smirk at Umie, clearly having the time of her life, and draw their dagger from the ether.
As Pyro Jacks flee the carnage of vines erupting from the earth, Joker grins again at the Gourd Lord as it demands they all bow to their new ki-hee-ng. "Make me," they taunt, making the come-get-some gesture as they tap their dagger on their shoulder.
In fairness: those lightning-speed vine whips are an excellent answer to a taunt like that. Joker barely manages to leap out of the way in time to avoid getting pulverized by the SMASH of a fibrous vine, and sharp debris batters their coat as they land. They shoot a look towards Queen, but when they see she's getting targeted by fireballs, they relax; she can handle those just fine.
"Let's settle a touch of this frenzy first," they call to her, raising a gloved hand to their now-blazing mask as they summon Arsène. Arsène spreads their clawed fingers as magic whorls around the Gourd Lord to slow the movement of its vines. "Queen, does it have any weaknesses besides the obvious?" Or, at least, what they assume is the obvious, given all the Pyro Jacks around.
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Sukunda on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit! AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 30 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Crushing Drop. AS: Block Neutral! Multiboss takes 26 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blastbrand. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 13 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blastbrand. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 30 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Crushing Drop. AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like the first from ren must be responded to with +take. AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Sukunda. AS: Spd_Dn (Avoid Penalized!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
October might be her least favorite month overall, but the holiday at the end of the month continues to be the one bright spot she sees in it.
At first glance, Tamaki doesn't seem to be dressed in anything too far off from her usual business attire that one may be forgiven for initially thinking she's not in costume. Her outfit's color choices are different, however, and she's opted for a bright blue blazer and slacks paired with a white dress shirt. Complementing this look are the brown newsboy cap on top of her head with a notepad tucked into its band, her tie with a red base overlaid by yellow dots, a pair of large and floppy black shoes, and a toy gun with a boxing glove attached to the chamber.
News of the Demons coming 'round to revel near the Gourd Lord no doubt reached the Kuzunoha Detective Agency's ears, and she's here to investigate the matter. Conveniently, Rengedai also happens to be the nexus for one of her other major cases. Upon spotting the gathering of dancing Pyro Jacks, she cranes her head forward in keen interest and retrieves her notepad from her hat and begins to jot down notes. She replies to both of Hyousuke's questions with an enthusiastic, "Oh, yes! Fascinating stuff, isn't it?"
She remains so entranced by the sight that when the lord's voice booms across the area, she fails to realize the gravity of the situation and keeps writing down her observations. Tsurugi's appearance -- of all people -- is what jolts her to her senses, and she just barely has the presence of mind to step aside from the fireball hurtling her way. Unfortunately, her notepad doesn't survive unscathed, and she spends a few moments in wide-eyed panic while she stomps out its now-singed pages.
Tamaki brandishes her weapon in a show of defiance and threatens the Gourd Lord with a proclamation: "You tyrannical tindora! Mark my words, we'll cut this gourd-ian knot of a problem down to size!" Despite her bravado, she blanches when she realizes that she doesn't hold her sabre in her hand and instead wields her comically useless toy gun, a weapon wholly unsuited for her sharp pun.
She opts for plan B and invokes the name of "Arianrhod!" to appear and chant a spell of her own, surrounding the Gourd Lord with a series of sound-dampening symbols and glyphs of some unknown arcane language. "Try to keep it down or you'll get a noise complaint. You'll wake the neighbors at this rate."
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Almighty skill Forbidding Mafui on Multiboss! AS: Tamaki Uchida takes 45 damage from Stress! AS: Ruin: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit! AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
A farmer's market during the 'Dark Hour'. How dreadfully absurd.
The self proclaimed "Greater Witch of Sumaru" watches the festivities from a distance, taking a long pull from their Kiseru. The herbal floral scent of incense floated up from their lips as they smirked at the Pryo Jack dancing around. They always liked the Jacks...so perpetually joyous. Exactly as this body felt. Haruka sees one near them and just punts it with a booted foot. They weren't that cute.
Haruka moves from their cover, swaying their hips as they walk into the farmer's market just as the others do.
They were dressed in a iridescent kimono with almost vibrantly glowly sigils over the fabric. The kimono is pulled to their bare shoulders, exposing some cleavage. The "woman" appears to be more than amused by the giant Gourd Lord, smirking from under bangs of purple hair. Their face is of soft beauty, save for that wicked smile. Haruka moves from the flames, avoiding them effortlessly.
"I'm afraid you cute little ritual is going to go kaput. DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU COULD OUT MATCH ME YOU LITTLE SHITS? EEEEEEEH? HEHEHIYAHAHEHE"
The laugh is wild. One without grace. unhinged.
"Persona."
A cast iron cauldron fades into existence, encircled by three crone like figures. Within the bowl, a green sludge bubbles rhythmically. From it's center, a sphere of darkness rises and races to extinguish the Pumpkin's fire.
Haruka cackles again, putting a hand over their mouth as they belt out that laugh.
AS: Persona! Haruka Konno has used the Dark skill Eiha on Multiboss! AS: Pressure: Haruka Konno gains 1 Limit! AS: Haruka Konno regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Haruka Konno's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
It's not yet Halloween! It's the night before. Her costume is ready back at the Dormitory, and she'd be putting the finishing touches upon it right now...
... if she weren't in Sumaru City tonight, checking out this Rumor.
"Why a Farmer's Market? I look like a huge weirdo being here right now with my bow at this hour." She mutters, before asiding, "Well if I bring back some fresh produce back tonight... I bet everyone would be grateful."
It's a tight schedule. The Dark Hour at Midnight, the last Train shortly before it ends, that's the plan... but things rarely work out as planned.
This is evidenced by the moment when she spots a familiar guy- out with a certain girl. Her eyes grow wide, then she resists the urge to say something here and now, instead ducking behind a corner and... avoiding them for the rest of the night.
"... Glad I didn't invite Minako-chan here tonight." She murmurs to herself, as she waits, before letting herself browse again.
By midnight, her shopping bag is stuffed full of produce... when the hour shifts to its sickly green glow, the moon shining high as a beacon overhead, while the few people here have become coffins.
"Hmmmm... nothing... well, I can start walking back to the station-"
'Hee-ho!
'Hee-ho!'
Taking a few steps back in alarm, she hears Hyousuke in the distance, and slowly puts down her bags, grabbing her Evoker out of it, and taking her bow out of her Yumibukuro on her back.
Then she moves on ahead quickly, into the night, stopping a distance away, "Uhhh yeah, that sure looks like a whole horde of them."
Nope. I'm not telling anyone back at the Dorm.
The first words out of the Chairman's lips would be 'A Hee-Horde, if you will?'
It's then she notices him inching closer, "Hey maybe don't get too-"
A tremor, shouts, and a gasp from her, as the voice called out 'INTRUDERS'. "Maybe we should run for it!?" There isn't time though, as it attacks, vines lashing for Yukari, as it strikes one of her legs painfully, sending her sprawling with a yelp, as it wraps around her foot. "Ow-! Hey leggo!"
Placing her Evoker to her head, she pulls the trigger as Io appears, a hand raising to summon a wide area wave of wind to blast away the foliage as she gets herself back up.
"What kind of name is the GOURD LORD? How do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you're calling yourself that!"
'cut this gourd-ian knot of a problem down to size'
Pause.
"I'm never inviting her back to the dorm." She vows to herself with a sigh, in this moment.
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Magaru on Multiboss! AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended. AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Tamaki Uchida's Forbidding Mafui. AS: Bomb (Attacker takes damage on damaging attacks!), Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!), and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 28 Dark damage from Haruka Konno's Eiha. AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 85 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Magaru. AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
It's pretty rare actually, to see Kasumi Yoshizawa out so late. Last time she was in Sumeru, she heard about some rumours about a "Pumpking" hanging around... Or was it a Great Gourd? In any case, Kasumi is hanging around some corner of the harvest festival location. As the Dark Hour sets in, her regular outfit shimmers in exchange for the black mask, leotard, bolero coat, and thigh high boots of "Belle".
"Huh? ...Awhhh! They're so cute!" Belle says of the Pyro Jacks flying around, hee and hoo-ing too and froth. As she watches the dance, she ties her hair into a ponytail with a ribbon, as is customary.
What isn't as cute, is the sovereign Jack that cracks it's vines like whips. "Oh no! He's gonna destroy all of the decorations... I have to stop him!" A beat, as she notices the gathered group of Persona Users. "We have to stop him!"
Some vines wrap around Kasumi's ankles and trip her, to which she slashes with her rapier. For a gymnast, even the slightest amount of weight can be disastrous. She'll have to be careful!
"Sorry, I won't bow to a tyrant of a pumpkin!" Belle calls. "I'd say it's time for a Revolution! Cendrillon!" She tears her mask off, as a red light envelops herself and (some) of her allies!
