Underground Elevators

Lusec nodded and went for the giant nail. He was surprised that it was really heavy, he thought it weigh a ton.

He helped Mai carry it. "Dunnow. Probably throw it at the silver knight, I guess," he said.
Though he had an idea where he'll just shoot a round off the flat end of the nail so he can sorta throw it towards Hakumen, he nevertheless dismisses it unless they had no idea what to do.

(Kageo said he'll edit his post so that Hakumen performs Yukikaze so that he cuts Noel's attack, so I will have her react as such)

Noel braced herself for the inevitable attack as it cut through the Nemesis Stabilizer, gasping in surprise when she saw Ragna come in between them.

"Y-you...?" she murmured as she slowly came back to her senses, her head feeling light as her knees wobbled from the strain Bolverk put her through.

As the flood of power shocked the area, the ancient hero turned to face the other tremendous source of power. It was the Grimalkin, this...the daughter of the strongest being in the world and the greatest mage ever known by the land. He'd addressed her with a curt retort to her taking the field against him, after unleashing him. "The Grimalkin before me is truly troubled, as you take the field against the very one you unleash to correct the sins of this world. But be you my savior from the Boundary, I will hold nothing back. The daughter of the strongest you may be, but will that serve you enough against my blade? You and the Dark One will both be tested. I, Hakumen, shall judge your fates!"

Having stated this alone, the ground shuddered once again as the statement seemed to show he drew up even more strength, with a small window of opportunity at the present; he would strike the two of them down first and then take the blond girl who wielded a Nox Nyctores. He would fell everyone who got in the way of the world's justice.

"If it helps, I won't kill you. You're simply way too important to die." Kokonoe smirked as she held both hands forward, what looked like a magic circle manifesting beneath the silver warrior's feet "Instead, I'll do this!"

Upon prompt, magical bindings would attempt to ensnare Hakumen by the arms and legs. Should they manage to do so, she knew that they would only hold the leader of the Six Heroes for only so long.

"Ngh!" She grunted as she felt the strain of trying to hold the spell together. There wasn't much time, they had to do it now!

"NOW YOU TWO!" She shouted to Mai and Lusec, giving them the cue to ram the silver knight with the Lynchpin.

In a fit of panic, Lusec let Mai throw the nail as he backed up and pulled out his Ars Gunblade.
He then held his blade with two hands and aimed the round flat butt of the nail with the edge of his Gunblade.
He then pulled the trigger, the resulting shockwave and force help push the nail further.

With the combined strength of Mai and the shot of Lusec's gunblade, they propelled the large nail like a projectile towards Hakumen.

The Silver Knight seemed to be caught off guard by the bonds of magic, while very little could normally interfere with him when he'd activated such a powerful form; it was not to be doubted about the effects of one who possessed the power to bind him. "...Damn you, Grimalkin! You will not avert his fate!" as the ancient hero struggled with the bindings of magic, he was suddenly very open to the incoming attacks of both this pair of officers from the NOL with that Nox Nyctores wielded by the ninja man that he'd already defeated. Between this and the fact that the Dark One had tapped into that recess of power that remained within his body and soul. Something that he'd be at the full mercy of; at least while he struggled with the bonds. Having used the Mugen technique, his own already immense power had grown; and yet he knew that he would have time to stop only one of these incoming attacks and not both. Though it all balanced on how fast he could break the restraint that was presently holding him.

Mai, having not the first clue what to do since Kokonoe didn´t tell her sqat, was in horror to see Lusec attacking the white knight as well, despite him having no chance of winning whatsoever.
What was she supposed to do? What was this nail for? She panicked, having no idea about either question, and stared at the various competitors of the fight, until her reasoning finally snapped and she did the first thing that came into her mind-
-she threw the nail at the chest of the white knight, as soon as it was bared and no one stood close.

It was all a blur to Noel, who fell to her knees in sheer exhaustion once Bolverk's influence wore off.

