1569/Core of Frost

Core of Frost
Date of Scene:	14 February 2015
Location:	The Cavern of Ice
Synopsis:	The Confederacy is after something in the Cavern of Ice! Two Cavern-based missions, one week apart. What are they up to? The Union responds, but the Confederacy has their own problems...
Cast of Characters:	11, Reina Kinney, 560, 701, Reiji Arisu, 707, 715

---

Caster (701) has posed:
The Caverns of Ice are, rather predictably, made primarily of ice. Ice in numerous shapes and with numerous properties and arranged in numerous ways, but still, at the end of the day, mostly just ice. And the Confederates are here, after the excursion to the Deeper Regions a week ago. Unlike last week, the work here has been considerably more covert. No sudden outpouring of Confederate regular infantry. While scouts may have identified Confederate activity, it's been harder to pin-point either a central location for it or a central objective. There has been drilling occurring, but it hasn't been large-scale industrial-type stuff. More like small teams taking samples or tunneling a hundred feet or so, and then withdrawing. It's been scattered over a wide area over the course of the past few days.

But finally, some concrete intel surfaces... In the form of ice giants that have begun to rampage in the surrounding area. Whether they are truly giants or just elementals who have taken on the form of such is unknown. But they seem to be raging around a certain area, and that area seems to also be where a small force of Confederates, led by Metal Man, are located. In addition to the ice giants, and the Confederates, there are also environmental hazards to be aware of for anyone who wishes to intervene, and traps are not exactly unheard of.

There are three primary routes to the Confederate location. There is the NORTH TUNNEL, the WEST TUNNEL, and the SOUTH TUNNEL. There is no telling which will most quickly lead to the CENTRAL CAVERN, so the Union may choose to split up. Or not. But each path presents a different danger as well.

Caster (701) has posed:
//NORTH TUNNEL//

The North Tunnel is a vast passage with Ice Giants roaming about. The walls are tall, and mostly sheer, though there are signs of damage as though from massive blows. In some places it looks as thought he walls themselves have simply come to life, leaving humanoid-shaped outlines in the ice. The giants seem to be trying to make their way up towards the surface, where they might cause great destruction, but they are confused and angry and their current rate of ascent is slow. There might be a way to stop them before they can make it out, however.

This is the straightest tunnel, with no side-corridors or alcoves or places to get lost.

There is a passage to the South-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are ICE GIANTS here.

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are YUKI-ONNA here.

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are Confederate troops here.

Metal Man is here.

A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    It hasn't been long since The City of Quakes unified with the Multiverse at large. Since then, its protectors- Shinra and its agents- have began expanding out into a brave new world. This means new duties, new responsibilities, new friends and new foes. For Reiji Arisu, all of it means that he's working overtime- at least until Shinra's situation stabilizes.

    When the call went out to investigate 'Confederate' activity in a particularly inauspicious location, Reiji was called into action. This, naturally, means that Xiaomu was coming along, but Shinra's resources aren't limited to just two agents.

They have at /least/ three that they can spare.

    "Alright people," Reiji says into his radio, "Fall in." Plumes of warm breath slip escape him as he speaks, before vanishing into the chill- though perhaps not frigid- air of this place. His weapon rack sways soundlessly as he moves forward into the southern tunnel.

    Light catches his eye, and he glances briefly up at the nearby pillars of glowing ice before staring down the length of the tunnel. "Stay sharp. I'm feeling some bad vibes down this way," Reiji murmurs, a hand reaching back to check the magazine in his golden holdout pistol, "Let's do this as clean as we can make it."

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is leading a small force, he's brought drones with him, and Crash Man is curious about where Caster is going with things, so he's here again as well. Sides they might have need of his demo work skills. Metal has had time to set up a few fun little things here, but what oculd be laying in wait the Wily Number seems ot be all business today. Caster and her master had impressed him so far, so here he was in for the whole duration so to speak.

Metal has briefed the people under his command withw hat they neede dto do and he's got drones set for the pickup he knows don't let the regular touch the price so to speak as the drilling machines go to work.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Shinra has a lot of work on their hands. The Multiverse is a big, weird place, full of big, weird things, big, weird monsters, and big, weird places, and it's Shinra's job to explore and investigate all of them. And that means Reiji Arisu and his partner Xiaomu aren't the only ones working overtime.

     Kenji Kawasaki hasn't been with Shinra long enough to be a real Agent, but in a time of crisis, even junior agents get a pass - especially junior agents with the kind of power Kenji's packing. Along with Kenji, after all, comes Sambo-Kojin, God of the Hearth, the god of fire. The two are an inseparable duo - quite literally inseperable, in fact. That makes them ideal agents in the current situation.

     Doubly so because this mission is in a god damned ice cave.

     Kenji walks along behind Reji, rubbing his arms to keep himself warm. His black jacket isn't doing much to keep him warm in this place - he can literally see his own breath, little tufts of steam curling upwards as he walks behind Reiji. "Y-yeah," Kenji replies over his chattering teeth.

     "D-don't know how you c-can follow any vibes that aren't s-s-somebody shaking, M-Mr. Reiji."

     He is notably not armed.

     His parter is nowhere to be seen.

