You are (Not) the Heroes IC

"Behind me, little one!" Gaia roars, leaping forward. Green wild magic pulses from where her paws touch the ground, wrapping around Dove Colt like glowing vines. The magic seeps into his body, healing some of the cold burns and sores. "I can't do much more now, sorry. I'll take a look at your wounds later."

"Hey, pretty-boy! Why don't you pick on someone significantly larger than you?!" Gaia roars at Low Key and launches a few razor feathers at the villain - it's not likely to deal much damage, given what Low Key seems to have survived up to this point, but hopefully it'll draw heat off of Dove Colt nonetheless.

Sensing that she has an opening to act before the attention is drawn to her, she rolls her shoulders, throws her head back and roars, channeling wild magic through the air. A bolt of lightning snaps towards Low Key, zapping him and causing lingering sparks to spring up and continually zap him, while green healing vines surround the Chef to stave off the damage the cold must be doing.

Actions:

Seeing Low Key shrug of his earlier attacks, Zellbriq concentrates on his spiritual conection to Inu and begins to take on a much more savage form, one that could no doubt be the alpha of any wolfpack. He then signals hsi companions to be prepared for an opening he is going to create before charging at the Villain teeth bared and claws at the ready. While he does this, he remembers an old technique his mentor showed him to convert some of his damage into two healing surges of Shamanistic energy, both heading for the young colt.

As soon as that opening presents itself, Inu charges in and slashes wildly at Low Key.

Meanwhile, the little Timberwolf-Ghost tries his best to get Crimson back into the fight.

Used Stuff  + Status:

He glances over to Dove Colt.  "It seems you have charged up plenty..."

Holding out a hoof, he makes a tugging motion, and Dove Colt feels the extra power he gained from Low Key's magic, alongside all his remaining strength, leave his body, streaming into Low Key as the high-born sorcerer chuckles, straightening up as the energy from Dove Colt joins the swirling black-and-purple lightning around him. He takes a deep breath, and his eyes flash with power. "I'll be taking that magic back."

Round 2 Interrupt:
Dove Colt saved against the trick - he loses all his current energy and suffers weakness 15.

Dove Colt struggles to his hooves again, his eyes fixed on Low Key. Calling on his flocks, he wills them to dive bomb the sorcerer, but the magical fatigue Low Key set on him is too great - his mental sway on his birds falters and he sags again, instead opting to quietly regain his strength behind Gaia's shielding.

Bonus actions:

The icy tomb that was containing Crimson started to crack under the assault of the ghostly timberwolf... cracked enough for Crimson to burst from the airless freezer with a loud, deep gulp of air. Taking a moment to shake the remaining ice from his body as he caught his breath and collected himself, Crimson looked in order to see how the fight was progressing.

Seeing as Low Key appeared to be getting swarmed by the rest of his team, Crimson hurled a small explosive gumball at him in order to join in on the assault while he turned and galloped over to where Zapp lay encased in her own icy prison before pulling back his hoof and bringing it down in an attempt to help free her and get her actively in the fight... or at the very least ensure that she had an air hole to breath through. The first blow clearly wasn't enough to shatter the ice, through he did notice that it had been strong enough to cause fractures to start spider webbing through it; A good sign! Standing up on his hind legs, Crimson seemed to enter a trance of some kind as he started to punch the ice with his hooves. The blows were slow at first, but quickly started to pick up the pace as he unleashed an onslaught of punishment on the foul magical prison that Zapp was trapped in.

Actions and Dice Rolls:

Status:

The prison cracks slightly, but as soon as a crack forms a massive surge of electrical energy explodes out of the crack, searing the front of Crimson's chest and his hooves. As soon as the crack forms, shards of ice start climbing up his hooves, anchoring him to the block of ice. He can still move his other hoof, but for now he's attached to the ice cube, with massive amounts of lightning surging out of the icy prison as Zapp attempts to break free from the inside.

Round 2 Interrupt:
Crimson is challenged by the Crystal Prison.
Crimson takes 16 damage from Zapp's lightning.

"LET'S GO ROUSSEAU! WE WILL BE THE HOOF IN THE EYE OF EVIL!"

