World Tree MUSH

    The Mushroom Kingdom's primary passenger port is a small one compared to many other worlds - Warp Pipes allow travel to distant lands quickly and easily, so sea traffic is mostly limited to leisure or cargo transit, despite the Mushroom Kingdom being an island nation. The bright, warm sun glints off the deep blue waters. There are white, fluffy clouds dotting the sky, that... on close inspection almost look like they have eyes.

    So do the hills off in the distance, for that matter.

    The ship docked on pier 1 is anything BUT small. The invitation called it a yacht, but it's so large it perhaps should be called a 'miniature cruise liner'. The design just screams 'this belongs to Peach' - if the name 'HMS Mushroom Cake' didn't give it away, the fact that there is a cottage-sized PINK CASTLE on the deck sure would. From the outside the ship appears to have five decks, although the main gathering is supposed to be taking place on the upper deck.

    The temporary bridge connecting the ship to the dock is down, guarded by two mushroom men in adorable little sailor outfits. Once aboard, it's just one flight of stairs until guests emerge on the wide open main deck, which has deck chairs laid out on both port and starboard sides. Close inspection of the deck reveals... lines painted on the deck that strongly resemble a race course.

    But that's silly.

    Peach is here! Dressed in a pink bikini an sarong, laying on one of the deck chairs with a pair of sunglasses on. There are a few moments of her Royal Guard about, but they're currently being discrete. Otherwise, it's just guests and Sailor Toads!

    Rydia is... Exhausted. Summoning Eidolons takes a disastrously taxing toll on an untrained Summoner, especially when too young to properly bear the burden of channelling the enourmous amounts of energy to call upon them from their realm in the Feymarch. And to be quite frank the biting chill of Snowpeak- even with the manor well under repairs, is not the best place to convalesce.
    Getting an invitation for a boat ride sounds... Interesting. Rydia has never been aboard a boat. This time, tugging on Terra to follow, Rydia does NOT lead the half-esper to a warzone, but to the piers, and Rydia is dressed for the occasion in a little green sundress that is better suited to the warmer weather off the mountain fort, though she looks somewhat pale and sickly.
    She stops dead in her tracks, though, her ills forgotten in a brief moment. The child has to stare. The reason is very simple...
    Rydia has never seen the sea.

    The last few days have been a trial, haven't they? Terra has endured enough that you'd think she'd be ready for sunny days and good times, right? Aside from not having a clue what to do with herself this seems refreshing, perhaps. Or really, she's somewhat intimidated.

    Relax? Have fun?

    It's Rydia that gets her moving along, dressed in borrowed clothes that are considerably more suitable for the warm weather than her normal outfit. Though does she look okay in all white? She has doubts and it's worth it to keep the tiny summoner out of more trouble; if the last incident was any indicator she now knows that Rydia is a trouble magnet. She still has to apologize for the fire.

    "I believe this should be the one. Rydia...?" Glance. Finally, someone who's newer to something than she is. "Never seen the sea before? The view is even better from the ship, I'm sure." Little smile. That ought to get her moving again, no?

    Most people have only seen Athena in some kind of armor, either protective composite plating or light power armor. She isn't wearing either for this, because she's here to explore beyond her world and into interesting other places. And being a goddess, why shouldn't she head to a party hosted by a princess? She's even gotten a more modern dress for the occasion! Also, not armed...

    Mostly. Little Owl still floats around, buzzing about her head, but the drone appears to be just investigating stuff. Aside from that piece of tech, she's appearing as a normal woman.

    "It is a large boat," she admits. Sure, her world has bigger ones NOW, but when she was last active... not so much.

Olivia Montag had been lucky to get an invite there was a small problems he really had nothing suitable to wear, the best bet she had was her normal clothing which wasn't made for combat, even then it would be more than a little out of place, still she's cleaned up at least and her clothes are clean, so she has that. Though thankfully some passing comment from her father of all people made her turn into a shop on her way there she picked up a dark green bikini, it felt odd to her but it seemed to be made out of a very study material for somethign so light. She'd also picked up a pair od sandles though the merchan had got an very odd mix of coin from her. Some Credits, Imperial Crowns, and a gold coin. Still with that done she would make for the ship carrying her previous clothing in a bag she'd also picked up there. 

 "How does sone make such a large vessel...?" 

 She justs stares and moves to start making for it she does look to Athena. 5R
 "It is very large, I been told of larger ones forged of steel but never seen something like this." 

 she grins a bit Athena, "Come now let's see what's aboard shall we?"

    The two sailors by the gangplank are here to check invitations! Of course, for those who forgot to bring them - or just plain didn't actually get one - there's... no, there's absolutely no trouble getting aboard anyway. The security is really light today - after all, none of them are magical fire-breathing turtle-wizards, so they're probably not here to kidnap the princess.

    And people wonder how the monarch of an entire country gets kidnapped so often...

    When the guests step aboard the ship, the smell of cooking greets them, wafting down the halls... well, a ship this size surely must have a kitchen, one supposes.

    For a moment, a dark shape is visible in the water. But... no, it vanishes a moment later. Must be a trick of the light.

    "My hometown was deep in the valley of Mist." Rydia answers Terra, softly. "We only had mountains as far as the eye could see, and a desert to the east. I never left the valley until..." She trails off.
    Rydia has no intent to be a trouble magnet today, she just wants to rest, and the Summoner decides to change the subject, dipping her head in a nod when the half-esper points out that the view is probably better from the boat. "Let's... Get on board, then."
    Invitation in hand, she leads Terra up the plank.
    "We're here." She announces herself to Peach, voice hoarse. The mushroom princess will recognize this look. It's the 'Rydia did something again' look, after all. "I brought a friend, too. Hope you don't mind."
    This is when Olivia and Athena get a glance. Olivia might recognize Rydia as the elusive little figure from Snowpeak that shut herself away when the workers came, but otherwise both are new faces for the girl, who gives an almost wary, if polite nod of greeting.

    "Advanced shipbuilding techniques, machines built to fabricate large pieces..." Athena answers Olivia with some vagueness, before curtseying and stepping on board. Kind of... not caring about invitations, because she's a goddess dangit. She used to show up to parties uninvited all the time!

    But aside from that bit of ego, she's actually quite well-behaved. "I look forward to some of the cooking. It's also advanced quite a bit from what I knew before."

    Distracted by the two greenhairs now, Athena looks both over. "Hello there."

Olivia Montag says "So maming machines to make bigger machines? I think I understand I'm starting to think my father isn't pulling my leg with his stories about America." 

 She follows laong the goddess for the moment as she smiles at the though of food, she also sees the magic using green haired duo. 

