A large blockage (boss)

[John Nicholson]

Another day, another sewer run. And yet, the smell of this place had somehow grown even worse. It had stopped bothering John though. He had been here so many times that he had simply grown used to it. he wondered what he would encounter this time. He felt like something big was going to happen. That's when he heard it. A distant rumble of something massive, slowling drawing nearer. He had heard about events like this. Larger 'boss' shadows that appeared seemingly in response to large amounts of user activity in an area. Looks like John would get to meet one of them in person today. He steeled his resolve and stood at the ready for whatever monster was about to come creeping out from the darkness.

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan had been exploring the new area in the sewers. The last time he had been in the sewers, he had been attacked by multiple shadows. He was stronger now, however. He could handle anything thrown at him in this area with relative ease. That's what he believed.

Sadly, as soon as he entered the area he felt another horrible presence. Something big was prowling the area. With a grin, Tristan delved into the deeps in search of a powerful foe.

What he didn't expect to find was the elderly ex-marine wandering around too. With a nod of his head, Tristan looked at the retiree. "Keep on your toes, old man." He said, wanting to remind the old man that anything could happen. "Something big's around. Keep an eye out."

[Crux]

rrrrriiiiiiiiiiing. riiiiiiiiiiiing. Damn it all! It was happening again! Will this ringing and hammering ever stop? This spike in Shadow activity was driving him up a damn wall. Judging by the signals, this one was to be not worth fighting alone. But, if he was able to detect it, then others would be able to as well, right? This would probably apply most especially to the more sensitive Anti-Shadow Suppression Units that he's sure are also present.

Or, he could just be crazy. What was also present is the likelihood that his sensor is faulty and requires replacement or repair. It would be wiser to test it out. Sooooo...

...Crux made the long journey out into the outskirts, following wherever his sensor took him. Finally, he stood right on the spot where his head 'rang' the most. It had to be underneath. He looked around for an entrance that could lead him to the underside of this part of the outskirts. A little walk later lead him to a pothole that, when opened, released a disgusting stench. So, these were sewers...!

A long stroll lead him to two others who stood in this crappy (literally) air. The young man in his 'foreign' school uniform and with a maroon beret atop his head lingered near them, almost silently watching out for the source. Meanwhile, he prepped his blades and Tsukuyomi for deployment.

"...Hm."

[Kyle Shibata]

Kyle couldn't believe Phoebe had sent him into the bally sewers of all places. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to do this. So she'd heard some old fart she knew had found something down there and was sending him to back the old guy up.

I swear, if that butterball wasn't covering for me all the time and feeding me at work, I would've told her to fuck off ages ago... he grumbled to himself as he made his way down the smelly tunnels.

He had tied a bandana around his nose and mouth to try and combat the stench but it was hardly any use. Pointing his flashlight ahead he moved through the tunnels. He could see someone up ahead and moved closer, then smirked, shouldering his axe.

"Well, well!" he said, chuckling to see Tristan and the old man Phoebe'd described. "What's going on, guys, sewer party? The butterball told me you found something down here, old man?"

He eyed their surroundings and then the third guy. "And who's this fruitcake?" he asked absently, jabbing his thumb at the kid with the foreign uniform.

[Boss-sama Desu]

Something had come and ruined the ecosystem of the sewers. Humans, humans, humans. Always the humans. The sewers had a very delicate, albiet shitty, system of order, and with the Shadows there to regulate it, things became absolutely problematic when humans decided to come to play. The little ones had been ruined. It was at times like these that the more powerful of the crew had to show their stuff. It slithered. It sludged. It wiggled. It budged. The Shadow twisted and turned in the filth it had grown so comfortable in before suddenly shooting free and through the waters of the sewer. It was like a watercraft. No, really, there were even propulsion engines in its ass. Opening its mouth wide, it let out a howl that echoed through the sewers!

The Shit has hit the Fan!

Shitark Troll

Skills
Grand Fin-isher
Shit-eating Grin
Troll Assault
Spinal Barrage
Dark Water Splash
Ignition


Despite its name, it was clearly just a shark. A Shadow shark with propulsion engines and other mechanical additions. Either way, the humans were being faced with a shit-shark in the sewers. Truly, their day had gone down the drain.

[John Nicholson]

Well, an imprompu party had assembled. And just in time too. A monstrous cyborg shark ad sprung forth from the murky waters. "Jeez, anyone bring a harpoon?" Joking aside though, this seemed like it would be quite a difficult battle. John momentarily appraised the other people present. He knew everyone here at least vaguely. John called forth Ippon-Datara And defiantly stood before the monster-shark. "Alright guys, lets bring this oversized fish down." John was not yet intending to attack himself however.

