4940/To Find a Home

To Find a Home
Date of Scene:	28 December 2016
Location:	Haven <Hav>
Synopsis:	The GU heads out to clean out an castle in the quilt in the hopes of turning it into a home.
Cast of Characters:	Tomoe, Silica, Alexis, Yuuki Konno, Staren, Kirito, Nagato

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Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe had found out about a small village in a new reformatted part of the multivese that had run in very strange problem there was a strange thing born of magic an almost carved out miniature planet in the patchwork. There were monsters there within the Castle that had been using it as a staging point to raid a number of the near by communities. No one had claim to it.

Tomoe's contact an Inn Keeper in the neighbor town of Crescent River has told her about the problem with the Union and Feds gone? They just wanted the monsters to stop. Also she caught the idea no one wanted the place so it was honestly up for grabs. With the loss of union medical? It had been hard time and things were more dangerous than before.

The Union could not be called on for help if someone came after their world and Tomoe knew they needed to get a home away from such complications so here she was rounding up old companions and friends from the Union along with any one in the GateCrasher's Union.

The land where the castle was was alien as it was breath taking the spiraled out miniature world looked like it had been carved from a full asteroid or very tiny planet the spiraling arms of it went up with trees growing on both sides the center was a tropical like area with sandy beach. The water cascaded down to the lands below, which were made of strange likely magically charged blue crystals and the castle it self was on the section with the beach the looming foreboding structure, it was in need of repair bit massive limestone blocks made up the wall and the massive oak drawbridge was cracked with age, but it was held up for the moment things were quiet but there were clear signs of the monsters.

The Iron Lily ws here arms folded, wings out and looking up as hee looked over the moat.

"We need to get in, clean out the monsters make sure they are cleanrd out and spring anyone who they might be holding. We'll likely have to return any stolen goods we find but no one wants the castle and no one has a claim to it, soooo we're not going to come out of this short changed."

Silica has posed:
    Silica is here, looking a bit nervous but keeping her ears perked forwards, tail lashing unconsciously behind her in nervous aggitation. "I just hope Mom and Dad don't worry too much... They've been supportive the last few times I've come out, but I think they're getting really worried since the last time I went to help Miss Lexicon with that Tower, I ended up in hospital."

    She shivers a little, but not from the cold, before reaching up to gently pet Pina atop the head, reassuring herself, more than anything else.

Alexis has posed:
The Union has become no more than a memory, but there was still plenty of people left willing to help old friends and aquaintenances, doing what they do best. In fact some people had opted to just do this instead of getting tied up in the new organizations and repeat the same stories.

What she did best was monsters, pokemon and otherwise. So when Tomoe asked for some help dealing with a monsterous problem Alexis was all too happy to obligue. Helping some experienced friends find a new home -and- some villiages clear up their harassment issues would go a long way in establishing a reputation in the new Multiverse for her solo work.

Though she was here mostly for the helping of friends.

"An actual castle," the tomboy of pink ponytail murmurs as she strides up next to gathering. "There's one thing we don't really have any of the real deal of in our neck of the woods."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    The last thing Yuuki needs is a new home, or at least a home base of the sort some of the current members need for shelter, or for a place to log in from. When she's not her digital self, Yuuki's physical body isn't going anywhere. But that's not about to stop her from helping out! Her friends need a secure base of operations where no one can find their meat bodies and mess with them, and she's not about to be left out of the adventure!

    Yuuki frowns at mention of family. She understands Silica's concerns but her own family situation's not something she likes to think about. And certainly not discuss, any more than she'll lightly discuss the hospital. "So we've got ourselves a quest, huh?" she asks brightly. "To clear out a castle, and we get HOUSING as a reward! This'll be AWESOME!" she grins, directing at least several watts of intensity Silica's way in an effort to cheer up the poor Cait.

Staren has posed:
    In the wake of the Union and the Confederacy, Staren is taken care of. He's always been prepared to a paranoid level, to the point of eventually making a home out of a spaceship with its own healing vat and fabrication facilities, and now the League is getting facilities up with the hollowing-out of the Beacon of Progress.

