The Jade Arenas of Heaven: Shock the Monkey [IC]

[Azuth65]

Wisp eyed the remaining trees Bres had brought to the fight, noting the smoking remains of the two Myrmidon had dropped. Summoning up her will she vanished in her white and red smoke only to reappear several times around the trees and attack from several directions. Kicks, punches, and a few elbow and knee strikes flew from her clouds as she attacked. Bark was ripped from two of the trees but the third, her punch shattered it like a plank at the karate tournaments she'd been involved in as a child. "We shouldn't be long Myr, given how quickly Bres went down last time," Vicky called to her classmate.

[Quinn]

"So burn 'em up!"

Fire and earth erupted on either side of Crow, raw elemental force hanging over his hands; a roiling ball of flame over his left, and an earthquake rumbling in his right. Leaping forward, the two hands struck into the last standing tree with the impact of a volcano, lashing into it's form as the teen rolled backwards from the explosion. When the smoke cleared, revealing the monster still standing with only some charred bark, the rune-wielding hero's eyes narrowed.

"Okay. Need more fire."

[trollthumper]

Down on the streets of Tian, Sun Wukong stared down the twisted elephant. "They say your kind never forgets," he said. "I'll need to come up with something extremely humiliating for this occasion."

The yao guai responded with a horrific roar and charged towards the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, its feet leaving craters on the cobblestones. Sun Wukong anticipated the charge, and ably swinged out of the way -- but hadn't been expecting the feint. The elephant's trunk lashed out like a bullwhip, striking the Monkey King in the small of the back. He landed awkwardly, clutching his staff for balance.

"Round one," he said, maintaining composure. "Never when the underdog wins."

---

The walking tree responded to Crow's assault in turn, lashing out with tremendous fists. Cannonade, meanwhile, looked down to the chaos on the streets below, and saw Ironclad and Sun Wukong locked in combat with the tremendous beast -- and the mobs beyond them, spreading chaos throughout the heavenly city.

"Guan Yu!" Cannonade cried. "Think you can take this guy?"

"I've dealt with more noxious weeds before," said the god.

"Good." Cannonade bounded up the steps, gaining speed before he leaped from the colosseum to the street. Height was hardly an issue for him - he'd fallen from greater heights with barely a scratch.

Besides. This time, he was going to make gravity work for him.

"CANNONBALL!"

He dove towards the yao guai, his boot outstretched as he plummeted. The enraged pachyderm looked up, just in time for Cannonade's foot to collide right with its forehead. He kicked off from the head, landing on his feet.

"Ha! How do you like that, Dumbo?"

The elephant shook off the blow, staring daggers at Cannonade. It trumpeted loud and long, and prepared to charge.

"...guessing you're not a fan."

[Raveled]

Ironclad swooped through the air above the streets, wincing as Son Wukong took a particularly nasty-looking hit. The monkey god was still on his feet, though, so apparently divine constitution counted for something. She switched her attention back to the arena for a moment as she heard the mingled sounds of battle; it was a good thing she did so, because she also noticed Cannonade in-bound on the fight! She twitched her thrusters to get out of his way and watched him swap blows with the elephant demon, unfortunately not doing much.

The armored heroine decided it was time to stop playing with this enemy. There were plenty of other threats to deal with, and they couldn't waste time on a single opponent like this; that had been Bres' plan from the start, after all. She quickly locked down a firing solution and pulled up short in the air, hovering for a moment as she fired off a full-power shot at the elephant.

[trollthumper]

Guan Yu charged through the heroes of Freedom, his pole arm raised high. It caught the plant creature in the chest; the blade went through like a chainsaw through a pinata, and the staff buried itself three feet deep. The creature looked down for half a second as its green body swiftly turned brown, withering and cracking like old leaves. It fell to the floor of the stands in a pile of rotted roots and dry fronds.

Guan Yu turned to the others. "The intruders will likely be attacking the Jade Emperor's palace," he said. "I must go stand guard. I deputize you as officials of the Convocation on Warfare, to maintain the peace in Tian and drive back these invaders."

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon made his way over to the impact site where Bres the Beautiful had landed after Guan Yu had demonstrated his prowess. Bres was a narcissistic braggart, not the type to do something akin to a suicidal attack on a much more powerful foe. Myrmidon was expecting the man to try and attack Crow to get back his mystical bauble. But to frontally attack a physical avatar of war was colossally stupid, and he didn't think Bres that mentally damaged. Something was off here and he was going to at least try to allay his own suspicions before attempting to pacify Tian with the others. Pushing aside a broken stone bleacher, Myrmidon started search the unconscious Formorian scanning for anything out of place.