 "Hello good to see you two are getting a well earned break after what you did at the outpost!"

    Quite an interesting retinue. Choice of decor as well. Everything, really, is rather eye catching for Terra. Including the scenery which she tries not to stare at. The hills have eyes...? That can't be right. Still, Rydia's reminiscing turns a bit sour and she offers a comforting hand. No words. She doesn't know what to say anyway.

    Then we're off again! Olivia and Athena get a look in turn; she remembers Olivia and so offers a little greeting, "Hello and thank you. I hope your animals are alright as well?"

    As the guests reach the deck, they will likely spot the princess in her bikini and sarong - and if not, after one of the sailors walks over to whisper something to her, the princess springs to her feet and does a little hurried skipping motion over to her guests. "Ah, hello, hello! Rydia, Olivia, it's good to see the two of you again! And..." She trails off. Two people she doesn't recognise. "And I don't believe we're acquainted!" She gives a flourishing bow towards the group with a little cocked grin. "Princess Peach, at your service~ And who might you be?"

    Meanwhile, now that guests are aboard, the sailors are rushing about to get under way. It's not JUST these four, of course - there are other people who boarded before them, but they appear to be natives and Peach is absolutely not paying any attention to them right now.

    The ship sways a little bit. It's probably nothing.

    The swaying ship gets a glance, when Athena feels it. "Don't tell me... no, no, different world." Poseidon has nothing to do with what's happening here, she reminds herself. He may not even exist here.

    "Pallas Athena," she says more loudly, introducing herself to both Peach and the others. "Just call me Athena, for short. It is a lovely ship, and a relaxing party." The floating drone beeps, and Athena adds, "And this is Little Owl."

    Rydia takes Terra's hand. There's even a small squeeze before the girl lets go." Trying." She notes to Olivia, in regards to taking a break after that stint in Eos. "Rydia of Mist." That's her introduction nice and proper, before she motions to the thin mist that seems to linger around her and only her. "And this is Whyt." That introduction might seem a little more odd, though.
    In spite of the swaying of the boat, she displays no hesitation in making her way to to railing at the edge of the boat. As soon as she reaches the railing, Rydia is almost lost in the splendor of looking out onto the sea for her first time, but then the girl closes her eyes, folding her hands together as though in prayer.
    "Lord of the seas, King Leviathan, grant us safe passage in our voyage."

    Oh! Right, this must be the owner! Terra dips her head bashfully a moment, "Sorry, hello. I believe we met briefly in passing. You were, ah, busy!" Being a creative whirlwind in the kitchen. Who could remember such a brief meeting in such a frenzy of activity? "I'm with Rydia." Well, duh.

    The ship sways and she rocks with it, not seeming to mind or really take notice. Warships are often rough. Landing craft even more so. She may not remember but her reflexes seem to.

    The little drone gets a curious look and it's hard for her to not want to reach toward it. No, behave.

    Then Rydia's off after making her introduction to everyone. She offers an awkward look, "It's nice to meet you all. I'll..." There's so many people. "I've never been to something like this before, honestly and-" She edges in Rydia's direction while fumbling for an excuse to flee.

Olivia Montag says "They will be recovering for a bit, but they will live. It was a near thing though..." She likes that Terra has shown concern for her animals ands it shows on he face. She then turns the princess. 

 "Thank you for the welcome Princess." 

 She bows slightly she pauses for a moment, she nods to Athena she doesn't want to know so she stops to introduce hersel back to TErra and Rydia. 

 "Olivia Montag."

    Peach nods her head to Athena. "I swear I've heard that name before somewhere... well, welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom, I suppose~ That certainly is an alarmingly cute little robot you have there. And... Terra. Right. Sorry, I was kinda distracted last time I guess~ Hee. If you four want anything to eat or drink or something, feel free to ask. The kitchen is fully stocked, don't you worry~"

    The ship shudders, and begins to move, pulling out of the dock. Peach sashays her way over to the side - it's these clothes she can't help it - and leans on the rail next to Rydia. "...You overdid it again, huh?" she asks the slightly ragged-looking girl, as the ship makes its way out of the harbour onto its voyage... It's not going to be a long voyage, but still.

     A shot breaks across the deck. It is a single shot, fired straight into the air. It echoes with the resounding force of a bullet packed with more gunpowder than is strictly necessary to kill a human - the sort of bullet a man who hunts monsters might pack, with more overkill than kill because there are some things that don't /die/ without it. It is a shot meant not to hit anyone but to clear the deck of all those innocents, those bystanders, those unfortunates who might otherwise be caught in the crossfire. It is a shot that sacrifices a surprise attack for the sake of the masses getting to safety. It is a bizarre form of mercy, but it is a mercy nonetheless. 

     It is the only mercy anyone is likely to receive from the man in the white hood. The crowd parts to reveal him - his hanging hood, his white hair, his red-and-white hypertech armor, his massive shield, his heavy revolver - and the burning hate deep in his unshadowed red eye. It is a hate that is more than simple passionate distaste, simple illogical racism - it is a hate born of logic and cold calculation mixed with that poison called passion, that sickness called obsession, that villainy called vengeance. The man in the white hood moves forward through the rapidly-fleeing crowd, his revolver raised and pointed squarely at Rydia. 

     There are dark circles under his eyes, as if he has not slept in some time. Or perhaps they are simply shadows - echoes of the shadows of his hood, echoes of the shadows of his hair that hide his other eye and obscure much of his face. For that intense, all-powering hatred does not seem diminished in the slightest. Nor does his gait seem slower, nor his hand wavery. If he has not slept it is impossible to tell, so puppeted is he by his cold wrath. His lips are moving silently - or perhaps he's whispering something too quietly for anyone to hear- 

     +ADEPT+ 

     The speakers on the deck thunder loudly, accusing horns in the voice of the man in the white hood. The sound of the judgement breaks over the noise of the fleeing crowd. The speakers begin to blare loudly, a jumble of noise designed only to confound and irritate, to muffle spellcasting and to irritate those who need to concentrate to use their otherworldly powers, to confuse and drown out attempts at inter-party communication. The thundrous, dischordant music masks the engines being forced into overdrive, though it cannot mask the sudden lurch of the huge boat, meant to throw people who are not the man in white off balance. 

     +REPENT FOR YOUR SINS+, echoes the tinny voice from the speaker. 

     Another shot rings out. This one is not aimed at the air. This one is aimed at Rydia's head. 

     This overlarged bullet is aimed to kill.