Daff throws himself at Low Key while the Highborn focuses on Dove Colt. The stallion produces the large rubber mallet, then begins assaulting Low Key with a flurry of blows, each with all his substantial weight behind it.

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!

His attempts at keeping the pony too distracted to attack Dove Colt is only partially successful, by virtue of him happening to get in the way of one of the three bolts before it reaches the colt.

"Leave the little pony alone! Quick, Rousseau! I'll hold him down! Bite his nose!" He drops the mallet and throws himself forward, wrapping his large forelegs around Low Key in an attempt to hold him in place.

Reactions:

Actions:

Summary of Effects:

Status:

Low Key fixes his gaze on the duo of Zellbriq and Inu first, crouching low in a prepared stance as they approach. The two of them set upon him again in a fury, carving deep rents in his shell and causing him to have to roar, letting loose a powerful but non-damaging shockwave that knocks the pair back. Almost immediately afterwards, feathered razors slash against his shell, breaking through and marking his coat with long ribbons of red.

It is Daff, however, that finally earns his ire. His head snaps to one side as the hammer smacks into him, but he turns just as quickly back, blue flames erupting from his eyes, the temperature dropping from numbing to bone-chilling in a matter of seconds.  "Would you STOP - that INFERNAL - SQUEAKING!" Raising up a hoof, he punctuates each utterance with a crackling blast of cold energy directed straight at the stallion's chest.

Shoving Daff aside, Low Key raises his hoof, and a wave of golden energy radiates out from him, sinking into everyone on the battlefield. Whirling around, he throws a ball of yellow magic at Sunset, the orb passing through her and numbing her limbs. He then pivots on the spot and sends a streak of green magic at Gaia that fills her with a desperate urge to hit Low Key as hard as she can this very instant.

"Now then - let me show you the true power of a highborn." Low Key growls, as the ice around him flashes into a form-fitting shield once more.

Round 2 Ends
Format - Action: Effect (Action Type)
First Coldfire bolt: Daff suffers weakness 10, takes *0* damage and loses 20 health. (Attack)
Second Coldfire bolt: Daff suffers weakness 10, takes *0* damage and loses 20 health. (Attack)
Third Coldfire bolt: Daff suffers weakness 10, takes *3* damage and loses 20 health. (Attack)
Free Trick: Sunset suffers weakness 10. (Utility)
Minor Trick: N/A (Utility)
Trickster Spells:
Everyone is subject to a Trick (save ends) and must make a will defense save before attacking.(Utility)
Gaia may make an attack that deals damage of her choice for free. (Utility)

Low Key saves against Grappled.

Low Key is bloodied.

Daff loses his grip, then grunts as the first two attacks hit him square in the chest. It's the third, however, along with Low Key's shove, that sends him stumbling uncontrollably back. The cold hits him dead on in a spray of ice and angry buzzing energy, making his heart jump in a way he's pretty sure can't be healthy. Shrugging it off, he charges forward again, moving around the more dexterous wolf duo, once again placing him in the way of another of Low Key's attacks. He jabs a hoof out, attempting to stop it. Instead, he takes the brunt of it.

The orb goes through him, making him yelps and fall to the ground as his legs start tingling oddly. There is a SQUEAK as he lands on the mallet and trips tail over ears.

"Rousseau? Where are you?! Rousseau!" It takes a seconds before he notices the squirrel tapping him on the head from his usual spot. Daff's relief is short lived as he sees the green strike Gaia. Another sigh of relief as it doesn't seem to have hurt her.

He pushes himself up again, uses a hoof to make sure Rousseau's steady, then takes a battle stance and prepares to make another charge.

Reactions:

Actions:

Summary:

Status:

As Daff goes down, Sunset comes up, lines up her shotgun on Low Key’s head, and fires both barrels again at point-blank range. As she does, three pairs of taser barbs launch toward her target.

Rolls:

Status:

There is a shrill shattering sound as Low Key's shell breaks from the first shots, and he throws himself to one side as Sunset prepares her taser rounds. She whirls about to focus on Low Key and fires, as Low Key continues to duck and weave out of the way of her shots. Finally, after managing to tag him three times, Low Key stops... and gives Sunset a smirk as the image of Low Key fades away, replaced by the shocked faces of her allies.

