Log:Rift Crisis II, Scene 6

Rift Crisis II 2019/02/22 Blok Copycat Jennifer Jessica Sentinel Wesley Golorast 6

Golorast turns away from the heroes, pulling Wade along with him with the wave of a bony hand, heading toward a staircase. He seems not to feel worried about turning his back on the others. The ground starts to shake slightly in rhythm as the army of skeletons starts marching in perfect step.

Wade gets lifted into the air, and he shouts, "Not going to happen!" He brings his arm around and he fires his energy shield at Golorast.

The Super Soldier is back to his old unslashed self and his reserves are back to full. He's feeling great but there's a growing knot in his stomach that grows with each step of the legions behind him.

He concentrates a moment and sends a burst out over comms.

<<"This is Sentinel- Markham, you've got company on the way. Lots of. And Grumpybones has Victory. Over."

A force field around Golorast becomes visible as the blast strikes, strongest near where the blast struck. Golorast makes no reaction at all, but keeps walking.

Wade's shield re-forms on his forearm, and he furrows his brow, considering his options.

Jennifer starts a run to the tower. It might seem as she's yielding the field, and potentially the city district to the skeleton army. But a moment after Jennifer starts her run, Jessica arrives on motorbike and assumes a ready guard posture. Meanwhile Jennifer is making her way to the tower by the process of leaping over the first few rows of skeletons and then running from boney skull to boney skull over then, finally bursting into the tower, "Sit-rep?" she calls out while eyeing up the situation.

Blok and Wesley take up guard at the door as soon as Jenn is in, to hold off the endless horde of skeletons.

CopyRaven is almost entranced by the footfalls of the skeleton horde making their way to Earth. Her instincts as Raven take the opportunity to step to the forefront and Sentinel's Handwarmer+ is subsumed by the borrowed consciousness.

"Oh no you don't!" She shouts, bringing her hands together and then out in some esoteric mudra.

It's a good plan. Unfortunately, there turns out to be *another* magical force field, this one stretching across the room - Wade and Golorast are on the far side. Yes, surprise surprise, he has some defences in his throne room. The good news is, at least the dispel sets to work on the field.

Sentinel 's first instinct is to hold the horde, but sensing Blok and Wesley moving into position he keeps his attention on the Lich King. Seeing CopyRaven engaged in... something Griffin falls on his training to distract and hopefully overwhelm his adversary- at least long enough to free Wade, since that's what they're doing now.

He leaps at the Lich King, hoping a physical assault will prevail where an energy based assault has thus far failed- either that or he just wants to punch him in the jaw. Either way, he's flying forward without so much as a second thought- fist already being thrown.

The force field gloms again as Sentinel rams unintentionally into it. Then it fades again to 'passive level'. But even those without magic sight can see that the the field was weakened by the blow.

CopyRaven reaches out moments too late. "Wai--" She is shouting when the SuperSoldier, Sentinel smashes into a forcefield of incredible durability.

The field splinters under the force of the strike and Griffin falls to the ground limply, stunned by the sudden arrival of wall.

CopyRaven says, "There's another forcefield everyone! And he's got one too!" Her tone is full of warning.

Copycat enters from MagLev System.

Jennifer draws a set of Nunchucks from her jacket as she advances to where the magical forcewall is. Swinging the Nunchucks around her head she hits the barrier multiple times.

Wade can see there is an effect on the field, at least. He tries again, firing off another charge from his bracer, seeing if he can push it over the edge.

The Nunchucks bounce off the barrier, the first time with a hard sharp crack, then again with a thud, and the last time with a sound like a hammer hitting a thin tree.

The field is weakened, but not much. The tighter personal field is maybe harder to damage than the extended one?

Golorast continues to ignore the blows, and walks steadily to the foot of a staircase and up it, with Wade floating along behind him.

Copycat, currently masquerading as Raven, is mentally going through the spells that are new but familiar to her. Her eyes light up as she gets an idea and focusing on dispelling the personal magical field. "You won't get away with kidnapping one of our own."