AS: Persona! Kasumi Yoshizawa has used the Almighty skill Revolution on Ren Amamiya, Makoto Niijima, and Kasumi Yoshizawa! AS: Kasumi Yoshizawa's turn has ended. AS: Take! Kasumi Yoshizawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Revolution. AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Queen would also not normally be in Sumaru during the dark hour, but that's because she's very strict about her bedtime routine and being on time and getting enough sleep.
Some of us don't need a magic talking cat to get them to sleep, Joker.
But the reasons for her presence have been explained above, and even if she is a little not keen on the Halloween festivities for reasons, the markets were well lit (and she may have been spending a lot of time on the date also explaining how to pick good produce and get a good deal even if she's not really a haggler) so it was fine.
Besides it's nice to spend time with her datemate, even if nothing as electric as what has happened at Crossroads has happened sinnce."
"...Okay, that thing's way too stupid looking to be intimidating." Queen murmurs, her scarf being blown behind her dramatically as the Gourd Lord emerges and declares it's reign. "Let's." She responds to Joker, preparing to intervene- only for it to notice them. "Guess we're going loud."
Queen leaps down after Joker, before the battlefield erupts and a gout of fireballs are sent straight towards her. At the second, though, she's more worried about the vines heading for Joker than the fireballs going for herself. Her tekko manifest from nowhere as she raises her arms in a cross guard, the flames washing over and past her with little impact on the Queen herself, even if the fire burns the ground behind her and sets fire to some nearby decorations. It'll be fine.
She casts a look to Joker who is able to avoid the worst of it, and gives her the orders. "Let's find out." Queen says, running the numbers on the Gourd Lord's likely weaknesses in that way she does. It's hard how to explain how the Shadow Factorization works- just that it does, and it's usually right.
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Revolution. AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Revolution. AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Almighty skill Shadow Factorization on Multiboss! AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended. AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Makoto Niijima's Shadow Factorization. AS: Makoto Niijima's Strength Scan! Multiboss resists Earth! AS: Makoto Niijima's Weakness Scan! Multiboss is weak against Water!
<Pose Tracker> Multiboss has posed.
One strike might not have been difficult for the Gourd Lord to block. Two would not have been either - it had enough limbs to spare for a war on two fronts. But a tandem attack from such a fearsome fencer? That was enough to leave even a towering tyrant like that reeling.
"THAT HEE-HURTS, HO!" It bellowed out, its tentacles flailing in indignation at the insult. "YOUR BLADE MUST BE BLUNTED! TAKE THIS, HO!" Another burst of flame erupted from its mouth, these ones dark and purple. There was no heat to them - curiously, they chilled instead, sapping the strength of those they hit against.
Umie's attack drew similar ire, even if she had not managed to chip away quite as much of the Gourd Lord's great and orange armour. Upon realising someone else had shorn away more of its shell, cracking and creaking echoed into the air, and it turned its eyes towards her. Its features narrowed and angled in anger that someone would dare to assault it.
"YOU HEE-HAVE NO RIGHT TO SWING FROM MY MAJESTIC VINES LIKE THAT, HO! I SENTENCE YOU TO EX-HEE-CUTION FOR YOUR INS-HO-LENCE, HO!" Umie was not targetted by that same curse that coursed from it. Instead, a large (and, notably, not sentient) pumpkin sprouted quickly from one of its engorged appendages, and it swung the thing down at her like a flail.
Shinobu's kick drew a flinch from the self-proclaimed pumpking, and another cry of outright irritation. Its flames flared up inside its hollowed-out shell, and it turned its gourdly gaze upon her with a great rustling of vines and leafy extensions.
"I WILL NOT BE SOME INTERLOPER'S LUNCH, HO! YOUR DIGN-HEE-FIED ADDRESS WILL DO NOTHING TO STAY YOUR EX-HEE-CUTION, HO! A flurry of green struck at those same legs that had sunk into its shell, seeking to use their pointed ends to shred or bind - anything that would hinder another assault.
Ren's attack did not hurt - but that was not a fact that the Gourd Lord was in any way grateful for. Instead, its vines began to wilt a little, their writhing reduced to impotent wiggling as the curse spread through whatever substituted veins in such a creature, but that did nothing to quell the anger it felt at the thief.
"MY FLAMES WILL NEVER BE EXTINGU-HEE-SHED, HO! NOT BY YOU OR ANY OF THESE INTERLOPERS!" As if to prove its point, it pelted Ren with a barrage of bombs, heaving those freshly-sprouted pumpkin grenades from yet another vine to its side.
"YOUR SILLY LITTLE SWORDS AND GUNS WILL DO NOTHING AGAINST THIS GOURD'S GUARD, ho!" It shouted, as Tamaki approached with fury of her own. It didn't seem to notice that she'd pulled out something that didn't quite match her statement - that, or it didn't care. What it did seem to care about was the glut of glyphs that hovered around it, and it lashed out impotently at them, only to receive yet another bout of lethargy and languishing for its troubles. "WHAT... HEE-HAVE... YOU DONE TO ME, HO?!" It shouted, before another vine lurched at Tamaki - but not to strike. Instead, a multitude of tiny seedling sprouted from it... and suddenly shrieked like banshees in unison.
"WHAT TERRIBLE NOISE, HO! SILENCE YOUR WAILING IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PUMPKING OF THE PATCH, OR I SHALL SILENCE YOU MYSELF, HO!" Its flame would not be extinguished - though it did flicker as the full force of darkness collided with it. The Gourd Lord returned the gesture with a blast of its own, in the form of an enormous ball of fire shot from its mouth. Not just any ordinary fire, however - this was a pumpkin-shaped one. Truly, the strongest of magicks to match the witch with.
Yukari, perhaps, drew one of its most indignant reactions, and it let out a shriek of its own back at her. Nothing that carried the curse that it placed upon Tamaki, but angered all the same.
"IT IS THE TITLE OF THE TYRANT THAT WILL TRASH YOU ALL, HO! BE SILENT IF YOU CANNOT SUBMIT, HO!" It heaved a mass of pumpkins that had been crushed in the chaos at Yukari, but the mess it flung was no ordinary vegetable waste. They were dense, they were sticky, and they were heavy - enough to hinder movement, it seemed, if they landed.
"YOU DO NOT HEE-HAVE A CHOICE, HO!" It roared at Kasumi. It wasn't quite clear whether it was arrogant, angry, annoyed, or simply a combination of the three. What was clear was that it didn't appreciate her providing assistance to her allies, and in a fit of gourdly rage, gave her a gift from its own coffers - a barrage of anvil-heavy pumpkins, raining from the sky like some strange hail of food. Quite where it had magicked them from was unclear, as there was no vine they'd sprouted from, but the danger was there all the same.
"I DO NOT LOOK STUPID, HO!" Clearly, the reigning king of all that was squashy and gourdly had an inflated ego to match the size of its shell. Big as it was, it made an easy target too, and the repeated insults - and defiance - of all those around it seemed to have emphasised that. Unwilling to resort to impersonal magic for such an insult, the Gourd Lord summoned yet another vine and another bludgeoning pumpkin, and heaved that makeshift mace towards Makoto with a wailing cry of utter indignation.
A tendril clump slammed down upon Hyousuke, sending an ear-splitting ring shooting out into the night when Achilles appeared to meet it. The bronze titan groaned beneath the strain, his heavy armour and god-wrought shield bearing the brunt of a violent vegetablethe attack. But the moment he threw it off, Hyousuke commanded Achilles forward, thrusting his hand forward in a pointed declaration of war, before charging into the fray himself.
"That's it!" He shouted, calling out above the din of battle. "I'm squishing this squash!" Achilles roared with him, channelling power into his wielder, and towards those gathered with him.
AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Candle Curse on Remi Ryuuja! AS: Multiboss takes 90 damage from Panic! AS: Ruin: Multiboss gains 1 Limit! AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Squash Slam on Umie Akabane! AS: Multiboss takes 90 damage from Bomb! AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Pierce skill Gourd Gouge on Shinobu Shimizu! AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Vegetablast on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits! AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Dark skill Shrieking Seedlings on Tamaki Uchida! AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Pumpkannon on Haruka Konno! AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Squash Quash on Yukari Takeba! AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Pumpkrush on Kasumi Yoshizawa! AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Dark damage from Multiboss's Shrieking Seedlings. AS: Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!) added! AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 48 Earth damage from Multiboss's Squash Slam. AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Squash Slam on Makoto Niijima! AS: Multiboss: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! AS: Multiboss's turn has ended. AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 29 Pierce damage from Multiboss's Gourd Gouge. AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Fire damage from Multiboss's Vegetablast. AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added! AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Earth damage from Multiboss's Squash Quash. AS: Crt_Dn (Critical down!) added! AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Fire damage from Multiboss's Vegetablast. AS: Take! Remi Ryuuja takes 0 Fire damage from Multiboss's Candle Curse. Weak! AS: Atk_Dn (Damage down!) added! AS: Avoid Best! Haruka Konno takes 62 Fire damage from Multiboss's Pumpkannon. Weak! AS: Avoid Best! Makoto Niijima takes 20 Earth damage from Multiboss's Squash Slam. Critical Hit! AS: Remi Ryuuja spends Limit on Help Up! Panic removed from Tamaki Uchida! AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Remi Ryuuja can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Yukari's here too... Joker's smirk fades for just a moment when they notice her. Awkward. Less awkward that she won't know who they are in this guise, thankfully. Still, seeing their ex-girlfriend's best friend, who originally approached them out of concern for her friend's feelings, is not what they wanted out of a thrilling midnight Pumpking battle. So it goes. Should Yukari glance their way, they give her a nod of acknowledgement, along with Shinobu, whose mocking hail to the Pumpkin King prompts a sharp-toothed snicker from the Phantom Thief.
They're not the only incoming person here they know, of course--though only some of them they know as Joker. Such AS: "Belle! Fancy running into you here," Joker says, crooking a smile her way. As Cendrillon's empowering magic washes over them, they add in that dramatic way they do as Joker in mixed company, "Many thanks for your assistance!"
Queen, too, follows up by scanning the great Demon Pumpkin. The Gourd Lord, however, is more concerned with her insult from earlier. It really does look stupid--not like something to be afraid of. Of course, looking silly doesn't mean it's not a threat--but the fact that it gets mad is what gets Joker's attention.
"Oh...? How can you know you don't look stupid?" Joker taunts the Gourd Lord. "Here--allow yourself time to reflect!"
As the Gourd Lord launches those pumpkin grenades, Joker once again summons Arsène. However, rather than calling up a plume of darkness, the Great Thief snaps up a pair of Skill Cards as if dealing a game. Though the grenades explode at their feet, spreading noxious smoke that makes Joker stagger back a step and Arsène wilt a bit themself, they rally and raise a hand to flick around one of those Skill Cards with a snap of their claws: Bufu.
A block of ice materializes in midair before the massive squash demon. It lingers in the air just long enough to reflect the image of the Gourd Lord back at it before HURTLING down towards it. Frost has come early this autumn!
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Water skill Bufu on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit! AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended. AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Makoto Niijima can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Kasumi Yoshizawa can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Shinobu recognizes Tsurugi--how could she fail to, after all the times they've crossed paths--and her shout of 'You!' is met with a simple nod from Remi. "Me."
Is that really all the explanation she's going to offer??
It's hard to track her eyeline behind that fencing mask, but her head does turn in Tamaki's direction to observe her, as well. What is she thinking? Who knows.
The Gourd Lord demands her blade be blunted. Tsurugi remains calm, staring the monster down. "Better wretches than you have tried and failed." But dark, chilling flames come, and Tsurugi raises her blade but is engulfed, as she feels the strength sapping from her. With a burst of wind she darts back, out of its range.
And she lands, by chance, right next to Tamaki, who has been afflicted by shrieking seedlings. "Focus," she says sharply. "Or you forfeit your survival."
Look, she's trying to help. She never promised to be gentle.
She gestures with her free hand and shouts, "Go, swift winds! Masukukaja!" Winds erupt from the feet of herself, Shonibu, Tamaki, and Umie, surging up and enveloping them to quicken their movements.
Then she charges back into the fray, and with a shout she lunges, stabbing her blade right for the Gourd Lord's body!
AS: Persona! Remi Ryuuja has used the Almighty skill Masukukaja on Remi Ryuuja, Umie Akabane, Shinobu Shimizu, and Tamaki Uchida! AS: Take! Remi Ryuuja takes 0 Almighty damage from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! AS: Weapon! Remi Ryuuja has used the Slash skill Balestra on Multiboss! 2 Hits! AS: Aggression: Remi Ryuuja gains 1 Limit! AS: Remi Ryuuja's turn has ended. AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Even with that momentum, the sharpened blade of Umie's kyoketsu shoge isn't able to carve out a piece. Magic it is, then!
The Squash King, affronted by Umie's lack of proper respect as she tries to carve into him (her? it? they?) bellows his disapproval as Umie tries to tug loose the hoop of her weapon from where it's still looped. Before (well, more like, on top of??) the glorious gorgeous gourd of gourds, Umie has one reply, as she points a pink-orange nail towards the sky, summoning Badb.
"No."
Spotting Joker and Queen out of the corner of one eye, Umie cranes her head back at an angle to share a friendly smirk back, as well as a cheeky wiggle of her fingers.
However, she's currently on top of a GIANT GODDAMN GOURD LORD, so whatever points she was trying to score for seeming cool, in what she considers *her element*--
It is the will of the universe that Umie Akabane cannot have nice things. "URK-!"
FLOP goes the short blonde, pumpkin'ed back down to the earth. ".... Ugh..."
'Mark my words, we'll cut this gourd-ian knot of a problem down to size!' Yukari isn't the only one that's noticed Tamaki.
"Uchida-san." Umie gets up, wiping pumpkin goop off her face, and shaking it off her fingers. Ghhh, she has a chipped nail from when she landed...
She looks up, as Remi's energy revitalizes her joints. "Don't you usually need a permit for puns that bad?"
AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 97 Water damage from Ren Amamiya's Bufu. Weak! AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added! Haze removed! Explosion! 75 damage! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja. AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 63 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Balestra. Critical Hit! AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 12 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Balestra. AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit! AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Bad Moon Rising on Multiboss! AS: Umie Akabane takes 45 damage from Stress! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended. AS: Avoid Best! Kasumi Yoshizawa takes 41 Earth damage from Multiboss's Pumpkrush.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu lands solidly - and as she leaps back, her staff flashes out to sweep away the attacking vines. One of them catches her in the leg, though - and the bristly barricade makes it difficult for her to approach directly. She'll have to find a different angle.
"Just as well, I guess. I hear the big ones have awful taste." Shinobu replies with a shrug and a pointed smirk. "If that's out of the question, I'll just have to make like a rock band and get to smashing."
There's a lot of familiar faces here, it turns out - and some she doesn't know, even. It looks like this rumor drew a lot of attention...
"Pretty wild night this is turning out to be, huh?" Shinobu comments to the gathered, offering a casual wave. Joker nods her way, and Shinobu nods back.
"Nice seein' you." She greets them and Queen - but her attention quickly turns back to the Gourd Lord.
Shinobu's shout is met with a 'Me', and she glowers back. ...Stay on focus, Shinobu. She has to remind herself further when Tsurugi wraps her in speed-enhancing winds.
"...Thanks." She replies with a grimace, despite herself. As much as getting her from her annoys her, she can't deny that it's going to really come in handy. She begins to move, dodging to the side. She doesn't go in directly herself, though. Instead -
"Lachesis!" Shinobu calls out. "Knock him down a peg."
Behind her, a shadowy woman in a hooded cloak appears, bearing a long measuring rod. She lunges forward, thrusting with the weapon. It's wreathed in weakening energy, draining the Gourd Lord's strength should it make contact.
"And a little extra!" Shinobu adds. Lachesis pulls a hand back and pushes it forward, following her attack up with a blast of light.
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Exploit! Shinobu Shimizu can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Swordbreaker on Multiboss! AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Kouha on Multiboss! AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended. AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile. AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 113 damage! AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Bad Moon Rising. AS: Omen (Damage in 2 rounds!) and Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 113 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
The Gourd lashes out in anger with a barrage of heavy pumpkins. Belle starts running, attempting to kite the hail of pumpkins, as they smash onto her coat's tassels and the vines still tangling her legs.
"Agh! What are these pumpkins filled with, iron?!" She whines as she keeps getting caught on them.
Once Belle's safe... "Joker!" Kasumi waves her free hand at her Senpai's way. "I'd have to say the same! The Rumour sounded so exciting, I had to see what was going on!" She says with a laugh. "We'll have to link up after this? Unless..." Her eyes flick over to Queen's figure, and she masks a giggle poorly. "Another time. First, a dance!"
Now that she's in a decent spot... Kasumi spins, holding her mask. "There's always a choice! I'll shine a light on that fact, now! Persona!" She sends several light missiles screaming towards the Pumpking!