    But that doesn't mean he has no interest in helping the Gatecrashers!

    It's not just heroism or being a goody-two-shoes; the SAO crisis was part of what drew him back into the Multiverse after years of feeling he could accomplish nothing in the hopeless, unending war. One could say they helped him find his place in the old Multiverse; He wants to help them find their place in the new Multiverse in turn.

    Staren is armored up, as usual, and riding a flying broom up to the island. "I must say, this is one of the more... interesting land formations I've seen, in all my time in the Multiverse. I hope I can find time to study it later..."

    As they land in front of the castle, Staren dismounts the broom and puts it away in a bag that looks too small for it, then readies his laser rifle as they approach the front door. "Do we know anything about what sort of monsters to expect? Whether they've just moved in here, or whether some sort of overlord is creating, summoning, and/or directing them?"

Kirito has posed:
Njorun imploding was something of a wake-up call.

    The Multiverse is a dangerous place and only offers the illusion of security. Even if you have an ordinary civilian life somewhere, you're one Godzilla Moment away from disaster.

    Kirito's not cool with living such a life. He's not cool with this at all. He needs power. He needs strength. He needs security. For himself, for his family, for his friends.

    Emotions have flooded through him for days now. Emotions that he'd though largely buried since Afterus formed. And before it, Noboyuki Sugou's arrest and Asuna waking up. And before that... release from Aincrad.

    It's like he's right back there, ten minutes after the Death Game began.

    He needs POWER. The strength to survive.

    Only this time...

    This time, he's not going to make an awful mistake... like abandoning others and focusing on himself.

    The expression he wears is part desperation, part disgust, and part pure determination to see things through. It's a grim, fierce look that he's rarely shown since leaving Aincrad. But it's the same look he's shown every time he fought in a floor boss raid, putting EVERYTHING on the line.

    "Sounds like a plan. Fancy the front role this time around, Tomoe?" Speaketh the black-clad Spriggan, who's already drawn his black sword, 'Vox Unitas', in his right hand. The crystal-blue longsword 'Divination' rests in his left. He's ready for action, wings out and glistening. Yui is peeking from his jacket pocket, halfway heaved up and out of it but gripping the pocket's edge firmly... and she bears a similarly determined expression.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe says "I'm lucky my Fathere is just as off n the head as I am for tramping about the multivese honesly. I know Silicia I understand and honestly part of why I want to clear this place out is so we can have a home and look to get on our own feet. We have our sword and are free of the war. We can finally cut our own path. At this point I don't care if Heathcliff has won in spirit. I just want to live you know? "

The towering form of Tomoe grins at the tomboy of doom. "Yes it is, could be more space than we'll ever need, looks like there might have been a town in the keep from my fly over of it, if we can deal with the critters here? I think the Gatecrasher's Union will have the home it needs."

Tomoe's wings flap once or twice.

"Just keep in mnind I have /only/ one Union isue med kit and once that's used up we're out of medical supplies."

She knows Yuuki didn't have the same needs for this as the rest of the group did.

"Tell me about it staren, undead, flying gargyoles, and rumours of something big and made of stone."

She now looks to Kirito and she takes flight a moment after speaking to Kirito and listening to her thar she's ready.

"I'll gethte bridge."

With that Tomoe is off like a shot her wing flapping as she goes making for the castle. She's in and shorly the sound of gear works can be hear as the massive bridge slams down the way is opened and then one would hear a rattling of bones, the chittering of creatures as a hordes awaken to the arrival of the party and Tomoe is already leaping into the thick of them with Dawn Breaker at the ready as she goes. Fire bolts are flying.

Now is the time to pushs through.

The coutyard is large it's a small ruined town that once held life and the monsters are comming from the keep it self boiling now down through the streets.