>> SUMMARY[Copen] >> ACTION STAGE: FLEE FROM THE MURDERER. COPEN FIRST HIS GUN at THE AIR to get passengers and bystanders to flee. At some point during the lead-up, he apparently HIJACKED THE SHIP CONTROLS to BROADCAST CONFOUNDING NOISES OVER THE SPEAKERS TO HINDER CONCENTRATION and KICK THE ENGINES INTO HIGH GEAR TO PREVENT ESCAPE CRAFT FROM ARRIVING. COPEN also FIRED HIS GUN at RYDIA to KILL HER DEAD.

    Athena is not, by nature, a self-sacrificing person. When Copen appears, the strange man is just... confusing to her. She manages to gather that he's using some very advanced technology, with her tech sense, but without examination that is all she really gets until... he decides to shoot a bullet at the friendly child.

    Greek gods don't have a lot of honor, but murdering a little girl in cold blood is something that would make Athena blink. The Athena now, living among humans, in her human shell, has the trouble of also having her host's protectiveness invading upon her disappointment. She doesn't even realize she's moving in front of the bullet until she's done it. She's a goddess, though, she can take it. Right?

    Nope. Athena isn't wearing her armor, and certainly not her Aegis. She has time to stare for a moment in shock while Rydia is saved not by the bulk of the supernatural woman's body, but by the bone inside deflecting the bullet at an angle. Blood blossoms in front, while it sprays from behind in a shocking exit wound.

    "That... never happened before," she admits. "Maybe I should have... worn something a little more sturdy." She's still standing! It looks like she's about to pass out at any second though.

    Everything's fine! Terra's just weird and she knows it and oh Cursed Trio Peach is heading the same direction she's going. To Rydia! Peach is nice! This is her Thing. She needs to relax! Right? Right. Deep breath. "Yes, it's no problem. You were very busy and I didn't want to be in the way so I didn't bother you."

    She likes animals, what can she say? Olivia gets a sheepish look, then the half-Esper's eyes go to that mechanical owl of Athena's. "That's a very ni-" Then a gunshot peals through the air and she immediately tenses and runs the last few steps to the railing. Collect Rydia! The lurching of the accelerating ship slows her a bit but at least she doesn't have heeled boots on, right?!

    The noise from the speakers precludes any attempt at calling out but the aggressor is almost immediately apparent. Like he wants to be seen? Then a weapon is pointed and she feels the chest tightening grip of dread. Dread and then /fury/. Is that- Is it meant for- No no NO!

    A roar of denial, whether drowned out by the speakers or otherwise, is her answer. A roar as she leaps to interpose herself between this villain and Rydia. She's almost aglow with fury, or is it magic? 

    Then Athena's in front. She flinches at the gunshot, or was it the shower of blood? Terra, either in shock or moving mechanically on training alone, reaches forward and attempts to support Athena. With her arms and with a surge of healing magic. 'Why are you doing this!?' She tries to scream over the speakers but it's near impossible to be heard. A glance behind. She mouths, 'Run!'

Olivia Montag has not brought any dinos, she's not brought any weapons, she's currently in a freaking bikini. This is not a good day for her as Copen now drops in. This was not what she was expecting the talk about repenting for one's sins? All she knows is some person wants to shoot a very brave little girl, who saved a lot of people a few days ago. 

 Ya this guy is graded food for her dinos in her mind. 

 She is not used to high cal rounds, but she knows what a basic bullet will do she was about to move but Athena is hit by the round and well it's messy, she calls to Rydia. 

 "RUN!" 

 While she goes to Athena side taking her backpack off, pulling her other clothing out and not even thinking as she uses it to try and stem the bleeding. Well she tries to she knows it's not sterile but well bleeding out is the bigger danger also there's a sense of horror. If Athena is whom she says she is, then this mad man has shot one of the gods. Right now she'll worry about Athena, after who knows what /will/ happen. She's also pretty exposed trying to treat Athena and thankfull Terra is using her healing magic.

    "It just sort of... Happened." Rydia mutters to peach amid her seeming prayers to the King of the waters. "I'm the last Summoner. They come when I get... Distressed." She explains vaguely, before returning to venerating Leviathan and seeking the ocean dwelling Eidolon's blessings.
    Her prayer is rudely interrupted with the report of gunfire. The child flinches instinctively at the krak-BOOM of the familiarly over-loaded round, ears ringing even from the distance between her and the origin.
    Rydia's perception of time slows to a crawl as she turns. It takes her all of an instant to whip around, but as adrenaline surges through her veins, to Rydia, the act may as well have taken ten eternities, as she turns to the fleeing crowd and green eyes focus on the figure in white.
    Even at a distance she can read the single, simple, word on his lips.
    'Adept'.
    Rydia's heart stops, blood running cold in her veins as though she were being wrapped in Shiva's tender embrace.
    "No..."
    Frozen in place, rendered likea doe caught in the headlights, she stares at Copen, lost immediately in the overwhelming presence of the sheere *HATE* blazing in that visible eye. She tries to move and yet all she can do is watch in abject horror as that revolver is levelled for her.
    The gun goes off and Rydia's world goes black.
    Her eyes slam shut as she flinches once again from that hateful sound.
    It's the splash of something warm and coppery-scented on her face that brings her sense of time back, jarringly, to normal.
    For a brief moment, the world is so silent as she brings a hand up to wipe her face and pulls her fingers away, sticky and red. She stares in shock for a moment before looking up at the figure in front of her- the woman, Athena, who just stepped in the path of that hateful bullet for her.
    '--No no no-.' Her voice simply doesn't carry over the noxious sound pollution blaring from the speakers that plays riotous havoc on her senses. 'Nonononono!'
    Terra is there, reaching for Athena- and Rydia SMACKS the half-esper's hand away.
    'Don't let him see you!' She screams, voice lost in the droning. 'Don't use magic in front of him he'll only come after you next!' She tries to warn, but she can't even hear her own voice, setting hands on Athena's terrible wound and only getting them bloodier.
    She can't focus. That noise won't let her FOCUS on even the simplest of white magic. She can only look up and stare through Olivia like victim of shellshock, when the blue-haired woman approaches and tries to tend to Athena.
    Rydia hesitates. She hesitates in a moment where a second could be all it takes for Copen to adjust his aim, but then she makes her decision.
    Copen is after /her/.
    She's up in that instant, and sprinting as fast as she can, away from the others. If she can lead him away, just long enough to distract him, maybe they can tend to her unfortunate savior.
    Or at least come up with a plan.
    Rydia runs. She runs like a rabbit from the hounds.

    A gunshot rings out.

    There are panicked screams as the guests - the native guests, anyway - scatter in all directions. Copen's warning shot apparently worked! If nothing else, Mushroom Kingdm citizens are very good at panicking and running away. After only a few seconds, the only ones left on the deck are the offworlders, the princess, and a few of her Royal Guard.

