View source for 5070/A Hole in the World

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/02/05
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The League moves in to take an artefact they were previously monitoring, the Paladins come to defend it. Several unexpected things occur.
|Cast of Characters=562, 685, 1080, 1008, 1076, 1096, 20, 1094
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A while back, the League made a move on an artefact sealed away in a sacred grove, one the locals forbidden to enter. There were rumours and myths of said relic having incredible power, but nothing substantial. The Paladins came in to defend, but were thwarted, and recording equipment was set up inside by one Henry Jekyll. The League was banking on the locals adhering to the taboo that forbade entering to protect the equipment. As it turns out, this was a safe bet.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After a couple of weeks, the equipment picked up a sudden spike in temperature.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was not due to sacred smokeless flame or somesuch. Rather, a warpgate to the centre of a vast desert had opened. It remained that way for an hour and fifteen minutes before collapsing. Days later, another warpgate appeared, leading to a different forest glade. This one lingered for mere minutes before vanishing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This continued, with no observable pattern to where the warpgates would appear or how long they remained. Nothing more could be learned from observation so only one optioned remained; time for the League to claim it for themselves.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the Paladins have not been idle.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dialogue was opened with the locals, in preparation for any future attempt. A clearing was cut nearby, a very wide one. Scouts were situated around the area and provided with flares in the event that League agents were spotted.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And on this day, such flares are fired. The Paladins respond immediately.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Ad Coelum appears in the skies above, and a drop pod is launched for the new clearing. Rockets help cushion the landing, as Paladin agents emerge from within. Eryl Fairfax himself leads the charge to defend the temple. The League strides on through the woods, as unflinching as the progress they adhere to.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both factions meet outside the glade. The walls protecting it have been rebuilt and reinforced. At this point, Eryl proclaims. "League agents. This place is sacred to those who reside in the area. We will not permit you to disrupt them again. Leave now, or face swift and immediate arrest."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Fifth Fleet, Secured for Drop." says Shigure, her soft voice crackling over the radio. "Ready. DROP!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ride down is a bumpy one, even with the cushioning retro rockets, but as it lands, the six members of the Fifth Strike Fleet emerge. "Weapon check, kuma. Everyone ready?" The Flagship says as she adjusts the backpack turret, checking her ammunition, then turning her liquid brown eyes across the other members of her fleet. Shigure gives a thumbs up, then unhooks her backpack into its 'cannon-fa' formation. Yuudachi just giggles, eyes blazing red. Nowaki nods firmly and picks up her purse gun, while Chitose unpacks her theatre flight deck. "Ready to provide air support, Flagship."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yamashiro is the last to speak. "I am ready. Let us show them the power of the Nishimura, and the Fifth Strike fleet." The group then follow the Commander to the intercept point, taking up positions with their weaponry ready. "Disarm your weapons and leave the area. This is your only warning." Says Shigure to reinforce Eryl's warning.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1080|Henry Jekyll (1080)}} has posed:'''<br>"Mister Fairfax." The Assassin class Servant known as Professor Henry Jekyll of the League smiles at the Paladin's proclamation. "I understand where you're coming from, I really do." He answers with the kind of tone that embodies the very idea of a 'but I'm not going to let you stop me.' He doesn't express that sentiment, however, instead he steps back, and looks towards the others. "Time to earn our pay."<br><br>Then he removes a flask of a strange and potent liquid from his jacket, and downs it in one gulp. Immediately after, he collapses to the ground, convulsing as he visibly gains body mass, as his eyes take on a mad sheen, as his face twists into a thuggish, flat-nosed caricature, and then Mister Hyde rises. "I've been looking forward to this, Eryl." No subtleties to this rough voice, merely violent glee.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While Argast had not gone with the original group to secure the item in question, he was curious enough about to it do a fair bit of research and read the reports. Following his fellow members of the League, he grinned under his helmet. This was a worthy persuit, and could perhaps be used to further his patron lord's plans for the Old World as well as this one. Opting to leave his warband behind, he had only his staff, sword, and the winds of magic with him. At Eryl's proclaimation, the Chaos sorceror simply laughed. "Chaos goes where it pleases. And here...this place calls to it." He says, starting to gather up a small amount of the winds. Though on noticing Professor Jekyll's change, he stops one lone moment. "Impressive..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka hummed softly as he strapped himself into his drop pod, then made double sure that Toph was secure. Why? Because she was blind and he wanted to make sure she was okay. Also, he may have packed her a pack lunch for the mission. With a note. The other Paladins could tease her for it later. <br><br> Either way, as it was, the drop pod crashed down eventually and he very, very slowly climbed out, on his hands and knees, a bit green in the face. "It was worse than the simulations... I think... I think I'm gonna be sick... urk..." He managed to BARELY hold his lunch down before getting to his feet. And... "Okay! Yeah, give it up! There's no way we're going to let you get away with anything! No matter how ugly you get, Doctor Jerkula!" And right to the bad insults. Then glanced back. "Hey, Toph sweetie? You okay?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta had not been there for that. She is, after all, still pretty new. The entire concept of warpgates is something she has only just gotten a completely handle on recently, quick to pick up the general idea, but really requiring some time going through them to get the picture. Even now, she understands why such an artifact is important. Not really its tactical significance, but the fact that it is powerful, and people shouldn't be messing around with it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is one other thing she knows. She has known it years before ever coming to the Multiverse. That thing is something she says to Eryl, point blank, to the face. The girl is at least a foot shorter than him, otherwise quiet and warily contemplative, dressed no more conspicuously than the odd designs on her flax clothes, and armed no more obviously than the odd, white-shelled handgun thing attached to her thigh, but she says it anyways.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"People worship many things as sacred. When it is &lt;&lt;technology&gt;&gt; they don't understand, it only makes everyone suffer in the end." She seems loathe to actually pull out that gun on him, looking like a friendly fellow himself. Orta slowly steps out of reach instead, backing away from the two leaders staring down, but taking her eyes off of neither, towards the trees. Possibly, she just wasn't cut out for a fight when she came here; it's not hard to believe by only looking.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stepping out of the drop pod and among the Paladins who have responded to the call is one earthbending master, and she makes sure to leave her packed lunch back in the drop pod along with the Braille note. She does make sure to yank Sokka up by the back of his shirt however. "Come on, walk it off!" They have a job to do.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Since he's the leader and also the commander of this mission, Eryl gets to speak and do some polite trash talk. At least it's short and to the point instead of a long berating monologue, she'll give him that. The voice of the League member who speaks up is familiar, and she recognises the shape too. And there's something about his tone that makes her frown slightly where she stands. When the man drinks something though, she arches an eyebrow. "Wait, is he taking a water break already...?" she mutters to the people closest around her, only to blink in surprise when the man collapses to the ground and begins /changing/. "... the crud?!" Okay, she likes his voice even less now! The guy who prattles on about chaos too doesn't seem like a pleasant fellow either<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Of course I'm okay," she asides to Sokka, all while elbowing him slightly in the side. /Hard/. "These guys aren't backing down, so get your boomerang ready." All before she enters a defensive stance, her feet set far apart as she raises her arms in front of her, a slight frown on her face as she is ready to strike should any of the League members try to get past them. "Bring it."