[Azuth65]

Wisp quickly vanished from the stands around the area, ashes from the fallen tree-minions drifting to where her feat hand been seconds ago. She reappeared several hundred yards away, just in time to deliver several strikes to the yao-gui elephant. Reacting quickly she balled up her fists and shot several quick shots into the beast's flank. "Hey, Babar! Right here! Hit me if you can!" she called up, inwardly hoping her mouth hadn't written a check her body couldn't cash.

[Quinn]

Crow took one look at the supine Bres and felt a surge of emotion; relief that Guan Yu had stepped in with such a vicious strike before Bres could've broken out anything worse, and then utter, utter panic. The teen slapped at the pocket the Eye sat in, and felt another surge of relief at feeling the orb still sitting there in the fabric. Taking that from him was a coup any in the Tuatha would have given a lot for, not to mention the untold lives hiding the ancient weapon from that Fomorian would ultimately save.

The teen shook his head and stepped up beside Myrmidon as he rifled through Bres's pockets, cuffing him on the shoulder and kneeling down to help.

"Anything? No way he was talking straight there, even with the army on the doorstep; something stinks about the whole buisness."

[trollthumper]

Cannonade scanned the battle field. It appeared the soldiers of Tian were starting to make head way against the yao guai, but the corrupted spirits still had sheer numbers on their side. He turned back to the elephant, gathering his strength before he threw the punch. It hit the yao guai right on the tip of its trunk, causing the appendage to fold up like an accordion. The spirit let out a thin, tormented bellowing, but stayed on its feet.

"And they say you guys are endangered," he spat.

[Raveled]

Ironclad took off and soared above the city and the battle, swooping in a huge circle as she built up speed. Arrowing in on the elephant demon she opened up the throttle, aiming to hit the creature square in the chest. Except that the monster turned over at just the wrong moment and she ended up plowing through several tons of delicately carved and gilded wooden partitions, ivory and gold statues, and porcelain columns.

The heroine crawled out of the hole, shaking her head sharply. "Okay. Feel free to bill me that one."

[Semi-Autogyro]

John scanned the contents of the scroll quickly, before looking up towards Guan Yu. "As I suspected, this is all merely a diversion. Where is the Seat of the Pellucid? Bres was instructed per these orders to attempt to detain or delay us here."

The noise of the ongoing battles echoed in the background as Myrmidon rolled up the scroll and slid it into one of his pockets. "If we make haste I think we can disrupt their plans of whoever is behind this." He stood and faced Guan Yu, who had just deputized them and awaited further directions.

[Quinn]

Morgan cracked his knuckles and racked his brain over what little Eastern mythology he knew - the Seat of the Pellucid was, unfortunately, not part of that knowledge. He pushed that to the back of his mind for a moment, trusting to the others to find that out; what concerned him was the unconscious Bres. If he woke up, even without the Eye, he'd still be more than a little capable of wreaking havoc. In short, they needed him out of play.

Standing and stretching, he looked about and noted the small crowd of milling functionaries surrounding Guan Yu. And got a positively gleeful idea. Pointing rather dramatically at the closest bureaucrat, he put a foot on Bres's shoulder and spoke in a clear voice. Even using the flowery speech he knew these kind of godly folks loved so very much.

"Oy, you; this fellow's broken the laws of hospitality, right? Doesn't...ah, oops...does that not mean we should eject him forthwith, that he might not sully this place with further callous betrayal of those most sacred traditions?"

Man, that always sounds weird...

[trollthumper]

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, functionaries swept in around the unconscious Bres, pointing spears down at the knocked-out Fomorian.

"Bres."

Bres roused slightly at Guan Yu's words, their weight laded with a metaphysical weight. He looked upwards at the god, whose fury was just barely restrained.

"The invitation of Heaven was extended to you. You came to our gates, partook of our hospitality... and repaid us with treason. You are hereby barred from the gates of Tian, starting... immediately."

Bres began to float off the ground, as if gravity itself wanted no part of him. "In addition, you are under the Fivefold Censure. Any action taken against the agents of Tian, in this realm or any other, shall result in the immediate wrath of the five chapters of the Bureau of Nature, the wrath of fire, water, air, wood, and metal. The elements worming through your pitiful form in ways you can't imagine. Is this clear?"

Bres laughed. "You doddering old fool," he said. "I hope these demons piss on your sceptered city."

"Wrong answer."

With that, Bres went flying into the skies with all the force of a catapult, screaming all the while. The banishment complete, Guan Yu turned to Myrmidon. "The Seat of the Pellucid is to the east, past the Convocation of Spirits." He pointed off to the east, to a point where streamers of light stretched from the sky to the ground like the strings of a cello. "It is the place where one receives an audience with the Three Pure Ones - the highest of our order, above the Jade Emperor himself, the very will and essence of the Tao. Given the appetites of the yao guai, I fear this may be an attempt to keep us distracted while they sup at the source of all."