    Peach is staring in bafflement at Copen. She's not... scared, apparently, more confused by his sudden appearance. She has no idea who this person is, after all, so she doesn't know she SHOULD be scared...

    The boat shudders, jerking forward as it suddenly starts to accelerate beyond its cruising speed, almost knocking the Princess off-balance and forcing her to grab on more firmly to the railing to stop herself from falling over - or possibly even right off the ship entirely! She cringes as the speakers blare their dischordant tones, one hand flung up to try to block at least one of her ears without letting go of the railing...

    Time seems to slow down as she fixes her gaze back on Copen. He's pointing his gun in her direction. He's aiming at - no, not at Peach. "Ryd-!" Peach shouts in horror...!

    And then Terra and Athena are both interposing themselves in front of the young Summoner.

    "Protect the princess!" come shouts from all sides as the short-statured mushroom people of Peach's Royal Guard begin to run out, halberds in hand, converging on Copen. Even as people are yelling at Rydia to run, Peach grips the handrail and hoists herself up, firmly planting both feet on it. Terra is a healer. So is Rydia. Athena will be fine, she looks tough. And no one brought any weapons with them, so...!

    

    A brief flicker of warm, yellow-white light flashes around Peach...

    The cracking boom of Peach launching herself at Copen is loud enough to be heard above the speaker's din, and the force causes the ship to rock ever-so-slightly. The railing has two nice, deep dents in it from her feet.

     Another one flings itself onto the pyre to protect the adept. Copen murmurs something into his hood. He's clearly not talking to himself. He's talking to someone, or something. He's talking to /something/. He might even be recording this. Who knows? Cruise ships have cameras. Maybe he's gotten in that deep. He's gotten control of the engines, or at least enough to force them into lock. He's gotten control of the speakers, or at least enough to make them play what he wants. He might have control of the cameras, too. He might be watching all of this. Recording every moment. Recording Terra's healing. Recording Athena's sacrifice. Recording Peach's magic. Recording Olviia's rapid triage. Recording Rydia's every movement. 

     On a boat. At sea. 

     With no way off. 

     Every. Movement. Watched. By those ever-present moving cameras. 

     The mushroom men come surging forward. Peach prepares to charge. Copen's massive shield comes swinging around, the arms of his white armor glowing along the red lines. Something is powering those arms. But that's not the part that everyone should be worried about. 

     The Aixgear suddenly expands outwards, along the red X that is Copen's symbol, the sideways Templar cross. The red X blazes to life at the exact moment that the boat rocks under Peach's thrust, and the shield explodes into light. Three triangles of light, to be specific - three sacred, unmistakable triangles, into which Peach crashes, through which Peach shatters and smashes against the shield itself. Shards of the sacred triangles fall around her as Copen's free hand - the revolver is literally dangling from his wrist by a chain, dropped to execute the maneuver - grabs her by the leg. Her slowed momentum is enough for him to grab her - the shield wasn't meant to stop her, just allow him to turn and *hurl* her bodily at Rydia, using the rest of her momentum against them both. 

     He completely ignores the Mushroom Men. As their attacks come in, Copen...dodges? No, that's not quite right - it's more like his purposeful walk avoids them, like he's calculating the position they're going to swing at and moving to disrupt their flow. He's not even paying enough attention to them to *attack* them - he just lets them collide with each other, or miss him, or otherwise routes around them, his methodical pace unhindered. There is a purpose to this methodical pace. There is design behind it. 

     The shield rises again. But this time it's pointed forward. It splits along the X again, this time unfolding like a great bow. It locks into place as Copen levels the bow at the party. 

     +O SINNER+ Copen's prerecorded voice thunders from the speakers +WHO BLASPHEMES AGAINST THE LORD THY GOD. O SINNER, WHO WOULD SET THYSELF APART FROM MORTAL MEN. O SINNER, WHO WOULD ESCAPE THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD WITH THE VILLAINY OF MAGIC. O SINNER, WHO EMBRACES THE PLAGUE OF WITCHCRAFT.+ 

     The shield blazes into heavenly light as Copen draws his arm back, like he's pulling on a string. The shield bends in response to his motion. The light charges. 

     +REPENT, AND FIND PEACE IN HIS EMBRACE, FOR I AM THE CURE FOR YOU.+ 

     Copen releases the shot, and the arrows of light splinter and go shooting forward. They're aimed explicitly - at Terra, at Rydia, at Peach, and at *nobody else*. They go shooting past Olivia's ear. They bypass Athena. They don't touch a single mushroom-man. 

     +REPENT, PLAGUE. REPENT, ADEPT. I AM THE CURE.+

>> SUMMARY[Copen] >> PARANOIA FUEL for Rydia. PEACH charges into and shatters ZELDA'S OWN MAGIC SHIELD; COPEN uses HER MOMENTUM TO THROW HER AT RYDIA IN ORDER TO SET UP FOR HIS NEXT ATTACK. Terra uses magic; COPEN WILL REMEMBER THIS. COPEN uses ZELDA'S LIGHT ARROWS to shoot at TERRA, RYDIA, and PEACH; OLIVIA and ATHENA are spared. The MUSHROOM MEN ARE COMPLETELY IGNORED, WHICH IS PROBABLY TO THEIR BENEFIT.

    Athena has been shot through the chest in what would be a lethal wound on a normal human. She would be dead no matter the triage. Only her supernaturally-enhanced body is keeping her alive and conscious... and even then, she topples over and onto the deck, coughing blood and watching the sky spin. Vaguely she whispers, "I don't remember dying before. Is it always this cold?"

    A bit melodramatic, because with Olivia and Terra, she's not in any actual danger of dying today of this single wound. As soon as she realizes that, she whispers, "He's not a warrior. He's being helped." She can't say all that much more without coughing up more blood, but maybe they'll get the message and maybe the mortals here can help. If Terra even qualifies as mortal.

    Beeps are heard! "DEFENSE MODE." Little Owl, the tiny drone, zips up from where he had perched, the small laser popping out and firing a rapid series of shots at Copen. It's not much, much weaker than Athena's normal armament! It might distract though.

Olivia Montag works frantically with Athena, she's not seen rounds like this used much on anything save dinosaurs on the Ark. The closet time she's seen something like this on a person was when a bystander got clipped in a fight and lost an arm from a high tech round. She hears the sound of a round going past her ear she can hear the sound of them he rants like a Fanatic. She looks down on Athena as she works to patch up the wound. She has no clothing now. 

 "Keep talking, focus on me do not stop talking and do not /sleep/." 