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Parsons doesn't quite meet the Paladins yet. His psychic invisibility is holding as-is, blocking sight of him, until he gets close or takes an action that provokes examination. But only until then. Tapping a finger to his ear, he runs that stream of information he's wont to supply so often. "Reporting. Hyde just went active. He's going after-- Hmmm, looks like law enforcement replicant infiltrators are getting more obvious. What? Oh, Eryl Fairfax."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While not yet visible, his rugged-ized version of his traditional G-Man outfit, with its thick sunglasses and its jungle-soldier-Man-in-Black aesthetic, are what he's deployed with today. After all, he's still trying to get the cash together to get a new vaguely suspicious windowless black van, which means he had to walk here. The matter of the walls still needs to be dealt with, but for now, Parsons is just interested in slipping by. Considering the heavy-hitting nature of some of these enemies, "just interested in slipping by" is more of a matter of self-interest than any greater scheme.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which is all well and good, but it's not likely to work. There's enough Paladin sorts here, especially with a squad -- a fleet? A flotilla? -- of boats here to spread out evenly, can cover a lot of area. It's a bit of a hail-mary effort, but for now, he keeps his invisibility running for as long as he can, and tries to perform a quick dash through the wooded terrain. It fades on proximity with Elites, meaning the a well-crafted defensive formation will keep him out, and can be pierced easily by unusual types of perception, but hey! It's worth a shot! Or so his optimistic, positive thinking goes.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eryl looks very disappointed when Doctor Jekyll goes straight to Mister Hyde. But he meets the challenge by casting off his cape, tossing it to hang from a high tree branch. "I have not." He looks to Orta and retorts to her words. "What right have you to hold up your experiences as Multiversal fact? People may have suffered in your case, and perhaps it may happen here. But people will absolutely suffer if you persist in this folly. I will not allow guaranteed suffering to prevent hypothetical future suffering."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His words have purpose though. It gives him time to scan his opponents, his surroundings... why did that bit of grass seemingly compress on its own? Invisible forces?!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Suppressive fire. Make it as wide as possible without damaging the walls. Push them back!" he orders the Paladins before raising his arms, seemingly in a blocking stance. But then his sleeves shred at the elbows, projectiles flying out at high speeds before fragmenting, splitting into ball bearings that scatter, creating wider cones of damage!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Although, this is a forest. Plenty of cover here!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Be careful, I have an intermittent contact on radar. There may be a stealth unit in the area." says Chitose, as she opens her flight deck and deploys the 'toy' planes. They won't have much space to maneuver in the trees, but the fighters will be better than the dive bombers at juking through the foliage. "Air Wing is up!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yamashiro, Kuma, Nowaki, Yuudachi and Shigure all fan out, taking up a wide defensive alignment... then open fire once ordered. Yamashiro's main battery remains silent though, the smaller secondary guns along the rig, and which 'fold out' of the main turrets spit tracers and explosive shells in a wide area. Kuma's turrets opens fire with similarly exploding shells, maintaining a steady barrage. Yuudachi and Shigure stagger their fire, while machine gun emplacements spit tracers out in sweeping arcs. Nowaki seems to be the weakest link, as her fire is slower and the machinegun tracers more spread out. "Maintain formation! Do not let them past, kuma!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1080|Henry Jekyll (1080)}} has posed:'''<br>Mister Hyde gets hit straight on by Eryl's fragmenting ball bearings, making no attempt to dodge as he closes in. Though it draws blood, the wounds slowly close, the regenerating power of this brute not to be underestimated. Nor the complexity by which he fights, as soon as he closes in, shovel-like hands ball into fists, going for an upper cut immediately followed up by a gut punch. "I wonder if you'll squeel."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast grimmaces as he see's the incoming fire and grabs some cover. More of the winds are gathered, and what appears as a pure cloak of darkness falls from the Chaos sorceror's back. "Then let the battle be joined. For the Dark Pantheon! OUR ENEMIES SHALL BURN IN THE FLAMES OF CHAOS! KNOW NOW WHO YOU FACE! I AM ARGAST WYRDSEEKER, SORCEROR LORD OF THE MIGHT RAVEN GOD, TZEENCH!" He roars out, unleashing fireballs towards the paladins with no real target in mind.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka let out a low whistle. Well, that was-- ACK! Fire balls! Welp, looks like they've got a fire bender on hand. He grins. "I've got hot foot over there!" he said, before running straight at the guy. "Hey! Tall dark and angry! Your bird guy sounds like a sneeze interrupted by a bad zipper malfunction! And your flames aren't much better!" <br><br> He then hurtled his boomerang, the wood going... wide. Missing by a mile. Before veering around and coming at Argast from behind. He charges in, nimbly dancing around the flames, years of fighting fire benders had taught him how to get good at that, as he tried to get in close to take a swing at that staff.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If it hadn't been mentioned on the tactical bands, then perhaps Toph wouldn't have known. But the fact that her fellow Paladins mention that one of the incoming attackers is stealthed, that makes the blind earthbender turn her focus towards that person. If the others can't see them as well as she can, then it's up to her!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Flamel races towards the area, Toph raises her foot and kicks into the ground, sending her chi towards the area he's heading towards. Doesn't matter whether he's advancing to the side of Eryl's fire, or if he's seeking cover behind a tree. Where he's going, he's going to be met by an earthen wall that shoots up from the ground, aiming to slam into him. Heck, it might even knock him out if she's lucky.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After that she heads behind Eryl and the Fleet Girls to not get in their crossfire... or the unholy rain of fire that one of the Leaguies unleash. Unholy hell! And what's with the name calling? That's totally her thing! "Oh, shove a rock in it before I do!" she yells at Argast, keeping her attention on Flamel.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What right? Does someone need a right to say something? Even to Orta, who rarely talks to anyone at all, never mind engaging in philosophical debate, that seems . . . wrong, somehow. She doesn't get it. Why these people are here. Why Eryl has that much investment in some twisted up idea of suffering that runs counter to everything she knows. All she can really parse out of it, is that loud, violent, ideological people want something everyone told her that they shouldn't have. That's good enough. It's just like the Empire seizing a Relic.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I have nothing, if not what I have seen and know." says Orta, quiet and steely-eyed. "I don't understand what it is you think is suffering, but I think, as well, that you don't understand what it's like, when people think relics are their gods." The girl shakes her head, getting well out of the way of Henry, Argast, and all the other crazies.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sound of cannons, though, /that/ is something she knows very well. Something she recognizes, and loathes. She presses her hands over her ears, flinching at the noise, even as she looks up to the shells that might catch her in the crossfire, and the next moment, a red and white shadow swoops over the ground, and carries her into the air, well out of harm's way.