"Thank you for your assistance." Low Key whispers in her ear, and she turns just in time to see that image fade away too, leaving only ghostly laughter. Looking around, Sunset doesn't see Low Key anywhere.

Turn 3 Interrupt
Assassinate hits Daff instead.
The first crit hits the Crimson Chef instead.
The second crit hits Dove Colt instead.

"I think we'll be fine here darling, I can hear a lot of shouting from both sides. If Low Key was winning, he'd be a lot calmer," answers Madame Mask. "Use your agents to monitor criminal activity so you can provide more accurate information to citizens. The audience needs the help more than we do."

Crimson blinked in surprise as the ice of the prison froze over his hoof and stuck him to the prison... right before pain happened.

It was hard to tell what exactly happened; There was a blacked out gap in his memory as his brain had shut down in an attempt to hide from the pain. His muscles seized up as something hit him in the back hard.. Coughing up something that looked suspiciously like blood, Crimson wiped his mouth before reaching into into his pocket, removing several of his gumballs and sorting through them in order to decide on which one to use to try and improve his current situation and free Zapp at the same time. "Hey Zapp! I'm not sure if you can hear me right now, but if you can could you do me a favor and NOT use your lightning for a bit I'll make you and the rest of the Power Ponies dinner as thanks!" Truthfully he didn't know if she could hear him. Hopefully she could. Throwing one of the gumballs into his mouth, chewing it for a moment and swallowing it down, Crimson felt the pain numb a little. For a moment, he felt like counter-attacking the prison in an attempt to free his hoof but he just felt so sore after having lightning course through his body.

Dice Rolls:

Status:

Gaia growls as the need to attack clouds her mind. Still cautious of Low Key, however, she opts for a more careful plan of attack, launching a small volley of dart-like secondary feathers instead of opening herself up to a counterattack by overextending.

As soon as the darts leave her wings, she quickly turns to attend to her injured teammates, sending healing magic through the ground to heal and energize the Chef, who looked quite battered at this point.

Actions:

The darts hits Low Key dead on, and he stumbles and vanishes, the image of Low Key replaced by a pained Sunset.

Meanwhile, as though taking advantage of the Chef's moment of respite, the ice digs into the Chef's hoof, causing no small amount of pain.

Turn 3 Interrupt
Chase hits Sunset instead.
Both of the Chef's attacks hit Daff. (Can't think of flavor for his attacks looping around to hit Daff.)
Chef triggers the challenge and takes 12 damage.

Dove Colt yelps as the taser round hits him, jumping back in shock. "Hey, watch it!"

As he looks around, he calls on his flock - but instead of dive bombing Low Key, they circle around the group, swooping down and delivering much needed medical assistance to his wounded allies.

Actions:

"Okay, I'll have all operatives on high alert." Argent pauses. "Low Key's very dangerous, Madame. Please be careful. Good luck - Moonbright."

Daff yelps as, from two directions, he finds himself being hurt by his teammates' own attacks. He throws his hooves up in front of him in surprise.

"Wait, that's me! Evil is that way!"

Reactions:

Status:

"Moonbright." As the card goes dark, Madame Mask sighs, but puts her card away and returns to the battlefield. As she does, she studies the magic being used by Low Key right now. He's a powerful trickster after all, she wants to know what tricks he is up to...

(Arcana Check: 10 / 2 (Roll) + 19 (Skill) + 10 (Student of the Arcane) = 39)

Sunset’s eyes widen in horror. Not so much because of what she just did, but because it wasn’t Low Key’s laughter she heard, but Boss Amble’s wheezing cackle. As it fades into silence, Sunset feels a wash of an old dread come over her.

Pain lances through her as Gaia’s feather-darts hit, snapping her back to reality before any more memories take hold. Once back in her senses, she made the connection between her teammates suddenly turning on each other and what she had just experienced.

Every time we attack, he uses ghosts and illusions to trick us into attacking each other.