AS: Persona! Kasumi Yoshizawa has used the Light skill Holy Light on Multiboss! 3 Hits! AS: Persona! Kasumi Yoshizawa has used the Light skill Nirvana on Multiboss! 3 Hits! AS: Kasumi Yoshizawa: Bind removed! AS: Kasumi Yoshizawa's turn has ended. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 115 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Swordbreaker. Critical Hit! AS: Atk_Dn (Damage down!) added! AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker. AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker. AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker. AS: Block Neutral! Multiboss takes 54 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Nirvana. Critical Hit! AS: You can only react to three attacks at a time. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 39 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Kouha. AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added! Bind removed! Explosion! 75 damage! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 36 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Holy Light. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 36 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Holy Light.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Oh no, if it meant getting barred from the SEES dorms by Yukari, Tamaki might have held off from her earlier joke ... might have. Sometimes you just think of something too good, though.
Tamaki snickers confidently as the silencing spell takes hold on the Gourd Lord, only to be met with the seedling that sidles up next to her. Her smug grin starts to fade as she regards it first with curiosity, then horror as it begins to shriek right in her ears. Soon, she lends her own voice to form a chorus with it as she yells her own head off.
Tsurugi's admonishment quiets her for a moment as she blinks in her direction ... then she realizes just who's telling her to focus, and she resumes her shouting at an even higher pitch than before. Her instructions do at least seem to have snapped her out of her panic-stricken state, and she points her punching-glove gun at the seedling and fires to hopefully shut it up again for a while.
Tamaki wipes the sweat from her brow in relief. "Thanks. One good turn deserves another. We'll cover you." True to her word, despite their differences in other circumstances, Tamaki and Arianrhod do what they can on either side of Tsurugi to keep the path clear for her advance. Shortly after Tsurugi's blade connects, Tamaki follows up by directing Arianrhod to attack with "Hama!" as light erupts from the ground underneath the Gourd Lord, then paper seals manifest in midair and converge on it, intent on enervating it further.
Umie's doubt that Tamaki is sufficiently licensed to administer pun-ishment garners a wry smile. She spins her toy gun on a finger and gestures to it while claiming, "Check it, I got my permit right here." And yet, when she finishes speaking, the gun unintentionally misfires to her side, causing her to scramble and retract it back with an embarrassed look on her face.
AS: Block Neutral! Multiboss takes 25 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Holy Light. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 21 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Nirvana. AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Light skill Sealing Hama on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit! AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 56 Light damage from Tamaki Uchida's Sealing Hama. AS: Exhaust (Damage when using WeaponTandem!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Still- it didn't happen! And that's for the best. The two of them together might have created a pun singularity.
Joker gets a hesitant nod. She doesn't exactly approve of the Phantom Thieves and what they do per se, but she does like them in general- and them helping out here is just fine by her.
The Gourd Lord did not like that at all! Yukari as she's fleeing back instead gets caught in a sticky mess of heavy vegetable waste, "Ew-Eugh-!"
Great, now she's going back on the train tonight smelling like she dove into a dumpster.
"The Tyrant? ... Of the Farmer's Market? Uhhh sure if you want to compete with all the Middle-Aged Aunties."
She places the Evoker again to her head, and pulls the trigger, "Io!" A blue inferno rages out of her, as she puts away her Evoker to draw her bow, and looses two arrows, one-two.
As she does so, the admittedly now sticky arrows suddenly are infused with wind energy- abruptly speeding up and blasting the Gourd Lord with the shredding power of the winds.
Then Io raises a hand and- "Alright everyone. Let's get it together!" As healing energy flows, breeze-like through the area, wafting through Tamaki, Umie, Shinobu and herself, "I'm not going home tonight to tell everyone I got beaten by an oversized vegetable!"
That would be mortifying to an extreme.
AS: Yukari Takeba spends Limit on Exploit! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Tandem! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Stinging Torment on Multiboss! 2 Hits! AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Umie Akabane, Yukari Takeba, Tamaki Uchida, and Shinobu Shimizu! AS: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit! AS: Yukari Takeba: Bind removed! AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended. AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 83 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 83 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
It's something of a surprise to find that Belle is here as well, and when Cendrillon's revolution washes over, it's welcome but unexpected. Still- she's worked with her before and she's good enough- even if she's still learning the ropes. "Thanks!" She calls out to their sometimes companion- only for Belle to maybe imply some things and Queen to... well it's hard to tell if she's blushing under that mask but the Dark Hour is well lit for once... "Belle! Focus on the pumpkin, please!?" ...Weirdly, it doesn't sound like her usual order.
Queen does not notice the person who makes Joker uncomfortable, but she can maybe put some together. The red armband Persona users, and she worked with that one before. Maybe she does know Minako, but that's not on the front of Queen's mind.
Also, Umie waves, and is now really the time?? It's fine. Probably.
Joker, meanwhile, continues to be a dashing, athletic and stylish Phantom Thief and good lord is she hot when she's in her element. Not that now is the time for that, either!
The king of gourds, however, swings down on Makoto with a mace, and she dives out of the way meaning that rather than copping most of the attack herself, she just catches shrapnel chunks from the massive dent in the ground made by said mace.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone would want to use a punpkin with skin as thin as yours," Queen responds, her voice cool and harsh. "You're too underripe to even be court jester." Still, there's a particularly sadistic griun on Makoto's face as she gets ready to attack. "Let's just skip to burning the waste, shall we? Johanna!" The personabike rushes in as Makoto snaps her fingers, and Queen leaps into the air to backflip and land on her. "Frei!" She calls, revving the Persona's engines, and causing a plume of green flame to burst from her exhaust. She starts riding, and the flame flows from the exhaust and into the air, to descend upon the dreaded Pumpking. As it does so, Queen circles the battle field, Johanna speeding between stalls, as she builds up speed and when she turns, it's just past Yukari as she comments about compete with aunties. "...Said like a woman who's never seen an Obatarian in action on sale day..." She mutters, but, you know, it's funnier when it's heard. Right now, though, she's going full speed ahead again to smash INTO the Gourd Lord with Johanna's full mass and acceleration, and no regard for who may get splattered by pumpkin guts. (Probably not though it's still going strong.)
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Frei on Multiboss! AS: Tandem! Makoto Niijima has used the Strike skill Vajra Strike on Multiboss! AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended. AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 87 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 36 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Stinging Torment. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Multiboss takes 63 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Stinging Torment. Critical Hit! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 130 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Frei. Critical Hit! AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added! AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 59 Strike damage from Makoto Niijima's Vajra Strike.
<Pose Tracker> Multiboss has posed.
Hyousuke did not immediately respond to Shinobu or Tamaki, though that was only because he'd been too focussed on trying to solve the mystery of the gathered gourdlings. Yukari's warning had gone similarly unaddressed, though as he dodged a hail of pumpkins, he began to wonder if perhaps he should have listened a little harder.
"I'm supposed to find this thing cute?!" He shouted, hunkering down behind Achilles to shield from a gout of flame. "It looks like a bad carving that's been left out past November!"
Ren's assessment of where - and how - to strike was right on the money. Unfocussed by having its ego attacked, the Gourd Lord turned around with startling speed for its size, and opened its maw to let out some booming retort about how it only saw the visage of a king. Only then did it realise its mistake.
"YOU HEE-THEN, HO! I SHALL HEE-HAVE YOUR HEA-" Its cry was cut off, and the ice smothered the flames within its mouth, dimming them enough to be noticed. The Gourd Lord, deprived of flame for a moment, resorted to using blunt force against them, in the form of a massive pumpkin swung sidewards at Ren like a mace.
So unbalanced was it that it had no chance to block Remi's rapier with any real relish. Carved like the decorations placed upon so many stalls around them, it shrieked its displeasure, and looked down at her with angered eyes.
"I AM NO WRETCH, HO! THIS IS MY COURT, AND YOU WILL SHOW ME THE PROPER HEE-SPECT, HO!" Her blade was answered with a smattering of squashes to slow her assault - sticky and heavy things, hurled at her with righteous fury.
Umie's assault drew no shortage of ire from the puffed-up pumpkin, though any responses - clever or not - were cut off by the influx of ailments taking it over. The pain must have been immense, for so was the shriek it let out, furiously flickering the flames Ren had dampened moments before.
"YOU FOUL FIEND! YOU RECKLESS WRETCH! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, HO!" It didn't strike her - that was the job of the massed mess of pumpkin matter around her. It rotted in seconds, and burst into rancid slime and shards of shell, the noxious gases tainting the air in moments.
"YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME-HEE, HO!" The Gourd Lord called, despite the fact that Shinobu had very much done did it to it. "MY STRENGTH WILL NOT FAIL! I AM-" Whatever it might have proclaimed to be, it was very definitely cut off by another blast of light battering into its body, sending it skittering back on viny legs. For her trouble, she received a bludgeoning hail of pumpkins, each one large as head and heavy enough to crater the dirt beneath.
Shinobu's missile was not the only one the Gourd Lord had to contend with. A massed salvo of light surged into the sovereign's squashy body, sending it shrieking and slamming its vines in a flailing fury.