Reina Kinney has posed:
    A small light appears at the western cave entrance, and then Reina Kinney forms, red ponytailed hair and all. As soon as she fully materializes, she begins to shiver as she finds out first-hand just how truly cold it is. "Great Gurhal," She mutters to herself, "Laia wasn't kidding about this being like the arctic!" Her uniform is designed to protect her in cold weather, but it can only do so much. She shivers a little then begins to jog in place a little to get her blood flowing, before she looks around and attempts to get her bearings. Once she's fully aware of where she is and what her heading is, she snaps her right fingers and her pistol materializes in her hand.

    With a final deep breath, her exhalation causing mist to form around her mouth, Reina looks around one last time to make sure she's not being followed or there's something trying to ambush her, before she slowly makes her way into the cave. She's not aware of the traps that are planted, but odds are she will be soon enough. The question is, will her reflexes be enough to save her?

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
By contrast to Reiji's almost soundless advance, the rings atop Xiaomu's staff jingle quietly as she walks, the staff's lower end tapping the ground every few steps. The sage fox's shoulders are huddled a bit against the chill, but that's about as much of a concession as she's going to make to the environment in the Caverns of Ice. Certainly it's not forcing her to put on pants or anything, despite her qipao leaving her legs almost totally uncovered.

When Reiji glances around, though, Xiaomu pauses between strides, her nose twitching faintly as she half-closes her eyes and lifts her head. "Mmm. That icy smell ... Reiji, be ready with Karin. Although if we're lucky, we won't have to fight our way through."

She pauses, grinning at Kenji. "It's something you learn with experience."

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are CONFEDERATE TROOPS here.
METAL MAN is here.
CRASH MAN is here.
DRONES are here.
DRILLS are here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

The powerful Confederate drills are not giant-sized or anything, but they are perfectly designed for what they are doing. They are perhaps the size of a pick-up truck each, and they are equipped with hover systems that let them float up and drill away higher up as well. By spreading out the burden they can make the tunnel more precisely formed, and thus avoid any unfortunate collapses.

All seems to be going well.

But some of the workers seem to be a bit on-edge, taking glances up at the weird floating pyramid thing. What... IS that in there? It looks like a ball or an oval... With... Tentacles or something? It's just plain creepy. Thankfully it seems quite immobile. But those with organic brains are finding a strange tickling at the back of their mind. Almost like there's something they can't quite make out being whispered to them...

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    EMIYA SHIROU has chosen to stick with the South-entrance Shinra group. Running off on his own would be just utterly stupid and he's not THAT dumb. Bundled up and ready for anything... if anything meant nothing. The boy seems completely unarmed, however odd that may be to some of the people here.

    "TThis is the place... but what could they be doing all the way out here? It's just snow and ice."

    Trace amounts of prana flicker through Shirou's eyes, combating the gloomy cavern and letting him see...

    The rather macabre decorations up ahead. "What's up with this place...?"

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are YUKI-ONNA here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

As the quartet arrive in the tunnels, they are, for the most part, eerily silent. However, sometimes a chill wind sweeps through - almost more like a light breath than wind - and carries with it a floral scent and hints of a feminine voice from farther down the tunnel. Thus far, they seem to have gone unnoticed.

But for how long that remains the case has yet to be seen.

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

As Reina advances through the tunnel, she comes across what appears to be a set of stone doors blocking her path. There is an imprint of a hand on both the right door and left door. It seems clear what must be done to proceed. There's no sign of any other people around, or any monsters, and the temperature is actually nowhere near arctic levels! A bit chilly, but thanks to the proximity to the Caverns of Fire, it is not as cold as one might expect. At least frost-bite shouldn't be a concern if she is unable to resolve her obstacles quickly.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
SOUTH TUNNEL:

As the group approaches the 'lair' of the Yuki-onna, Xiaomu stops using her staff as a walking-stick, grasping the shaft with her left hand and wrapping her right hand around the staff's headpiece, to muffle any more noise the rings might make just from moving around. Then she 'skulks' towards one of those icy pillars, using it for cover as she tries to get a quick look at the snow maidens. She doesn't have to work nearly as hard to size up the environment ... and more specifically, the decor.

It's not the temperature that makes Xiaomu shiver at this point. She thought it might be possible to talk a way past the Yuki-onna, but given the number of victims who're encased in the ice hereabouts, she's far less certain that a talking approach will work.

(She's also kicking herself for having been so focused on an RPG that she let Western elemental interactions confuse her hands-on knowledge of the Eastern elemental cycle ... but, you'll never hear her admit THAT out loud.)

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is looking over the Cavern as they drig he's on edge, this is dealing with magic. Magic is not somehing you can fight with a sword or a gun all the time. This leaves him cautious after all. He has some experiance with the scale of magic's ability in this world. He's seen some stuff that might be also found in Creation so he's on his guard after all.

"All right keep focused on your tasks if you start hearing things sound in. Given what we're dealing with I'd rather know."

He's also had his joes armed with stunnerss incase something goes bad and there's even a Nurse Jane lurking about too.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL

    Suspiciously life-like statues greet the Union agents as they begin their ingress. The fragrance on the icy wind and the sound of distant, musical voices are subtle clues that the four of them aren't nearly as alone as Reiji would prefer. "Tch, this seems familiar," he mutters quietly, empty hand falling to the smaller of his two swords, "Stay sharp. If you see a pale girl, don't follow her and don't let her touch you."

He glances ahead-- then double-takes, staring at Kenji. Reiji's brow knits, his eyes squint, "...Kojin. I hope you'll show yourself when you're needed."