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course it's the Dragon; named officially, rather than for its likeness. For every bit the strange, winged creature might look like some kind of ancient wyvern, it looks as much like some primeval ocean predator, and as much again like a chitinous jet. Orta settles onto the crook of its shoulders, where a sculpted, white plate of armour naturally contours like a saddle, and unholsters her gun, taking sight of several of the battleship shells, and with pinpoint flashes of green-white light, shooting them out of the air. This time, she doesn't flinch at the heat and noise that washes over her, and pulls at her scarf.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fire means smoke, and smoke means Parsons had better get that gasmask on. He's still slipping it over his head when the covering fire reaches him. Lucky guy, it narrows his range of maneuvering to something predictable and limited, but he can slip through it well enough, if he strains and moves quickly... Unfortunately, that's little help for a more direct assault. "I'm reading several ships apparently firing on my allies. No, not from shore. A half-dozen vessels are just sort of here. No, not-- I'll explain latHUUURK!!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The wall slams into Agent Parsons' chest, launching him up and into the air, in a perfect and elegant parabola, before slamming back onto the ground. For a moment, it'll look like Toph successfully slammed him into a KO! That's before a shimmering shield around his body, cracked and seeping force through to his bruised chest, reveals itself in a shining orange glow... To everyone besides his opponent. Now he's fully exposed to Kuma's covering fire, he'll have to just tank the slow drain when he can't get a bearing on it. For now, he clambers back onto his feet, slumping only a moment to put pressure on his heavy bruise. "Geokinetic assault received." He reports into his earpiece as it glows a subtle purple. She's taking cover behind Eryl and the fleet. He could feel the wave of pseudo-psychokinetic force rushing through the ground, knowing roughly where to fire back... Albeit imprecisely. "Returning fire."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And with that, he does. Planting two fingers of each hand on each temple, there's a noise like someone angry, readying to scream, but Agent Parsons isn't making any noises himself; it's the energy of the strange orange light gathering at his temples making that aggressive sound. Just after that, the wide storm of sweeping laser fire blasts out of his forehead, sweeping over the range of the fleet where the mysterious attacker might have taken cover. It's force at the level of artillery, and lances massive progressing explosions wherever it hits. The impact, strangely, sounds... Aggressive. There's no "boom", or at least, the "boom" is incidental. Instead, its impact sounds like an enraged roar, like a cross between a mad human and a feral lion. He's intending on maintaining that brutal psychic laser artillery, trying to target Toph, for as long as he's uninterrupted; it seems like he can keep up the flow as long as he needs!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eryl frowns as Hyde barrels through his shots. This is going to be a problem. As that hammer uppercut comes, he steps back and arches his back to narrowly avoid it. But in such a position, the follow-up punch to the gut sends Eryl flying back.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The problem with defending a wall is that your back is always going to be to it. This is something Eryl learns hard as he impacts against it, actually getting smashed right through. Now there's a hole in it, perhaps not one big enough for Hyde's large frame, but more than enough for his smaller comrades.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But Eryl isn't down yet. Hyde is strong, but Eryl was built to endure. He's back on his feet and dusting himself off. He coughs a bit, but stands tall. "That's a mighty blow, but not a lot of finesse behind it. I suppose it is to be expected from the embodiment of man's brutality." Of course Eryl has read the source material, it's a classic! Arms up again, he closes the distance with a surprisingly fast boxing step-in. Partway through, his 'Ungraspables' arm blades erupt from his arms, which he then uses to augment the punch rush he aims at Hyde's abdomen!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then, something happens in the clearing. A warpgate appears.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is a big one, much bigger than any previously recorded. It opens to a camp ground, somewhere in the woods. Based on the muggy heat that comes blasting through, it's summertime there. The splashing of gently lapping lake water can be heard in the distance. Children mill about, several spotting the new gate and pointing at it, jaws agape. Those psychically attuned may start hearing whispers emanating from the other side, but it's nothing human.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is a place very familiar to someone present today.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast blinks as he see's the boomerang go WIDE, and laughs. "Foolish child. You know nothing of the power of chaos...of what it..." He started until the boomerang whapped him right in the back of the helmet. The staff is hit, but is made of stern stuff. That said, a large bite is taken into it. Argast curses softly, and draws his own sword. "How crass a weapon...You are unworthy of the power of chaos. But you will be perfect food for the hounds of khorne." He says, swinging the blade of his sword down at sokka.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka stepped to the side, letting the blade go by him. "Sorry, bird brain, but I'm not really much of a snack!" Then his foot kicked up, hitting a rock under them to strike up and at the man's face, along with a big clump of dirt. Sokka twisted around the man's side, gripping his sword in both hands and trying to drive the pommel down across the back of the helmet, attempting to send it off tilt and reverse its position to block his field of view. "I'm the full course!" Before jamming a foot against the guys back and using it to push himself off. He caught his boomerang on the way out, running and then leaping behind some cover, likely. "Okay, now!" He yelled it. "Cover your ears, guys!" <br><br> That had to do it, right?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yamashiro listens to her radio. Then, the large cannons on her back swing out, angle and elevate into position. "Main guns, take aim... FIRE!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Eight cannon broadside of the Fusou-class Super Dreadnaught is a loud affair, the concussion wave from the barrels blasting down underbrush around her as the cannons fire in a close staccatto. The shells arc, and detonate on impact, spraying shrapnel and concussive force around them... but they're not accurate in the slightest. "All gun crews, reload high explosive impact fuse. Firing mechanism reset. Clear the hatch and ram the charges."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chitose, meanwhile is keeping her 'eyes' on the sky... once Orta goes airborne she smirks. "Found you~." and vectors her fighters towards the airborne girl on her Dragon. The Zeroes scream in, piston engines running hot as they climb to attack. Machine guns open fire, spraying lead across the Dragon's flightpath. &lt;&lt;Chitose here. Air wing has engaged an enemy flier.&gt;&gt;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Toph makes her way towards the area where Flamel is, she's not unaware of the attacks going on. Sokka is enganging the out of control loud mouth with the fire, Eryl is handling the creepy bipolar doctor, Kuma is providing general attack against the airborne enemy which suits her just fin-- just what is that sound?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The impact of the lasers causes the blind teenager to yelp, and she staggers back as the roar sounds all around her. What kinda attack is this? It hurts! Toph grabs at her arm where she was hit, wincing as she kicks into the ground, causing the earth to rise in front of her. Not only does it shape itself into a defensive plate, but it also takes the earth from further down into the ground, creating a tunnel that Toph jumps into. Across the field, the earth rumbles.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Due to Flamel's skills, he might notice the approach of energy towards him, a forewarning just seconds before the earthen underneath him explodes in a rain of rocks and dust, and there Toph is, a determined look on her face as she swings her fist, sending the earth she forced out of the tunnel towards the psychonaut!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1080|Henry Jekyll (1080)}} has posed:'''<br>Despite Hyde representing the worst instincts of Jekyll, the inquisitiveness has remained, and the warpgate draws his attention long enough too look over. And then he gets punched by blades into the abdomen, cutting his guts open and ruining his suit. The wound starts to close soon after, though it's slow enough to cause plenty issues for the time being.