Twilight of the Gods

*Tsukishima flipped on the tree branch, so that he was now hanging upside-down from it. Senthose changes into his Resurrecion & raises a hand, causing storm clouds to gather above. When Tsukishima dives in to attack him, he's only barely able to lean back & draw one of his swords to block the hit.*

Tsukishima<I see...this isn't part of your Ressurrecion, is it?>

"Like I'd tell you."

Tsukishima<You don't have to. I was there when it was forged.>
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*The teleportation does not work, as I already implied. A look at Giriko's watch will show that only digits 1-5 + 7 are glowing now.*
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*All Eduj has managed to do so far is break apart one of the Six Rod Light Prisons & crack the other.*

"Tsukishima's Zanpakuto is a healing type."

*She knocks the strings off-course with a tornado of fire. This also obscures her from view.*

"He was a Substitute Soul Reaper who was promoted to Captain for his great service to the Seireitei. He taught Hollows how to hunt & devour evil souls, so we did not have to deal with them later. He helped turn Hueco Mundo around, & bring it to peace with the Soul Society. But most importantly--"

*Lilith appears behind him. She uses a weak paralysis Kido to temporarily halt his movements as she slashes down towards his chest.*

"There is no way I would doubt him, after all that we've been through!"

Noct creates a lanza and slashes down at Tsukishima.

--

OOC: It was supposed to be teleporting around him in a circle, the distance was supposed to be the same at every angle, therefore the sphere of Giriko's barrier wouldn't have interfered with the teleporting.

More ceros.

Hector gritted his teeth as Lilith's blade sliced through his shoulder but overcame the paralysis a moment later, shooting a hand up and grabbing Lilith's sword-wielding hand. As he held the Zanpakuto still, his wound regenerated around the blade and he lifted his left hand to attempt tangling Lilith in strings once more.
"Ginjo, cut her down!" He yelled.

Eduj continued to struggle, his eyes and muscles bulging.

Ginjo<I'm not going to just kill the Soul Reaper. And you shouldn't either, if you don't want her friends coming after you.>

*He turns his blade sideways & jumps to attack, but she uses Sonido to loosen herself, appearing behind him. At this point, she downs her Hollow Mask & blows Ginjo away with a Bala. Ginjo is just barely able to block with the sword, & crashes into one of the gazebo posts, bending it. Meanwhile, Eduj has broken the 2nd Six Rod Light Prison & is now able to reach his sword.*
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*Tsukishima FullBring-rolls out of the way. Noting the lightning building up above, he slashes the tree, not leaving a cut.*
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*Giriko appears behind them, since movement hasn't been disabled, only teleportation.His watch now has 1-4 + 7 glowing.*

Giriko<Do you not have any stronger attacks than that, outside of your Ressurrecion?>

Noct launches the lanza after him.

--

Mortal slashes at Giriko, meanwhile Sab takes a step back, cuts her hand on her horn, and fires a Gran Rey Cero at Giriko. Mortal steps out of the way of the cero, regardless of whether her own attack lands or not.

"I didn't mean for you kill her, just deliver an incapacitating wound," Hector sighed. "But it is a little late now."
He finally drew upon his Zanpakuto and held it before him in a battle-ready stance.

Eduj stopped to catch his breath for a few moments before grasping his Zanpakuto and releasing it. Though the chains still held his sealed form to his body, his mannequin face was revealed and allowed him to vomit onto the ground before him. Out of the large puddle of vomit, two clones emerged and began helping to break the chains with their immense strength.

*Lilith fires a Cero at Hector. Ginjo gets up & dusts himself up.*

Ginjo<Hey, do you know her Zanpakuto power?>
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*Giriko turns translucent a second before the Cero hits. Once the explosion is finished, he's back to normal.*

Giriko<That...was a close one.>

*The 5 digit, which had apparently caught on fire again, turns back to normal. A few second later, it is followed by the 4.*

*Aroma Balas him in the back & he stumbles forward slightly.*
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*Tsukishima sidesteps it, then charges in to stab her.*

Mortal uses the distraction to slice down at his arm, aiming to take it, and the watch with it.