Silica has posed:
    Silica grips her Dagger a bit tighter... then with the encouragements from Yuuki, Tomoe and the others, and the sheer radiating Determination from Kirito nearby, she takes a breath, calms her nerves and puts her Game Face on. Gone is the happy, kinda ditzy young woman, out comes the Beast Tamer of Aincrad, an expression on her face similar to one Yuuki was treated to in her duel with Asuna.

    Silica lifts her hands before Tomoe flies off, and incants a protective spell. A minor Earth-type magic that will mitigate incoming damage to her allies. That cast, she begins reciting again, a regeneration spell. And again, a minor strength boost... she depletes her entire Mana Bar in a single casting round, then quaffs a Mana Potion before joining Tomoe in charging at the incoming hoards. "Remember your spacings! And Switch Out if you need to breathe!" she yells, ducking under a swing from a monster, to jam her Dagger up under it's outstretched arm, unleashing a burst of Ice Magic through the Skill System into the beast... hopefully flash freezing it.

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks at Tomoe. "That's it? We'll have to see about getting you guys some better medical supplies..." He rubs the back of his helmet. "I can give you some stuff, but without the superfactions' support, you'll probably need to, well, adventure to get the money needed if you want a proper medbay. Nanofabrication is great and all but you still need rare materials and a power source..."

    Onward they go!

    And it sounds like the monsters have woken up. "Great."

    As the fight begins, Staren initially stays in the back, trying to pick off monsters with his laser rifle and beam cannons. He might use a miniature HEAT missile if it looks like a powerful monster is about to seriously hurt someone, but he has to be a bit more careful with explosives than before -- without faction backing for the mission, they're not exactly cheap.

Alexis has posed:
"Made of stone. I'll keep that in mind for later." If that is true, she's got a critter or two that will hopefully do wonders against such a thing. But first, we have to get inside and find it. Likely taking care of a few of its friends in the process.

As Tomoe takes off to drop the bridge Alexis plucks one of her pokeballs and clicks it open to release the flash of energy in front of her that solidifies itself into a large goat with bush-like foliage growing around its neck and shoulders, and horns the arc and curve back more like the handlebars of a motorcycle. Which is exactly how Alexis grabs them as she climbs onto it's back. The bridge hits down to provide entrance... and a view of the mobs arrising within.

"Okay, that's more than a few."

Undaunted the Gogoat scrapes the ground a few times, and then charges headlong into the castle. Hooves pound heavily across the drawbridge, followed by the crashing of bones that almost sounds like bowling pins being tossed about as the large pokemon slams straight into the hordes, monster mooks being flung left and right, if they're fortunate enough to not be the ones knocked over and trampled by those hooves. What's better for a Foe Tossing Charge than a goat?

Not that he's doing all the work, as Alexis pulls an appropriate weapon from her sports bag -- a polo club. Which she swings over the side to catch impish monsters small enough to get under the reach of thrashing horns, sending several crashing backwards into an unfortunate wall.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki's so very proud, seeing that look of focussed determination on Silica's avatar. She'd been somewhat worried about the girl, based on some radio conversations, but this is someone who clearly faces her doubts, not someone who's crippled by them.

    "Adventuring is good!" Yuuki agrees cheerfully. It's pretty much her only way of getting money for use outside her homeworld. Of course, that goes entirely for food and for friends. She has no actual reason to spend money on anything else. Her trust fund pays for her gaming, and the hospital's settlement makes medical expenses irrelevant.

    "No healing resources? Okay! Keep defensive priorities everyone!" Yuuki calls out. For herself, she won't trade blows. That's fine to do when you're duelling or when you have a pocket healer, but it's not so good for extended brawls. She flies off after Tomoe, drawing her sword and holding it forth in an extended charge.

    Yuuki's 'fighting defensive' is actually pretty much a high-speed offense. She doesn't stand still, not for a moment, as she bounds between foes. She doesn't stay in one place long enough for any attacks to actually hit her. By the time something knows where she is and swings, she's already hit it and bounded to the side, or overtop, or spun past or dodged under. Or even preemptively struck its claw off or something. She doesn't concern herself with delivering lethal damage, just bounding from foe to foe like a mad purple blur.