Despite it being a blur, she was able to see all that was occuring; she saw the strange, pink-haired cat-woman beastkin ensnare the silver knight with bindings that can be only described as magic. As this occurred, two things happened; one, Ragna would aim to strike him, his blade coated with black energy. Two, Mai had thrown what seemed to be a large 55-inch nail at the knight, the massive projectile propelled further by Lusec's shot.

"Y-you can do it everyone..." The battered lieutenant gazed at the ongoing fight with grim determination while panting heavily to catch her breath "Win...WIN!"

(How can you not get- You know what, nevermind.)

Lusec just stood there as he looked on if the nail would really hurt the Silver Knight.

The Silver Knight could feel the emanations from the massive nail that was aimed for his body, it was something that he would not allow to hit; or so the plan was for the hero to avoid the blow all together. But the reality was simple: The moment that he'd snapped the magical bindings holding him in place, while experience provided him with the right angle to throw his body to the side of the attack. The nail still tore along his torso; striking the sankishin unit with only partial success. But it had been enough for it to cause him to visibly flinch. "This will end this battle Dark One!" as Ragna neared him, there would be no time to readjust anything; he'd raced towards the empowered Bloodedge and swept his sword along the side of the Dark One.

With a large blast of energy that would shock the entire corridor once again, as the Silver Knight stood; the pass complete on the Grim Reaper. He'd cursed as he'd felt the blow that had stricken him...as if fated, the strike had hit him in the same zone near where the Phoenix: Rettenjo had damaged him. He'd fallen to one knee, though had not completely faltered; gripping Ookami with a fierce sign of determination. The great warrior had fallen, now unable to stop Ragna and for all intentions he was presently subdued. "...It seems that fate favors the Dark One this day." were the only words he could manage during the moment. The energetic pressure that once haunted the air was now many times lower and only a whisper of what it had been moments ago.

"Shit...." Was the only thing that slipped from Ragna's mouth, he had let his guard down for only a moment but that moment was enough to be detrimental. The silver knight's movement had been halted and there was a moment of hesitation from the grim reaper in response a moment that led to a rather serious injury. Pain flooded his mind as that blade lacerated his flesh. Blood sprayed outward from the wound as the blade completed it's pass and soon enough it was flowing steadily, a crimson hue that matches the jacket he adorned. He swung his blade down, stabbing it into the ground to provide some support while his left hand grasped at his injury, an injury that was not healing in the slightest. "Heh... Not really as favored as I would have liked." He muttered back to Hakumen as he dropped to his knee's.

This wasn't enough to kill him, but something about that sword sent such excruciating pain through him that his vision blurred in response "Can't... Stop here." He muttered and shifted to stand back up, making his move to ditch the others by heading further down. He hoped they were too occupied with Hakumen to chase after him.

Mai was disappointed to see that the nail didn´t score a direct hit, but the graze that it did seemed to be enough to stop him. The white knight faltered, and fell on his knee, powerless to stop Ragna who, despite his injuries, ran off further down, leaving a trail of blood dribbles behind him.
Seeing her chance, Mai dived for Noel and pulled on her arm until the small, frail girl was tightly secured in her arms.
She didn´t say a word, didn´t even whisper. All she wanted was in her arms, and she wanted her to be safe, from now on until the end of time.

"H-huh?"

Noel looked up, her stamina all but spent, to gaze at the bluenette's hazel brown orbs. Despite all she had been through, she managed a soft smile. She felt a strange sense of calmness whenever Mai was with her, a serene feeling that had been building itself up ever since they reunited after two years.

It was clear to her, then, that she loved this girl so much.

"Hey." was all she managed to say before glancing at the bloodstained trail Ragna had left behind. Sure, he answered some of her questions (specifically concerning Jin), but all that did was create more.

There was something else. She had an ominous feeling in her gut. One that told her that something terrible awaited Ragna the Bloodedge once he reached further in.

"Haah...haah...Damn it..."

While the magical restraints managed to keep Hakumen still long enough to be dealt a serious amount of damage, Kokonoe still felt the backlash of his arcane fetters snapping. As a result, she had been forced to kneel, her body wracking with pain and some blood pouring from her nose.