--

Noct puts a pair of shadow glasses on Tsuki, blocking his vision, then sidesteps, and slashes with another lanza.

Hector leaped to one side of the oncoming Cero, his cloak and skin once again being seared. With his free hand he pointed and fired a Bala at Lilith, aiming for the chest.
"I have no idea," Hector replied. "But whatever her powers are, they were enough to drive Senthose from Las Noches."

Eduj and his two clones made one more extreme effort to destroy the restraints.

A Garganta opened high above Mortal, Giriko and the others, releasing a blank Astarte still in her unreleased form.

*Lilith guards against the Bala, which turns into flower petals that drop down at her feet.*

Ginjo<Energy attacks are a mistake. Got it.>

*He rushes forward to slash at Lilith, who guards that as well. More flower petals seem to form out of midair. With the chains destroyed, Lilith opens a Garganta behind her, reappearing near the pyramid, which she points at when she notices that the chains have been broken. This causes several black holes to form around each clone.*

"Bakudo 99, Part 1: Kin."

*Strips of fabric surround Eduj from head to toe & shafts of iron stab into him.*

Ginjo<Don't you think you might be overexerting yourself just a little, Miss Soul Reaper?>
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*Tsukishima quickly takes them off & just adjusts himself in time to block. A lightning bolt strikes the tree, but Senthose himself also comes in to attack, swinging both swords at him. That plan is put on hold when an ambiguously brown Amazon pulls a dynamic entry, breaking one of his arms & several of his ribs, & sending him into a lake. A few people stop to gawk at the "mysterious wave." Euryale turns to Noctis, practically on the verge of tears.*

"Noct...why are you attacking Shu? Don't you remember everything he's done for us? How he brought us together?"
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*The slash is parried by...a boot. Said boot is attached to a woman who looks like a sharply dressed motorcycle enthusiast, with white leggings, a visored hat, & a scarf. A trail of mud from her boots leads to a lake behind them, which has suddenly kicked up a huge wave for seemingly no reason.*

Noct feels a lump in her throat, "Euryale, you have to believe me. He has everyone brainwashed. You're not safe with him. Please, Euryale, don't do this."

--

Mortal takes a few hops back and surveys the situation, "Dammit..." She looks at Astarte, sad and disappointed, "Astarte, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you from Tsukishima, but I promise I'll make everything better."

"I don't want to hear it," Astarte yelled down at Mortal, drawing on her Zanpakuto and grasping both the hilt and the blade. "Tsukishima can do what he can for you, but if you do not stop resisting my only option is to eliminate you. Cry... Amentia!"
Astarte sliced her hand and after her Zanpakuto disappeared her skin, dress and hair all turned bone white, her hands became black and clawed and her blue eyes became burning red. To finish the transformation, a pair of black bat wings burst from her back.
"I do not believe I have ever fought against you before," She said, grinning and gathering lightning around her hands.

"I do not see the logic in sealing up my servant so tightly," Hector said, using Sonido to appear behind Lilith and slash down her back with his blade. "Surely the use of such techniques is a drain on you."

Eduj and his clones began a futile struggle against the new restraints.

E"Noctis...Senthose has poisons that can manipulate brain chemicals. Did you ever think that you might be the one who's brainwashed?"

*Senthose emerges from the lake, very wet, & very pissed off.*

S"That's cute, trying to pin your little stunt on me, 'Shu.' Some day we'll look back on this & laugh. I'm still going to beat you to death with your own leg, but at least we'll have fun with it."

*Tsukishima reappears beside Euryale.*

<You're not well, Senthose. But don't worry, I'll forgive you.>

E"I'm not so sure we SHOULD forgive him, after everything he's done."