Kirito has posed:
Did Heathcliff win? Kirito furrows his brow at this thought, but pushes it away quickly enough. His only response is... "... I'm not bothered if he did. What happened was an unforgivable tragedy... but every good thing that came about in that castle is just as real."

    He takes a few moments to look over all his friends present, takes a breath... then his wings are out and he's rocketing off after Tomoe, flying low.

    The boy screams like his life depends on it as he flies into battle with some of the gargoyles that emerge from the keep!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe will be thankful for more medical supplies later, for now? She's kenee deep in undead hacking and slashing awya as evey0one else piles in to the castle and is makng for the keep. THe hordes are coming form there form the looks of things. Silicia meanwhile is able to get into it with a buff spell to help protect herself and others. Soon she's along side Tomoe who is moving to cover her long time friend as they fight.

The idea of a medical bay and getting a doctor or healer is an major thing on the GU's list. For now though the fight is under way.

Alexis proves that she's surived the war for over a decade for a /reason/ her mastery of Pokemon trinaing and the skill that she's helped to impart on her team shows here as it's time for monster polo. This may catch on in time. as they are crunching undead and some of strangere gargyole like things that are in the hordes of creatures coming thanfully Yuuki is on board with focusing on defence as they sloiwly push their way forward and soon there are three up front and she knows what Yuuki means by fighting defense is. It's called being the most adorable blender in ALO, that's what it means and that's what Yuuki does cuting through the creatures.

Tomoe may have things to say later on Heathcliff but now isn't the time for that after all the party is pushing through the keep and reaching the massive door way and the tide of monsters is becoming thicker, it's odd. They don't seem to /care/ about thier own lives. The undead make sense but the rest? THATS odd, very odd.

Tomoe meanwhile has had a chance to make a blazing sword out of Dawn Breaker as she keeps pushing but the loud sound of stone on stone can be heard from inside the ruined keep itself.

Silica has posed:
    Silica shifts, dragging her dagger out of the frozen Gargoyle, shattering it to pieces. "Pina Bubble Breath!" she commands, pointing towards where the gargoyles are spawning from. Hopefully the 'Stun' debuff takes effect and gives the group some time to thin out the numbers. Meanwhile, the Cait Sith shifts and vaults over Tomoe to intercept a Gargoyle coming in from her blind spot, stabbing her dagger into its center of mass, then shoving downwards, launching herself up in a rising slash through its chest, throat and face, leaving an expanding trail of ice crystals in the blade's wake.

    The Beast Tamer lands, grits her teeth then powers another Sword Skill... this one isn't one of the usual ones she pulls out, it looks brand new. She holds off until the skill activates, then in a blur of motion, stabs through a line of Gargoyles with speed rivalling the purple blur of Zekken herself. "BREATH OF THE ICE DRAGON!"

Alexis has posed:
"Maybe I should get you guys a Chansey." Alexis also proves her experience in being able to hold a witty conversation in middle of a battle. "Or a couple of Miltank." Though mention That Damn Cow makes her remember seeing Whitney battle with one, and twitch slightly. Not to mention she has a Flaaffy TERRIFIED of those rolling bovines.

"On second thought, y'know, goat milk is said to be really nutritious too."

Brushguard lives up to his name, a frenzy of stomping hooves, gouging horns and even lashing vines from the bush around his neck plenty to stand ground against the monster horde. One gargoyle finds itself having a bad time as it's reeled in with a vine, then headbutted and crushed by the Gogoat, which also restores some of his own HP to keep fighting via Horn Leech.

But this was only holding the line. They needed to get past the influxes flowing out of the Keep and find the source of these kamakazi defenders. Though realizing that just makes Alexis smirk a little as she lobs another pokeball high into the air towards the Keep entrance. "Time to turn this into a proper Royal Rumble. Take the ring Hurricarana!"