Otherwise, this might become... complicated.

    The agent of Shinra gives Shirou a quick nod, before bending his legs at the knee and shifting silently behind a pillar opposite to Xiaomu's own. His back is pressed to the chill surface, but he can tolerate the cold long enough to get a good look at what they might be up against.

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST TUNNEL:

    Reina advances slowly through the tunnel, her handgun at the ready at all times. A few times she stops and spins around, thinking that she's about to be ambushed from behind, only to discover it's just her imagination. She brushes this off and keeps advancing until she reaches the stone doors, and frowns. "What the heck? Am I supposed to knock on the door and hope they let me in?" Reina wonders aloud.

    Then Reina notices the hand shapes by the door. She starts towards them, raising her hands to insert them, then she stops, wondering if she's likely to trigger some kind of a booby trap or something. For a moment, Reina ponders, noticing how warm the air is in comparison to how she initially thought it was.

    After a moment, Reina shakes her head. "I ain't getting anywhere if I don't take any risks. After all, I am a member of GUARDIANS!" Reina says to herself as she steps towards the doors and hesitantly inserts her hands into the imprints. "Now what?"

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Kenji shudders a bit more as he follows behind Reiji and Xiaomu. Despite the chill of his breath and the shiver of his body, he's on high-alert; his eyes dart from place to place as they walk, carefully watching for anything in particular.

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are CONFEDERATE TROOPS here.
METAL MAN is here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

A number of workers actually speak up after exchanging looks. "We, uh, might be hearing some whispers, sir." one of the engineers says to Metal Man. One of the soldiers seems to be rather tensely looking at one of their own men as well. Watching him everywhere he goes. Why is unclear, but he hasn't said anything about voices so maybe he's just being cautious. ...Maybe.

The drilling continues, progress being made through the huge sheet of solid ice, bit by bit, foot by foot. But the longer they stay here, the more it feels like they shouldn't.

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

When Reina places her hands on the imprints there is a grinding noise and the chilly stone doors begin to push inwards. As long as she keeps her hands on them and moves forward along with them, they make progress into the icy tunnel, until they suddenly stop and slide apart, revealing a dark chamber of some kind. The floor is made up of a mix of light and dark blue tiles, and another door across the chamber lies closed. A stone tablet lies directly to the right, bearing letters that... Glow and rearrange themselves to match Reina's native language.

Some kind of message?

Metal Man (11) has posed:
The ones willing to report mean they are likely less effectted.

"Keep your focus, keep on the task at hand, the drones will be handling the objective so you don't need to fear that."

Metal Man meanwhile tight beam Crash man to keep an eye on the one who isn't talking it could be he's just on high alert or it's getting to him more. Some of the drones shift accordingly, he knows this isn't the main objective after all and he's not going to try and get men killed for an energy field he knows the socore there and has to admit they lucked out with Psalm's summoning of Castor.

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST TUNNEL:

    Reina gasps as she finds herself going forwards suddenly. "Whoa, what's this?!" She cries out, but goes along all the same, until the doors finally open. Retrieving her pistol, Reina advances towards the doors, stopping and peering inside to make sure there are no threats on the other side, before stepping inside. Once she's inside, she stops and stares in awe. She can't believe what she's seeing. Especially those tiles that are of different shades, and then that tablet that's written... in Gurhalian?

    "It can't be!" Reina says, rubbing her eyes to make sure she's not hallucinating. "Is it real?" Reina steps closer to the tablet, attempting to examine it and see if she can make out what is being said on that tablet.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL

    With Xiaomu scouting ahead and finding the same thing, Shirou decides to mimic Reiji's choice and hide behind a pillar. Yuki-onna, huh?

    The snow women who seduce travelers and drain their warmth and life... well the answer is to just not be fooled, right?

    Assuming things are like the legend...

    For now though he's just glancing around carefully. And listening. Movement?

    What's Xiaomu gonna do?

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are YUKI-ONNA here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

Xiaomu would be able to make out that one of the ice statues seems to encase a brave-looking warrior in the middle of charging with sword drawn. Another is of a young man apparently badly injured based on the dark ice surrounding his belly, lying on his back. He is reaching up in a barely-aware stupor, as though to touch the face of someone leaning over him. Something that might horrifyingly seem to be a child at first but upon closer inspection if simply someone from a race of little people who look child-like has her eyes open wide in wonder, as she is bent over with hand extended to retrieve something.

There's an entire pack of lost wolves frozen in mid-run, some kind of robot, even something that seems to be an ice-based life form... An ice person, frozen in a block of ice. Bizarre.

There's no sign of the yuki-onna yet, based on what Reiji can see. But a snow drift seems to begin being wittled down by a sudden breeze, swirling through the air in icy loops before coming to a halt. The fact the local spirits HAVEN'T shown themselves yet may be more tension-inducing than if they had just appeared and gotten it over with.

As Kenji looks around for anything out of the ordinary, he may notice there is, infact, something out of the ordinary even a place like this. A metal sphere lies unfrozen and lying in the middle of the floor, recently uncovered by that mild breeze that passed through. It doesn't look like it belongs here. And it's near to that little Tarutaru-esque person. Could it have belonged to her?

The passage ahead is clear, aside from more pillars of ice and frozen trespassers. But not all of them seem to have been frozen in battle or with fear on their faces. Some seem amazed, or sleepy, or happy, or simply unprepared for what wound up happening to them.

