Upon reaching the city, they find themselves outside of the deserted former Nova Heart run coffee shop Chipper Roasters. The place is all boarded up after Supernova opened and is abandoned. Chandra, Tsukuyomi, and Sol all stand around waiting for The Gang to catch up. When they see the group appear, they smile and wave.
Luna smiles and waves, adding on, "we just need Viper and we're all set," and she texts her to meet up at the former Chipper Roasters. Sol nods, "Understood. The portal to Capital City is all set. We'll be meeting with everyone else there. Our entrance will be just outside of Nova Square where this supposed party is going to be. Personally, I think this is all a trap, but it's better to get Spark while he's outside of his tower than to have to actually fight through hundreds of floors." Chandra and Tsukuyomi are over in the corner. A swirling golden portal is waiting for The Gang to step inside.
Viper's truck pulls up directly next to the coffee shop, with Viper stepping out wearing casual clothing that has a gas mask hanging off of a belt loop. It's very obvious that she has a Kevlar vest on underneath her clothes, she waves at the group "I'm so ready for anything that'll happen."
Patrice paces the immediate vicinity to try and get as much worry energy out as possible. Not that it's helping much, but it's better than standing around waiting. Tsukuyomi walks over to Patrice asking, "Are you alright dear?" Patrice looks at Tsukuyomi, and shakes her head no, as she keeps on pacing, her breaths fast and shallow. "Do you want to talk about it? Let's take a seat and.." Tsukuyomi doesn't seem like she's handling it much better, as Patrice notices tears well up in her eyes, "I suppose just try to relax." Sol is next to her and places a hand on Tsu's shoulder, showing solidarity.
Patrice slows her pace and closes her eyes, her breaths gradually slow and deepen. "It's this dream business that's having me on edge," she explains. "Normally I would have disregarded it, but the fact that it's not just me makes me nervous. And considering what we're about to do..." She leaves the words hanging in midair.
Hearing Patrice's woes, Tsukuyomi nods solemnly, "Ah, I see. I cannot blame you. Shared visions are... quite unfun, but I can assure you, we'll be fine. I've had my fair share of them over the course of my life. Very few have come true, however. You just have to focus up and not let what you saw overtake you. And besides, we're all going to be there. This is not a solo endeavor, even despite the dreams my daughter have told me and January." This is the first time she's called Luna her daughter, though it wasn't in earshot of Luna. January nods, "Correct. This is a team effort. An operation to retake our city."
Spider leans against the wall of Chipper Roasters, despite appearing relaxed when looking closer it's clear she's tensed up. The uncertainty of everything playing on her mind.
After checking her phone, Luna breathes a heavy and rather uneasy exhale when she announces, "Hey we should head to Capital City. Our friends are waiting for us." Hinata then goes next to Viper and adds, "Ready?"
Patrice takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and shakes her head, as if to chase away the thoughts. She opens her eyes. "Thanks, Tsukuyomi and Jan, for the talk."
"Ready for fun times," Viper calls out to Luna and Hinata.
Tsukuyomi nods, "Of course, anytime." January then looks over to Luna and adds, "if you don't have a way to get to Capital City, enter the portal. It'll lead you to the rest of the group. Otherwise, meet at the Crossroads by Nova District. That's where we're all meeting up." Luna and Hinata are by the portal. Clearly that's the route they're planning to take, especially considering their girlfriend doesn't have teleportation."
In their typical fashion there's a flash of green sparks before January has even finished his last sentence. Spider and Error are gone.
Sol sighs at seeing the Spider shaped void in the area, "Someone was excited."
Tsukuyomi then walks over to the portal. "See you soon, dear." and she steps through. January just smiles as everyone else hops into the portal.
[LOCATION TAG - JUST OUTSIDE OF NOVA SQUARE - CAPITAL CITY]
The Square is decorated rather heavily with streamers, tents, and screens showing the stage up front. At the front of the Square directly in front of Nova Tower is Spark playing something on a fancy grand piano.