 She agrees this man is no warrior, he's insane he's a fanatical but he's still very lethal. With Terra's healing though the blood flow will have slowed, to the point her efforts will be much easier. 

 "Didn't you just get out of the underworld. Don't be so eager to go back! Few get a second chance!" 

 She has no weapons she wants to do something about Copen but he'll just chunk her pretty bad pretty hard...and she knows it. She can keep watch on Athena though, which is what she's doing for the moment.

    Rydia runs. And she will continue to do so until she's run to ground. An ironic phrase considering the aquatic environment. She is, mercifully clueless in regards to Copen's hijacking the camera systems; but if the girl knew what a camera was, she would be mind numbingly horrified. It is a thought that would give her nightmares for years, to think that anywhere, anytime the eyes of the Demon of God could be upon her. Breathless and chest heaving, she's already exhausted, her body not quite fully recovered from calling upon Ramuh's aid before. Now she barely has the energy nor stamina to keep her own frantic pace, held aloft by adrenaline and terror.
    "Lev... Levitha...n. Lord of... The seas-" 
    It is a flash of golden light that makes her glance back over her shoulder, interrupting her mid-plea to some higher power, and she stumbles, watching in rapt horror as the Triforce is emulated with that golden light. She only has a brief window to evade as Peach is hurled for her.
    The tiny summoner slips through that window like an eel, hurling herself for the deck and tumbling in a barely controlled roll that carries her out of the flun princess' path. 
    "L- Leviathan- our voyage-" She babbles insensate with fear as she scrabbles, only to see another flare of golden light.
    Jade eyes snap open at thefamiliar sight of the Arrows of Light and this time Rydia is stunned. Long enough for one to slam her in the shoulder. It's with a shrill cry of pain that she topples in an our of control twirl, clutching where the golden shaft embeds in her flesh, grimacing with pain as she scrambles to plant her back against the railing.
    Be it by some miracle of memory, or perhaps a small gift from the king of the oceans, a creature appears at the forefront of Rydia's mind, and she calls out to it.
    "S... Sahagin... SAHAGIN COME *NOW*!"
    Several splashes sound off from the side of the boat. And several aquatic figures leap from the water and vault high into the air. Blue-scaled fish-men with menacing claws and shark-teeth advance upon Copen, gurling and snarling as they come swiping and snapping.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Summon: Creature From The Black Lagoon

    Unaware of the surveilance but keenly aware of the screeching speakers, Terra does what she can before Rydia slaps at her hands. What...? It doesn't quite dawn on her what's going on. Why wouldn't she...? She's no fool but the effort is too little too late. She's already started healing. Perhaps it's best she doesn't stop? She helps guide Athena to the deck of the ship as she goes limp. Training! Somehow she didn't forget that mess and it's the worst possible time for it!

    Then Rydia's running, Peach is on the attack along with her guards! The half-Esper is in a daze. The fight in that darkness was intense. This is something altogether worse. Not everyone is a combatant!

    The flash of Peach impacting Copen's shields then being hurled bodily is enough to drive her on. She's hopefully stemmed enough of Athena's, er, cavity that... It doesn't make sense how the woman isn't dead. Still, being helped?

    When the arrows of light come, she stumbles up on the lurching deck and tries to dive away- The magic blast scores a hit, scorching a hole in her borrowed dress and raising a pained cry from her. If it weren't for these speakers...! She begins to run, the wound from that arrow of light burning like the worst stitch ever as she leaps, pulls herself into an elevated position. A moment goes into silently thanking Rydia for the diversion as she begins to concentrate. It's hard, even though her magic is innate, then she releases. The ship is on fire! Or rather, as many speakers as she can reasonably spot from a slightly elevated vantage. It won't remove the noise entirely but it might help mitigate the effect. Just a bit.

    Of course, she's still not in cover now. She really needs to stop doing that.

>> SUMMARY[Terra Branford] >> Lots of fire burning up loudspeakers! Sorry Rydia. Sorry Peach.

    Peach wasn't exactly expecting a sudden holy barrier to shield the psychopath attacking poor little girls. Sure he was saying something about sinning and God but surely he was just some sort of... crazy zealot?

    Like that crazy zealot monk who keeps punching her with holy energy- okay maybe she shouldn't have been surprised.

    Peach smacks into Copen's physical shield next, only to be snatched out of the air and flung towards Rydia a moment later. Tumbling end over end the princess flares both of her arms our, straining her fingers like she's trying to grip the very air she's tumbling through. Sparkls trail from her fingers like sparks as she very visibly slows down, but it's not enough to stop her from colliding with Rydia-!

    Luckily, it WAS enough to give Rydia time to dodge out of the way.

    Peach comes to a full stop in the air, upside-down, before dropping down onto one hand and springing back to her feet - only to get speared in the shoulder by an arrow of purifying light. "Agh..!" she squeals out, driven down to one knee. A worried glance towards Rydia... and then she's rising back to her feet, applying her own purifying magic to her wound as she just charges at Copen again. If she can just grab him...! "Somebody... Shut off the power!" she tries to shout above the racket.

    Peach's soldiers begin to panic as Copen just dodges EVERYTHING they throw at him. Sure, they're not the best but isn't this a little one-sided?! It really doesn't help as monsters from the deep begin to climb aboard and converge...


    The water roils and boils. The ocean to the port side of the ship rises, five, ten storeys high, causing the boat to veer sharply and almost tip over as a gigantic... thing begins to rise, disturbed by the sudden appearance of foreign creatures within its domain.

    "Bloooooooo!!" come the cries of the Giant Blooper as it rises from the deep.

     A tiny owl, fishmen, the continued assaults of the mushroom men. Copen actually has to focus on things that aren't his targets for the moment. His attention is entirely taken up by the minions. 

     One of the fishmen surges forward, biting and clawing. Copen's glowing arm hooks around its neck, locking it into a hold and swinging it around to soak the blasts from the owl. The Sahagin is raked by the laser beams, the stink of cooked fishman filling the air as Copen discards it into the throng of Toads. Another fishman rakes its claws across his back; he stumbles, for the first time in the entire battle. He /can/ be hit. That's a huge step up. Or, it is, up until he grabs the Sahagin and simply hurls it over his shoulder at the owl. Another sahagin gets his full attention, and he simply uppercuts it with an open-palmed smash, shattering its teeth to pieces and sending it flying into the water as the speakers explode all around him. That clears up, at least, the spellcasters being able to cast. The oppressive, thunderous noise falls away. The music, the ranting, the prerecorded speech, the /intentional/ chaos, just dies as all the speakers erupt in flame. 

     The Blooper rises. 

     Copen glances at it and pays it exactly no mind. Alright. That'll make it harder for them to escape. That's fine. He can work with that. 