This discharges a stout humanoid avian mid-air, who caws valiant even as he uses his cape-like plumage to glide into one of the gargoyles launching from the keep. "Haaawlucha-ah-ah-ah!" The gargoyle is so surprised at being met midair that it doesn't take time to react to the avian grabbing it around the neck, and using the leverage of it's stout strength and superior aerobatics to heave the gargoyle out of mid-air and suplex it into another, sending both crashing on top of another group of mooks.

"Badasses or not, we can't fight forever like this. We need to get inside and stem off the tide." Horde battles were always an annoying if challenging fight as far as Alexis is concerned.

Staren has posed:
    An endless swarm of monsters attacks them on their way... "Is there no end to them? Maybe we need to find a way to whatever's controlling them..." Staren stops shooting to look over a monster corpse for a few seconds, but it doesn't seem to tell him anything useful.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    "Hmmmmm." Yuuki says, not stopping her bouncy blender imitation as the discussion goes on. She can keep this up for a while, but admittedly not perfectly. She'll make a mistake eventually, or get distracted. No one can handle infinite enemies, so they have to leverage their strengths while they have the advantage. "If that's the case, we should cut through them! Concentrate on pressing through rather than on slaying!" she suggests. Maybe they'll get to a more easily defended area, or through a door, or somewhere else that'll give them a better outlook and a clue to how much fighting they'll need to do to clear the castle.

Kirito has posed:
Kirito has rapidly transformed from a mischevious young man who likes swords and video games into what might be one of the fiercest and most driven warriors people will meet in the Multiverse.

    His resounding battlecries cut through the din of weapons clashing and monstrous death rattles! Long, furious, guttural screams of hotblooded determination! The Spriggan's wings propel him from monster to monster, and his weapons dice through gargoyle flesh and the bones of strange skeletal griffons alike. Time and again he finds himself surrounded by the hordes only to break free with a mighty show of Sword Skill force and bowl them away. His Hp's being chipped away only slightly faster than it can regenerate, leaving him covered in glowing crimson damage decals, like the proud scars of a veteran swordsman.

    Lips peeled back, his expression is a mixture of smug confidence and a warriorly sneer. He's not here to be nice. He's here to blitz through as many of these things as possible, and leave not a one standing.

    The Black Swordsman of Aincrad has returned.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's got the message and is already zooming along the skyline to the new place... something about monsters and clearing out an old castle or the like. She just knew that her friends in the Gatecrashers needed some help and by god was she going to help. Sortieing in her battleship rigging would take too long, so with a couple small and quick checks with the Yugana Kaze team and she's off like a rocket, through the warpgate and zooming on towards the group.

    Fortunately, she's not /too/ late. "Okay, Yugana Kaze, rifle time." she mutters, a rifle appearing with a shimmer in the mechs hands, before diving down to join the rest of the group. The beautiful sound of BRRRRRT from the rifle echoes to help thin down the enemy populace before landing near... "I'm here. The Yugana Kaze was the quickest thing I could use..."

    Oh hey, there's Kirito off like a rocket doing some amazing things... with a nod, the rifle dissapears and a twin head axe appears in its place. "I'm coming to help!"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe presses forward as SIlica is along side her. Tomoe as ever is taking the hits and otherwise trying to keep things off her companions as that's her job after all.

"Your getting better Silicia."

SIlicia's pet's ttack does a good deal to help control things many of the monsters are stopped in thier tracks byt it. Leaving them to be cut down in turn.

Alexi fury is pretty well known as the old trainer just unleahses her team upon tthe Gargoyles is being reeled in, head butted na d otherwise smakced about and it's dropped, it might not actually be dead.

Then comes out a flyer to really start laying down the air support and that should help keep the skies clear. The Blender known as Yuuki is pressing on and just cuting them down but that's when as she keeps on going being the most bouncy blender ever. Tomoe also takes note of Kirito goinbg back to being /very/ hardcore. He's going so Aincard she's actually /worried/ about him. As this happens and Kirito just bashes through the enemy?