A woman breathes right in Shirou's ear suddenly. Just blowing into it. It's cold, but not any more than a normal person's breath. If he turns around to see who is blowing, there is no one. Just air currents blowing around the snow along the walls. Was it really a person? Or just his imagination. There was no 'presence', just the thought 'it's a woman'.

Musical laughter ringing like bells can be faintly heard further down the tunnel.

Brrrr.

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

The tablet reads as follows.

Beginning upon the path between sunbirth and sundeath
Advance as the night, favoring the dawn
Retreat a pace in respect to the fates
Then charge forth as the raven
To the underworld gate.

Once Reina has read it, the right-hand wall lights up with a glowing blue half-circle, the left-hand wall illuminated all around except in the vicinity of a half-circle that is left dark, and then the doors on the far rside of the chamber from the entrance trace light in the shape of a pair of gates held closed by skeletons.

The pattern of light-blue and dark-blue tiles on the floor seem to match a chessboard...

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to the east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are CONFEDERATE TROOPS here.
METAL MAN is here.
CRASH MAN is here.
DRONES are here.
DRILLS are here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

It's good that Metal Man notices that one soldier and orders him to be watched. Because he suddenly unslings his rifle from his shoulder, and takes aim on one of the others, with clear intent to fire! If he's not stopped, he's going to blow a fellow Confederate soldier's head off for no apparent reason!

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST TUNNEL:

    Reina stares at the tablet, seeming unsurprised as the Gurhalian words come to her. She frowns as she looks over the riddle, biting her lower lip and tapping her chin a little as she goes over the riddle in her head. Then she figures the solution out, and proceeds to navigate the room according to the riddle. "First, between sunbirth and sundeath, advance as the night... of course, THAT knight!" She says as she walks through the central part of the board, moving forwards two tiles, then to the right, remembering all the times she's played chess.

    "Next, I retreat a pace..." She looks behind her and steps back one tile, her boots clicking on the ground as she does so. "And then charge forth..." She looks ahead and sees the doors. "...To the underworld gate!" She dashes towards the door, her boots clicking again as she runs forwards, stopping at the door. "Looks like all those chess games paid off!" She says with a smirk.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL:

There's a bit of discussion and strategizing on the radio before Xiaomu stands up straight, letting go of her staff's headpiece, and steps out into view of the Yuki-onna - if they care to look in the sage fox's direction, at least. Rather than advancing, though, Xiaomu stands her ground, bowing her head briefly. "I greet you, daughters of the snow and the winter; if you will pardon the intrusion, there is a question I would ask of you all before seeking passage through your territory."

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Crash man has his hands reployed thankfuylly at this point and Metal was smart to get him over here. He's able to act. He reches out one and snaps the rifl's barrel and moves to try and restrain the man as one of the joes moves in arming an police grade stun baton to stun the guy. Thankfully it sould be enough to stop him but they know with freaky magic like this things could go bad!

SO the drone is making sure the guy is out.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL

    No sign of the snow spirits, save for that sense of dread creeping slowly up the back of his neck. Subtle spirits are always the most dangerous kind. Presumably, the apparitions are just waiting for the right moment to reveal themselves. Or maybe they're waiting for the group to freeze to death, first? Reiji mutters, his grip on Chirai tightening.

    His eyes dart to wisps of snow being stirred up by the wind. That terrible, chill wind. These spirits are insidious creatures. The classical examples of their kin tend to bury mountain travelers in ice and snow, letting the cold sap their strength before moving in for the kill, themselves.

He sees no reason to believe these are any different. Capricious things.

    Shirou's sudden yelp makes Reiji jump. He spares a glance back, Chirai just barely sliding out of its scabbard. "What-- What's wrong?" he hisses. Shirou's reply twists his expression into a tense frown, "Tch, they're toying with us. Stay close, back to back. If you see something, give me word."

His gaze shifts downrange as Xiaomu begins communing with the spirits, "...If things go bad, we move. Stay calm."

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     The little metal orb attracts Kenji's attention. He does not, however, grab it, being as he's a trained Shinra agent and not a complete idiot. Silvery orbs sitting next to people are weird, dangerous, and bad if you don't know what they are. He nudges Reiji and points at the orb.

     "M-M-M-M-M," he starts, then falls silent. He can't say jack crap through his chattering teeth.

     God damned Kojin.

     "M-Mr. Reiji," he finally manages.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "U-uwoarh?!" Shirou's reaction to breath in his ear is to react like most high schoola ge boys would to cold wind in their ear. Pull away and nearly jump two feet in the air. he slinks around the column several moments before realizing there isn't anyone there, leaving him peering perplexedly around at where the breath came from...

    What was THAT?

    Nodding quickly to Reiji, the hot-blooded youth dashes over... but is drawn to "Hrm?" at Kenji out of curiosity. Looking at things here doesn't sound like a good idea!

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji totally does not jump out of his skin. He's a decade too experienced for that. Instead he gives Kenji a concerned look. "Kenji. What's wrong?" He asks, keeping Xiaomu in his peripheral vision at all times. "You see some--"

He sees the orb.

His frown deepens.

"...Don't touch it," he instructs, "Until we know what it does, keep your distance."

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

Every step Reina took across the tiles produces a clicking or creaking sound, as though hidden mechanisms were working in response. There is little doubt that if she had moved incorrectly something bad might have happened. There was even a sound in the ceiling and a glint of metal when she took one step back. If she hadn't... A guillotine or something similarly terrible might have swung down at her!

As she reaches the doors on the other side of the chamber, the boney arms holding them closed on the surface of the gates fade from visibility, and the doors themselves grind open slowly, revealing an icy tunnel with several chambers on either side. Some have open doors - just a crack. Not enough to see what lies within, but enough to tempt someone to come see. Hidden treasure? Ancient secrets? Prisoners waiting to be rescued? Adventure? Answers?

'Come see! A clever girl like you is in no danger here. Come see what lies behind this door, or this one, or this one! Come find out what lies in wait for you!'

But the tunnel proceeds straight ahead. And there is no guarantee any of these side-passages will benefit Reina in any way. Does she risk it? Or keep the objective in mind, and keep going without letting curiosity get the better of her?

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to the east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are CONFEDERATE TROOPS here.
METAL MAN is here.
CRASH MAN is here.
DRONES are here.
DRILLS are here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

The soldier is subdued, his weapon broken, and he thrashes before he can be stunned and disabled, yelling, "NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IT'S NOT HIM! IT'S A BUG! A BUG WEARING HIS SKIN-" then bzzzzzzzt and he's out.

For the corruption of sanity to come this quickly... Especially to a well-trained soldier... Yeah, this is definitely bad news. The tunnel is about 1/4th of the estimated length it needs to be. The other soldiers and workers all seem edgy, have almost completely stopped working upon witnessing this display. They're scared. It's one thing to fight monsters.

It's quite another thing to fight your own mind being twisted by some invisible whispering abomination.

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are YUKI-ONNA here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

Xiaomu's voice echoes off the walls. There's a sound like a sharp intake of breath and then movement is finally visible coming from further down the tunnel. It is a frozen maze, illuminated with countless children's night lights down here - at least based on the myriad colors available. But as pale shapes begin to fly towards the group from the far end of the tunnel, moving in loop-de-loops as they respond to a stranger's voice, the surreal and pretty environment may be the last thing on anyone's mind. Some of the approaching shapes are garbed in white kimono, some in dresses of white fur. Some have blak hair, some white. Some have glowing red eyes, others have fairly human-seeming eyes. Some appear as little girls or teenagers, others as adults.

All are beautiful in their own way.

They quickly float around in a circle, surrounding the Union members, cutting off escape. But aside from that, they don't seem to be attacking or acting with hostility. Though they seem to constantly be moving in a dizzying circle, rotating around those at the center, as flurries of snow sometimes blow through, or mounds of it erupt as though struck. It could be rather disorienting if they are watched for too long.

"You seek passage?" one of the black-haired ones says. One of the ones who seems to be about twelve years old giggles, her red lips in a cute little smile as she says, "Why should we let you pass when we could just keep you here?"

A white-haired woman breaks the circle to dash across the open space, slowing down as she passes Keiji to blow a mocking kiss at him, and unleash a blast of cold air at Xiaomu's back, before reaching the other side of the circle. Nothing harmful so far, but...

One who seems to be just a severed torso with claw-tipped hands, her face gorgeous, but the rest of her monstrous, sing-songs, "What would you give us in exchange for safe passage?"

Then the little girl asks again, "Will you leave one of your group with us so that the others may continue?"

Then all the snow spirits begin calling out at once, chanting, "Who will stay? Who will stay? Who will stay?"

The metal sphere seems to be technological in origin, to have a single black button on one side, and to otherwise be seamless and smooth. It might be some manner of explosive, or it might be for sending out a distress signal. It's really hard to say.

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST CAVERN:

    Reina enters with her hand gun drawn, aimed at the ready. She stares in awe at the long hallway in front of her, with all those doors beckoning to her. They could lead to treasure or something valuable. Or there could be someone waiting to be released. Or it could be another trap. For a moment, Reina stops and ponders.

    Then she shakes her head. "Laia always told me the mission comes first." She seems a bit emotionless in her comment to herself as she raises her handgun and advances forwards carefully, watching to make sure nothing tries to ambush her.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL

Xiaomu's eyes widen slightly at the sheer number of Yuki-onna. Fighting their way through seems a lot less practical all of a sudden; even one Yuki-onna is a noteworthy threat on her own ... especially to an unwary wanderer, which the Shinra agents are pointedly *not*.

And the blowing against Xiaomu's back sends a noticeable shiver through the sage fox's body, but she stands her ground, her staff's butt thumping against the ground so that the rings on its headpiece jingle, a clear chime ringing through the icy tunnel. "There are outsiders in the cavern that lies past here," she says as clearly as she can without simply yelling. "My question is this: do you consider *them* to be intruders in your territory? If so, then I am pleased to tell you that our purpose here is to drive them out; we can even offer to chase a couple of them into your territory to do with as you please."

She passes the staff to her left hand, the rings chiming again when she grounds the staff. "If you will not grant us passage to do this ... I will still offer some of our enemies to do with as you like, but I cannot leave any of my family behind, even to pay your rightfully-claimed toll."

... family? Well, that IS what she said.

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

Reina continues down the tunnel, fighting temptation, resisting curiosity, focusing on the matter at hand. And then she reaches the end of the tunnel, and another set of doors. Apparently she made the right choice. The challenge in this case was simply to not be distracted by all the things along the way to her destination.

A shining blue light slices up from the bottom of the door to the top, and then the two slabs grind open, revealing a long flight of stairs leading down. Down to a large broad platform, with two icy mirrors standing side by side, facing Reina. If she descends the stairs, another stone tablet rises up out of he floor, with the same native text upon it. Another riddle.

Side by side, two selves
Two sides, that are you
Neither real nor fake
Choose the form
That is true.

In one mirror, Reina is reflected as a brave, powerful, beautiful, and noble woman. She wears fine clothing, but she distributes generously to those around her. She fights with great skill and courage, but she does not seek to hurt or to kill.

The left-hand mirror shows a bedraggled, dirty, confused, and weak-looking version of Reina. She wears scraps and rags, sits in the middle of a deserted street, and looks up in fear and weariness... Completely alone.

On the far side of the platform is another set of stairs, leading up to a door larger than all the others.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
SOUTHERN PATH

    "It's probably some kind of weapon, but--" Whatever Shirou was going to say is interrupted by the arrival of countless Yuki-onna of all shapes and sizes.

    He's stunned. Simply awed. But for every bit of him that's impressed and stirred, his heart's sinking.

    They'll have to fight. He really doesn't want to.

    He especially doesn't want to get all gung-ho with pretty girls no matter how twisted if he can avoid it. But even so...

    "Trace... on..."

    All he can do is make the weapons that will defeat opponents. His mind's eye settles on the image of the sword of the sun, Excalibur Galatine. And the more he focuses the clearer it gets, the more he can prepare it, visualize all the steps of its Creation...

    A little bit of magic's flowing through him for anyone sensitive, but nothing OVERT's happening...

Metal Man (11) has posed:
MEtal Man knows there may be other problems he's geting concerned but so far the troops are not going nuts. Metal listens and doens't discount themans rambling as the nurse jane scans both him and the target. He also issues an order to get the guy taken away and out of the range of this thing's effect. He's strtiong to debat the issue here this is bad news. However CRash man's got an ide to get his over with quickly and he's moving in.

Metal speaks up.

"Crash man you take point, everyone else return to the exit point for the moment Crash Man will hopefully speed things up, this operation is not the primary objective and is not worth a butcher bill for."

Maybe Caster might be unhappy but he knows keeping a good relationship with the regulars /is/ a good thing. It may save your ass in times off poltical power plays.

Crah Mean manwhile is moving in to start setting explosions he knows what he's doing and is setting up shaped charges.

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST TUNNEL:

    Reina's decision to not give into temptation proves to be the right choice. Now she's found herself with another riddle. "Great, here we go again," Reina says as she reads it over, then looks at the two mirrors. The right one shows Reina looking brave and noble, looking almost like the true hero that a lot of people envision the Union elites to be like. At first, Reina is about to step towards that one, when she looks in the other mirror, and then she stops and stares in awe for a moment. For a moment, all she can do is stare in disbelief and shock. A lonely Reina, in rags and living a miserable life. All alone. And then she has the memories flow into her mind, and she drops to one knee, clamping her hands over her head.

    "No! Stay back!" Reina shouts, as the memories of that fateful day come through to her mind. The day that Mr. Tanaka set her up to be taken out by her so-called colleagues. The day that her boss arranged for her to be attacked and left for dead. She'd been reduced to a miserable shadow of her former self, barely alive and wearing only remains of her uniform. She was all alone, and she was most likely going to die.

    As Reina remembers this fateful day, tears ooze through her squeezed shut eyes. She tries to block it out, but the memory is too strong, and the tears continue to come out. She remembers how she almost died, but Laia Martinez found her. She'd administered a healing technic on her, bringing her back from the verge of death. The memory of that fateful day where she learned she'd made the wrong choice is now almost like a clear vision to her.

    For a moment, all Reina can do is sob uncontrollably, until she remembers what's going on, and she forces herself to look up again. "Up until Laia found me, I was just a miserable young woman, all alone and doing things recklessly. I have made my attempts to make amends for my past, but still, I cannot hide from my past!" Reina grits her teeth and runs towards the left, ignoring the mirror of nobility and strength in favor of acknowledging her dark past.

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are YUKI-ONNA here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

The yuki-onna actually slow their rotation as Xiaomu begins to offer a deal. The little girl speaks again, as all the others fall silent. She seems to be the most talktative of the lot. "You offer a deal? But who shall remain to be certain you do not renege on your agreement?"

A sleepy-looking Yuki Onna in a festival kimono adorned with white dragons asks, "We can not simply trust you to return can we?"

A spectral-seeming woman, partially transparent, with long white hair, seems to be sniffing the air, as though scenting something delicious. Her hair seems to be forming into over-sized hands as the rotation of the circle carries her closer to Reiji.

But then Xiaomu speaks those final words, and the circle comes to a complete stop. The air is frigid. Far colder than it has been. "Family?" the young girl spirit asks. "What family? These you are with? All of them are your family?" The feel of magic coming from Shirou seems to cause a stir among the yuki-onna, but it's oddly still just the little one doing most of the talking. She's even the one who glances at Shirou suspiciously.

"We are a family as well, you know." A shiver passes through the crowd. Whispers.

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to the east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

There are CONFEDERATE TROOPS here.
METAL MAN is here.
CRASH MAN is here.
DRONES are here.
DRILLS are here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.