<br><br>Besides, regenerating isn't free. Hyde may have a lot of it, but that energy has to come from somewhere, and if he keeps taking hits like these, he will run out. "That's why it's ours." Hyde explains, pointing at the warpgate that just appears. "It's being wasted." And then, that insightful explanation of the motivation of the League is followed up by Hyde trying to grasp Eryl by the shoulders in an attempt to drive a knee right into his face.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In all truth, this boy was starting to annoy him. Argast tried to move to avoid the rock and dirt, but it got right in. Then the pommel strike and helmet twist. "Gah....I'm going to rip you apart, child!" He roars. Once he finally set his helm back in place, down came the artillary. It was a fairly direct hit, with shrapnel scouring him. By all rights, he should be dead. But by some quirk of tzeench, the strength of the armor, or some kind of effect as an elite.....from the smoke that filled the crater, a visibly wounded Argast emerged. His 'shadow cloak' billowed behind him, and anyone who could feel it would pick up on the sheer HATRED coming from him. "You.....have wounded me...I. WILL. KILL YOU! I WILL OFFER YOU BODY AND SOUL TO TZEENCH!!!!!" He shouts towards Sokka. Though it's clear he's relying on pure swordplay now, his staff gone and hand on his side.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka popped his head up to see the crater. "Whew. That looked like it hurt. I guess that's one for Sokka, zero for..." And then he emerged. "Ah. Ah shit," Sokka said. He hadn't expected the guy to get *up* after that. He launched missiles on the guy! <br><br> But hey, he was pissed, wounded, disoriented. "You know, you're really not the first person to threaten me like that. Heck, you're not even the dozenth psychopath to fling FIRE who threatened me with that." He then charged at the guy, sword drawn. Time to put his training to work. "But sneezy isn't getting me, body or soul, sorry bub!" He flung the boomerang high, then went in and... He dug the blade into the ground, sending more dirt and rocks at Argast's head, before closing the distance. <br><br> "Tempest strike!" He suddenly went from low to the ground, to leaping up in a windmill of blade, flying over the guy, hitting the ground and... "Demon fang!" He hit the ground and hit one of the shockwaves at Argast's foot on his wounded side. "Say hi to him though, after you have a nice TRIP!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the smoke from the intercepted shells clears, Orta remains seated on the other side of the black gunpowder clouds, sat comfortably astride the strange, alien creature that somehow remains as perfectly fixed in place as a VTOL craft just by sporadic beats of its armoured wings. She leans forward on her perch, supporting herself by one hand on the Dragon's neck, and peers through the dissipating smoke, though why she would instead of going around it is unclear.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of them are then caught like that when the Zero launch ploughs straight through it. Cannons are an old enemy, but fighter craft nowhere near big enough to fit a person are new, as is the loud and unsettling roar of diesel engines and propeller assisted flight. The moment of indecision as to what they /are/ costs them. A full volley of gunfire from multiple fighter planes rakes across the Dragon's chest, flank and neck, drawing out a dull scream that sounds like broken microphone feedback instead of an animal.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What must be fifty rounds connect directly with what looks like unprotected skin, but a great number squash on its hide with a series of loud thwacks. The beast reels backward from the combined force of the salvo, but a limited number of shots actually draw thick, purpleish blood.<br><br><br>Needless to say, it doesn't stay put. Orta leans even further forward, bracing herself on three points to keep the gun free, and the Dragon takes off. Though it flaps its wings to do it, the movement is totally inconsistent with something that uses air to fly, suddenly rocketing off more like something powered by rocket thrust. It tilts into a powerful climb at a sharp inclination, making the Zeroes fight gravity to chase it, while Orta looks down past its back to keep them in her field of vision, though she doesn't fire.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Harsh, cyan light builds up inside the Dragon's mouth, letting bright rays leak from between its teeth. It opens up, and a spinning ball of white hot energy levitates between its jaws, pulsing once and growing larger and brighter, then a second time, a third, and fourth. It fires some kind of breath weapon directly forward, in totally the opposite direction of the Zero wing. A quartet of brilliant, blue-white lasers shoot straight up into the air, and then a moment after, simultaneously curve 180 degrees, and arc straight back down on the pursuing Zeroes, individually selecting targets and skewering planes with pinpoint accuracy.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The laser flickers for a moment when the gate comes up. The gate to old Whispering Rock... He can't believe it! His mind rushes with excitement about what this sort of thing can do! What he can find out! He wonders, what if this has even PSYCHIC effects?!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He can't wonder for long. Toph has Agent Parsons outmatched for power, that's for sure. He might have some flexibility in range and in mechanism, but she has him outmatched for raw power. What he sees as a geokinetic strike is far beyond his ability to block. But, at least, the way he can ease the pain is going to be disorienting. He feels the "psychic" impulse under him, and immediately's he's levitation-jumping to one side, landing in a sliding skid and ready for combat. An explosion of rock burts into the air... Then it all comes at him! Shit! A massive white translucent hand, big as a person, flickers into reality just in front of him as he catches the largest chunk, pushing him back even more, skidding over the ground. The other shrapnel slams into his shield, lancing into it and cracking it, evoking blood-like sprays of red light while they leave the psychonaut battered.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But now she's in close range. And that means he can go to work. His gasmask muffles his voice just a little... Just enough to make it hard to tell who he is, for just a moment. "Wow! You guys really are great at this business. Setting up secret classified blacksites to hide away knowledge that the people want, to further the agendas of faceless bureaucrats, I mean. It's pretty good work!" That's when Toph will feel that sensation in the back of her skull. Agent Parsons goes in for a psionically-enhanced grapple, using the heavy strength of massive psionic hands to engage Toph in as quick a way as he can. He wouldn't win a sustained grapple, but... He can catch her off guard before that's relevant.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His gasmask floods with light, the lenses filling with white. For those with experience in combat, they have a mental space dedicated to tactics, to combat strategy, to thinking about what attack to do next. So he does what he's trained to do: He projects into it.<br><br>https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/201370883/MIND_DIVE.mp3<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The shining white ghost-like projection rushes into her skull, and suddenly, Toph will find herself... Distracted. Too distracted to fight, in fact. Agent Parsons intends to land destructively, slamming into whatever the equivalent of the ground is in Toph's mind, disrupting the mental space that enables her to fight by engaging in the projection of it. Specifically, he intends to arrive palm-down, in a Palm Bomb strike made famous by another up-and-coming Psychonaut. The shockwave and impact is aimed towards wherever Toph can roughly be identified in her own mind, even though Flamel won't have any idea what it looks like before he starts the psychic attack.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let's see what's inside!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It is not your place to decide if it is being wasted or not. It provides something to these people. Your desire is not greater than theirs, to assume otherwise is the height of hubris." Eryl pulls his blades free, and seems to be winding up for a big liver blow when Henry grabs him for a rising knee.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eryl is slammed in the gut again, but this time he does not fly back. This is mostly owning to him grabbing onto Hyde's leg and clinging on for dear life. Once he finds his footing, he puts on a display of that finesse he was talking about, twisting and pulling Hyde's leg to flip the brute onto his back! Once he's down, Eryl begins moving up towards the man's face, armblades stabbing over and over. Knees, liver, stomach, lungs... he's a Servant, he can take it!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then, once he hovers above Hyde's face, he interlaces his fingers to hammer both fists down, right on his nose.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meanwhile, the warpgate flickers and fades... but it is replaced immediately, something that has never been observed. It now sits in a dusty canyon, with a fast-flowing stream beside it. Strange plants grown from the dry earth, like tree roots minus the trees. Nearby is what looks like a village, huts having been built atop these rootlike growths.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is also very familiar to someone here.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chitose grits her teeth as her mind is filled with the 'chatter' of her air wing. &lt;Four watch the flank, it's doing something.&gt; &lt;Got it lead, we'll---&gt; KRRRRSSSK... The four Zeroes that are struck blossom into clouds of ignited fuel and cooked off ammunition, the debris spiralling downwards to strike the ground somewhere within the forest. The remaining fighters peel off, they don't have the climbing ability to keep up with something like the Dragon and if it can do /that/ again, they won't stand a chance. Luckily, the Fairies piloting the craft seem unharmed, parachutes deploying as they fall from the wreckage of their planes. Semafor flags flash as they signal they are okay, while the remaining planes return to base. &lt;&lt;Air wing has been disabled. Retrieving remaining craft and readying a new group. Hostile flier is very dangerous.&gt;&gt;<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The rest of the fleet retask some of their secondary fire to AA mode, Shigure lifting both her large cannons skywards and opening up with explosive flak shells at the Dragon. "Maintain the AA Curtain until Chitose can get her air wing up again. We cannot afford to lose air superiority!" she says, voice never raising past her soft murmur, though somehow it carries across the battlefield to her allies... and the enemies they are fighting.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast curses as his injury renders him too slow to block the impact from the rocks, and then the boy's sword and foot bit deep, actually...dispersing him? What the?! "Did you think.....fire was all I had? Oh no....the Changer of Ways knows so much more. Dance in illision, bathe in your fears....let's see if you can trust your eyes.." mocks Argast as multiple forms of himself appear seemingly from the ether.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka blinked a few times, looking around. He went into a defensive stance and glanced around. "You know what? I really hoped it was. I know how to deal with fiery psycho people." He held his sword ready, looking around. He tossed the boomerang out... and hit a few fakes. Well, that wasn't going to work. <br><br> He took a slow, deep breath. Then closed his eyes. He held his left hand out, sword back, listening and focusing and then... "THERE!" And he struck! His sword cleaving out! <br><br> ... Through... an illusion. Ah crud.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Toph's heels dig into the ground as she lands, her face turned towards Flamel. Even with her being smaller than him she exudes confidence as she advances while she skids backwards. Though she can't help but arch an eyebrow when he speaks. Why does that voice sound somewhat familiar...? "Who... are you?" she asks, slightly annoyed. Especially when the man, whoever he is, charges at her. Standing her ground, Toph brings up her arms, all while the earth around her is torn up from the ground, wrapping itself around her fists into earthen gauntlets. What kinda idiot tries to fight an earthbender up close anyway? Without hesitation the young teenager intercepts the attack, grabbing at his arms as they begin fighting. Small she might be, but with the earth added to it, there's no question that Toph has the upper hand. At least until Flamel uses his own skills in a way that Toph doesn't expect.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For anybody looking, the effect is immediate when the projection enters her mind... Toph jerks into a stop, her pale eyes wide for just some seconds, all before they half close and go unfocused as she just stands there, her arms lowering and weighted down by the earth covering her fists. Somebody was not prepared for such an attack, that's clear.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The place that Flamel finds himself in is... pitch dark. Even so he will find himself able to 'see'. Not in the conventional sense, however. As Flamel slams down he will notice vibrations, travelling out from his impact spot in the form of light rings that move over the area. A rocky area with tall spires and shapes that rise towards the sky, sturdy and strong. Here and there are deep canyons that sink far below. Figments litter the area, high and low, mostly yellow and green in various shapes. Rocks, gems, winged boars, meat... and various faces here and there. With the latter having a majority of a guy sporting a perky wolftail haircut.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As for where Toph is? A loud cry leaves the area, and even if Flamel can't see her like he does with his own eyes in real life, a familiar figure falls to the ground. As the vibrations carry back him, he might notice it that something feels different about her than the area around them. Sure, the ground is rough, hard... but the girl seems even more compact, as if she's made of metal. "What... what did you do to me...?" she demands, pushing herself up as she turns towards Flamel. Strangely enough, every moment she makes reaches Flamel. Even more so, for some reason it's as if he somehow able to predict how she's going to move just as she begins to move! Her foot shifts, as she puts weight down on it it should be able to predict just how she's going to rise to her feet before she even does it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Dragon isn't even looking, but Orta is, watching until she visually confirms four planes are down, before turning back and stroking her hand along the Dragon's wounded neck; some silent communication that causes it to bank sideways into a hard, high-G turn, and circle back around on the Zeroes' launch point. A curious stare goes to the teeny tiny fairies bailing out of their craft on equally miniscule parachutes, but it seems like Orta can't linger long when the rest of the canons swivel to bear.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Aside from having those weird lasers, the pair look like they're no strangers to this kind of combat. The Dragon (or is it Orta?) continues to do the smart thing, and sets its course fast and perpendicular to the guns, presenting the hardest accurate lead, and making the AA guns turn as fast as they can. It weaves up and down, diving, braking and climbing to duck between as many shells as possible.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pieces of shrapnel pelt it from all sides, sparking against its bone white carapace, and cutting streaks of purple ichor across its side, but it artfully dodges the detonations themselves. It can't possibly be a stable, or safe, platform for Orta, but for whatever reason, none of the shell fragments seem to find her, and she has her gun trained on Shigure's turrets with all the error of an aimbot.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Just hold on a few seconds longer." she whispers to the Dragon, filtering out the deafening barrage exploding all around her. The closest thing that could be guessed to be a muzzle on the weird, organic sculpture in her hands, blazes green, and a steady stream of high speed energy shots starts raining from on high. Contrary to the battleship guns, they aren't especially powerful, but they are highly accurate. Orta focuses a constant blaze of fire on one turret, and then the other, trying to melt their barrels and cook off their ammo to neutralize the threat.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With the impact, he slams down hard, feeling the vibrations carry through. He can... See! Sort of! Oh goodness, this must be a blind person! He's never been in a handicapped person's mind, but he can recognize the phenomenon. His mind rushes to cope with the new stream of data, and the lacking one he normally has. No time for that, though. He has to catch her while she's still surprised! His response... Will probably make things clear. "Secret government mind monitoring!" He declares, in that bright and positive tone. "How else can vague yet menacing government agencies exert their influence?" He wastes no time, though.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He bears down on the recovering girl's mental image. He still can't quite figure out all he needs to know about where her body is positioned with this sense she has, but he knows enough about where the girl herself is, in this self-visualization. Fingers plant on temples again, and with another rage-like scream from the psychic force, pure psychic aggression energy pulses through his mind, lancing in a series of huge blasts towards Toph's compact metal form. The now-blind man pulls into a strafing dash, launching the short but compacted and even a little explosive psychic bolts at the martial artist's position, if not exactly her center mass as would be best. It'll take him a moment to acclimate. "It's information control! Sort of like the Paladins at the moment, see? Rules and regulations set into place by faceless bureaucrats who deny information to the people by manipulating the flow of information out of vague justifications of law. I love it! It's quality work."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What comes next is emphasized by an aggressive storm of bolts at a more rapid speed, still as mobile as he can get. "But not good enough! I /need/ to get to that warpgate skeleton key there. It's doing something, it's reading /people/. Even just knowing what it's reading, how it reads them, even if we can't make warpgates from it, do you know what sort of value that could bring? Way more than the risks the Paladins are worried about of it getting used to breach the security of their blacksites, secret silos, and hidden containment sites."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The warpgate fluctuates again, closing and opening again, but now it's even bigger. The edges are brushing against the walls now. Through it, one can see a bustling street, looking straight out of Imperial China. Earthy tones of green and brown dominate in people's clothing and building decorations. Again, people gasp and flinch away from the sudden manifestation. A precariously balanced cart is bumped in the process, sending wares spilling. The owner screams, "MY CABBAGES!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And the warpgate is still swelling. The wall has actually been taken inside it now. It's not that this city is distinct from the clearing anymore. Now they're merging. This might be dangerous...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast laughs evilly as he watches poor Sokka strike out at illusions. In this moment, he was like a predator toying with his prey. "Your end will not be quick, boy. I will take my time toying with you. You will understand what the changer of ways is before the end." He says. As his illusions close in, they wing, but stop short of a wounding blow. Argast, the real one, began to close in. With a quick movement, he struck out but his wound caused him to miss. "Damn you...this wound is deep."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sustained fire from that... laser? Manages to punch holes in Shigure's cannon barrels, and one shot punches through the main superstructure, scoring a direct hit into the ammunition magazine. The heat swells exponentially, before the dark haired girl is blasted off her feet by her own weapon detonating on her arm. Shigure is flung back against the perimeter wall, cratering the structure from the force of the impact, before falling down to her knees. Her left arm sits limply, held together by the remains of that side turret rig. She grits her teeth, and goes to radio in, but finds her connection is down. It doesn't stop her from reaching for the hand cannon at her hip, and opening fire with that instead of her disabled main battery. It's not as powerful, but Yuudachi and Nowaki trade their fire up at the Dragon now as well.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chitose launches her air wing, who quickly form up and climb, aiming to take the fight back to Orta and her Dragon in the air once more.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even now the blind girl is staggering to her feet, disoriented as she listens and tries to figure out just what is going on. This isn't the forest. This place seems almost too familiar... but there's little time to consider that when Flamel speaks up.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With no visual sight in this place besides the figments and the rings that spread out from every vibration in the ground, it's hard to imagine just what expression the girl has. But her body language is tense, even as she shifts into a defensive stance, her hands clenching up tight into fists. Likewise her voice is tense when she speaks. "... Flaming Parsley...?!" It's a voice that carries hurt and anger alike.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For now she doesn't have time to formulate another reply however, as Flamel attacks again. Throwing her arms up, the metallic figure raises a defensive wall between her and the intruder to block the incoming attacks. Sure, she doesn't know how he does it, but it came right after he did move his fingers to his temples. Just like how Flamel can 'see' her movements, so too does she 'see' him dashing. Every comment he makes is heard, though he might hear a soft rumbling that steadily grows as the mindscape shifts. More pillars of earth shoot up towards a sky that might not exist in here.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"... mind monitoring...?!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's Toph's voice all right, but now it seems to resonate from the very earth they're standing on, and while her voice is normally far lighter and feminine, now it has a threatening rumble to it as the ground /shakes/.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The only thing you need is to GET. OUT. OF. MY. HEAD!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With every spoken word the quivers increase in intensity... and as the metal figure moves, she seems to grow in size, with hard spikes growing from her entire form as she seeks to crush Flamel underneath her foot!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Somebody appears to be not so happy about having people in her head.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka tries to deflect the blows and does a pretty good job of it! a shame they aren't, well, the real blows. And then... one of them doubles over? He darts in low at that one, trying to get in under the guy's guard after sheathing his blade. <br><br> He steps in and does probably one of the dirtiest strikes imaginable. He'd grip the hilt and then drive the sword out, trying to slam the pommel of the sword right into the wound.<br><br> "My end won't be quick, and it won't be today, either. The only thing i change are diapers." ... What? He helps Toph babysit.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta finally breathes a sigh of relief when both guns go up, having held it for a considerable length of time to keep her aim as steady as possible. The sigh is lost in the cacaphonic bang of the last flak shell exploding overhead, raining clattering fragments all over the creature's armoured back that she rides, with a mysterious safe zone around just her. The Dragon sways under the deluge, but rights itself quickly, making a strange, synthetic crooning noise as its rider smiles and wraps her arms around its neck.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta, however, catches ear of the newly launching fighters, and the mental sensor quite literally lights up with several more red dots. She guides her companion to turn on them right away, where her briefly happy expression hardens into steely resolve once again. Her scarf blows out behind her as the Dragon accelerates, tucking its wings against its body so that it resembles a streamlined, white arrow, and plummets from the air at a truly frightening speed.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As it accelerates, the air collects around it like the mist that appears at the edge of the sound barrier, but becomes a crackling, blueish haze instead, cutting out the wind resistance entirely, and providing some kind of screen, since the smaller shells launched by the fleet detonate against it. It doesn't seem to actually /shield/ the creature though, as each blast scorches and cracks the helmet-like carapace around its head, so the shells must be going off because the haze is outright cooking them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This would explain why the Dragon charges straight down the middle of the Zero formation, and right for Chitose, without making any sign of slowing to employ some kind of talon strike. Orta hunkers down against its back, looking Chitose straight in the eyes, without the faintest inkling of fear, almost as if she'd forgotten how to feel it the moment she mounted up. The Dragon seems intent on matching her, despite the gunfire in its way.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's grunts and straining noises from under that foot. It's like she's stomping on something solid. In fact, she is! A spherical shield in the mindscape keeps his projection from being utterly crushes, though layers of it crunch dangerously, and its strain and seeping-in kinetic force wound his projection painfully with glowing orange bruises. He's rapidly firing back bolts as hard as he can, and soon, even punching aggressively, firing those telekinetic fists up at his attacker. She has a superior level of power outside the mind, but in here, he can still hold his own... Albeit in a limited way. "Gah! What! I don't like /fighting/ people, that's all. Neither of us needs to go to the /hospital/ if I-- Rrrrgh!" He catches the foot with those big telekinetic palms. The spikes jam through them, sending shocks of pain through his astral projection and draining his psychic energy, but giving him a more solid grip.