A certain high flying Admiral arrives and rains down support fire from Nagato and it's a good thing too a huge thing comes out of the keep's gates A Hulking beast made of stone with glowing gems in it's chest, and a curious thing seems to be happening. Teh Gem's flash and more /monsters/ appear after each and it lets out a bellow before it start to project spikes of rock that it fires at the entire group and it does not care if it hits it's allies /either/.

Silica has posed:
    Unforunately, using such a technique, especially a Sword Skill, had it's disadvantages. While she cleared out a good portion of the 'goyles in a straight line, it left her Skill Stunned, in the middle of the massive pack. A fortunate happenstance has her grabbed up and carried away by one of the Gargoyles. While this also removes her from battle, it removes her from harms way, ensuring there's no drain on the 'crasher's resources.

    She squirms, wiggling, then remembers she has wings. She activates them, breaks free of the Gargoyle's talons, and shanks it with an ice dagger Skill, sending it plummeting to the ground far below. "I need to get back, but I don't think I'll get there in time... gotta try though!" She turns, gathers herself up, and shoots off back towards the floating castle-island... but it'll take her a while.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Aha! Yuuki observes the gem flash, sees it generate new gargoyles. The endless swarm makes sudden sense! "CHAAAAARGE!" she bellows, suiting action to words, starting to carve a line towards the boss beastie.

    The line is rather meandering, mind you. She still leaps left and right, back and forth, being as unpredictable as possible so she's not cut down. But when all other things are equal, when she can evade towards the boss instead of away, she does so, making progress towards the true objective.

    Until it fires its rock spikes anyways. Rock carves out red lines on her flanks and her arms, though the spikes also open up a path for her to dash forward down. She may be wounded but the wounds aren't severe, and the boss is making it easier for her to get close enough to try to take it out! It's a bargain struck, in her mind.

Staren has posed:
    "Silica!" Staren shouts as she's carried off... but she seems to be okay on the radio, so he turns his attention to... the... /thing/. Which is summoning monsters. That explains that.

    The first spike clips him, shattering most of his forcefield and sending him tumbling away. After that, the wings come out, and Staren focuses on dodging and watching the monster's movements for a bit. When he thinks he has a clear shot, one of his shoulder missile racks pops up, and a homing anti-tank minimissile launches at one of the creature's gems. Time for a science experiment: What happens when one of the gems is damaged?

Kirito has posed:
Once more Kirito is surrounded by a group of monsters. Then...flames roil within the monsterpile. With an eruption of power they're all cast aside by a flaming sword. Some are cut clean in half, others lose heads or other limbs. Corpses and the ash of dying undead drift and tumble in his wake... and the gasping Spriggan happens to see something interesting out of the corner of his eye.

    A great bejeweled golem. Flashing gems. Enemies conjured from nowhere? Or summoned? "Not that it matters... that thing's the source of this trouble!"

    If this was a formal boss raid, he might consider calling a retreat. But everyone seems to be doing well, he sees with a quick glance around.

    They can risk a little more!

    The Spriggan snaps his wings to full throttle. They vibrate so hard that he's sent rocketing towards the golem-creature guarding the gate, ripples spreading out in his wake from pure air pressure forms.

    He has a hunch Staren's made the right call, and he's going to capitalize on it for a double-whammy!

Alexis has posed:
What wiseguy gave the big bad boss monster Spike Cannon? In addition to spontaneous mook summoning?!

Gogoat manages to avoid being shiskabobbed like several skeletons are, but the sudden jerk out of the way of the stone spire slicing through ribcages throws it off balance and it topples, spilling Alexis off his back. Though the landing is softened a bit by the non-skeletal monster remains left in the wake of the goat's fury. She mutters a bit as she rubs her head. "Damn that's one hell of a pet rock gone bad."