Sunset’s shotgun returns to its holster, and her mouth turns up into a rebel’s smirk.

Beat this fool without using any attacks. Sounds like a challenge to me. I accept.

She takes a defensive stance, her body bobbing in anticipation and her eyes constantly darting from one combatant to the next.

Status:

Seeing his compatriots attacking illusions that turned out to be allies, Zellbriq decides to play it save for now and releases an howl that aims to get his allies back into action.

Inu meanwhile, afraid of hurting her allies, just stays her ground.

With its last energy, the summoned Timberwolf tries to help cleaar crimsons headfrom whatever Low Key did to him.

Actions and Status:

Crimson's mouth opened in a silent scream of pain as the ice on his hoof started to properly dig into his flesh, choking the scream itself down with a great deal of effort. He almost failed to notice the flock of birds that were flying past and around him; Some of them landed on his back with some strange kinds of berries, rubbing them against his wounds and helping to ease them while others provided him with a gentle breeze that seemed to give him a second wind. Whatever they were doing, he could feel it helping a great deal.

A piecing howl rang through his ears, causing Crimson to snap to a kind of attention that he hadn't been at before... it was like a mist had just parted in his mind and he could see the world around him clearly after being shrouded by fog.

Actions and Dice Rolls:

Status:

Madame Mask's Spell Exposition (Spoilered for wall of text):

Low Key smirks as he watches the party attacks itself, appearing to thoroughly enjoy the spectacle. As Sunset and others start to catch on, however, Low Key smirks. "So you can learn new tricks - good. Don't want this to be boring now, do we?"

His horn starts to glow brightly and he holds up a hoof. "Let it not be said that Low Key is a one trick pony," He smiles, before exhaling a plume of  brilliant azure flame, turning his head so the wave of blue flame engulfs Daff, Sunset, then Gaia. Rather than heat, the sensation they feel is that of intense cold, biting down to the bone and lingering even after the flames subside.

Without letting a second go by, Low Key then points a hoof at Sunset, and suddenly Sunset feels a burning urge to attack regardless of consequence. A blue bolt of magic then strikes Zellbriq, almost draining the strength from his limbs, and then a bolt of gold strikes Crimson in the back, filling him with a sudden surge of rage and power - nothing will stand in his way.

Round 3 Ends
Format - Action: Effect (Action Type)
Coldfire Wave: Daff, Sunset and Gaia suffer ongoing 10, takes *5* damage and loses 20 life. (Attack)
Free Trick: Zellbriq loses 2 energy. (Utility)
Trickster Spells:
Crimson Chef is subject to a Trick (save ends). While subject to the trick, Chef's attacks ignore armor.(Utility)
Sunset may make an attack that deals damage of her choice for free. (Utility)

Crimson took a deep breath as he closed his eyes for a moment. He felt good. Really good. The best he had felt for a very, very long time.

It was now or never. Taking one of his newest gumballs, he threw it into his mouth and chewed it for a moment before swallowing it down. Within a matter of seconds, his chest seemed to swell up as if he was a balloon before he opened his eyes, took careful aim at the prison of ice in front of him and with a great deal of care started to blow a bright, very controlled flame into it. If anyone had bothered to look at it it would have been somewhat like the flame of a blow torch, only a extending a few feet out and hot enough to melt through granite. The real challenge for Crimson was making sure he didn't accidentally hit Zapp as well.

Hopefully this would turn out better then his brute force attempt...

Actions and Dice Rolls:

Summery:

Status:

Thanks to Low Key’s pun telegraphing his move, Sunset sees his attack coming and springs out of the way. She still feels the cold where a lick of it touches her, but otherwise manages to avoid the brunt of it.

As she comes up on her hooves, she hears her father’s voice in her ears again.

”Worthless nag!” she hears him bellow. ”Did I tell ya to quit shootin’?! Git that gun back out ‘n’ keep poppin’ off them rounds, or I’ll bust somethin’ off in yer hide with mine!”

Sunset ignores him. As long as Low Key is still in the fight, she can’t trust anything she sees or hears. Instead, she reassumes her previous stance and continues scanning for more incoming attacks.

Rolls:

Status: