View source for 5176/System Tower, Floor 62

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/04/02
|Location=The System <TS>
|Synopsis=The System Tower has arrived in Locus.

The DCC's assistant puts out a call for help.

What will our heroes do when confronted by a pair of lizard things trying to fix a magical AA gun to stop a falling wall of exploding orbs?

Find out in The System Tower, Floor 62, Bubble Trouble!
|Cast of Characters=1103, 325, 782, 675, 968, 998
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Charta has sent out a call over various channels. Through the Syndicate boards, over local and public radio, whatever was available. The message: The Tower Has Appeared. The reward on offer for helping is a Locus Aid Package, which includes various healing items(Mundane) and a copy of one of the various magical tomes stored within the drive.(Delivery to be made in three milicycles).<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Those that come, would find Theurgus standing on a small island floating in the void, connected by a temporary rope bridge to the rest of the floating landmass network that makes up the Diamond Drive. The Tower sits just off the 'shore' connected again by a bridge, but this one is as ominous and pure obsidian black as the monolithic tower itself. The once gleaming tron-like lines of energy that crisscross the Drive's landmass and buildings are all dim, barely flickering with life. Charta floats beside her friend on her book, a holographic display open in front of her as numbers, code and pictures flicker across it. "This is bad, very bad. The energy draw the tower is making is even higher than the last time... it is even beginning to affect the living conditions of our citizens." the little Oracle says, a frown knitted into her tiny face.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The Organization is going all out this time... I hope we can put an end to this before someone gets seriously hurt." The blue-haired DCC folds her arms over her chest, and lowers her head so the brim of her hat covers her eyes. And thus, she waits.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It had been a while since Rhapsody and Theurgus met. Ravnica had kept the dragon busy for the last few weeks, but when the call for help went out, who was Rhapsody to say no to her new ally? <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The System was something new to her. She had known Deelel but hadn't gone to that particular world. Coming to this one? "Fascinating..." would be heard by the DCC as Rhaps approaches. "This place is incredible..." she trails before spotting the tower. Headtilt, then back to Theurgus, "That looks really out of place.."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley and the small blue dragonman digimon figured they could help here. It'd be an opportunity to work on their teamwork. Especially since they haven't had a chance to do that since they were first thrown together as Tamer and Digimon back in Ashley's homeworld of Remnant. The digimon has himself as a weapon, though he's only a lowly veemon. The ashen-haired young woman has procured a metal baseball bat for herself, leaning on it as the pair listen to Charta's explanation.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra is a vetran of the System Tower by now, but it ALWAYS finds new ways to make tower runners think on their feet.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Judge walks calmly across the rope bridge with the dimmed city to her back as she looks up at the tower, stopping behind the DCC and her helper, Cirra Cosntantine frowns behind her helmet. "Everytime I see it it only seems to gain a more ominous aura."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>While many a lot people had been there before, maybe even waited for the call, Nicky had caught it more by accident - and supplies were always a good idea to try to pick up. Especially when being a light traveling, interplane-thief. Pulling up the flaps of her leather jacket, the young woman steps up to that place, the wind toying with her hairs. "Now... general distress call with open payment... You're the caller?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A silver-white streak parts the skies over Locus, banking to circle the Tower at its upper levels for a few circuts. Eventually, the light descends in a spiral pattern, until inside the light a figure can be seen-- Silver Soul. Clad in her bodysuit and armor-like Processors, the DCC of Britannica spreads her wings of light as she nears the ground, descending the last few meters at a much slower pace. She doesn't quite touch down, remaining a centimeter or two off the ground. Her Axe is nowhere to be seen, her hands resting on her hips.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Looks like I get to return the favor you paid me last time, huh?" Red eyes glance towards the Tower, then to Theurgus directly, even though she might be addressing Charta, "What's the situation?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It most certainly is out of place." replies Theurgus as she turns to look at Rhapsody. "It is a blight upon the entire System, one we must find a way to destroy... but such a task is beyond even a DCC's power, for now."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden and Ashley earn a nod from the local DCC, she'd met them before, albeit briefly, so they're not subject to her usual little ramble of conspiracy theorum.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra isn't so lucky. "Such an aura of authority, another Agent of The Organization!?" Theurgus steps back, bringing her arms up defensively... then ducking one into her jacket to pull out a marble, which she begins speaking into. "It's me, I've been confronted by one of 'them'. No, I'll find a way out of it." she puts the marble back into her pocket, then peers over at Cirra... and then her attention is brought off to someone else.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Charta speaks before Theurgus can go even more crazy conspiracy. "I am the one who put a call out for aid, yes. If you can help clear the Tower Floor and make the Tower vanish from this Drive, you will be paid in the items I described in the mission posting." The fairy dismisses the holographic display, then turns to the arriving silver light.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus seems to have calmed a bit, she even manages a smirk at the other DCC, though leaves Charta to explain. "Current power draw levels have peaked at sixty-two percent... this seems to correspond to the Tower's current floor number." A tiny hand lifts and points to the panel beside the large double doors across the obsidian span. It reads: '62' in dim blue lightpatterning. "Your kindness is very much appreciated, Lady Silver Soul."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus nods, now that allies have gathered, she strides across the black bridge, and goes to throw open the doors. "Follow me, and we shall eject this foul construct of The Organization!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Within the Tower, once everyone is inside... well, it's pretty different to the Tower Floors that appeared in Britannica that's for sure. The 'ceiling' appears to be a vast, endless void that stretches into infinity. The 'floor' is a metal latticework of bronze, with solid plates of silvery metal that have small machines mounted on them. Near the center of this construction, sits a large contraption of cogs, gears and springs. Superficially, it looks like some kind of arcane gun, an arrow-like crest at the tip of a long tube, drives to orient the tube and a feeding mechanism. Within the clear mechanism sit variously coloured orbs. Blue, Green, Red, White, Yellow, etc. However, the machine appears to be broken, sparks flying out of parts of it, while a pair of small lizard-like creatures frantically mess with the damage, trying to effect repairs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They don't notice the group just yet, but those of keen eye and keen ear would see the void above begin to slowly fill with geometric patterns of the same orbs within the 'gun'... and the equally gradual rise of a musical ditty that repeats and gains volume. The music seems to make the two little lizards panic more, the green one saying "Oh no Orb, we're doomed!" "Borb, calm down, we need to get the Projector running again!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Well, we're here, we may as well try to do something, hmm? Just remember, I'm -really- new here so, anything I need to know would be good to know BEFORE we get inside," Rhapsody moves to follow, looking to the others. She really doesn't know anyone here except the DCC that invited her. Huh. This should be interesting.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Except the Organization, because," whisper, "You don't want to attract their attention, you know?" Once within the tower, Rhapsody can't help but muse, "It's bigger on the inside..." before taking note of the little lizards and their contraption. Orbs? Fixing? Oh.. "Should have brought Ryxinel.."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra stares at Theurugs as she is accused of being part of The Organization. "If by that you mean 'the Judges of Ramuh'..." she lets that hang in the air, not expecting a real response.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once inside the tower, the Judge's head turns on a swivel, looking around to determine the nature of this level. Broke gun contraption, tiny lizards. a nearly solid wall of orbs descending from above.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is going to be one of those things where she can't fight anything again, damnit. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns aronud and walks backwards as thr group advances, making sure nothing surprises them from behind. "Ask them how to stop that." She points upwards.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both Ashley and Golden glance around in a mixture of bewilderment and awe. "Hey, this reminds me of something, but..." Ashley says as she lays eyes on the gun and orbs and the lizards. But she can't quite put her finger on it...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden though, having much experience with defenses, runs over to the lizards with a yelp of protest from his human partner... well, he's a lizard too, right? Should fit in. "Need a hand?" Nevermind that the old guardian isn't mechanically inclined. He just looks over the busted gun for anything obvious that he could kick back into place or something.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>"The Organisation?" Nicky was asking as she sorted her few things in following. "Just hope we don't need to get out large guns or explosives. Because I ain't having any of that with me and I ain't seeing any storage for that..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As she sees the huge pillar, full of orbs, and things falling from above slowly. "You want to question them? You think we have time for that? But... That does somehow remind me of some kind of... arcade game..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"As suspected," Silver Soul mutters, "It's held up to that sort of pattern so far, so it's unlikely to change now." She nods briefly to Charta, then glances across at those gathered to resolve the floor. Some she recognizes, some she does not and presumes to be friends Theurgus has made since her Drive reconnected. A solid-looking bunch, to be sure. After a moment, she nods once to herself.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her eyes close and there's a crackling sound, while thin streaks of pixellated light run down around her. She's engulfed in more light, and what's left when it fades is a more ordinary-dressed brunette. Her voice softer, she comments, "This is your Drive so I'll leave the initial charge to you."<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Inside, while Lexicon observes the Tower's puzzle with calm blue eyes, she responds to Nicky in a matter-of-fact sort of way, "Ask her about it later. Right now we need her to focus on the task at hand. She'll get rather animated about that topic if you press it now."<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While the others fixate on the lizards working on the launcher, Lexicon instead examines the colorful ammunition, as a result keeping her distance from the launcher itself.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orb and his brother Borb, both look over at Golden when he comes waltzing up. "We need a miracle!" says Orb in his panicky tone. Borb, meanwhile says. "If you can get the drive mechanism to behave we can manually load the Projector and start clearing that out!" he says, pointing to a series of gears and cogs that are very clearly misaligned. They seem to be connected to the 'Projector's turning and aiming system, so getting that working again will make dealing with whatever the falling orbs are much simpler!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lexicon's inspection of the orbs would tell her immediately that they're condensed packets of elemental power. Ice, Fire, etc. Whatever this is, must be some kind of defense system, but protecting what is impossible to tell.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra would spot things moving at the edge of the platform, little hooded figures with glowing white eyes peering out of the shadow of their robes. They seem to pop up over the edge, and vanish beneath again. It's not clear if they're hostile or not.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Borb looks over at Nicky, and answers the question. "It's The Wall. We've been stationed here to make sure it doesn't get close... but the Robevaders broke the Projector when we were taking a break, now we're trying to get it working again."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The machines dotted around the platform eject orbs occasionally, the coloured spheres inert until placed in the loading chamber... though the robed figures dash over, scoop up the orbs and run off again with them if they're not claimed quickly enough.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The WALL DESCENDS! Rhapsody hurms, loudly, considering trying to just throw one of the orbs at the 'ceiling', but since they don't seem to go 'active' until loaded... "Well, lets try to fix it! I've seen enough gearwork to at least have an -idea- of what sizes go where, so lets figure it out!" Not needing to say anything else, the guildmaster marches up to the gearworks and starts trying to line-up, finagle, and swap out parts, if able. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Judge's eyes track the little robed figures at the edges of the room from behind her red helmet visor. The explination from Orb and Blorb makes her 'huh' softly. "Robevaders is it?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Judge lunges forward, and kicks out with one foot, aiming to pin one of the creatures to the wall by it's robe.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>"And... you used to use the Projector to get... those balls up to the wall? Uhm... let me think a moment..." Nicky sasid, then slammed her hand to the forehead. "Great. Anyone of you a pro maseketball player or something to get the balls up in the meantime?! I know my share bit of mechanics, but maybe... You fix the machine, you fight off the things... Eye, you with the Veemon. Good at baseball? Want to try some balls? Into them or the Wall?"<br><br>Instead of waiting for an answer, Nicky makes a dash to pick a few balls up to pitch them at Ashley, a clear preference for the golden-yellow ones.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley peers around the room, trying to see what's here. It takes a few moments for her to make out the robed figures, but when she does, she waves to Golden, pointing at the weird robed guys stealing the orbs. "Who're these weirdoes?"<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The veemon glances over towards Ashley and narrows his red eyes suspiciously. "... Robevaders, huh...?" He gives Orb and Borb a glance, then runs over to Ashley. "They're trouble, Ashley. I think they broke the gun!"<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley frowns a bit, sees The Judge going for one and tests the weight of her baseball bat for good measure. The girl takes a deep breath and nods to Golden. "Alright, let's teach 'em a lesson, Golden!" The pair move to try and frighten off the Robevaders around the edge of the room.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lexicon's eyes narrow, resting her hand on one of the colored spheres, "...Elemental fire? In this high of a concentration?" Her eyes wander along the ammunition track to take in the other colors, "Wind, Ice, Light, Electric, probably Dark... Just like Theurgus, there's no bias on elemental presence..." Something shuffling catches her eye and she raises a hand behind her shoulder. A flash of pixellated light manifests her hammer and she brings it down in the direction of one of the robed creatures trying to rob the ammunition stockpile, "--Don't get your hopes up, scum!"<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether she flattens the robed robber or not, she sweeps her hammer back and grasps it in both hands, "Are they trying to take the ammunition? And they broke the cannon, apparently, as well..." Turning towards Golden and Theurgus, Lexicon calls out, "I'll protect the ammunition. Get the launcher running!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra's boot finds the robe of one of the Robevaders, But there's no 'wall' to pin it to, so the thing just goes spinning off into the void below the platform. The little creatures appear to be easily startled, so keeping them away should be feasable at least.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lexicon's hammer does indeed crush the offending robber flat, but it puffs back into shape, before toppling over with little Chickipos circling around its 'head' area.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus, for her part, nods back to Lexicon, then follows after Rhapsody to assist in repairing the weapon. The mechanism is pretty simple, overall, and Rhapsody manages to get the traverse running again in short order, but they won't help with the elevation. Borb says, "Good! Keep it up! Orb, go start loading, I'll get on the gunnery chair!" Orb huffs softly, but scampers off to start collecting orbs to load into the hopper.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley and Golden manage to scare off a group before they can raid the ammo stockpile, the baseball bat sending another one sailing off with an electronic wail.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nicky's throwing, makes the orbs begin to glow from the inside. Hopefully someone actually sends them upwards. If not, they just fizzle out into nothing and fall off the edge of the platform as dull lumps of useless.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the small lizards celebrate, Rhapsody looks a little surprised, "Huh. That was easier than I thought it'd be,". Taking a look around, the guildmaster spots the Robevaders and the machines popping out more orbs. "Welp, we can't let him load this thing by himself, right?" Off she goes, trying to retrieve some orbs! If any of the little guys get to close they'll have a spellblade or two to deal with.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'Hmn.' Cirra goes as the Robevader is booted into the void. She's fairly certine they're Molvaders in robes, but she'll have to figure that out later. Instead the Judge take out her crystaline sword and begins gaurding one of the machines that deposits the new amunition, swinging and slicing at any of the Robevaders that attempt to make off with the ammo.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley gets the message Nicky is getting across and bats the balls towards the Wall above, grunting with the effort. Golden isn't quite sure what it'll accomplish, but as others have the Robevader situation handled for now, he rolls the colorful spheres towards Nicky... since he has rather short arms and can't throw them all that well. Hearing something about the launcher being fixed, he rolls balls towards the lizard duo whenever Nicky and Ashley don't need more ammunition.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>Picking up more balls and pitching them to Ashley, she nods towards Golden, turning his short arms into a benefit: a cascade upwards of increasing speed. "Can you aim for a color? I call the colors! Red... Blue... Cyan... Purple!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a frown, Lexicon nudges the unconscious thief with her foot, "Robevader, huh." She frowns, glancing back up at the Wall, "So the objective appears to be, stop the 'Wall' with the elemental spheres while keeping these viruses from stealing the spheres we need." As the traverse on the launcher starts working, she glances towards it, then up at the Wall again, "If we can't elevate, aiming is going to be difficult..." After a moment, she bops a hand into her palm, "--I got it!"<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Silver light surrounds Lexicon, returning her to her transformed state with the white hair, bodysuit, and crimson eyes. She takes a running start and leaps, as armor-like Processors flicker in around her hips, shoulders, feet, and back. While her axe materializes, she calls out, "Borb, right?!"<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In midair, Lexicon stops and whirls around to face the stationary launcher, "Shoot 'em at me!" Her axe is raised, then turned side-on like a massive tennis racket, "I'll swat 'em up into the Wall! If you can't elevate, this is the only option we've got!"<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her free hand gestures, "Everyone else-- Keep the 'vaders off the ammunition! If you find an opportunity and have the means, lob one up yourself!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus continues working on the elevation assembly, clicking a few more gears into place but that section seems too far gone for a patch job to repair it. The Diamond DCC tchs softly, then transforms herself, using the increased speed to collect more ammunition."Ah! I totally forgot!" says Orb, bouncing up and down, flailing his stubby little arms. "Aim the colours at the same ones in the wall. They'll react and cause a chain reaction and hopefully carve whole chunks off of it! We can use the falling orbs as more ammunition!" he says. And, as if to punctuate his point, one of the orbs, a blue one, that Ashley sends Wall-ward, smacks into another blue orb and causes a chain reaction of ice explosions to run up into the structure, dislodging some orbs from it that rain down onto the platform.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Borb nods to Lexicon, then goes wide eyed. "You're... You're BOTH DCCs!?" he asks, looking at Theurgus as well. "We can't lose now! Orb! We've got DCCs on our side!" The blue lizard aims at Lexicon, and, once orbs are loaded into the hopper, begins firing in a steady sequence... the sound is like someone popping a bubble, mixxed with the distinct 'pom' of some old-fashioned AA gun. The orbs fired this way are shining bright from within, much brighter than those otherwise launched, but seemingly only more effective from the higher velocity.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra's rifle shreds off the robe of one of the Robevaders... and underneath is... another lizard, just like the two on the gun, though this one is a dark, sickly looking purple. The eyes are also a sickly green-white that glow faintly. It hisses at being exposed, and scampers off, only to be descended upon by other Robevaders... it's fate unknown as it's dragged under the platform.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orbs for the orb weapon! Elements for the elemental throne? ... meh good enough! Rhapsody is dashing back and forth at this point, trying to give the pair what they need, keeping an eye out for orbs matching groups of colors up above! Little exercise never hurt!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley is not super great at accurately placing the orbs, and there were more than a few that were just mismatched up on the Wall before she got the hint from Nicky, Lexicon, and the Lizards to aim for groups of like colors. There's still the occasional miss even then. Eventually she'll have to pause and catch her breath though, not possessing a huge reserve of stamina and endurance like her partner in blue.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden frankly feels useless, as it seems like everybody's got the ammo and launching situation handled. He turns about looking for something else he can do to help. "Uhhhh..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra pauses in her defense for a moment as she sees what's under the robe. "More lizards..?" she glances at Orb and Blorb and wonders about the descending wall above them all. It feels like there are implications there, but she can't take the time to go chasing them down.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra transforms her rifle back into sword mode and starts using the flat of the blade to go for knock out strikes on the Robevaders, if theres a limited number of them, this might be better then sending them back.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>Nicky pants a moment as Ashley manages to wear out, wiping sweat of her own forehead. "Wait... can we... Can you do one more swing? I need... as much... ammo as I can get." Without elaborating further, she starts to gather the balls in the short fire pause. Taking a deep breath, she waves golden over "in a moment... pitch me, ok? As fast as you can."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The next moment Nicky vanishes in a small cloud of black mist, which condenses into a fist sized cat stuffie, just the size of a keychain charm, flailing at Golden.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That's right," Lexicon hefts her axe, framed from below by the square shapes of her wings, "Silver Soul, DCC of Britannica, has come here to help out!" She's not the fastest Drive Core Controller in the System, but her weapon is nicely suited to swatting spheres around, since she can turn it to present a relatively flat surface for doing so. She demonstrates this by swatting an incoming red orb, sending off sparks of flame from the impact. With a shout, Lexicon directs this up into the Wall, right towards a cluster of red spheres hidden behind others that would've been a lot trickier to hit from the ground.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Match colors, blow 'em to pieces!" A second sphere, knocked wide by Ashley, is intercepted and smacked onto a more favorable path, "--EEYAH!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rhapsody helps keep the gun loaded, Ashley is supporting the fire effort on the Wall as it descends, even if she's actually adding to it with those misses. The missed shots stop shining, and 'stick' where they hit. It's fine with a low number, but... the wall is starting to get a bit closer now!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cirra's attempts at knocking the Robevaders out proves pretty fruitless. Not that they don't get knocked out, there's still the one that Lexicon flattened earlier laying motionless with little birdthings circling around its head... but the ones that get KO'd now, get pounced on and carried off by others before they can be captured... and that's about when a large talon rises up from the edge of the platform and an elephant-sized lizard, dark sick purple, glowing eyes, no robe but a noxious-looking smoke surrounding it, rises from under the platform, right near where Nicky and Ashley are!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus doffs the hat-like Processor from her head, and does a flourished bow in mid-air. "Diamond Soul, The Mad Magician and DCC of Locus. Let us disassemble this falling wall, then you can tell us what exactly is going on here---" The mage-like DCC spots the larger monster, and uses her position to fire off a wind blast to knock it back, hopefully long enough for someone to intercept it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley stumbles from the giant claw hitting the platform. Golden happens to see the situation developing, as it were. "Uh oh..." So he does the obvious thing. He runs over, grabs Nicky's plush form, and hurls it as far as he can with his puny arms at Lexicon. "Incoming!" He yells towards Lexicon. The digimon then helps Ashley up. "We got company, kid." He nods his head towards the giant noxious lizard.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley turns pale as she sees the newcomer and swears under her breath, gripping her bat with both hands. She's definitely not used to this hero thing yet.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The other Robevaders just instantly grab any knockouts she manages. Frustrating. Attempts to investigate this tower floor are getting frustrating to say the least. But as the larger monster raises up to the platform, Cirra's attention is immediatly shifted.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Transforming her sword back into gunmodde, she starts firing at the sickly looking giant lizard, crouching down on one knee as she fires. One hand reaches out, searching though the pile of orbs until she finds a white one, rolling it towards Orb and Blorb. "Activate that." She says even while focusing on the monster.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Floating as she is, Lexicon's a good distance from the lizard virus that's now threatening the ammunition-gathering efforts. And managing incoming fire from the Launcher is something that's taking up a lot of her attention as well. The warning gets her glancing towards Golden, though, and she squints those red eyes at the much smaller projectile heading her way. With a grunt, she spins to swat an orb towards it place, then spins back around to intercept the unknown projectile with the flat side of her axe, knocking it in the opposite direction upward towards the Wall. It's only after she's swatted the object that she realizes what it actually was.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...A stuffed toy?" Whirling about, she knocks a sphere, "The hell good's that gonna do!?" She clearly missed the 'setup' part of this plan.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>The flailing plushie isn't the fastest projectile, but it is aerodynamic enough to be somewhat fast in its travel towards Lexicon. That isn't where she planned to go up, but... it is a way to go into ascent. Flailing mutely, the plushie travels somewhat silent, then hits the side of the axe in even more eery silence as the fabric body gets compressed and then accelerated upwards to rise until somewhere in the middle of the way to the Wall. Still ascending, the black kitten plushie turns back into a cloud, expanding rapidly and returns to being Nicky. The arm full of ammo she had gathered start to drift away, ascending in a short cascade of mainly blue and white, as Nicky's body starts to be pulled down by gravity. But she is still quite close to the Wall and the impact of the spheres might hurt her still before she is back to the floor. And that hit with the axe still hurt, even while she was a well padded plushie. "Fastball Special, yea!" she yells with pain in the face, planning to plushie out just before the floor in worst case.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nicky's unorthodox method causes a cascade reaction through the Wall. Borb's shots hone true with Lexicon's help as well, and soon, the entire falling Wall just disintegrates into individual orbs. Most of them fall into the void beneath the platform, others land on the platform and roll into little traps that store the orbs for later use.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden, Theurgus and Cirra seem to have the large 'Robevader' in hand. The creature roaring impotently as the crystal bullets strike its hide, Golden's attack staggers it, and a new blast from Diamond Soul, with the intonation of "Coctys!" covers the being partially in ice. Its form shimmers for a moment, then it falls backwards off the platform.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The whole Floor goes quiet then, the music fading away as the last of the former Wall is absorbed by the loading system in the platform. "We did it." says Orb quietly, disbelieving. Borb hops out of the gunnery chair, and scampers over to Orb. "We did it!" he exclaims, tackling the green lizard in a display of jubilant excitement. Now might be a good time for some questions.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>Nicky squeaks the last moment before once more turning into a mist cloud, turning into a patchwork snake, breaking the fall somewhat. It takes a few moments for the stuffed thing to gather itself, and in another Plopp and mist cloud, Nicky returns, sprawled out on the floor, and some bruises all over.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Ouch... Fastball special hurts... I guess that's why that's the privilege of those with a healing factor usually..." she mutters as she gathers back to the feet. "Good thinking there, Veemon."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the Wall begins to collapse, Silver Soul shields her eyes, staring up at the falling orbs in case there's something else to follow it up. When her hesitation yeilds no fruit or unwanted surprises, the DCC turns in place and descends at a steady rate. Like before, she stops when she's an inch or so off the Tower floor rather than landing completely. Only at this point does she hold her axe out and dismiss it, the weapon vanishing in a scattering of pixellated light.<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The Tower hasn't disappeared yet." She glances towards Theurgus, then to the two lizard brothers Orb and Borb, "Did we miss something? Or is there more to come before the floor is resolved. And what of you two, are you viruses or part of the Tower?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden whews as things go well for once. He nods with a grin to Nicky. "No problem! I'm Golden, and this is Ashley." He gestures to the young woman who's huffing and puffing from all the exertion of smacking around elemental spheres coming up behind him.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Seriously. That... was a workout. Whew.... Uhhhhgh. Sitting down now." Ashley unceremoniously flops onto the grated platform's surface. "Glad... we could help."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The monster falls, the wall is stopped. Cirra lowers her gun and leans the tip against the ground. "The Robevaders looked like you two." She says to Orb and Blorb. "So some explinations, might help us here. Especially anything you know about the tower."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The Tower has always been a bit contrary as to when it will deem itself 'resolved'." says Diamond Soul as she too comes down near the two lizards. All in all, everything appears resolved. The Robevaders have all vanished, there's no more orbs in the sky above, and the ones falling, have all settled and either fallen into the void below, or been absorbed into the machinery of the platform.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orb and Borb look up at Lexicon with wide eyes. "Uh, we're part of the Tower. Operation Rampart Bastion, and Brother Operation Rampart Bastion. Orb and Borb. We were assigned to this level to defend against the occasional attacks from higher up. Whoever's up there doesn't like the rest of the tower, so they send down walls of Orbs to crush the lower levels." says Borb, being the more forward of the two. "Sorry we don't know any more than that... but whatever they're doing up there, started making those Robevaders too... we're the last two left out of a crew of twenty."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I see," Lexicon's scowl hardens briefly. However, she closes her eyes and light crackles around her. A second later, pixellated light engulfs the DCC and she reverts to her normal brunette self. Her voice is softer when she speaks up, the lights fading, "So you say the higher floors are attacking the lower floors and that is the source of your problem. We will only continue to escalate this structure, so resolution of this is inevitable."<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glancing away from Orb and Borb, Lexicon scans the others present, "Constantine, Golden, Ashley, everyone else--" She didn't catch Rhapsody or Nicky's names, "Are you injured?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;THINGS HAVE BEEN FIXED! With the wall gone and the monster defeated, the Guildmaster moves up to the others, looking a bit winded from all the running around. "Oh, I'm Rhapsody Mizzet. Well met!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>"Geeeze... 2 out of twenty? comeon, the Chasseurs Ardennais did hold the line with 50 odd, till the last man. You did kinda better, I'd say... well, you don't fight nazis." Nicky sorts her hair, then has her back crack as she stretches again. "Nicky by the way. And I feel like I was smacked by a hammer and fell from the third floor, but I am not dead."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden looks up into the towering heights, rubbing his chin as Orb and Borb explain. "Too bad I can't fly right now... I'd go see who's causing all the trouble." <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley finally recovers her breath. "Wow, you two must be pretty awesome to hold up against all that stuff by yourselves!" She says to the two lizards.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1103|Theurgus (1103)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Theurgus shifts back to her normal blue-haired form, landing with the soft click of her heeled boots on the metal platform. Golden earns a look from the local DCC. "Flying would not help. The space inside of a Tower Floor is non-Euclidian... that void up there goes on seemingly forever. You could fly for cycles and never see anything but the blackness." she explains. As she does, the tower floor seems to begin shimmering at the edges. Orb and Borb exclaim. "Ah, looks like it's time! Take care, all of you. We'll hold down the fort until the top is cleared!" And then, the tower vanishes, leaving the group on the island they started on, with not a trace of the black spike of monolithic blackness skewering the Drive from Skybox to Rootsource.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Charta gasps, then breathes a sigh of relief. "Ah, you have returned and the Tower is gone. We have already detected a 100% restoration of Resource Flow to all areas of the Drive. Thank you all."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That's.. surprising. The tower is suddenly gone and they're back on the island? "Huh. Well that happened.." she muses, looking to the others. "Good job, right?" Thumbs up! Teamwork makes the dream work, and all that, right?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:968|Nicky (968)}} has posed:'''<br>"You mean the tower is something Lovecraft dreamed up? Great, I hope I don't have to face the most upper level now. You promised something... and... ouch, I'll regret it later, but I think I need it now rather than keeping it stashed somewhere." Nicky mutters, trying to soften the bruised limbs. "I just hope the meds you promised contain a bunch of painkillers."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm fine." The Judge responds to LExicon as the tower floor begins to shimmer and they're transported back outside. "So, they think someone further up is sending viruses down to prevent advancing through the tower..." Cirra removes her helmet and puts a hand to her chin. "The tower only gets more complex and raises more questions the more we learn about it."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:998|Lexicon (998)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the Tower has disappeared, Lexicon folds her arms with her eyes closed, "That's what they /said/, but remember they also said they're part of the Tower. They're architecture. And from what I've seen, there's no physical connection from one floor to another." An eye opens, "As Theurgus said-- Non-euclidean. There's no way for higher floors to send anything to lower floors. It's probably just how those two rationalized the Floor's puzzle. They might not have even been sapient programs if they're part of the Tower itself."<br> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The other eye opens and she glances skyward, "Constantine's right. All that did was raise more questions than answers. We've got no choice but to keep clearing it. The closer we get to a possible answer, though, the more dangerous it gets for the Drives."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:782|Golden (782)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden pats Ashley on the back. "Well, that's done! Let's go get some food!" <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ashley facepalms. "Maybe you'd like to invite some of the other people who helped too instead of eating the buffet by yourself this time?" She has a lot of questions... like where did the tower go? Why are they back outside? Why was the space in the tower infinite? She's not even sure where to start asking questions.<br> <br>
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