The soldier being accused of being a bug is just a normal soldier. He seems as shaken as the rest. When the order goes for all the organics to get out, they do so, retreating to the artificial warp gate they hauled down here which, in the process, stirred up all those ice giants.

Hopefully the further away from the gross pyramid thing they get, the safer they'll be.

Crash Man blows up the tunnel good, making great headway, and eventually exposing a shining blue glow behind the icy barrier up ahead. With a few more precision detonations, the last layer will come down, and a really bright blue diamond-shaped crystal will fall into the grasp of the two Robot Masters.

The pyramid then shudders, and the dark form frozen within... Moves.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
SOUTH TUNNEL

Xiaomu nods, "Reiji is family to me in the truest sense: not by blood kinship, but I raised him from childhood, and I count him as family because of that. So too do I consider Kenji family, a younger brother under our tutelage, and Shirou a cousin in our company. I ask you, if our places were reversed, could you leave one of your sisters or one of your daughters in our care? Particularly if you had reason to fear for her life in our keeping"

Family *is* a key point for the Yuki-onna, Xiaomu knew that coming in. That's why she's claiming the three guys as 'family' - even if the definition has to stretch a bit for Kenji, and admittedly a lot further for Shirou.

"Sadly, time is of the essence," Xiaomu adds, bowing her head in sincere apology. "If you will not let any of us pass without one remaining as a toll ..."

She takes a breath, and draws Suiren, the ice-magicked blade sliding free of the staff which is its sheath. And she thrusts the blade's tip into the ground in front of her, "... then I shall remain, while Reiji, Kenji, and Shirou proceed onward without me. If you will trust us to pay our toll afterwards, then I'll do what I can to --"

That explosion in the central cavern is PROBABLY audible back up the tunnels, isn't it?

Caster (701) has posed:
//WEST TUNNEL//

The West Tunnel is an ancient passage partially carved from ice, and partially bearing signs of some ancient stone structure buried beneath incalculable tons of frozen water. It may be some kind of temple. While not all of it is accessible and thus not all of it would need to be gotten through, parts of it are exposed, including several chambers and passages likely rife with traps. It is, technically, the most direct passage, if one avoids any of the detours and doesn't mistake the side-passages as part of the main route. But it has the most stuff in the way as well, and may require puzzle-solving skills to advance.

There is a passage to the East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There are TRAPS here.
REINA KINNEY is here.

The left hand mirror cracks and shatters before Reina. Did she somehow make the wrong choice? It seems not, as the frozen glass is melting down into... 'liquid light', and flowing along a previously invisible circuit throughout the platform. The platform begins to float across the dark gap and comes to a stop at the foot of the stairs on the other side of the room. The light then flows up the stairs and to the large pair of doors. The doors light up all over and then begin to grind open.

If Reina can pull herself together after her emotional ordeal, and get up those stairs, she'd reach the top in time to see the large CENTRAL CAVERN, the ice pyramid floating in the air, the Confederate troops fleeing towards the Warp Gate, and the smoking hole in the cavern wall where Crash Man has just bombed it in order to reveal a shining blue crystal.

Reina Kinney has posed:
WEST TUNNEL to CENTRAL CAVERN:

    Reina has pulled herself together, letting her emotions be put aside. After all, she's a member of GUARDIANS and she has to keep her emotions in check. When the mirror changes its form, Reina realizes she truly made the right choice, and she starts to feel a bit of satisfaction within her, almost like she's starting to come to grips with her past. But that's aside from the point.

    As Reina makes her way forwards, she begins to hear voices and stops, readying her hand gun just in case. Then she advances forwards again, and when she spies the Confederate elites heading for the warp gate, as well as that strange pyramid and the fact there's a weird crystal showing, she can only pause for a moment to attempt to form a strategy in her mind.

    She starts to draw her gun, but then realizes it's pointless, since they're fleeing and odds are they aren't going to stop to fight right now. Instead, she focuses on the crystal and the ice pyramid, attempting to make sense of them.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
SOUTHERN TUNNEL
    "Family is not only a matter of blood," Reiji says, stepping from behind his pillar. There's no point in hiding now. The spirits know they're here- the /blown kiss/ is as much of indicator of that as anything. But there's something about this situation- something that's not quite right. Only one of the spirits is speaking, and... Freezing up, when the topic moves towards family. "That which we call 'family' are bond forged by the events that make up one's life," there's a crackle of electricity as the wakizashi slides halfway from its saya, arcs of lightning creeping through the cold, dry air.

Suddenly an explosion shakes the tunnel. Reiji hisses a low curse under his breath.

    "We've delayed long enough," he mutters. "Spirit of winter! Maiden of snow!" The Wakizashi slides back into its sheath with a crackle of electricity, the hand that had gripped its hilt gestures down the corridor- towards the distant explosion. Reiji continues to approach, his shadow drawing long against a half-dozen walls as his body catches the warm glow deep within the ice, "Did you hear that? THAT is the threat you must be concerned with. That is the threat WE are here to deal with. A threat to this home you've made. Let us pass, let us do what we have come to do, and we will leave you in peace. And..." His gaze flickers towards Xiaomu, "Despite her generous offer, you'll not be keeping that woman here any longer."

    "Either you trust us to keep our word," Reiji says, the deep well of spiritual power within his soul flaring brightly in the pits of his eyes, "Or you don't. But know that I value that woman and her well-being, and I will not let her- or anyone else among us- remain here while greater danger still awaits ahead."