"YOUR CHOICE IS TO BOW OR DIE, HO! AND YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO FORF-HEE-T YOUR LIFE!" The pumpking manifested its rage in a blast of energy, the wave purple and dark as night, looking more like a gout of focussed flame than a simple beam.
When Tamaki became the third person to unleash a light-aligned attack upon the Gourd Lord, its anger only surged even further, even mixing with confusion a little.
"DO YOU PEASANT SEE-HEE-K TO BLIND ME WITH THESE LIGHTS?! MY FLAMES ARE THE FIERCEST, HO! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT SPARKS COMPARED TO THE CANDLES OF THE KING, HO!" As if to prove its point, she was targetted by that fierce fire. Fire that burnt hot as hell, just as bright... and looked distinctly like a squash set ablaze.
"FIRST THIS F-HEE-BLE MARKET, THEN ALL THE WORLD, HO! ME AND MY MINIONS WILL BE UNSTOP-HEE-BLE!" The (self-proclaimed) most powerful pumpkin in all the realm declared, letting pride and ambition overtake anger for a moment. This was swiftly rectified by a couple of arrows punching through into the tender flesh inside, left unshielded by flame thanks to Ren's attack. Its speech was cut off, replaced instead by it slamming its 'hands' against the ground a child. "OW! THAT ST-HEE-NGS, HO! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT A THOUSAND TIMES OVER!" 'A thousand times over' meaning that she was to be targetted by yet another salvo of pumpkins... though these ones were not simply squishy squashes to quash her dodges, but a heavy hail of hardened shells.
Makoto seemed to have the same idea as Ren, and reaped the same reward as well. An angry, unfocussed, and flailing mass of fibre, screeching near-incoherently about its reign of terror. Or, rather, one it hoped to instil. So incensed was it that it could do little to block Makoto's onslaught, but the shock managed to knock some sense into it. When it finally regained some measure of control over itself, the Gourd Lord pointed a thick and powerful array of vines towards her, seeking to bind both bike and rider.
"TO THE DUNGEONS WITH YOU, HO! NO MORE WILL YOU RIDE AROUND AND WREAK HAVOC DURING MY REIGN, HO!"
AS: You now have a trigger set for a atk_dn effect! AS: Multiboss has set a trigger! AS: Ren Amamiya sets off Multiboss's trigger! atk_dn added! AS: You now have a trigger set for a rage effect! AS: Multiboss has set a trigger! AS: Makoto Niijima sets off Multiboss's trigger! rage added! Exhaust removed! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Squash Slam on Ren Amamiya! AS: Multiboss takes 180 damage from Bomb and Panic! AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Squash Quash on Remi Ryuuja! AS: Ruin: Multiboss gains 1 Limit! AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Festering Fumes on Umie Akabane! AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 83 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media. AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Pumpkrush on Shinobu Shimizu! AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Earth damage from Multiboss's Festering Fumes. AS: Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! AS: Take! Remi Ryuuja takes 0 Earth damage from Multiboss's Squash Quash. AS: Crt_Dn (Critical down!) added! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Dark skill Pumpkurse on Kasumi Yoshizawa! AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 20 Earth damage from Multiboss's Pumpkrush. AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Fire skill Pumpkannon on Tamaki Uchida! AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Avoid Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 75 Fire damage from Multiboss's Pumpkannon. AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Earth skill Pumpkrush on Yukari Takeba! AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions! AS: Persona! Multiboss has used the Strike skill Binding Vines on Makoto Niijima! AS: Multiboss: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Blast and Haze removed! AS: Multiboss's turn has ended. AS: Avoid Worst! Kasumi Yoshizawa takes 142 Dark damage from Multiboss's Pumpkurse. Weak! AS: Avoid Neutral! Ren Amamiya takes 31 Earth damage from Multiboss's Squash Slam. AS: Avoid Neutral! Yukari Takeba takes 63 Earth damage from Multiboss's Pumpkrush. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Best! Makoto Niijima takes 9 Strike damage from Multiboss's Binding Vines. AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"Hehe! On it, Queen!" Kasumi giggles, proud of her teasing.
Belle's denial of the King's reign seems to make him deeply upset. It's rage targets Kasumi's weakness, the dark enveloping the bright-eyed girl! It hurts, and interrupts her plan to leap onto the buildings. Maybe next turn...
"Hmph! It's your life that's for-hee-it!" She lets out a cough. That speaking quirk really is catchy... "A-anyways! Hee-sona!" It's too late to lampshade it, as light augments her blade. She dives in, striking at the vines with her sharp rapier.
AS: Tandem! Kasumi Yoshizawa has used the Light skill Sacred Wrath on Multiboss! 3 Hits! AS: Aggression: Kasumi Yoshizawa gains 1 Limit! AS: Kasumi Yoshizawa's turn has ended. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 101 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Sacred Wrath. Critical Hit! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 75 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Sacred Wrath. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 23 Light damage from Kasumi Yoshizawa's Sacred Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"That's exactly what we came here hoping for," Joker quips back to Shinobu. "This is a night to be wild!"
Umie's knocked down from the top of the Pumpking, and Joker snaps a concerned look her way--but if she's doing well enough to groan at Tamaki's rancid puns, she's well enough to handle herself against that rancid pumpkin mass. Still, they keep her in a corner of their eye, just in case.
Belle waves at them, and they smirk her way. The Rumor is exactly why they and Queen are here, as they told Shinobu--but when Belle realizes what else they're here for after sliding a look Queen's way... She might be embarrassed, but Joker pushes through their own to give her a courteous bow. "Just so!"
Queen, for her part, relentlessly bullies the Pumpking even more. Joker laughs as they grin her way. "There's not even a seed of dignity in there--to say nothing of guts!"
The Gourd Lord, deprived of flame for a moment, resorted to using blunt force against them, in the form of a massive pumpkin swung sidewards at Ren like a mace. This cuts their taunting short by forcing them to backflip out of the direct path, lest they get squashed--but it's exhausting to avoid such a massive, powerful strike, and they need a moment to catch their breath afterwards.
"Hmph... All this rampaging about--you're nothing more than a dictator." They stand up tall with a flourish of their red-gloved hands, one towards the Gourd Lord, one over their burning mask. "In other words, small potatoes!!"
Tamaki, what have you set off...
In a blue blaze, Arsène arises over them, and in their own hands is a visage of their cane. An orb of roiling darkness manifests before them, and they CRACK that cane into it like a pool cue. The orb smacks off various nearby buildings, banking off of them and concentrating the darkness into a hard ball in order to attempt to strike the Demon from behind.
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Strike skill Bank Shot on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit! AS: Ren Amamiya: Blast removed! AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended. AS: Block Neutral! Multiboss takes 71 Strike damage from Ren Amamiya's Bank Shot.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Shinobu's thanks is met with a sharp nod. "Of course." Wait, that makes it sound like her help was obvious. Is it obvious?
... Considering the last time they met, not at all. But Tsurugi knows that enabling the others increases her own odds of success.
Tsurugi is seemingly unphased when Tamaki starts screaming louder at her presence. But she's not panicked anymore, so Tsurugi will accept that. When Tamaki sais they'll cover her, she gives a short nod. "Acknowledged."
When the Gourd Lord flings pumpkins she attacks to slash at them--but they only break apart and leave her covered in sticky residue that dampen her movement and precision. "... Disgusting." She looks from her arm back to the pumpkin. "Beware the guillotine, tyrant."
She's French. They know how to deal with unruly kings.
"Persona," she invokes, flatly.
La Maupin surges forward, wordlessly lashing out in sharp, jagged motions at the Gourd Lord with that dull, chipped blade. And a moment later as they retreat, Remi surges in, attacking with wide, sweeping arcs to try and catch the gourd off-guard.
AS: Remi Ryuuja spends Limit on Exploit! Remi Ryuuja can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Remi Ryuuja has used the Slash skill Blade of Fury on Multiboss! 3 Hits! AS: Weapon! Remi Ryuuja has used the Slash skill Moulinet on Multiboss! 2 Hits! AS: Aggression: Remi Ryuuja gains 1 Limit! AS: Remi Ryuuja's turn has ended. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 59 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blade of Fury. AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 13 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blade of Fury. Critical Hit! AS: Block Best! Multiboss takes 13 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Blade of Fury. Critical Hit! AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker. AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 68 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Moulinet. Critical Hit! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 68 Slash damage from Remi Ryuuja's Moulinet. Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Forget a pun singularity; Ren's contribution has started a daisy chain in this garden. Tamaki genuinely seems to be tickled at the 'small potatoes' quip and claps her hands with a cackle. "Banter adds some spice to an encounter like this, doesn't it?"
'Peasant.' Tamaki's eyebrow twitches in irritation at the Gourd Lord's use of the word. The taunt works on her far too well, and she twists around on her heel to change course and run through the squash-shaped flames headlong. For the briefest of moments, she wildly glares back at the Gourd Lord and offers a cold reply, "Oh, but I've seen your kind rise and fall time and time again: if you burn so bright, then you're bound to burn out sooner rather than later."
... then the heat still lingering on her clothes becomes too much to bear and she loses her coolheaded composure as she pats down the still-burning parts of her outfit. "Ow! Owowow hot -- "
With a cry of "Persona!", Tamaki directs Arianrhod to level her broadsword at the would-be pumpkin royalty and wrench it as if turning a key in a lock. One set of restrictions twists and warps into a contradictory group of forbidding decrees. Hostile energy emanates from three directions, like lines of attack from a bishop and rook where the only escape is cut off by a lowly pawn, of all things. "It's fitting that you claim to be a king, but heavy is the crown. Given the board state, consider this check."
"Your move."
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Almighty skill Threefold Tynghedau on Multiboss! AS: Tamaki Uchida takes 45 damage from Stress! AS: Ruin: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit! AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The Gourd King's objections seem to only encourage the two-bunned demon.
With a smile, Umie holds a hand to her ear. "No, please, keep going. Tell me more just how much you despise me."
Tamaki's twitch at being called a 'peasant' isn't missed. Umie knows where that's coming from.
Wrapping her kyoketsu shoge back onto her coat, Umie points to the towering vegetable with her free left hand.
"You don't know who I am, being new, but that's fine~"
Drawing back her hand, the blonde continues. "I know these streets like the back of my hand. The Dark Hour is *my* playground, and if you're here, you respect *me*."
Umie's exaggerating, just a touch.
"In other words, you're--"
Joker elegantly beats her to the setup and the pun drop. She snaps her fingers. "Damn it, beat me to it!"
Unfortunately, Umie, your timing clearly stinks. Keep up!
... However, something else is beginning to stink; Joker's initial concern may have been warranted after all, as Umie sways slightly as the pumpkin's poisoned purée begins to sink in. "..."
Nah, she's not going to let *that* show, if she can help it. The sweat on her forehead makes the paper maiche of her mask stick, but she can manage it.
It's fine~
"We'll all break that smug demeanor of yours before this night's through!" The smug be-jacketed konbini worker draws out Badb from her soul, willing a blast of exhaustion to the Gourd Lord's very soul.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Soul Break on Multiboss! AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit! AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 74 HP from Poison! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Joker's comment gets a grin from Shinobu.
"Well said. Let's cause some chaos." She replies with a nod.
A healing breezes flows through the area. The pain in her leg lessens - she feels like she can move normally again.
"Well, we can't have that." Shinobu agrees with Yukari.
Shinobu's thanks gets an 'of course' from Tsurugi.
"Your 'help' was a bit sharper last time." Shinobu points out. The last time they met, there was a fight. She still remembers that.
The Gourd Lord takes offense to her jabs, and Shinobu finds herself grinning again. Nothing like a good reaction to pick her mood back up.
Pumpkins fall from the sky. Shinobu leaps back and braces herself, trying to get out of range - and Tsurugi's speed-enhancing winds pick up, carrying out of the attacks central point of collision. It's only the debris from the aftermath that hits her, rather than the pumpkins themselves... Though it's still not entirely presence.
She frowns, just slightly, as she recognizes she's actually grateful for a moment.
"Lachesis!" Shinobu calls out once more. Her other self appears behind her once more - though rather than going straight to an attack, Lachesis balances the measuring rod and raises it up to the Gourd Lord, as if assessing him.
"
"I think someone left you out on the porch for too long. You're starting to go soft." Shinobu taunts. As she speaks, there's a subtle pulse from Lachesis. She doesn't think she can make him any angrier than he already is - though Shinobu will certainly keep trying - but that fury might make it difficult to realise what's happened until it's too late should the pulse take hold, which rapidly decreases physical might.
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Goading Break on Multiboss! AS: Shinobu Shimizu: Paralyze removed! AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended. AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Tamaki Uchida's Threefold Tynghedau. AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!), Pain (Attacker takes damage on healing and PL 0 attacks!), and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Bomb, Panic, and Sick removed! Explosion! 253 damage! AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break. AS: Exhaust (Damage when using WeaponTandem!) added! rage removed! Explosion! 85 damage! AS: Take! Multiboss takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Goading Break. AS: Phy_DN (Physical AttackDefense Down!) and Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added! Exhaust removed! Explosion! 75 damage! AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Shift! Makoto Niijima can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
You really should listen harder, Gourd Lord. Those middle-aged aunties will emotionally destroy you thrice over before you even know what's happening.
"Pretty sure you're doing this to yourself?" Yukari Takeba says when the Gourd Lord just starts complaining, "Let it be a life lesson for you- if you don't want to feel the pain, don't put anything sticky in a girl's hair."
Woe be unto countless elementary school boys who tested her on this one. "Definitely not." She tells Shinobu, "I'm not losing a fight with a produce aisle."
"'A night to be wild'-" Then Yukari gets it in relation to Joker and- "-Ugh, not you too. We got enough of that from the Joker Killer."
She's not certain what's worse, the puns or the attacks. Probably the attacks, but it's a close call on this one.
A Pumpkin tries to 'Krush' her- and she only avoids it because Io nudges her out of the way bodily, taking the hit herself. "... Close."
'Small Potatoes'-
Which Umie almost did herself.
That one causes an audible groan from Yukari. "Oh come on... this giant Hee-Hooligan's nonsense is enough torture as is."
Pause. The horror of what she just did settles in.
"... Now you've dragged me into it!"
Irritated, she puts the Evoker to her head again and pulls the trigger. This time, the Gourd Lord faces multiple concentrated bursts of hurricane force wind.
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Consecutive Garula on Multiboss! 2 Hits! AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Belle's joy in teasing Queen is already a problem, but then Joker taking the opportunity to bow to her only makes Queen blush more. "Not you too! If you want to try and sweep me off my feet, save it for once we're done fighting!" ...Wait. Shit. Did she. Say that?
It's fine. It's fine. No one can connect Makoto and Ren to Queen and Joker, right?? It's fine if the overdramatically phantom thieves flirt, right???
Somewhere, Morgana is probably is thinking he dodged a bullet tonight.
The vines shoot up to grab Johanna, and try and restrict her and Makoto both on landing. There's a small catch with that, though, and that's the fact that a) Johanna has an unknowable, magical amount of horsepower and b) can set herself alight with nuclear flames, which she does as Queen revs her engine. The vines do stick in her wheels, but they're unable to pin the motorbike persona down or do the ongoing damage such restriction would imply.
She does let out a looong sigh at Joker, Umie and Tamaki's antics. "...Are you all having fun?" She asks, flatly. "Also it's a pumpkin, not a potato..." She adds, very quietly.
Johanna's engines roar again, and Queen goes for broke past it, kicking up a cloud of dust towards the creature- and not just dust, apparently. Something comes off Johanna, a wave of weakening as she goes past the Gourd Lord.
"You know what, 'Your Majesty'?" Queen looks toward the creature, skidding to a halt. "Take it from me- you're not royalty material. The only 'Peasant' here is you."
She looks to Joker, then runs her gloved hand through her hair, skimming over her hairband- though she shoots a killer glare at Yukari for suggesting Joker is at all like the Joker Killer in the process, before looking straight at the Gourd Lord. "Let's bring this royal farce to an end. The Queen's judgment is..."
Queen smirks, reaching for her mask to tear it away and reveal those glowing yellow eyes and black void, punctuated by just a spray of blood.
"Death! Johanna, Full Throttle!" Once again, despite the vines in her wheels, Queen revs forward on a full out collision course for the Gourd Lord once again, her engines glowing green with nuclear flame, and leaving a trail of it of across the ground behind her straight through the center of the market. She lets out a roar, as that manic, bloodthirsty grin reaches her lips.
Now she understands why delinquents go smashing Jack-O-Lanterns on Halloween. It's thrilling- and if Queen has her way, explosive. Very explosive.
AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Shock Noise! Crt_Dn applied to Multiboss! AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Full Throttle on Multiboss! AS: Makoto Niijima: Crt_Up removed! AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 111 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Consecutive Garula. AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added! AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 111 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Consecutive Garula. AS: Block Worst! Multiboss takes 189 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Full Throttle. AS: Multiboss is unable to continue fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Multiboss has posed.
Hyousuke, unable to get close enough to score a solid hit with his fists, wrangled his shotgun from his back while Achilles took the brunt of the blows. It was what he was built for, but even so, the strain would have been clear to see if it was not for Hyousuke's mask. He only narrowly avoided a Persona break by diving away from a flurry of bombs, and retaliated by peppering his foe with a hail of lead.
A volley of vines veered into Kasumi, with the Gourd Lord intending to intercept her advance. But she was too quick, and it was too unfocussed. That gallery of green struck empty air, and before it could restrain her, she struck true into the writhing mass that acted as its limbs. Shouting in surprise as much as it did pain, the mad monarch fell to the floor in a tangled mass of mangled plant matter. It tried to stand again, but its efforts were hamstrung by being struck at what might very well have been its hamstrings.
"MY REIGN IS HEE-TERNAL, AND MY LIFE SHALL NEVER CEA-HEE-SE, HO!" It declared in response to Kasumi, and with one of the vines left intact, it hurled towards her a salvo of bursting, orange, bombs. Ones that failed to land - even the explosions weren't close enough to do much more than ruffle her hair.
It was hard to tell what the Gourd Lord was enraged by more. The damning deluge of ego-eviscerating insults directed at the dictator of the Sumaru Farmers' Market, or the fact that they had deigned to deliver them through a barrage of bad puns. It was a case of swings and roundabouts either way. Shaking its 'fists' in the air with impotent rage, the Gourd Lord screeched its hatred to the air, and swung wildly at its foe.
"YOU THINK ME A TINY TUBER, HO? I AM THE GOURD LORD! THE SULTAN OF SQUASH! THE EMP-HEE-ROR OF-" Again, its boastful bellowing was cut short by an attack - this time bludgeoning into its back. It staggered forwards, already unbalanced by Kasumi, now left teetering on its own limbs. But it was not defenceless, as the blast of dark energy from its gaping maw proved, directed at Ren instead of Kasumi this time. One that was easily avoided, especially from such a distance - though whether it was even aimed right, with its wielder currently subsumed by a fit of childish rage, was another matter.
With its limbs severed en masse, it had little to defend itself against Remi with. Squirming vines, hard as any tree trunk and just as thick, struck forward to try and intercept those sweeping cuts. But it had already been cut down to size once, and she had delivered another assortment of severing strikes before it had had a chance to reassemble itself.
"I AM THE ONLY HEE-DSMAN HERE, HO!" It shouted, even as it was clearly on the back foot (or vine, as it were). "AND YOURS SHALL BE ONE OF THE FIRST I TAKE, HO!" Parts of its shell came away in streaks and swathes as it took Remi's attacks, but it dealt a few of its own. It took shards of shattered pumpkin, still hard and jagged enough to cut, and hacked at Remi as though it was wielding orange axes in its grip. They were reckless, flailing, slices that were easily countered or dodged, and likely would not have left any lasting damage if they *did* connect.
Were the Gourd Lord in any state to study the expressions of those it professed to rule over, it might have noticed Tamaki's ire at being taunted in such a way. Unfortunately for it, it was incensed to the point where anything subtler than a brick to its face would have been lost, and so it only noticed when she spoke back at it.
"I WILL REIGN FOR-HEE-VER, AND ANYONE THAT DOESN'T HEE-COME MY SUBJECT WILL BE BURNT IN THE FIRES OF MY AMBITION, HO!" It retorted - only to find itself on the receiving end of edicts more powerful than its own orders. The physical pain was immense, of course. Its agonised shrieking stood as proof of that.
The damage to its pride, however, was far greater.
"THE HOUR WAS NEVER YOURS, HO! THIS IS MY DOM-HEE-N, AND IT IS MINE BY RIGHT, HO! AND IF YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT MY RIGHT, THEN FEEL MY MIGHT!" More projectiles came, and more misses happened. Beaten, battered, and disoriented by the barrage of attacks from all sides, the Gourd Lord not only missed its own, but took the brunt of hers with another cry of agony and indignation. It retaliated, of course, but it was more like the violent flailing than anything calculated or remotely regal.
"I AM NO PORCH ORN-HEEMENT, I AM THE KING! AND MY PLACE IS ON THE THRONE, AS SURELY AS YOURS IS IN THE DUNGEONS, HO!" Its attempts to bind Shinobu and confine her to whatever passed as prison in the farmers' market was cut short by a wave of weakening energy. What little of its strength began to wane in the face of Shinobu's skill, and all it could do once it realised was wail in hatred to the heavens.
Its wailing was only worsened when Yukari chimed in.
"YOU HAVE INFLICTED THIS UPON YOURSELVES BY ENTERING MY TERR-HEE-TORY! I CANNOT BE BLAMED FOR DEALING WITH INTRUDERS, HO! NOW FALL TO ME-HEE, HO!" Vines as thick as battering rams and sharp as spears shot forwards towards Yukari, but they never landed. Repelled by bursts of wind, they were battered to the side, and what was left of the hurricane battered and shattered its armour.
But alas, none there would fall, save for it. Makoto and Johanna were simply too strong to restrain, too quick to even latch onto. She slipped from its grasp in a wave of incinerating fire, drawing a screech from its battered mouth, and reducing the fibrous feelers that had tried to take her to little more than ashen stumps. The end was near - even something as arrogant as it knew that. But it did not desire to go quietly. A storm of vines and bombs and bludgeons heaved towards her... and fell to the ground in a mass of limp and useless fibre.
Makoto's attack worked. Its mighty shell, once an orange bastion that repelled all that sought to pierce it, shattered into lumps and shards and other scattered pieces. The flesh inside burst open through the holes in its shell, interspersed with off-white seeds and what remained of the fibrous strings within. The vines - or rather, what was left of them - fell limp where they stood, and collapsed to the ground with mighty thuds. The Gourd Lord was no more... or so it seemed. In amongst the charred and broken rubble, something stirred, and Hyousuke strode forward to meet it.
He readied his shotgun as he approached, holding it forward and aiming it towards whatever shuddered beneath the broken plating piled atop it. Pieces of what had once been a demon crunched again under his feet, and it only stop when he came within an inch of the source of the shuddering. But, before he could unveil it, the monster revealed itself.
It was a Pyro Jack.
A lone Pyro Jack, tangled in vines it had been tugging and manipulating from the heart of the Gourd Lord, now looking with a panicked expression between the gathered fighters.
It had only one thing to say to them.
"I'M GETTING THE HEE-HELL OUTTA HERE, HO!"
Before he could so much as fire a shot, the thing scrambled away, all but leaving a dusty afterimage in its wake. The rest of the Pyro Jacks followed suit, scattering before they were subjected to the same violence the group had visited upon their supposed leader, hee-ing and ho-ing off into the night. Hyousuke, for his part, just shook his head and wiped his visor clean.
"...I'm... not sure what that was." He eventually confessed, before replacing his gun on his back, and picking up a few pieces of the pumpkin the Pyro Jack had once piloted. "...Huh. Would've thought this'd vanish once its owner left, or something like that."
He turned it over in his hands, tapped on the shell, and felt a fragment of the vine between his fingers.
"Hey, check it out, this stuff's pretty tough. You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
Hyousuke, in an extremely uncharacteristic turn of events, had had an idea.
Unfortunately for everyone else, that idea was 'make gear out of pumpkins.'
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki hears Queen's protest about how pumpkins aren't potatoes and squints to scrutinize their adversary more closely. "Right, right, riiiiight, the lanterns threw me off." She shrugs lackadaisically and finishes Queen's setup with her own punchline, "We must have mixed up nightshades with lampshades!"
yeah it's fair to say that she's having fun
Her jaw drops when Queen utilizes Tamaki's setup to fill in the gap in her own attack's ranks. While she didn't see that coming, she's glad to see it and breaks out into an especially wide grin. "And the Queen goes in for the checkmate!"
Tamaki clears her throat and lets her mirth dissolve a little bit before she addresses Yukari. " -- thanks for the assist earlier, Takeba-san. You always seem like you're on the lookout for others. I think it's admirable, and it doesn't go unappreciated."
She quietly turns her head to Tsurugi and offers her a blank sheepish stare, then glances around awkwardly. "Are you, uh -- are we -- Are we cool tonight?"
Hyousuke has an idea. Tamaki is initially intrigued, but it soon turns to a frown after he elaborates further. "Nnn -- no, that's not what I was thinking at all. By all means, go ahead, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ugh..." Joker rests fingertips atop the crown of their head, grimacing at Yukari's comparison of them to the Joker Killer. That one really does sting like hell. "That's painful... I've been harshly chastised."
Tamaki counter-balances that by talking about spice. (Pumpkin spice, of course.) Joker smirks her way in appreciation, as well as Shinobu's; tonight is also a fine night for chaos. To Umie, though, they shake their head. "My set-up was better than yours anyway," they tease.
Their amusement only grows as Queen snaps at them to save the sweeping for later. Only one person here might understand what she means, but they enjoy it thoroughly all the same. With a wink, they murmur, "I'll remember you said that."
That, over her criticism of their perfectly cromulent pun. If the Pump-king is more like a Dic-tater, then of course it's small potatoes...! Still, for now, they'll rein (reign) it in--especially since Queen's wrath makes short work of the Gourd Lord.
Joker watches with satisfaction, smirking as they tuck their hands in their coat pockets, as she deals the penultimate blow--the checkmate, as Tamaki calls it. Hyousuke shoots the last of the Gourd Lord, to reveal that lone Pyro Jack.
They cluck their tongue as it flees along with the rest of the Pyro Jacks. "Well! That was a fine night's entertainment," they remark. "Shall we be on our way, Queen?" They nod to the rest, and in particular Belle; they know she's a long way from home right now. Still, if she made it here, she must have a way to return. They can check in with her later. "May the rest of you have a safe journey home."
When Queen returns, they'll board Johanna with her, for the two of them to ride off into the eerie night. By necessity, they are of course leaving the splattered pumpkin remains to everyone else to scavenge.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Oh come on. Even if you're making 'Joker' jokes- you're nothing like he was." That much she'll admit at least. He may be a Phantom Thief but he doesn't deserve to think he's just like a Serial Killer.
But she'll say it again the next time someone makes a 'Joker's Wild' pun.
The Gourd is defeated at least, and going to 'Hee-Hell' by the sounds of it. Good. Well-deserved.
Yukari Takeba looks at Joker- and Queen, before she double takes. Of course she doesn't realize it's Ren and Makoto from earlier. "... Well I guess the Phantom Thieves are all about 'Office Romance.'"
Pause.
"Makes sense."
Even Yukari Takeba knows all about the media of Phantom Thieves and their Femme Fatales. And Queen is pretty uh- 'Fatal' looking...
Tamaki walks up to her, and she uses the moment to flick some pumpkin muck out of her hair. "Oh ah- you're welcome. Hey don't worry about it- it's, just what anyone would do right?" She says, looking a little flustered.
She's not used to people calling out her actions taken to try and keep everyone alive.
Just like she's not used to openly showing she cares in that way. "Anyhow Uchida-san- ... I'm going to be on my way before those two start making more than just eyes at each other. Night. Be safe?"
She tries not to look at either Joker or Queen, as she goes back to get her bags and makes the walk to the station.
She'd rather not still be here when everyone comes out of their coffin and see Ren and Makoto together again.
That'd be even more awkward.
'I'M GETTING THE HEE-HELL OUTTA HERE, HO!'
"There. We did it. We... saved... Halloween? I think." Umie watches the small Pyro Jack run off, and folds her arms. "<Hap-py Halloween??>"
"I mean, that's why I keep telling people that guy was the Old Maid," Umie says, to Yukari, shaking her finger. "Totally different." One you call to murder people, and the other you call to steal people's selfish desires! Or hearts.
(Also, you wouldn't know the leader(?) was also named Joker, so.)
Queen and Yukari each get an impish grin. Building up on Tamaki's comment, Umie waves a hand. "Tomato, tomah-to."
To Joker's comment, Umie sticks her tongue out. "What, I could have had a great pay-off, for all you knew," she teases back. Drawing out an egg timer from her jacket, she just so happens to then declare, casually, "Nicce. Thirty minutes left. Better time than I was thinking I'd have trying to dissaude the thing..." Thirty minutes, she says, loud enough for all the 'Mask-sans' present.
No, Umie, just say you appreciate having the company of similarly like-minded Persona Users.
Yukari mentions something about Phantom Thieves and 'Office Romance', which causes Umie to look back at the two. "... I mean, Queen's got the motorcycle, so Joker clearly has to ride--" STOP RIGHT THERE UMIE BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF.
Instead, Umie clears her throat and waves them off, ha ha ha that's really what she was doing this entire time, returning her gaze to Hyousuke, as he pokes at the parade of pumpkin pieces.
Something in her stomach lurches from the memory of poison and the still rotten pumpkin she's covered in.
With a thoughtless sort of salute to everyone, Umie walks away quickly to the closest bushes, where, soon after, retching sounds are heard.
Hap-py Halloween~
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Shinobu points out that her 'help' was sharper, last they met. "Yes, it was. Today, it seems, our goals are aligned once more."
Meaning, she's also here to take out the Gourd Lord. Does the NWO really care about that?
Remi's not saying.
The Gourd Lord insists it is the only Headsman here. And that hers will be one of the first to go. "You may try..." Her voice drops to a lower, more threatening register, "... but I doubt you have what it takes to break my leash." When the jagged shares come for her she sidesteps them, deflecting with her rapier to keep the worst at bay.
Tsurgi watches as the Pyro Jack is exposed, and she snorts in disdrain. She turns to face the others gathered around, her glare an opressive force. Thankfully, she doesn't need to convince them to flee.
Hyousuke expected the pumpkin shell to vanish. "It existed before, and so it remains."
She turns to look at Tamaki and slowly nods. "... yes. My task is complete. For tonight."
She takes a moment to wipe her rapier on a convenient piece of cloth taken from a stall--she can hardly wreck the stall more than it has already been, and sheathes the blade.
With a thought she dismisses her Persona and then takes off into the night, her movements aided by her winds.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Today." Shinobu agrees with Tsurugi. A confirmation that they're on the same side right now - but also how easily that can change.
"Can't blame you there." Shinobu replies to Yukari.
Fortunately, they don't have to worry about that. Through everyone's combined attacks, the pumpkin is smashed.
"Careful - no telling if it's over yet." Shinobu calls out to Hyousuke as he begins to approach the remains of the Gourd Lord. She steps forward carefully... and something starts to move. She readies her staff... but lowers it again, as a lone Pyro Jack emerges from the rubble.
"Well, would you look at that. After all that talk, the Gourd Lord was just a Squash Squire." Shinobu says with a malicious grin. The Pyro Jack flees - and Shinobu waves, cupping her hands over her mouth to call after it. "Have a safe trip! Cause another mess like this and I really will turn you into a pie!"
She looks back over the mess. A thought occurs to her.
"...Good thing it's still the Dark Hour. No way I'm gonna get tied to this." She comments. Hyousuke has an idea, though, and Shinobu considers it. It's tough...? She shrugs. "...You know what? Wouldn't be the weirdest piece of gear out there. Why not."
She talks from experience. Her staff, after all, is solid gold and tipped with Piggytron-shaped counterweights. She can't judge.
It's time for the Phantom Thieves to take their leave, and Shinobu offers them both a wave.
"Same to you. Take care out there." She replies. She'll take her share of the winnings, and make to leave herself.
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
The Gourd Lord has been squashed, and the mystery solved. A long Pyro Jack. She grabs her antique rifle, prepared to fire at the fleeing ones, but... Lowers her model gun. They're really just too cute....
"Farewell, Overlord of Harvest's End..." Kasumi spins her rapier, and shoves it into her sheath.
She waves goodbye to Joker and Queen, who roll off into the midnight on the bike... Kasumi's own ride home is much more mundane, getting a ride back home from her father.
Ah, but before that! "See you all, fellow Persona-users!" She offers a bow. Then, into the night!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"...of course you will," Queen mutters under her breath, remembering that sometimes it's good to think before she speaks. And possibly to think harder and longer and maybe tape her mouth shut when Joker's being like this.
The downside of going through a malevolent entity made of pumpkin is, well. Coming out covered in guts and seeds and other such gross things. It's not a good look. "...Johanna, get rid of this."
There are some small benefits to being A) flame resistant and b) having healing magic and c) the way the Phantom Thief disguises don't transfer damage to their real outfits. It's a small plus, because she really doesn't want to be riding through mementos covered in gunk, as the Frei fires off and she winces for a moment, before a quick Media to mend herself and Joker (and Belle, even if she's not riding).
"Thanks for the assistance," Queen says, looking to the other Persona users. Still... she does feel a little uncomfortable about Yukari's comments about office romance, and it 'making sense'.
Is Queen glaring again??
Still, she does make a mental note of Tsumugi. If she's at odds with one of Tsubasa's allies, maybe there's something to keep in mind there. She does cast another look to Belle, but given she's waving them off them too, Queen gives a small wave back. It's probably better than trying to get three people home on Johanna.
As Joker makes to mount Johanna, Queen smirks back to her. "Let's."
She kicks up Johanna's stand, and readies to set off. "You're going to want to hold on tight," she says more quietly to Joker. "I'm still fired up and want to see if I can make a new best time through Mementos. Might be a bit of a rough ride, if you're up for it."
where the hell does this makoto keep coming from
She revs up Johanna's engines again, and speeds off with a roar, darting through the stopped cars that fill the streets of Sumaru. Sure normally she's more responsible-
But how often do you get to ride at speed THROUGH a subway station on your ride home.