Hurricarana fairs better, vaulting off a gargoyle as it's struck by it's own master, and lands on what remains of the apex of one of the old buildings. He folds his arms, back turned towards the monster briefly as a timely draft of air flicks through his plumage like the cape it resembles. < So the true challenger has finally come forth. >

He turns his head just enough for a glint from his eye to be visible over his shoulder. < The source of this dispicable debacle makes itself known. > Pluage gives a dramatic rustle as he snaps out one arm. < An thus comes the time every true fighter lives for...>

Hurricarana whips around with a dramatic feathercape flare. < Come, monster, and face me. For I am...> A powerful leap launches him into the air, plumage spreading out like wings from his arms as he's briefly shilouetted in the sky above.

"HAWLUUUUCHA! < HURRRICAAAANE... KALOOOOOOS! >

And just as quickly the birdman comes hurtling down towards the Boss Monster, whirling like a top to lash out the taloned foot and slam full force into it's head with a devastating High Jump Kick. Because Rock is vulnerable to Fighting type moves.

And if he can blind or daze the behemoth with a head blow, it'll open up more potential for the others to disable it's true sources of power in the gems.

Alexis.. just kind of shrugs as she gets up. "Sorry, he likes to be dramatic!" is all she can say about the display. Before picking up her club and getting back to bashing monster heads.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato is going whole hog against the mobs around, that axe slicing and dicing its way through a fair number of them, partially keeping Kirito's six covered. "Moving for air support." she comments, blasting up into the air and swapping back to the rifle. A quick scan of the battlefield, and that 'pet rock' becomes a target now. She brings up the rifle to aim, "Different than my radar..." she muttered, eyes focusing on the HUD in her vision, "Aiming..."

    She squeezes the trigger, sending a flurry of bullets, 'small' ones towards the multitude of gems on that rock monster, if the opening needed is made for her and the others. "Focusing target..."

Tomoe has posed:
The Massive Stone monster seems to be tramping forward towards the party Silicia is in a bad spot and Tomoe cries out.

"SILCIA?! Take care of your self!"

Tomoe can't do anything and it leaves her very, very unhappy. She's however going to be trying to keep in the fight and keep more monsters from swarming out after the others. The damage is starting to add up on the tank. 5R
Yuuki is however putting the sword in sword art ogling at the moment as she in range to start cleaving into the boss, and then as she closes? Staren is opening fire on gems and that actually is helping. One of the missiles takes out the gem and the flow of monsters is indeed slowing with it's destruction. Some even /vanish/ when the gem goes up.

Kirito meanwhile is going after the golem and he also seems to get the idea of how it's working too, another gem is shattered and more of the beasts start to vanish. The stone monsters howls in anger and rage at this tactic which distract it allowing Alexis and company to make their move. If the monster hears the Pokemons words and understand sit? IT gives no reply but it's made very unhappy as the birdman comes flying down like some kind of Kamen Rider. The attack staggers the horrible monster and if they keep it up? This will not last much longer.

Nagato is putitng her axe to good use cutting down on the horde to make life esier for every one then she's in the air, and she takles aime sending several shots taking out another pair of gems, which cause more of the horde to vanish the way is clear now.

"WE NEED TO STOP THIS THING NOW!"

The beast is getting in a bad spot and it seems to be charging up some form of magic, now is the time to finish it.

Staren has posed:
    Missile costs aside, this use seems to be worth it!

    Staren has several more missiles on his armor -- he targets them at remaining gems and lets their guidance and targeting software work while he turns his lasers and beams on the monsters.

    But now it's charging up for some kind of attack. That's bad...

    Staren takes to the air. "Anyone with explosive attacks, impact weapons, or ice magic, target the damaged areas! Maybe we can break the monster apart!"

Alexis has posed:
Hurricarana uses the recoil force of his flying kick's impact to push off the monster's head, launching himself away as everyone else tears into the monster.

Alexis sees an oppritunity in this though, now that the hordes have been thinned, and runs a few meters off to one side. "Brushguard, toss me your vines!" The Gogoat gives her an odd look, but does so, extending two out of it's bush-collar towards her. Alexis grabs the ends in one hand, gives it a quick wrap around her forearm, then grabs on with the other hand as well as she digs her boot heels in for anchoring and pulls the vines taunt.