Jennifer glances over at 'Raven', "Mage? If you can heal getting Sentinel back on his feet would be good. I should be able to take down this barrier in the next few seconds." And indeed she continues swinging the Nunchucks at the barrier.

It's rare for Sentinel to be thrown for a loop, so it figures the few times he is, it's from his own power. He starts shaking it off and seeing three Ravens instead of four. Then they merge down to just two. Once his vision clears, he'll be good to go.

CopyRaven nods as she focuses on her spell on the personal field. "The lich has another personal field I'm trying to deal with." That's not very like Kat to pass a chance to heal Griffin. It takes her a moment to remember herself. "But I can heal him shortly."

Jennifer strikes the barrier again, and then again, and on the third strike the Nunchucks smash down the last vestige and pass through it.

Wade checks the charge on his bracer, and fires one more shot at the lich, hoping to weaken the barrier a little further.

This time it's hard to tell if the shot did anything at all. Golorast reaches the top of the stairs and enters another room - clearly some sort of ritual chamber. At his wave, Wade floats into the centre of the room and to the ground, in the midst of some sort of mystic circle.

CopyRaven tries to complete the spell, still focusing on the personal field.

CopyRaven grows a pair of magical wings and flies up after the Lich and Wade. Her hand raises as she casts a Witchfire spell at the Lich and his personal barrier.

The field is damaged - the lich is not.

Sentinel shakes his head as his starlit eyes finally focus down to just one CopyRaven! He takes a scan of his surroundings with his energy sense and his eyes simultaneously, looking a bit as if his eyes just flash brightly.

He looks up at where Wade is inside and then attempts to carve the floor out from under him where he can catch his fellow Super-Patriot and get him back into the fight.

Wade feels the floor start to give way, and he jumps to the side, tumbling and rolling back to his feet.

Griffin's eyes begin glowing and then beams of golden cosmic energy erupt from them- lancing their way in a tight circle that builds in speed. His eyebeams are so hot the stone floor begins to give way. Then, when the floor is almost paper thin beneath Wade, Griffin cuts his beams off. The floor is granted a nice big hole and that magical circle is much worse for wear!

Outside, Blok seems to have been all but covered by swarming skeletons - till a thunderclap sends them flying!

Jennifer advances switching Nunchucks to her Colee whip. Extending the whip she snakes it up through the Sentinel hole to grab onto whatever is handy and pulls herself up into the ritual chamber. This is her first sight of the Lich. "Ah, another undefeatable undead type? Remind me to be careful. I usually end up breaking them."

"Destroy the circle!" CopyRaven instructs Sentinel as she looks around for a potential phylactery.

Wade charges forward with his shield in front of him, trying to get to the lich himself.

Wade gets through the circle, and follows it up with a spinning back kick at the lich...who hopefully wasn't expecting him to make it out.

Wade must have been off balance as he surged through the barrier, because his strike is only a glancing one against the lich.

Well, you have Golorast's attention. He never imagined you could cause this much destruction in so little time. He might even be a little impressed. He's certainly more than a little angry: his eyes flare red. "You DARE!" he shouts at Sentinel, and speaks ominous sounding words while gesticulating at the hero.

Mystical energy so compressed and potent that is ruptures through to the visible electromagnetic range is expelled from the Lich King. His words adding more potent, draining negative energy to every tick.

Griffin's skin turns cold but his energy reserves are massive. A little life drain won't even slow Griffin down as long as he focuses that energy and puts it between he and the Lich King.

Still, he can't help but feel as if someone just walked over his grave.

His forearms are crossed overeach other before him and they glow brightly under the forces applied to his bio-electric field.

Blok says, "The skeletons just kept coming. Blok and Wesley needed some breathing room. So Blok raised one might foot and slammed it down against the ground, creating a Shockwave of force to drive the enemy back."

The skeletons swarm over Blok again, despite damage to those closest....

Jennifersees what happened with Wade as he has to force himself through the damaged circle. Fortunately she has options. Such as smacking the lich with her Colee whip. Hard!

The lich's field flares, but is still holding. He's not even budged. But his eyes go a pale shade they haven't before. Perhaps he's realising he's underestimated the heroes!

Wade tries again with another spinning back kick. Now that his footing is better, hopefully he'll get a more solid hit. He puts everything he can into it.

Wade slips again, getting a better strike in, but it still glances off. The field weakens, but it leaves Wade muttering to himself.

The lich's eyes get larger, and go green. "So much life you have - all of you!" he rasps. And, raising his hands, begins another spell....

Copycat flies towards the hole as she sees the spell winding up, ducking through just in time.

Jennifer grunts as she shrinks and withers, becoming a grisly shell of her former self.

Sentinel roars as his precious life energy roils out of him forcibly. He grits his teeth, focusing on the mission at hand- which is put the hurting on the Lich King.

His eyes glow brightly and his temples too as he charges up a blast.

The personal shield isn't down, but Golorast is clearly impressed. "You yet stand? You yet fight?"

"I can do this all day." Griffin says, spitting on the ground. "You're threating our world. We'll all fight you to the bitter end!"

Wade grits his teeth as the spell drains part of his life force, and he says to himself, "Never give up...ever." He kicks again, trying to put everythign he can into it.

"Then you are fools. For after the 'bitter end', all fight for me!" says Golorast to Griffin. And then his eyes pale again as his personal field begins to flicker after Wade's blow.

Jennifer says, "straightens up and glares at the Lich. She realizes another of those will likely kill her. Drawing her sword from the sheath on her back she tosses it toward the Lich. Then snatches it out of the air with her Colee whip and slashes at the Lich with all the strength and force she can muster."

Jennifer strikes hard, so hard the impact causes feedback and the whip snaps at the hilt and vanishes in a cloud of sparks.

The whip blow snaps Golorast clean in two, after collapsing his shields. The two halves impact the wall - where they crumble to dust. All but the skull.

"Hold!" says the skull. "I would parlay!"

CopyRaven flies back up the hole to see the others injured. She spreads her hands, sending out a wave of butterflies fluttering around to heal the heroes.

"Oh now you want to 'parlay'?" Griffin asks incredulously from his position hovering just above the hole. "There's only thing we want- and that's to shut this door and never have it open again, especially not to our Earth." His terms are simple enough, and now that CopyRaven's energies are applied he's getting better by the second.

"Yes. I yield. My armies will remain here - and you will leave, and never come here again. Is it agreed?"

Copycat says, "There's nothing of yours we want."

"Your armies remain here permanently." Griffin says firmly. "If you try to invade our Earth, or we find out about you invading another Earth then we'll be back for you, en masse. Your door opened up on a park and the first 5 people who wandered by came in and moved you to 'parlay'. Don't start none, won't be none."

Griffin lands and crosses his arms in front of his chest as his eyes begin glowing, building up another big blast as a silent threat.

"Is it then agreed?" asks Golorast.

Griffin would much rather leaving a sapient being to their own devices, its only when those devices encroach on the freedoms of the good American people or the others they share their world with that he feels the need to get involved and perhaps resolve things 'permanently'.

Griffin nods. "Its a deal. Stand your armies down. We'll leave you to your world. You leave us to ours." He doesn't move though, he'll be the last through the gate.

Golorast says, "Then is is peace. Forgive me that I do not shake your hand."

Blok sees a much larger skeleton push its way through the others. He reaches out to grab it intending to slam it into the others.

"Peace it is," says CopyRaven. She looks to the others. "Let's go home. I need some wine."

Blok heaves the skeleton by the shoulder and pelvis, and slams it down into a group of smaller skeletons, sending splintered bones flying in all directions.

And, moments later, all the bones stop moving.

As the heroes leave, heading back for the portal, a skull stares at they, smouldering yellow eyes full of hatred.....

When the others rejoin Blok, he is studying the standing skeletons.

After the otehrs head through, Griffin carves an American flag into the stone above the gateway as a reminder not to ever come through again.

Only then does Griffin walk through the gateway himself