[trollthumper]

Down on the streets below, Sun Wukong swept his staff at the elephant's column-like feet, aiming to trip it up in the expanding folds of iron. The elephant was more agile than its bulk indicated, however, leaping over the rod and landing with thunder. Fortunately, it was caught off-guard by trying to readjust its mass. Cannonade took advantage of the distraction and swept in, aiming for the thing's jaw. The fist collided with the corrupted spirit perfectly, knocking loose one of its tusks. It bellowed with rage, staring him down.

"Try me, tiny."

[Raveled]

Ironclad took to the air once again, magnetic drive pushing against the bulk of Tian itself and levitating her off the ground. She ran through her combat options; she could barely believe the creature was still standing, it had already taken such a pounding! She briefly considered hitting it with a taser dart of something more exotic, but soon decided not to mess with a classic. Diverting some power away from her drive coil she got a target lock on the elephant-demon and blasted it again with a shot from her wrist blasters.

[Azuth65]

Wisp eyed the Yau-gui elephant, her fists balled into fists to disguise her mild fear. Okay Vicky, you've got a giant angry elephant demon in front of you. Show no fear, there'll be time to panic when you get back to New Jersey, she thought to herself. She spotted the green and gold armor of Ironclad and traced the blast that emanated from the woman's wrist. As soon as it impacted the white haired teleporter sprang into action. In a cloud of crimson and snowy smoke she threw a flurry of kicks and punches at her opponent.

When she was done she reappeared where she started, her knuckles stinging from impacting such strong hide while the demon seemed unphased.

[Semi-Autogyro]

"After the demon goes down we must make haste to the Seat then." Myrmidon said, indicating the elephant demon with a nod in its direction.

He considered his options right now. 1) He was at too great a distance to enter CQB range. 2) He didn't possess a weapon that could easily penetrate the demons hide after seeing it weather the blows of the four currently attacking it. 3) Morgan had shown a rather vicious attack that could hit the demon at this distance. With that information, his choice was clear. He moved to help Crow target the creature, but one of the bleachers snapped under his weight and nearly sent him tumbling to the floor.

That was not what I was intending, the helmeted hero grumbled mentally.

[Quinn]

If Crow noticed Myrmidon taking the light tumble, he didn't say anything; instead he hopped up onto one of the nosebleed bleachers and narrowed his eyes, staring across the city until he zeroed in on the three streamers. Seat of the Pellucid...Seat of the Pellucid...Seat of the Pellucid...there it is. And...that's a pretty decent haul. Cac. Tabling the location, he then turned and eyed the elephant demon harassing his compatriots. It only took a moment of consideration before he mumbled another curse in Old Gaelic and reached down to help John back to his feet.

"Okay. New plan. Myrmidon, we need long range. Preferably something that can crack that thing's tough skin. Once it goes down, I'll have Wisp head back here to pick you up. Wish me luck!"

And with that, Crow hopped up onto the edge of the bleachers, spun to face the others, and let out a wild laugh. And then simply let himself fall backwards off the edge. Anyone who would've ran to look over would have seen the space where Crow -should- have been plummeting be surprisingly vacant, and the black-coated figure appear seemingly out of thin air directly behind the demon. Cocking two fists, one wreathed in ethereal energy, the other with the rumbling power of the earth itself, he let fly with a classic one-two punch combination right to the monster's tree-trunk legs. Whether they hit or not, he still leapt backwards, disappearing again and reappearing about halfway up the arena wall, attempting to seize one of the building's overhanging beams.

Unfortunately, climbing and acrobatics training was something he had rather let slide during Doom Room sessions...

[trollthumper]

Crow was able to find purchase on the beams of the stadium. His blows had definitely found some purchase - while the elephant's unnaturally tough skin seemed to be holding up, his strike had struck deep, and the corrupted pachyderm was reeling where it stood, like a skyscraper in a windstorm. Cannonade seized the opportunity, racing forward towards the gigantic foe. His fist struck the yao guai right in the jaw, sending a blow through the beast with enough force to shatter its tusks. The elephant hit the ground hard, cracking the immaculate marble of Tian's streets.

"He's never gonna forget that one," Cannonade said. He paused. "God, I actually said that..."

"I said it first, if it helps," said Sun Wukong. He stuffed his staff, now just the size of a nightstick, back into his tattered jacket. "Now... if I were an army of spiritual abominations invading Heaven, where would I go...?"

[Quinn]

"Seat of the Pellucid."

The black-coated figure of Crow appeared beside Sun Wukong, a slight breeze ruffling the Monkey King's fur. Morgan sorely resisted the urge to bend over and throw up on the ground, squashing the memory of just how close he had been to taking a very long tumble off of that beam. Leaping off of tall buildings from one thing. Slipping and falling? Totally different.

The only outward sign of Morgan Crowe desperately trying to regain his inner dignity was a moment of silence as his eyes scanned each of the heroes nearby. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke quickly, but flatly.