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Agggghh! This is a painful mind, ghhhhh..." The fingers close around it and he tries to use her increased mental projection force, her increased size, to slam more against the environment. He can't hold up against her personal self-projection, she has way too much confidence and stubbornness for that! The most he can do... Is a big flying slam! With a heavy leap, he tries to pick up the larger Toph and slam her down into the environment of her own combat-thinking thoughtspace with a TREMENDOUS crater. He's using her own psychic weight to inflict damage that'll make it tougher for her to focus on fighting in the real world until the rest of her mind heals it!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Whatever this thing is, it's reacting! With people! Whatever it can give us is so much more worth seeing than it's worth just... Leaving it locked up in some Paladin blacksite! It's finding something out about /us/! We can find out ways to learn these things about each other!" He calls out as he tries this maneuver, starting to jump up and go in for another series of heavy strikes, though it's likely that Toph will already be firing back... Or that Eryl might jump right in and snap the two out of the dive!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eryl moves. Flamel, too distracted by the combat within Toph's mind, likely has little response to Eryl suddenly grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him off his feet. This is at once a means of hopefully snapping Toph out of whatever he did, and to get everyone's attention.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Listen to me! These warpgates are far from normal. Continuing this is folly that introduces danger beyond the wounds we inflict on each other. All charges will be dropped if you evacuate /right now./ I am not even sure how you could retrieve the artefact if it is constantly hidden by warpgates!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The gate shifts again, now showing a glimpse of a frigid wasteland. Yet another camp is visible, but this one is pitched tents and vile banners depicting symbols of Chaos. Warlike chants come from within, and scouts seem to be approaching the new feature with weapons raised.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then something new occurs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where the artefact would be in 'real space' if the warpgate was not there? A dark iris has formed. All light is being drawn into it, and it's rimmed with a bloody red wisp. The guards seem excited. Surely this is a gift! They shout to the camp, the chants silence, and the hole in the world only grows more.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Forget it," Eryl says, dropping Flamel unceremoniously before picking up Toph in a fireman's carry. "Paladins! Disengage and evacuate the area!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast grits his teeth and the pommel is driven right into the wound. The illusions all shatter in that minute, as does the shadow cloak. But he reaches out to grip Sokka by the throat. "Oh, it will, boy. I have had more then enough of you." He says, balling up his fist and hurling it towards the boy's gut. But as the portal reveals his home of Norsca, an even EVILLER tone takes to argasts voice. "How fitting....To 'introduce' you to my brethren..." He says, trying to hurl the boy into the portal, despite the injury slowing him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chitose focusses her AA guns on the Dragon as it closes... the Zeroes peel out of the way, then dive in from behind as the thing shoots past at such speed... but the sheer velocity, and that defensive field mean much of her AA fire, which consists of low caliber machine guns and a few small 5-inch high angles, just bounces harmlessly off. The Carrier tries to dodge to the side, and manages to clear the swoop... but her Flight Deck gets cut clean in half, the semi-autonomous rigging letting out a scream like metal against metal as it's destroyed.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yamashiro radios in, and gets the order to retreat. "All fleet elements, form up around the damaged ships. Withdrawal pattern Delta three." The Battleship moves over to scoop up Shigure, hoisting her up while Nowaki and Kuma move to help draw Chitose out of the area. Yuudachi's eyes burn like bloody coals. "Yuudachi, kuma. Come /on/ or you'll be left behind, kuma!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Nightmare of Solomon snarls... she's about ready to try and leap onto the Dragon and tear it limb from limb, but a soft groan from Shigure cools the fire, and she merely takes up rear guard duty, firing at Orta and her mount while everyone pulls back, away from the Artifact and that odd glowing darkness.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka was grinning... then he gets grabbed. Alarm went through him and he tried kicking the other guy. <br><br> Unfortunately, Sokka was a much smaller, weaker guy, unarmored. He'd been using his speed to avoid getting hit. But now he was gripped. And then received a punch to the stomach, from a metal fist. That was enough to almost drop him. It did make him drop his sword, at least, and make him kind of limp noodle before being thrown towards the portal. He hit the ground on the other side, rolling a few feet and letting out a pained groan. His hand clutched his stomach and he tried to get up, had to get back. Unfortunately, there was likely a six foot tall sorcerer in metal armor blocking the way back. And that punch felt like it had broken his spine in half.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Parsons can see a bit of what Eryl's doing, but he can't react, definitely not in time. Toph will feel a snap as Agent Parsons whisps out of her brain with a flicker and a jolt, disorienting to her as much as to him. "Ghh-ack!!" His voice strains when the hand comes around his throat. He just sort of dangles there, making choked and incoherent noises. As he does, he speaks... Via telepathy! Thank goodness for that. "You make a compelling argument to my esophagus, Mr. Fairfax, especially if we can't find the artifact itself. But the way it interacts with the people-- That needs study. It /needs/ to be known. Eventually."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Deeper, he thinks more on the topic. Now that they understand some of its mechanical factors... Perhaps it can be investigated more thoroughly. Is it a chonopathic artifact? Or is it enagaging in acts of clairvoyance? This is something he has a lot of interest in gaining insight on... Even behind that gasmask, his eyes seem to gleam with interest. If Eryl HADN'T pointed out the difficulties in retrieving information at the moment, he might have been far more irrational. Lucky break for the diplomatron. Or skillful break, more likely!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Parsons falls on his ass when dropped. Toph, in her likely disoriented state, escapes! Agent Parsons is pretty disoriented himself, after getting forcibly yanked out of a projection like that... The escape ought to be no trouble.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The foot quivers as it struggles to crush Flamel, and the metallic Toph lets out a frustrated roar that echoes in the pitch blackness of this place.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You... you don't belong in here!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This mind is clearly fighting back, not wanting any intrusion. There's a clear defined self in here, a theme, a strong ego behind it all. It's also clear that fighting is something that this mind enjoys, this place is anything but soft and gentle. Right now she tries to use her increased size against the intruder, but it backfires when something happens that she didn't expect. In the real world there's no way something so small can pick up something so large and topple it, but then again, this is hardly real, now is it? The large metallic Toph is easily picked up, and she lets out a startled cry as she slooowly tips over, all until her weight brings her down with a massive and earthshattering crash. Fissures run throughout the ground, several earthen pillars are crashed through and plummet to the ground along with Toph herself, who can only groan in pain as she squirms, reeling from the mental attack. This is clearly something that she's not used to, and if it weren't for the fact that she's stubborn and willful, then Flamel would most likely be dominating this fight completely. The heavy strikes that Flamel unleashes leads to Toph moving her massive arm, pulling it back before she seeks to slap it towards him-- Or at least she would have been if she hadn't been getting help.