"Is this the Power of Order?" the pink-haired beastkin thought in absolute dismay. She then spied Ragna headed for the Cauldron. Immediately sensed his intentions to blow the damn thing up, so she decided to leave him be for now. Besides, she had to wait for Kageo and Tager to come assist her in packaging the silver knight.

"Hey! Get back here," Lusec shouted as he noticed Ragna make a beeline for the lower floors and chased him. He himself was not sure what was in there, but he knows as an NOL officer that he had to stop him somehow.

Then again, he knew the truth about Hazama, the Yuuki Terumi in disguise, so why the hell was he chasing him?

He was all confused at what to do, and who to side on. Right now, he knows that he had to stop Ragna for starters.

(So Lusec follows Ragna? I suppose we can exclude him from the posting order then.)

Mai still said nothing, she simply held her friend close and slightly rubbed her face against her cheek, nuzzling her, her lip shivering as she tried to hold back her tears. The slightest nip of the skin of her cheek made memories of their adventures come back to her, and she sniffed.
"He could´ve killed you, stupid." She complained, tightening her grip. "He was about to. What... what would i be doing without you? You told me you´d be back, and you almost..."
She bit her lip, and buried her face in Noel´s shoulder, embracing the smaller girl tightly and dripping some tears onto her naked shoulder, where it pearled down into her sleeve.

Noel could not help but feel touched by how much Mai cared. She felt her every tear trickle down her shoulder as the taller bluenette sobbed on it.

"I'm sorry, Mai." she sighed, smiling softly as her arms wrapped themselves around her frame, rubbing her back soothingly "I was reckless. I should've brought you and Warrant Officer Misaki with me."

Now that she mentioned it, she saw Lusec follow Ragna further. She was wholly unaware of their conversation with Kokonoe concerning Captain Hazama's true nature and, thus, sighed as she sat upright.

"So he pursued Ragna the Bloodedge." she sighed "That means we can't leave him alone. We can't underestimate the Grim Reaper because he's wounded, right? And besides..."

She glanced at where Ragna entered with a small smile "I don't think he's a bad person."

Hakumen attempted to rise but found that the unit had still been damaged enough, he would not be stopped here. He had been defeated, this was true, but he had no intention of allowing himself to be forced back into a lab by the Grimalkin. Neither her, nor anyone else would stop him from making the future that he saw fit. The only path for the future of the world to be safe. "It...will come to pass, the future of this world cannot be altered, the evil in the Cauldron and Yuuki Terumi will perish before my blade..." as if it were a magnificent marvel within its own, backed by the Power of Order, the Silver Knight slowly began to stand again, though not to much more avail than that at the present.

Having received extremely urgent orders made Tager quite stressed. But this tension made him optimize his speed as he managed to head to the Cathedral with Kageo in no time. And they met absolutely no resistance: then again, Jin Kisaragi lying on the ground meant that Ragna had already cleared the way. He was late. I hope I am not too late.

Arriving to the battlefield, he gazed at the situation: Ragna had already headed to the depths of the base, and the fight with Hakumen was almost already over, though Kokonoe was there, and far from her best state. Damn it! Maybe I should've headed there immediately after all. He stood in front of Hakumen. If he were to stand back up again, he could potentially kill Kokonoe, and that the Red Devil wouldn't allow.
"Everyone, clear the path!", he said as exhausted people on his way could bring problems. They'd better keep themselves safe, because he had seen Kokonoe somewhat-injured, and he was seeing red. "Hakumen, you've gone too far. I'll leave you two choices: let yourself be taken into custody, or fight and be taken into custody. What do you say?", he said as he prepared to engage the White Knight. He wasn't even considering Hakumen surrendering, or himself taking a more subtle approach.

"Well..." Kokonoe gasped as she slowly stood upright, albeit with some wobbling "You're a tough bastard, aren't you? Then again, that's exactly what I should've expected from someone Mom and Dad looked up to."

She glanced at the side to see that Tager and Kageo-kaka had arrived "At ease, Iron Tager." she said as she dusted herself off "I don't think he's in any condition for a scrap. And where the hell were you anyway?!"