"Tarukaja"

The bright red light washed over him and spread out to the rest of the party. Filling him with confident strength. He was ready to raise some hell.

Action: tarukaja

Buff count for clarity's sake.
Taru X1

[Crux]

Did he know these people? Maybe? Kind of? Ah, yes. They were present during that battle under the full moon. The one that he recognized more immediately was the old man who tried to attack that humanoid Shadow. He was an aggressive one, that man. How does he fight? This battle would probably grant him some closer insight to how humans fought. Surely, Crux would also be granted a few allies of his own. 

If they cared. They probably didn't care. Fine by him.

A cyborg-ish shark that was deemed to be the source of the Shadow presence with propulsion in its butt roared out in what he perceived to be anger and bloodlust. He could only guess that it was angry because... it was hungry? No, Shadows possessed more sentience than that. If anything, they were just like the humans. Obvious, since they come from humans themselves.

Crux never really talked during combat situations unless he could afford to. The most he would exclaim would be his persona's name or the attack that he wished to send upon his enemies. The robot placed a hand upon his head, summoning Tsukuyomi from a black puddle that dripped into this plane of existence. "Tsukuyomi. Arm Chopper." Coolly, Crux command the being to slash at the Shadow with its sword, blackness pouring from its dark edge.

Action: Arm Chopper

Fear Roll (1 for success... if boss is vulnerable to Fear)
0ogutaEu1-4
1-4

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan just watched as others showed up. He grinned a little when he heard the roar of something big. This was what he had come to the sewers for, and it decided to rear its ugly head.

Turned out it was just a piece of shit, albeit a shark-shaped piece of shit. Oh well.

After feeling his being powered up by the old man, the teen watched as one of the fighters from the full moon battle charged right in with a physical attack. Hoping that the shit-shark wasn't weak to fire, Tristan summoned Ifreet; the djinn then attacked with a boosted Agilao.



((25% boosted Agilao))

[Kyle Shibata]

A shark made of shit. Kyle just stood and stared with a look of disbelief and deadpan dejection. Yeah, now he'd seen it all. That thing sprang out of the filthy water before they'd even gotten a proper chance to get ready. Good thing none of them was completely green or they'd all be eaten by a living pile of crap. Wonderful.

"Fuckin' Shadows. Now I've seen it all. A shit shark. Who the fuck comes up with these things?" he grunted and swung his axe down from his shoulder then summoned his Persona.

Sitri appeared just as disgusted as him when he materialized in the azure light. He roared and crouched in a ready stance with his snout all wrinkled, trembling from an inaudible snarl and his black lips curled back over the massive fangs. Coiled like a spring, he was, and Kyle shared the sentiment. Though grateful that the old man could boost their attack, Kyle actually missed having Phoebe around to supercharge their defenses. Oh well. He'd have a hell of a story to tell her after this.

"Let's test its weaknesses... Sitri, zap the fucker," Kyle said. "Zi--"

Something had changed. Kyle could feel it in his bones and in his head. Zio had changed. Sitri stretched forward, roaring at the sky and his spread wings crackled with electricity. A bolt of lightning, bigger than before, crashed down on the Shadow with a sharp crack like cannon-fire. His lightning spell had gotten stronger, it seemed. Good, looks like all their toil and training had paid off!

Zionga, Sitri snarled. The heavens will part at my command.

Save it for later, fuzz. We've got a pile of living shit to fight.

[Action: Zionga]

[Boss-sama Desu]

Humans, the propagators of waste, stood before the shark. One boosted their attack. An admirable act. Another slashed at it, seeming to deal neutral damage. Then? Then came the fire. The flames seemed to deal an extraordinary amount of damage. However, flames still coating the shark, it seemed to grow a bit larger and stronger! Fire might have been its weakness, but the machinery inside it was thermal-powered! Shitark Troll's offensive power has grown! Finally, lightning surged. Due to the shit insulating the shark, the lightning was resisted! Their attacks came to a close. It was time for the second movement!

Turning in the water, the shark projected its fin out to the side, as opposed to straight up. Then, firing up its engines, it shot at Tristan! The resulting hit would deal moderate Slash damage!

Following that, the shark twisted and faced the group from behind, giving a huge, cocky, shit-eating grin. How disgusting. Tristan and Kyle have been enraged!

This fight was only the beginning.

Everything would be regular when it came down the drain.

Notes: To clarify, Ignition is a Passive Skill. Agilao is a fire-based attack, which activates Ignition. The first usage gives the Shitark Troll 1x stack of Tarukaja. Second builds it up to 2. Third? Capped. What happens on the fourth? Well, that's for you to find out.