<We'll see how it works out.>

*He puts an arm around Euryale, resting his hand on her shoulder. He then looks pointedly at Noctis, almost daring her to attack him.*
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*Giriko takes several steps back. His watch now has only 2 digits lit--the 1 & the 7.*

Giriko<It would be much appreciated if you could take over from here, Queen Astarte. Her Resurrecion should remain sealed for another 55 minutes. As for the park, I will have to renegotiate that contract soon.>
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*She grabs the blade with her wings.*

"No. You just gave me energy to spare."

*The petals turn to Reitsu, which she then breathes in. Afterwards, she fires a pulse of pink energy through them at Hector. It's about the strength of a mid-level Kido.*

"Of course, Giriko, you have done well," Astarte said before flashing down the the ground close to Mortal. "So, shall you come to your senses and claim the throne, or shall I kill you?"

Hector was blown backwards and tumbled across the ground into the gazebo. At the same time, he looked suddenly shocked and fired a Cero from his left hand, demolishing the gazebo and throwing up a large amount of smoke, dust and debris around himself. Obscured from vision, his Spiritual Pressure could be felt to flare for a moment before vanishing.

Noct shook her head, "That makes no sense, I only met with Senthose after the situation in the park. Euryale, please, pretty please..." Noctis was now crying, "I don't want to do this, I don't want things to be this way. I just can't handle being without you!" When Tsuki put his arm around Euryale, she dove forward, sunk into her shadow, and popped out of the shadow between Euryale, and Shu, pushing him off of her, "Don't touch her!"

--

Mortal frowned, "Astarte... You're trying to act tough, but I know this hurts you as much as it hurts me; I know what you're feeling. Please just return to Hueco Mundo, I promise I'll set everything right."

*Tsukishima stabs into the shadow that Noctis dove into. When Noctis emerged out of her shadow, Euryale put her arms under Noctis's & grabbed her wrists, trying her best to hold her securely, but not hurt her.*

E"I'm sorry we have to do this, Noct, but you'll be better soon. Shu, do it now!"

*When "Shu" tries to dart forward, he is impeded by a virtual wall of electrified tentacles. More tentacles arch out from where Senthose is standing, smashing into the ground & producing small craters whenever he dodges. Euryale shifts her foot & the wall of tentacles is severed by an earth spike.*
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*Now, only the 1 & the 7 on Giriko's watch are glowing. The 1 ceases to glow & a breeze kicks up. The old couple on the bench start to get up, but when Giriko adjusts his watch, everything stops again. Now, digits 1-7 are all glowing.*
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*Lilith thrusts her hand out, using a Tenran to clear the dust. Meanwhile, Ginjo leaps past her into the air, generates a large blade of energy around his sword the size of several medium-sized houses, & brings it down on the pyramid, shattering it. He also bisects several trees, sets them on fire, & puts a knee-deep fissure into the ground as collateral damage.*

"Quit trying to save yourself, I won't be turned against Tsukishima!" Astarte lifted a hand which immediately charged a large mass of lightning around it. "Unlike you, I am faithful to those who care about me!"
She then cast her hand forward and launched a large arc of lightning for Mortal's chest. There could be no mistaking the intent to kill behind the attack.

When the dust cleared, Tsukishima appeared to be standing next to the wreckage of the gazebo with a tired expression on his face. On close inspection of his Spiritual Pressure, his identity as Shukuro Tsukishima would be confirmed.
"I had planned on saving Hector, but I doubt even he can regenerate after having his head taken... he left me with no choice," Tsukishima sighed, gesturing to an arm clearly belonging to Hector sticking out of the wreckage. "Now, Lilith, we can at least help these two. Unbind Eduj so that my blade may reach him, please."