She glanced around the battlefield, her mind still at work as she observed her surroundings; Ragna had long left for the Cauldron, with Lusec at his heels. Odds are, just like every NOL officer that's not within the inner circle, he was not aware of what lay beneath every branch.

On one part of the room, Bang Shishigami lay unconscious. As much as she wanted to take the Lynchpin for herself, she didn't feel right with taking it from the out-cold vigilante.

On the other end, she spied Mai holding the blonde girl known as Noel Vermillion (another name she had heard from Cajun) tenderly in her arms, nuzzling her as if they were lovers.

"Interesting..." She noted, though one thing bugged her; When she glanced at Noel, she could feel a sort of otherworldly vibe, something that stirred her animal instinct negatively.

"Hey." She spoke to the silver knight in her usual curt tone "I remember you calling that lieutenant 'The Girl of the Azure." She spoke as she kept a steely gaze at the duo "Just what do you mean by that?"

Up until that point, Mai was unaware of the situation around her, and stared down the stairs as Noel mentioned the Warrant officer.
"Lusec.. went down there?!" She was shocked to say the least, her grimiore was acting up whenever she looked into the general direction of that place. As if there was something it was revolting against.
"Noel, we`ve got to call him back, get him out of there at once..! Whatever might be down there, he´s not going to survive it..." At the times of Team Remix Heart, she might`ve rallied her friends and went down there herself- but after seeing one of them nearly die at the hands of the undefeatable white knight, she was scared to the core.
Previously she thought the first thing she would do when meeting Noel again would be to kiss her... but now, she figured that she should keep Kokonoe`s abilities for a while longer.

"Ragna... might die too down there. We would definitely die if we´d go down there. ....damnit, i don´t know what to do anymore."

"Do not lose heart, blue haired warrior..."

If they had turned, all would see that Bang Shishigami was slowly getting to his feet, using sheer willpower as fuel to his badly battered body. He addressed Mai, giving her a kind smile as he staggered to his feet.

"I was barely conscious when I heard your heartfelt plea." He revealed as he walked towards her, feeling pain in his every step "You, whose power between the silver knight is akin to a mouse facing against a tiger, chose to stand for your friend despite the impossible odds. An act such as this can only be described as an act of bravery...and an act of love."

He stopped mere inches away from the two, smiling despite the pain "Whatever is beneath, this malevolent presence I sense...I nor Sir Hakumen are in any condition to fight. I now entrust this task to you."

He gave her the fiery glare that fueled his spirit, the flame that inspired him every day "I urge you to take heart, blue haired warrior! Take heart and see that justice is done!"

This caused him attempt to pump his fist, but the sheer sensation caused him to double over in pain "Ohh..."

Hearing Mai's frantic tone worried Noel, as she was the one who would often rally Team Remix Heart during their misadventures in the Academy. Seeing her like this demoralized her somewhat.

However, hearing the ninja speak stirred hope within her heart, her lips curling into a smile as she listened to him speak passionately about bravery against all odds.

All for the person you love.

"It'll be okay, Mai." She whispered as she drew her close and kissed forehead tenderly "I'll be with you every step of the way."

(Following Iron Tager) ~~~~~~~~~~~~>

The kaka had been surprised by the massive giant's ability to keep pace, while he had sensed the great pressure still present, it was something akin to a dying tempest while within the presence of the Great Silver Knight. This armored figure that Tager had just challenged...this was Hakumen of the Six Heroes? In order to take all under focus, he'd remained quiet while he had some concern for the Professor's well being, he had to keep every instinct to start caring for her wounds right away. It was enough that he'd kept himself settled and came to her side. Though as he'd brushed himself against her subconsciously, he'd looked over her shoulder; staring at the Silver Knight with both some fear and some minor anger, he had been the reason that the Professor bled.

"Are you...alright Professor?" he just asked her in response to the question, it was rather silly almost at this point he figured, but he couldn't hide his concern in all forms. At least he'd managed not to try and wipe her wound and check her over for more. He'd been smitten for a while, but it was a silly crush and little more...right?