Where the audience would be, however, is completely empty. No one is in the audience pit, hell, no one's even seen anyone else in the area. It's almost like the Square is completely deserted, save for The Gang, Spark Estelle, and the woman in a black cloak. The woman has her mint-green hair out in full display, is looking rather lifeless, and is just staring into the void. Perhaps she's waiting for something. When his song is finished - Moonlight Sonata specifically - the same canned cheer response is heard.
[You see Spark wearing a simple black suit and tie. His hair is no longer white but now a pale shade of blond. His smile wide, almost too wide. He hasn't spotted The Gang yet, but they can see him. There are lots of places to hide in the area, almost like the tents gives you all some sort of vantage locations. Tents, signage, and the alleys between the buildings themselves make for some interesting choices for cover.]
[Luna hides behind one of the tents as her eyes turn purple. Shields of violet crystal are being erected to try and protect her friends. Hinata is providing the casters support with Rhythm Rampage, basically cheerleading for them and boosting their power. Chandra, Tina, and Rebecca are hiding in one of the alleys with their weapons readied. Toby reaches into his bag and pulls out a simple remote of some kind.]
Neither Antares (Spark) nor Hypernova (Elara) have noticed them yet.
[The Gang! Prepare for battle!]
Patrice looks around at the tents, seeing which one is closest to the stage, and hides in it.
[You reach it super easily as he turns around to walk back to his piano. The canned cheering dies down.]
Viper follows Patrice's lead and looks for the second closest tent and hides in it [You do exactly that without issue. Spark doesn't seem to notice still.]
In that same tent, and with a press of a button, Toby summons an old foe back from months of preparation. Catara is back and this time, it's under Toby's control. He smiles at Viper, muttering, "finally got Catara to work for us instead of against us. Massive pain in the ass, but I think it'll help." Catara nods and speaks in a heavily robotic monotone. "Affirmative. Operation - Dim the Light will soon commence." Catara’s arms morph into blades and a look of pure focus and fury towards the stage can be seen." Spider ducks into one of the nearby alleys and readies THE GLITCH BLADE OF ERROR.
[Music begins to play and everyone sees Hypernova, that's Elara, begin to survey the area. Perhaps it's out of sheer confusion due to the complete lack of audience. The sky begins to darken as he plays. The track you hear is the following. BGM - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAj0gEBo8dg ]
Patrice waits with bated breath, gun drawn and at the ready. Ducking into one of the alley ways, Spider waits. Her ears twitch as she uses her other senses to keep track of what's happening. But something about this isn't adding up. Why is he playing to an empty square and fake applause?
[Spider, with her heightened senses of smell, begins to smell Stardust slowly waft into the air. Despite her hearing preoccupied by the piano, she does notice a couple strange notes being played? And above all, Elara is walking along the front of the stage. That is, when she spots a certain someone. When familiar purple ears poke up from behind one of the amethyst barriers, Elara, using her Wind magic, rockets directly into Luna and Hinata's way. When Spark sees that happen, he stands up as the piano continues to play and claps. "Welcome to my show, my final show before I become a God! I'm so glad you all could be here to witness my ascension! The Many Gods Above will be welcoming me with open arms soon!" The same canned applause is heard from before.]
ERROR glows red with fury. On its surface, the following is inscribed: HE'S NOT A GOD. HE'S A FAKE!
Spider glances down at the angry bat in her bat in her hand and responds quietly, "Even so you need to be careful, I think they're using stardust." [This is the first time you've ever seen Error react like this. Its red glow pulses the same way someone would when deep breathing. Slow yet methodical.]
ERROR - Right. Also can confirm, Stardust is in the air. It probably will not affect any of the non Magical Souls, but for those who do house one, I would exercise caution.
The sound of something ZOOMING from the stage is heard and something crashes through one of the barriers Krystal erected. Luna and Hinata are tackled through the barriers and are sequestered away from the rest of the party. Before that, however, Luna manages to cast LIBRA SCAN on SPARK and on HYPERNOVA.
Completely visible to The Gang are a long yellow bar designating Spark Estelle’s Health Percentage (HP) and a large blue barrier surrounding him and the stage.
For the remainder of this phase, it appears that neither of them will be of any help as they will have their hands full with Hypernova. Another barrier, this one in pink, is erected, much like the one protecting Spark.