"Bres was a distraction. Yao-guai are making a push to the Seat of the Pellucid, odds are to take out the big shiny guys sitting on their high thrones or...whatever's up there. Guan Yu just turned Bres into a baseball and knocked him out of the park, but we've got to be over there like yesterday. Wisp, can you grab Myrmidon and bring him over there?"

[Raveled]

Ironclad landed and gave the unconscious elephant-man a hearty kick, before turning to address Crow. "I don't understand," she said. "Philosophical implications aside, these are supposed to be gods, right? Don't they smack down demons on a regular basis?" Her gaze roamed over the damaged pavilion and the monkey king. "Case in point. I mean, help out those who aren't mythology buffs. What's the real danger here?"

[trollthumper]

"Yes," said Sun Wukong as he turned his eyes towards the chaos. "Normally. However, the definition of 'god' is perhaps a little bit more flexible among our kind that you may envision. The yao guai are of a tier on gods, just... very small ones. They share the same connection to the Tao as we do, as corrupted and twisted as that connection may be. And while the Three Pure Ones are the greatest of the gods, they are also the most distant, mainly because they spend all their time meditating on and regulating the Tao."

"So these yao guai get right up close to the source of the Tao, and... what? They gorge? They climb the ranks? Their heads explode?"

"Yes, possibly, and not likely, as fun as that might be to watch. As I said, the yao guai often spend their time seeking ways to pull themselves out of blight and into true divinity, no matter how depraved it may be. Eating monks is just one way, and that was a quick and desperate thing. If they're able to plug themselves into the very heart of the Tao... who knows what they could do, and who they'd do it to."

[Raveled]

Ironclad shook her head sharply. "Right, bad guys are trying to get to a... big cosmic battery, let's say. And if they get there and plug in, they get a huge power boost. And that will not result in good things, at the very least for this world." The armored heroine punched one fist into her palm, and checked the suit's power levels. "And whatever else has happened, you guys have been excellent hosts, so I'm not inclined to let this place get destroyed!" She floated into the air, orienting herself on the Seat. "So what are we waiting for?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

The group was joined shortly by both Guan Yu and Myrmidon, who had been carried like a sack of potatoes as the War God jumped down from the stadium to the other group.

Guan Yu set the helmeted hero down gently, and Myrmidon stood and joined the others. "We should probably allow the forces of Tian to continue skirmishing with the demons they have set out as a distraction. Otherwise we might be engaging a substantially larger defensive force." The voice modulator crackled with static after he finished.

"Miss Ironclad is correct. The time for action is now before they find we have countered their plan to delay us."

[trollthumper]

Guan Yu turned at the sound of a gigantic explosion. "I'm afraid I have more pressing concerns," he said. "That would be the Convocation of Warfare. They're likely going to be attacking it in force. I'm certain my staff can handle themselves... but I'd rather not take that risk." He nodded to Sun Wukong. "Take them to the Seat. I trust you." With that, Guan Yu turned and ran towards the chaos.

"...I knew he'd find a way to screw me over for the 'Great Sage' incident," the Monkey King muttered. "All right, with me. To the Seat."

The heroes ran through the battle, cutting a swathe as they pushed towards the Seat of the Pellucid. Once they rounded the corner, it seared itself into their heads - almost like a staircase made of light, twisting and winding around itself up to a swirling mass of colors in the sky. The stairs seemed impossibly thin, but built to support just the right weight. And standing before the structure were five figures, bathing in the glory of the manifest Dao. They were all some manner of beast, but the one in the middle was human - and not a bad-looking human, if you didn't look too closely. Her form was shapely and her build was strong, but her flesh seemed unsolid, like modeling clay run through a sprinkler. She turned to see the gathered crowd, and locked eyes with Sun Wukong.

"Ah, Great and Glorious Ape," she said. "I should've known you'd be here to screw things up."

"Bai Gu Jing," Sun Wukong said. "You're looking good, for a hideous beast."

"You two know each other?" Cannonade said.

"Remember those yao guai I told you about who tried eating a holy man? She was one of them. Looks like she decided to drink directly from the fountain instead."

"Only fair, after you denied us true awareness. We've seen so many things now, Sun Wukong, things you can't imagine --"

"-- like, say, your greater place in the universe, and how a long-standing feud over something that happened that long ago is kind of pointless?"

"What?" Bai Ju Ging crooked her neck, perhaps at too steep an angle. "Oh, no. We are fully aware of everything's place - and just how much of an irritant you truly are. Really, Sun Wukong, you shouldn't be surprised the universe hates you." She raised a talon to the heroes, and the yao guai at her side let up a terrible howl. "You should consider this a mercy."

"Yes, but that'd just be giving up, wouldn't it?" The Monkey King drew his staff. "I wanna see if you've got any bones left to break this time."