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A startled gasp for air forces its way through Toph's mouth, and the blind girl stands as if in shock, hyperventilating as she finds herself back in the forest. What happened...? Why is Eryl here, and... is he grabbing Flamel? Confusion still lingers for a second or two as Toph turns her head, listening and trying to make sense of what Eryl is saying. "Wha-..." There is something going on over there though, something that is far more important than whatever Eryl is saying. Through the chaos of it all, Toph's sensitive feet pick up somebody in need. All it takes is a quick and /hard/ kick to the ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Near Argast, a rocky pillar shoots out of the ground, striking the sorcerer straight in the gut. It's not dangerous, but it's bound to hurt. A mere moment after an angry and feminine yell can be heard from the forest nearby. "Leave my boyfriend alone, sulphur breath! I-" That's all Toph gets to yell out before she's picked up.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"HEY!" she protests loudly, wriggling. "I can walk!" Luckily for Eryl though she doesn't actually try to wrestle herself free.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even with the boom of cannons, the chatter of machine guns, the roar of propeller planes, and all the smoke and fire and rattling chaos that comes along with it, somehow, the Dragon and its rider remain on course, building up speed and gathering up crackling energy moment by moment, before only just pulling up enough to carve a burning gash through the ground in the wake of the creature's passing. Orta had come within a meter of crashing, but seems far from unsettled by the harrowing maneuver. The calculating stare Chitose gets from the girl is actually almost eerie, as the two combatants wheel upward into the air, as if it isn't entirely her own.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, she doesn't seem as if she is about to urge the creature to pursue. As much havoc as the two of them had caused for the fleet and its pilots, Orta is far from ignorant to the damage her one and only friend has sustained doing it. If the Paladins are leaving, the girl is far from eager to push it back into the fray, and endanger it more for the sake of scaring shipgirls.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slowly, the two of them circle back down, gliding to earth with a few, last, heavy wingbeats, where the dragon lands deftly, if a little unevenly, on the strange bony protrusions that are its feet, and Orta hops off its back. She takes about two steps away from it, towards Parsons, and then stops abruptly as her knees begin shaking, and her pulse skyrockets to the rate it should have been five minutes ago when the air was exploding all around her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The girl drops to her knees in the grass, maintaining a death grip on her gun, but shaky, pale(er) and sweating bullets. Perhaps seeing this, the bloodied Dragon slowly makes its way over to her side, lowering its head and prodding her with its ivory horn, where Orta quickly layers her hand on its side, and her surrealy delayed terror abates just as suddenly as it had began.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Are you . . . okay?" she asks, first to Parsons, before looking for Henry.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1008|Argast Wyrdseeker (1008)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argast grimmaces as he feels the stone impact him. "Boyfriend, eh?" He says, before slinking off. "That boy will pay....one way or another..." He says. One thing about the followers of chaos.....they know how to hold grudges.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1076|Sokka (1076)}} has posed:'''<br>Sokka groaned and managed to, barely, crawl onto his stomach. Then collapsed again. "Ow..." Yeah, in the end, he was just a human. He wasn't made to take blows like that. He crawled about a half foot to the portal, before collapsing again. <br><br> Okay, he was hurt way more than he thought. He was pretty sure there was something broken in him. But he really, really didn't want to be left here alone. He could see that camp over there and.. .well... it didn NOT look friendly. He tried crawling again, but fell back quickly, still a half dozen feet from the portal. <br><br> He then sighed. He... wasn't sure he was going to make it back. They were evacing for a reason... he pushed a button on his wrist computer. <br><br> Toph would get an e-mail.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I think I just got choked by Robocop." Agent Parsons says, in his dazed state. It takes a moment, but he shakes his head, clearing it. Literally clearing it, in fact! Small figments of his imagination, weird scribbly drawings of Eryl and Toph, seem to get tossed around out of his head. "I'm fine. Bruised and drained. We need to extract. Can you give me a ride, like before?" He manages to stumble to his feet, keeping pressure on the heavy bruises that glow on his torso.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With Hyde disengaged from Eryl, and not wanting anyone to have to... Directly touch the beast, as it were, Mr. Parsons quickly projects a telekinetic hand, intent on snatching up the beast, and in turn, himself, being picked up by Orta's own dragon, chaining the exfiltration. The chaos sorcerer lord, of course, can escape on his own, of that he's quite sure. In fact, there's a portal to get him out right there! Sort of!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:685|Kuma (685)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kuma grits her teeth. "Yuudachi, switch!" she shouts, before looking over at Nowaki apologetically. The normal verbal tick just doesn't proc here, she's in Super Serious Mode. The brown-haired girl then lets Chitose go, dropping the full weight of the Light Carrier on the Destroyer... which is luckily taken up a bit when Yuudachi takes over.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kuma then shifts her stance and pours every last ounce of power she can into her engines, pushing them past the redlines. "Kuma is coming!" she calls, feet pounding against the ground, leaving little craters as she pushes 30 knots. 32. 34. top speed 36... and then pushing beyond, her smoke stack spewing a thick, oily smoke as she races to get to Sokka before the Warpgate closes and traps him with the Chaos warriors.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She skids, scoops Sokka up as carefully as speed allows, then redirects her momentum, gunning for the Warpgate again as her passes kicks up plumes of snow... she begins to slow down, her engines beginning to overheat and fail under the stress.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta has no idea who Robocop is supposed to be, but roughly understands the sentiment. At the moment, she refuses to relinquish physical contact with the Dragon, but retains enough emotional faculty to look at Parsons with sympathetic concern, seeing him beaten up as well, by the gaggle of strange people over claims of sacred territory. She glances towards Sokka, being carried away by Kuma, but there seems to be no instinct to follow. Let the others carry off their wounded too.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Admittedly, Doctor Jekyll is a little more than Orta wants to touch right now. The normally personable man is a little bit intimidating like this, to say the least, and so the reserved young girl only gives Flamel a silent nod, and shuffles aside to allow him the second seat as she climbs back up. "This makes twice." she says more conversationally than anything. "He will carry you again. I think he likes you. Please, be brief, though. I want to let him heal himself."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kuma goes FAST! Blasting into the warpgate, dodging attack for the chaos-worshipping tribes and snagging Sokka! She zips back out just as the gate collapses again. As everyone retreats, the situation seems to calm quickly. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The clearing is just a clearing, sans the walls that were protecting it. Even the League monitoring equipment is gone, scattered across the many locales. One of the children at the summer camp now has a new camera to mess around with. Something that likely cost several thousand credits is now soaked in the canyon stream. The city has a new bunch of walls to deal with, but they are skilful at moving stone, thankfully.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As for the cold wastes? They have the black iris, which lingers even after the warpgate has closed. One of the tribesmen gets close, peering into it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Only for an great obsidian claw to emerge from it, piercing his skull and killing him instantly.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At that point, the hole closes, nearly snipping the nail off. It would then go on to be forged into a greatsword that inspires terror for generations, but that's another story.<br> <br>
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