     Copen walks over to the Toads and, with a brief hand-chop, knocks them out. 

     He stands from the mass of unconscious Toads, his hateful red eye falling on the party. 

     "Come, then," he gestures at the Toads, "The beast threatens the ship. Come and save them." 

     He readies the revolver. 

     Yes. He won't kill normal people. But he'll /absolutely/ use these strange little mutants as bait to force the party into a compromising solution, and he doesn't have to /save/ these strange little mutants if the ship goes down from the giant squid.

>> SUMMARY[Copen] >> COPEN takes the entire turn to just dismantle the NPCs harrying him, buying everybody a round of not getting shot at to heal up and be reasonably not dead. He also KNOCKS THE TOADS UNCONSCIOUS when the BLOOPER shows up and point-blank reloads his revolver and goes COME SAVE THEM IF YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO GO DOWN WITH THE SHIP while clearly preparing to shoot anyone who comes to save them.

    A little first aid isn't enough for Athena to fully recover, but it does, with her supernatural body, get her moving. Even if she's trailing blood all over, and all. The youthful woman coughs, looking at Copen but less concerned over the hostages than others might be. "Then I will take care of it. If I don't climb back on board, yell at my uncle." A wry smile at Olivia is all she manages in this serious situation... but it does, she hopes, tell everyone involved that Copen is a problem they will need to take care of. She's going to be busy.

    The next time the ship tilts, she lets it carry her into a slide. She isn't heading for Copen, but toward the side of the ship, tumbling right off the edge with a strong kick on the way down. Why she did that is a mystery... until the shout of effort is heard and the anchor, chain and all, whips out toward the Blooper's tendrils to attempt to entangle them. She isn't expecting to beat it right away, just keep it preoccupied and tangled up... with the ship? Is that a good idea?

    Then follows the loud screech of pain when the splash hits. Mortal body with a gaping chest wound falling into salt water was maybe not something fitting for the goddess of wisdom, in this case.

>> GAME >> Athena spends an Edge for: Using an anchor as a martial arts weapon.

Olivia Montag watches as Athena get up. "As you wish, I'll do that." She's taking that seriously the god of the sea will totally get yelled at, which could lead to some trouble. She does try to watch is she going to Athena no? No that's not the best of ideas with the stories of the gods her mother told her. Also she doesn't think she could stop Athena even if she were to make the attempt to do so. She can only watch in awe here as she sees the blooper get hit by the ship's achor, all doubt about whoi who Athena says she is are gone at this point with a stunt like that. 

 There isn't much she can do but pray that Copen is distracted enough for her to try and keep her head down and wait for a moment where she can act and not end up full of bullet holes. She'll try to find some manner of cover and hopefully athena's stunt will distract Copen long enough for her to do that.

    Soaked in blood both her own and Athena's, Rydia flinches, looking away as Copen turns his attention on the hodgepodge of toads, sahagin, and the little drone that beseige him. And how he HANDLES them. They'll live, but he did it at only vague inconvenience.
    Then... Then there is fire.
    When near every speaker aboard the ship suddenly catches ablaze, the Summoner's breath catches in her throat. There it is once again. That raw, primal look of insensate fear; this time not caused by Copen, but by the roaring flames that burn the sound system beyond use. On the one hand, that aural pollution comes to an end, yet... Yet there is no concentration to be found for Rydia, scrambling herself to press her back against the railing as far away from the blaze as she can.
    She only dimly recognizes the situation for what it has become as the Demon of God lords himself as hostage taker of the toads, while another complication arises. A beast from the depths, called by the commotion, chaos, and in response to the Sahagin she had called. Rydia stares at the great Blooper in stark, rapt, shock and silence.
    As though on puppet strings, she rises to her feet, body slack and wobbling as she raises her hands to the skies. Her breath comes in a ragged gasp, a faint glow surrounding her body as the Summoner gives in to her wild state and reaches out desperately in search of anything that will listen and come to her call. And before she knows it the words come to her unbidden, spoken as though in a trance or stupor, as the skies darken an the waters begin to churn and froth.
    "Eidolon King... Born of the Northern Sea... Lord of All Waters, grant us safe passage on our journey, and shepard us from harm as we pass through your waters..."
    What comes next is a disaster. The seas toss and turn, a massive wave rocks the boat, as the waters roar. ... No. That wasn't the water. That was something else entirely. Something far LARGER than the Giant Blooper rises from the depths with a sky-shattering roar, as something from the beyond deigns to heed the call of the Last Summoner of Mist.
    Leviathan rises from the depths with such a force that the boat rocks again, one gigantic fin breaking the water and launching Athena back onto the boat as the giant worm-like sea-dragon lowers his beaked head to survey the boat and occupants with an almost detached disinterest. The same kind of uncaring, unfeeling stare of something endlessly eternally vast, staring down upon Summoner, Killer, Princess, and even a Goddess as though they were little more than ants. So detached in fact, that the monstrous sea serpent takes utterly no action, but to descend back beneath the waves. But even that causes the boat to veer and rock.
    "Wh..."
    Rydia collapses to her knees spent and pale with exhaustion.
    "Where... Whare are you going... Why aren't you...? ... Why...?"

>> GAME >> Rydia spends an Edge for: Summon Leviathan - GET IGNORED

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Rydia calles Leviathan, who flings Athena back onto the ship, rocks the boat /VIOLENTLY/, and then screws off without helping because Rydia does not have the proper pokemon badges for this one's respect.

>> SUMMARY[Olivia Montag] >> summary Olivia looking for cover to take a chance to act later, and promises ot yell at Athena's uncle if she dies.

    Okay, so the sound is done. Thank goodness. One small calm in a sea of peril. Still, everything's going to pot and she couldn't feel more helpless; so she did a little bit of healing for the strange woman. So she exploded the ship's PA system. Now she stands out in the open as the strange man in all that armor reloads that weapon after so handily dispatching all of the guards and even Rydia's summoned sea creatures.

    Her heart pangs with fear and more than a little guilt. She's well aware her magic fire terrifies poor Rydia and is fearful of how it makes other people feel. Her few disjointed memories of it are quite unpleasant.

    Then a massive sea monster emerges from the depths to attack the boat. A squid?! She almost melts with revulsion at the sight of it and very nearly faints when it sort-of talks. Then there's action! Athena's up and fighting, Peach is hopefully okay from that throw; Olivia... What is she doing?! Torn by confusion and panic, it's all she can do not to collapse and completely fail to act.

