Kingdom Key D

-924 Sorry about the 30, though. I can't count in the summer.

Matthew followed Shantea's rampage through the noise, striking quickly after her to get the damage increase Bri had mentioned. It was pretty effective, and soon five of the frog noise he had attacked earlier were down. Bri nodded at Anton's counter arguments while closely monitoring the screen, laughing when he paused and said obvious. "You make some good points, especially with the second," she paused to write that one down, "but first, you are talking about a guy who just said, and I quote," she glanced down at her notes, "'and together we will see this miserable world burned,' which, taken in context in that he is referring to fighting with Sho in Twilight Town, probably means he intends to harm the people there regardless of your reasoning. The second part of 'firstly' was fair, though. Third, there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. In the face of the potential end of their world and ours, I will always err on the side of pragmatism." As for letting Matthew decide things, that was best no matter how you looked at it. He was the one who had been raised as basically a child soldier, he knew how to fight far better than her. Obviously. She turned away from Anton to hear Lax's advice, writing down the parts she hadn't known. "Hey Matthew, apparently Sho is a shapeshifter. You'll probably have to look out for that when his health goes down." "Got it." Mathew finished off another frog as he tried not to pay attention to Sho's sob story. Villains were often liars, he knew that first hand, and this was the end of the world they were talking about. But... He could sympathize though, he worried about Bri and how... Almost reckless? she seemed sometimes. If she was killed for this, then... Slightly distracted, Matthew missed some signals as he finished off a seventh frog, and was slammed into the ground by a kangaroo. His high defense absorbed most of the hit, but it was a good wake up call. And hey, when he had fallen a bunch of the noise had come closer, trying to hit him while he was down. It was almost like they were trying to make this easy. He jumped back a bit. Soma was out of range, and Shantae had moved forwards, so he cast Grand Gaia right in the center of the pack.

-926

I think we're back at -928, actually.

"Well ok, then." Bri looked down at the entry about Sho again. "It would have been easier if we had tried to finish this battle before it devolved like this, but that's fine. Matthew, the Tabo noise have to be tag teamed to do substantial damage, but it might be easier to start with Sho, if you beat those noise he can summon more in a few turns. Try some multi opponent spells. Dante should have Sephiroth covered for now, I will tell you if it looks like he needs help." As his partner finished her assessment, Matthew nodded. That dragon might be a bit more problematic, but it would be best to clear out some weaker ones first to give his allies room to fight. Before going after the noise, he turned to Sephiroth. "I do not take morality lessons from those who are trying to destroy the world," he informed the silver haired swordsman with a friendly smile before turning back to the taboo noise. The warrior jumped towards the frogs as he cast Stone Spire, impaling them with spires of rock just as he landed and slashed at one. "My partner said we have to attack these ones together," he told the other Beta partners.

-933

Both, but mostly the latter. Bri's an INTJ, she has to prove that she's right.

Ooh, I'm beginning to get the feeling that Anton and Bri aren't going to get along extremely well...

"Sorry Anton," Bri shrugged. She wasn't actually sorry, but saying it was no skin off her back. "They aren't leaving without infecting people, the only thing to debate is if we interfere. That one is obvious, so then we can wait for them or take advantage of the element of surprise. Once again," The chemist tapped her fingers on the back of her notebook, "Obvious. So, who to attack first? Well, who is it harder for three close range and a midrange specialist, all with some longer range magic, to take down? The hand to hand mathematician who can summon a few helpers, who we can easily out range, or the genetically modified super soldier who was the best swordsman in a world of swordsmen and dominates close to midrange with a freaking two meter sword? Oh," she leaned forward slightly, "and did I mention the latter throws fire?"

-935

-937

-939

"Status report?" Bri smiled at the other players as she entered Lax's hub, looking over their shoulders at the screen so she would be able to see what Matthew was describing. "Two more Betas and one EVO have gotten involved. Soma, Shantae, and Sephiroth. The EVOs have outright stated that they are here to infect people and get information, the Betas are still trying to avoid conflict." The chemist nodded at the quiet voice of her partner, resisting the urge to slap someone as she jotted notes in shorthand. Leave it to the other Betas to try to diffuse a situation that clearly had no solution outside a fight. "They already know you're a Beta, we haven't been too inconspicuous. The EVOs want conflict? Then you make the first move. Start with Sephiroth, his long sword makes close range more difficult for you. Catch him off guard with psynergy." Oh yeah, she almost forgot. "Hi guys." This was directed to Lax, Kline, and Anton. "No offense, but don't you think we should be trying to do something more proactive about the EVOs trying to infect people in Twilight Town?" Matthew nodded at Bri's advice. A bit underhanded, but the best way to beat cheaters is to cheat. Not bothering to mince words, he started with Wild Growth, a powerful wide range debuff to tangle up all foes and drop their agility. Next up was Grand Gaia, a high powered stream of magma and rock which shot out of the ground at Sephiroth's feet. It burnt a ton of PP, but the early damage was worth it if it hit.

-947

-949

-951

-953

-955

-957

-959

-962

-964

-966

-968

-970