Noctis struggled against the hold until she realized it was Euryale. She hated to admit it, but she almost didn't want to get out from Euryale's grip. Even if it was not as tender as she remembered, it was still her, then Shu tried to stab her. Noct realized that she almost let it happen without even trying to get out of the way, and quickly sank into her shadow to get away from Euryale. Should Euryale still be holding onto Noctis she'll be dragged to the floor, but not sink into it. Noct popped out of a tree's shadow, and launched a lanza at Shu, cuz, really, fuck that guy.

--

Mortal braced herself against the lightning as best she could and began walking towards Astarte, "Well, that wasn't fun." Mortal sheathed her Zan and spread her arms out, "You're right Astarte. Even if I could beat you... I don't want to. I'll go back with you, I've come to my senses."

"You will wait there," Astarte said, seeming a little surprised and cautious. "Shu... Tsukishima, will make sure that you are healed once he is finished with the others. Please do not betray me again."
She could not fully understand why, but despite the obvious threat of another attack from Mortal, Astarte felt bad for remaining so guarded.

"There will be time for that later. I think it's best we keep him out of the way. We still have that one to deal with."

*She nods her head towards Ginjo.*

"How about you fight him, & I'll ready more Binding Kido."
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*Jackie sits down on a nearby rock.*
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*Tsukishima grabs the lanza.*

<Don't you remember how many times I've seen this attack? It doesn't explode whenever someone has a hold of it.>

*Soon afterwards, it flickers out.*

<Sorry, Euryale, but there's too much fighting for me to get close. I think it's best we head back to the hideout, heal whomever Astarte & Lilith recovered, & try again later.>

*Euryale looks imploringly at Noctis.*

"Please, Noct, just take the chance & come back with us. The house is so lonely without you, I don't sit there & wait when we could fix everything right now."

"Of course, you are right," Tsukishima stepped up to Lilith's side, well within arms reach, and considered Ginjo. "We should be able to finish this unfortunate affair soon."
Without warning, Tsukishima's suddenly clawed and unnaturally jointed hand slashed across the side of Lilith's face, neck and shoulder. At the same time, ten strings in total fired out from his rapidly changing body at random spots to restrain Lilith's arms, legs and wings. His Spiritual Pressure was now clearly belonging to Hector. It was now also clear that Hector was in his released form, and his strings were now much stronger, especially at such a close range.

Mortal continued walking towards Astarte, ignoring her orders to stop, "You seem to have fallen into your assumed role as queen, quite well. You give orders quite naturally."

--

Noct takes a deep breath, and lets out a long sigh, "I love you Euryale. Please... don't ever doubt that."

*Lilith, having not been fooled, had already stabbed him. When she sees what he's trying to pull, she blows him away with a Cero. She then drops her Zanpakuto, which causes a dense jungle canopy to spring up in the event that Hector is still in any condition to flee.*
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"Then please, let us help you."

*Tsukishima walks back over to rejoin Euryale & a small Garganta opens behind them.*

"I wasn't joking, Mortal!" Astarte lifted her hands again, charging a second strike that for some reason she did not want to fire. "And I have not settled into the role of 'queen' well! I hate it, I'm not suited for it! That's why I want you to get better!"

Hector grunted and was hurled backwards, but only five of his ten strings were diverted and the other five continued to try extending and wrapping around her.
When Hector stopped rolling, it appeared that his transformation was also complete. He still wore his black cloak, though the ends were now severely frayed. His right hand was a massive, unnaturally jointed monstrosity with foot long blades as claws while his left was shrouded in a strange blackness. Among the most unsettling of his new features was the blank male mask that covered his face. He just finished regenerating as he rose to his feet, considering the jungle around him.

Mortal let out a sigh, she made a mental note to try and read up on better planning, and strategy. As it stood, her get close, and knock her out plan seemed to have died. She stopped in her tracks, and pulled out the band in her hair, letting it fall down to her shoulders, "Dammit, nothing ever goes my way..." She said, annoyed, as she retied her hair, trying to think of something to do that didn't involve eating Astarte.

--

Noct wiped some tears from her face, "But I'm not the one who needs help."