    Then Something Else emerges. She clings to her perch, bowled down to all fours by the appearance of another of Rydia's summons. She stares up, feeling something stirring within. Even as she's about to raise her voice to call out to the thing as well- it's simply gone, leaving the ship pitching about. That ember of hope extinguished, she calls out to the man in white, "Why are you doing this?! We don't want to fight! We just- I'm sorry for whatever happened to you but hurting people isn't the answer!" Thank goodness the ship's still tossing and she's down low. Or she'd be really easy to shut up.

>> SUMMARY[Terra Branford] >> Lots of shit; Also Protag Soapbox ON

    Really, Peach shouldn't be in the thick of things like this. She's a Princess - she's an important figure that everyone in her country relies on to inspire hope and bring people together! She can't go risking her life for people all the time, she has... she has politics and diplomacy and all that stuff to think about! How would the Kingdom react if she were to be greviously injured or even killed?

    She doesn't even have an heir yet!

    Of course, she really wouldn't be such a beacon of hope for her people if she wasn't willing to take a stand when they were in danger. She glares daggers in Copen's direction. "You... arrogant... I know this is a trap!" But she's falling for it anyway as she turns her attention from Copen and to the massive squid rearing out of the sea.

    The ship sways and rolls, aborting Peach's mad dash almost as soon as it starts and causing her to bounce and tumble a few paces before righting herself - defying physics in the process, complete with magical sparkles again - and running towards the giant blooper.

    Of course, Copen's likely to shoot her before she gets there. Better her than the others, in her view. Toadsworth's going to give her an earful...

    Meanwhile, the giant blooper 'roars' as its tentacles are tangled up by the anchor and its chain. It thrashes about, flailing a couple of tentacles that are still free and slapping against the boat - but not hard enough to cause much structural damage. Seems Athena's strategy worked!

    The Giant Blooper rears back, opening the out-of-place mouth on its face wide... and then a giant wave rocks the boat and the Blooper, causing it to flail and submerge for a moment before surfacing and just...

    It's just staring at Leviathan, as if transfixed. Is it afraid? Even as Leviathan promptly leaves, it just stays there, ink leaking from its open mouth, stunned.

    It's not used to monsters larger than itself!

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Peach knowingly does something stupid! Athena has grappled the Blooper, forcing it to use its ultimate ink attack- oh wait king of the sea appeared.

>> GAME >> Copen spends an Edge for: You done pressed the 'people' button. You shouldn'ta oughta done that.

     Athena dives off into the giant squid. Fine. Copen ignores it. He hasn't seen any evidence that Athena is anything other than a normal human (the fact that she survived a round from his gun with Magical Aid doesn't make her not a normal human), so he just leaves her to go...jump on a squid with an anchor. Alright, so probably not normal, but he doesn't have enough data there yet. He's a methodical murderer, at least. 

     This means that all Athena gets is a glance, which means that he's not distracted at all. He fires a round into the deck in front of Olivia. "Stay back." 

     The little girl loses her mind and pulls out a giant serpent. Copen is about to turn around and just shoot it through the eye with one of those sealing arrows when it vanishes back into the waves. The little girl slumps. That threat is momentarily neutralized. Good. The programs running through his suit blink across his eyes. He murmurs something - the party can see his lips move, like a caster making a chant - into his hood and is about to shoot Peach- 

     -when Terra speaks up. 

     Peach manages to charge past Copen as he turns his red-eyed gaze to Terra. The cold, emotionless hate in his eyes suddenly erupts into a hot flame, and the Toads on the floor, the Blooper behind, the chaos of Athena, Olivia, Peach, and Leviathan is completely forgotten. Copen takes a step forward. 

     "Ah." He flicks his thumb across the back of the revolver. "We have discovered the problem." 

     "You parasites, you infection called 'Adepts'...you still believe that you are people." 

     He looks up. He can't be more than seventeen, eighteen. Even buried in the shadows they can tell this much, and it's more than they had before. His voice is trembling with fury, white-hot fury. A moment ago he was cold, calculating, methodical. Hateful, but mechanical. Now... 

     Now, his steps are full of wrath. 

     This may not be for the better, but at least now the Toads can be saved. 

     "You are not. /People/." His voice is full of disgust as he raises the gun and fires a shot right past Terra's ear. "You /look/ like people. You /act/ like people. You put on pleasant faces and pretend to be people. And you cry like people when it suits you. You cry 'I am sorry for all the wrongs done to you.' You cry 'please don't hurt me.' You cry to sound like reasonable. Decent. /People/."

     Another shot fires past Terra's ear as Copen continues to advance, now well clear of the Toads. "But you are not. /People/. You are usurpers. Poison. Plague." 

     "You infiltrate. You spread. Your tainted genetics. Your sickness. Your /powers/." This shot is aimed right for Terra's arm. He's leading her. He's leading her and pinning her in with bullets. He's not trying to shoot her. He's trying to hold her in his corridor. 

     "And for each of you that is born you replace a good man with a devil. For each of you that is born is a blasphemous witch. For each of you that is born is one more sinner who would set themselves above the rest of the world." Copen's lips twist into a hateful scowl. "Who would make themselves heroes and demons and gods and devils until all the world - all the worlds - are shaped like you. Who would put themselves above the judgement of men." 

     "I am your cure." Copen hisses, and suddenly he takes a step forward as the red light wraps around his legs. He vanishes. The deck explodes into splinters where his foot was a moment ago, raining wood on Olivia, Peach, Athena, the Blooper, and the Toads. 

     Copen emerges behind Terra, bringing the full weight of his massively heavy revolver down for her head. "I am your /judgement/." 

     His foot swings upwards for her stomach, a brutal right hook to knock her towards the wall. "I am the demon of God who will /scourge/ your kind from this world!" 

     Copen levels his revolver so that Terra can look right down the barrel. "Tell me again. Give me another toothless apology from a would-be superhuman, so that I can cut it short with this bullet. So that I can hear it die in the gurgle of your throat as I send you to the LORD thy God for true and proper judgement." 

     Copen's eyes are sharp. "Give me that pleasure, infection. I so rarely allow myself to enjoy this."

>> GAME >> Copen spends an Edge for: You done pressed the 'people' button. You shouldn'ta oughta done that.

>> SUMMARY[Copen] >> Theme music override: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Hr4k8t42U

Olivia Montag wishes she had her raptors with her, she might have a weapon in her bag but she's away from it and what could a big iron do vs an hand gun that could make a T-rex lose a leg? Shed eos however not moves. Then comes king of the sears, well another world's king of the seas and she just floored. She's been aware of the hulking beasts of the Ark's ocean but something like this was new. With everything that happens though, she thinks anbout directly confronting Copen, it would end badly even if she got her hands on a weapon. What she can do is a make a go for going after the Guards to get them out of there. 