[John Nicholson]

It seemed like it had been a good bet to bump up everyone's attack power. The onslaught the others unleashed on the monstrosity seemed to deal quite a bit of damage. However it's reaction to fire was worrisome. "Guys, try and keep fire attacks to a minimium from now on. We can't afford to let this thing get stronger even if it does deal extroadinary damage. If anyone has an ice attack, try it out now. It might cool this damn thing down a bit." The commands issued to the other poeple presents were only suggestions. With that out of the way though. It was time John started pulling his own weight now. He brandished the new shotgun he had obtained from doing another job for the blonde woman and fired away. Hoping that this monstrosity would not resist the gunfire.

action: weapon attack. (level 3) (pierce)

[Kyle Shibata]

Kyle twitched in disgust. "What?! You're kidding me-- what, shit insulates this thing? The fuck--"

His train of thought was interrupted by the ugly thing's grin. Goddamn, piece of shit Shadow-- Kyle had stopped caring about stupid fecal puns. He wanted to kill this goddamn thing. It was on now and Kyle felt his blood 'boiling' to say the least.

"For fuck's sake," he muttered. "So the thing is weak to fire but at the same time it does something to it--" he started and then dry-heaved. "UGH! And on top of that now it stinks like fried farts."

Sitri snarled again, looking more annoyed and his tail twitched in response. Kyle willed an attack and Sitri roared, then raised his paw and almost reared back onto his hind legs. A spark of energy gathered on the raised paw, the huge claws fully extended. The Persona swung its paw down in a wide sweep and the energy spread and then slammed onto the shit-shark like a heavy blade, with the distinct sound of a blade cutting the air and hitting something with a meaty thud. Kyle wrinkled his nose at the ugly as hell squelch this made.

"I'm gonna need an endless fuckin' shower after this," he griped.

[Action: Fatal End (boosted by 25%)]

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan just looked at the shark. You've got to be shitting me.

He grinned at his mental joke, but was irritated by the confusion that followed his fire attack. It hurt it badly, it seemed; yet it also strengthened the piece of shit. Pun not intended.

The shark had tried to hit Tristan with a slash attack; it simply rolled right over him. However, the shark did seem to know what it was doing, somewhat. It seemed to play out a psychological attack. Pissed that it would even try to do something that intelligent, Tristan went on the offensive.

With a brief consideration, Tristan decided that the best bet would be to not hit it with fire; at least, not while he had other spells to use. He decided to use light, as he bet that the thing was used to the dark. He summoned Ifreet, casting Hamaon. "Let's see if that does anything, shall we?"

[Crux]

People were getting so worked up over this huge pile of cyborg fecal matter. Given his lack of experience with human society, Crux could not understand that the Shitark was attempting to 'troll' them. The grin that he had given to the team seemed to be intended to anger them. How would that work? For some reason, recalling it irritated him just a little. He didn't like how that grin was curled up, and how it would attempt something like that in the middle of combat. That settled it; he mustn't let it win for the sake of his allies' prides. Personally, he had too little pride for himself to fight for it.

A beep only audible to him signaled an increase in strength after being hit by that fire attack. The Shadow was mostly machine, so perhaps the fire created a short moment where the flames would be hot enough to damage its machinery. Despite its weakness to the element, it grew stronger from it. There was a moment when the robot wondered whether or not it would explode if enough fire was consumed.

Well, it seemed that there was a general consensus not to test the theory. As he had no fire spells himself, Crux perpetuated his current 'combat rhythm', unable to deviate from it willingly. Tsukuyomi lowered his stance and held his sword parallel to his head in preparation. Again, he would attempt to slash at the enemy with an energy-infused attack, swinging the blade down upon its shitty body.

Action: Arm Chopper

Fear Roll (1 for success... if boss is vulnerable to Fear):
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1-4

[Boss-sama Desu]

A gun fired, and the Shadow just stared. Pierce attacks seemed to be neutrally effective! The dual-slashers continued with their normal attacks. Then that one fire-user opted to utilize light. The shark wiggled and turned over in the water, seeming distraught. Light seemed to be exceedingly effective! By the time that the shark turned back over, though, it was grinning again. Why? Because it was time to feed off of the rage of his victims. Very similar to internet dwellers that shared its namesake, the shark thrived off of the anger of others.

The shark shot over the waters, tackling Kyle for moderate Strike damage! Furthermore, the damage inflicted is restored to the shark as health! Finally, it was worth noting that Kyle is now cured of his rage!

Following this, it shot at Tristan, doing much the same! The tackle would deal moderate Strike damage! Again, the damage inflicted would be restored to the Shark as health! Finally, Tristan is now cured of rage!

Circling in the water, the shark almost seemed to laugh to itself.