Her Hawlucha sees what they are doing from his literal bird's eye view and reflexively adjusts mid-air, folding his arms to keep from losing too much momentum as he lands on the vines being improvised into a top rope. They have just enough give in the stretched length to absorb his landing much like the real ropes would, and then spring back to slingshot him into the air once more, this time on a lower arc that is a more direct course towards the monster.

Arms flare out from the acrobatic spiral, using slingshotted momentum and his signature Flying Press move to deliver a crushing aerial lariet to the stone monster and hopefully finish toppling the monster over! Wonder if he has a name for tha--

< HURRICANE CRUSH! >

-- Yep there it is.

Kirito has posed:
A beast that's charging up some kind of hella lazer is HIGH on Kirito's kill list. He makes sure to shuffle aside with a freakish sidestep, but then drops down low. BOTH of his weapons shine simultaneously, a vivid emerald green...

    A Dual Sword Skill? But which?!

    It's Shining Radial! An OSS copied by muscle memory alone, Kirito darts forward with both of his weapons whirling in alternate saw-like spin motions, razor winds whipping from the edges at the assortment of rockhide and gems! It transitions into a number of back-and-forth horizontal slashes... then he spin-steps forward into a final diagonal downslash that unleashes an eruption of storming razor gales!

Tomoe has posed:
Alexis and her pokemon are doing their thigns. Hurriscarana is quote strong as are the otehr pokemong but it seems that Alexis has a plan of her own s she too gets into the mix on thing. Armsflare out the attacks come and a Hurricane crush it let lose the stone of the monsters body crushed and the thing goes toppling down leaving it utterly opened and exposed to the rest of the partty. STaren now makes hie moves and will make for his own attack more missiels come and the stone monster can not dodge, blasts explodes blowing out chunkc with Tomoe reaces in following up on using the dawn breaker to ravage the thing just as hard as it can, the stike ome and then comes Kirito and the OSS he did from emory? Is just unloadinf stike after streike as gem after gem explodes more and more of the mosnters vanish untill the downed Stone monster is all that's left and as the final blows come from thsoe up close it lets out cry of pain and rages as it explodes into fragments rainding them everywhere.

The keep goes quite it seems the source of the monsters is solved but just /what/ was it?

"That ... was a hell of a thing, I haven't seen anything like that outside of a MMORPG what the heck /was/ it?"

If they look around they will find many of the stolen goods and also find at one mercuan and his two guards in the castle's dungeon.

Staren has posed:
    Staren gives a shrug and a grunt at the question of what it was. Who knows?

    He might take some small pieces of the monster for analysis later.

    Staren happily explores the castle with the Gatecrashers, mapping it for them and helping them catalogue any innate resources it has.

Alexis has posed:
You know how they say cool guys don't look at explosions? Guess that applies to birds too, as Hurricarana lands on one knee after his strike, and doesn't turn around to watch the monster spasm and crumble into pieces. Even as some of the bits rain down around him due to proximity.

"Multiverse tends to cough up weird as ass shit. Especially after it twist itself outside-in and barf up a new set of realities." Alexis just shakes her head a little and shrugs. Kicks some random remains of monster out of the way. "Gawd I feel too old for this some days."

Brushguard turns his head towards her with a cant. < Technically you're only what, 20ish? >

"I said -feel-, ya smartass." Alexis retorts. Not that she looks nearly as old as she should be.

Once the rubble shower is done Hurricaran does finally get up and turn. < Hmph. And not even a mask to claim as a trophy > he caws softly as he walks back to his Trainer.

"Don't get too comfortable yet. We should check the rest of the place over. Speaking of which." Alexis turns her attention in the other direction towards Tomoe and Kirito. "Ya guys wouldn't mind if I worked outta here at times too would ya? I'd rather not bring more business home than I already have to, hah!"