 SO that's just what she's going to do, but the she's caught by hte splinters from the wood as she makes for the downed toads. 

 also eveyr words Copen says the more she thinks he's unhinged. For now though she's going to be going for the toads and getting them out of harms way.

    It wasn't the best idea to do what she did so heavily-wounded. When Athena is deposited on deck, she's coughing up water and clutching her bloodied chest, and very definitely is not doing anything that would actually require attention. Whether she's superhuman or not, nobody can do that sort of thing and just walk it off. So for the moment she is laying there and...

    Terra seems nice, but Copen is threatening her. That is... not good. Bleary eyes try to focus on the action, and Athena is... reluctantly willing to admit she doesn't have much fight in her. She hasn't matured enough into her powers to go beyond what she's already done.

    Which is why she doesn't try to interfere. Athena coughs again, sputtering out blood and water, then turns and lets herself slide back, heading for the engines. To Rydia, the girl who helped her, she mumbles, "Cut the anchor before it drags us." She's going to try to see if she can kick the engines under control. Figuratively, because kicking as she is now is not a good idea.

    This is going terribly. Leviathan turned his back on her. All Rydia has to show for it is a violent pitching of the boat and a now ever pervasive and utter exhaustion utterly weighing her down. She can barely even move now, let alone do anything to... Help Terra.
    She watches on in abject horror as Copen approaches at speed- as he unleashes his vicious fury, fuelled by twisted and violent, but clearly unwavering conviction. The man is more than a killer.
    He's a zealot, slave to his own sickened mentality that to have power is to be a being of purest evil. And that makes him even more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.
    She jerks when she realizes Athena is even talking to her, jade eyes flicking to the anchored Blooper. Her gaze returns to Terra and Copen. Then back to the Blooper, unsure of just what to DO.
    She wouldn't help against Copen, she'd just be another liability. That is why with the last of her strength, she breathes out a single word.
    "Th... Th-thunder!"
    The sky cracks, flashing with light as a single thunderbolt streaks down and lances at the anchor's chain.

    Being low to the deck of her perch is a boon, for once. A shot narrowly misses Terra and she ducks her head. Who wouldn't!? In response to Copen's rant she can't offer much in protest. The next shot wings her as she scrambles for some kind of cover and she drops back to the deck with a cry.

    "We're not! We just want to live!" Now bleeding from two hits, the first opening up from all her frantic scrambling, it's rather hard to coordinate.

    Then there's a thunderous boom and an instant later she's sprawled out, vision blazing with stars from the blow to her head that very nearly strikes her down all on its own. A kick accompanies the rest of the punishment, dashing her against an inconvenient wall where she slumps weakly. The point of impact, though, seems to give. A creak and several metallic pops drowned out by her pained cry. Perhaps a pop or two from her body as well.

    She looks up, vision swimming, hardly able to focus. "... All I can remember is being a monster. I remember being... Things were done to me. I-" She gasps, cringing at either a memory or more likely some injury she's already sustained. "A man made me do things," and she whimpers, remembering fire and screaming. "I just wanted to be normal. Now I just want to live and help other keep living too!"

    Something in her gives and she releases a blast of fire, pushing her through the grate she'd been dashed against and down into the depths of the ship.

    Moments later, an impact echoes up. An impact followed by rumbling, roaring, then the muted thuds of things /exploding/ deep in the ship.

>> GAME >> Terra Branford spends an Edge for: Not Today!

    It's a good thing the anchor is only tied to sturdy rope rather than metal chains. Metal would just disperse the impact of the Thunder spell, despite its power, and be mostly unharmed. Rope? The rope just splits in two immediately.

    The blooper, still somewhat stunned but starting to recover, it suddenly cut loose from the speeding ship and goes tumbling through the water astern, rocking the ship again with the swell of the water its massive form displaces, but... away. For now.

    Peach is rather taken aback when she's not shot - and her target is taken care of two thanks to the combined efforts of Athena and Rydia. The princess changes course for her guards, now that Copen seems to have moved away. She holds up her arms to weather the sudden splinters raining down on her, casting about wildly for Copen for a moment before she sets her eyes on him again. Terra... Terra is a hero, she'll pull through - right? - so Peach focuses on trying to move her mushroom-capped bodyguards and get them away from the psychopath while he's distracted.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Peach is rescuing the people she pays to guard her. This isn't an uncommon occurance.

     Olivia and Peach head over to check the Toads. They're completely safe. Nothing worse than maybe a light concussion, some bruising. No pain. They haven't been shot. Copen can move much, much faster than that - he's probably strong enough to do a lot more damage than they've taken. Some light medical care will be enough to get them back on their feet. Maybe not even that; they'll come around in a few minutes. It's like he went out of his way not to seriously injure them, too. That alone is frightening - that he could do that with all those guards with such precision - but at least they're not injured. 

     Copen stares at Terra with that same raw, pure hate. This close, she can /see/ the bags under his eyes. He's exhausted. He's been stalking Rydia for so long he hasn't slept. This is beyond hate. This is beyond anger. This is something so deep that no words can possibly bridge the gap. This is a man burning himself alive for his crusade. 

     "Then nothing else needs be said." 

     He raises the gun. "You want to live." 

     "I want you to die." Click. 

     The anchor hits the ground just as Terra's flames reach the engine. The eruption, the sudden stop, throws Copen's aim off just so. Terra is treated to the sound of the bullet, the ringing explosion, the gunpowder smell as it blows a hole through the wall of the yacht a mere milimeter from her face. She probably won't even get away unscarred, given how close the fragments of metal are to her face. But she will get away /alive/. 

     Copen's head jerks to the left as some sort of warning flares in his ears. Terra is close enough to hear the soothing AI voice mention that engines have ceased function before Copen turns his eyes back to her and fires again- 

     -click. Click. Click. Click. 

     He didn't reload. 

     He didn't reload, and the sound of patrol boats is getting louder. 

     Copen's eyes dart from Terra to Rydia. He's so close. All he'd have to do is- 

     All he'd need to do is drive the Aixgear into- 

     But- 

     No time. No time to hesitate. No time to waste. Stupid! Stupid mistake! Stupid! Should've...should've...no, no time to lament that. No time to lament. 

     He can't let the ordinary get caught up in his crusade. He can't make martyrs of the truly innocent. 

     He turns away from Terra, some of her blood on his jacket, and goes running. He dives off the side of the boat, into one of the lifeboats, kicks the engine on, plants the Aixgear on its back, and fires an arrow of light that tapers off long before it comes near anything. The lifeboat goes shooting off into the open ocean; by the time the harbor patrol catches up, Copen will be long gone.