    His gaze sweeps across the many statues and frozen warriors, the artifacts of animals and people who happened upon this place by accident or by design. Frozen forever. Frozen just as they had arrived. "...I don't know why you did all this, and I won't presume any reasons. Though I have my suspicions," he turns, staring at that lone snow-spirit. "But Shinra's duty isn't just the defense of humanity, but the protection of those spirits who choose to live alongside it as well. Let us pass, and let us do what we need to do."

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Crash Man looks at his work and back off to get out of harms way as they go off the last layer comes down and he looks at the crystal. Metal Man looks to Crash Man and then barks an order as things shake.

"All non combat personel out! All combat personel hold the exit point and get ready to pull out."

He barks his orders s the others are comming in and Metal Man moves to get the crystal, he orders the drones to form up and get their weapons ready. Metal man pulls a blade iwth his off hand as Crash Man arms his heavier weapons..

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    What more is Shirou supposed to do? The young man's standing tghtly and trying not to show how nervous he's getting around all of the ladies...

    Any moment they might flip out. Youkai that can't co-exist with people are TROUBLE, almost always.

    But in this case, the rumbling wham rattles him into quickly adopting a stance in panic. He doesn't project the prepared weapon though! "What was THAT?!"

Caster (701) has posed:
//SOUTH TUNNEL//

The South Tunnel, in terms of scale, is somewhere inbetween the cramped confines of the West Tunnel, and giant-sized dimensions of the North Tunnel. It is also the most beautiful, with glowing lights trapped in icy pillars, walls that seem to have spheres of ghostly illumination floating behind them like the viewing-window of an aquarium with a frosty curtain over them, and very artistic ice sculptures of people and monsters and animals. Only those aren't sculptures. They're actual people, monsters, and animals, frozen by the denizens of this tunnel.

Cruel spirits of snow and ice make this place their dwelling, and they do not respond kindly to intruders, though they can seem all too welcoming at first. There are countless places to hide from the residents, if one is fast, clever, and quiet, but it only takes being spotted by one of the spirits for the alarm to be raised.

There is a passage to the North-East leading to the CENTRAL CAVERN.

There is JUST ONE LITTLE YUKI-ONNA here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

The words spoken by Xiaomu and Reiji clearly shake the little snow spirit. Family is dreadfully important to her, and their speeches and offers hold clear weight for her. And the explosions shake the entire tunnel. The snow girl turns to look over her shoulder, before refocusing on those before her. "We used to be a family once." One by one, the other yuki-onna lose all semblance of detail and of appearance, and fall apart into piles of snow. "I froze these people to save them." Poof. Poof. "To preserve them." Poof. Poof. Poof. Poof. "To protect myself." Poof poof poof poof poof poof. "And so that I would not be alone anymore."

All the ones remaining fall apart.

The little snow spirit waves her long-sleeve-covered hands, and a powerful magical wind gathers up the Shinra operatives and Shirou too. "My family went to stop a monster a long, long time ago. They said they would seal it away, to be a good girl and wait for them, and to stay here until they got back." Though her story is sad, there is no sadness in her voice. No tears from her bright-blue eyes.

"They did not return. I do not think that they ever will. I will not ask any of you to stay." The wind then blasts the entire group down the tunnel (safely) at high speeds, with only the little spirit's voice calling after them, "...But make sure you come back to visit sometime."

The group is suddenly thrust forth into a huge cavern, with a giant ice pyramid floating in the air, some blob of darkness writhing more and more within its confines, and a couple Robot Masters carrying a crystal that shines with great magical power... And a brilliance not unlike the concentrated essence of two dozen yuki-onna.

The magic winds set the group down gently, and then vanish like the recreation of the little spirit's departed family.

Caster (701) has posed:
//CENTRAL CAVERN//

The Central Cavern is the focus of Confederate forces in the area. While there is no army or anything, there are at least a couple dozen troops, and many more engineers, all working to tunnel a huge passage through the ice. The cavern itself is gigantic, and shows evidence of craftsmanship being put into the ice. A pyramid of frozen water floats in the air, whether due to local physics or some kind of magic. It kind of looks, from the silhouette within the pyramid, as though something awful and possibly organic was sealed inside a long, long time ago.

There is a passage to the North-West leading to the NORTH TUNNEL, a passage to the west leading to the WEST TUNNEL, a passage to the south-west leading to the SOUTH TUNNEL, and a passage to the east leading to a GIANT TUNNEL.

CONFEDERATE TROOPS are GONE.
METAL MAN is here.
CRASH MAN is here.
DRONES are here.
DRILLS are here.
A freaky flying ICE PYRAMID is here.
REINA KINNEY is here.
REIJI ARISU is here.
XIAOMU is here.
KENJI KAWASAKI is here.
EMIYA SHIROU is here.

The soldiers evacuate through the Warp Gate and are GONE, leaving the excavation equipment and everything else where it lies. As Reina arrives, along with Xiaomu, Reiji, Kenji, and Shirou, they are witness to tendrils of black that should be frozen solid worming their way around within the giant flying ice pyramid with increasing liveliness. It's like that... Whatever it is just so coincidentally happens to be responding to exposure to the blue crystal's light. The pyramid isn't melting or anything, but an awful thing like that waking up is probably still not good. Whatever is done with that crystal... It needs to be done fast, and probabl should result in it either not being here anymore or not existing anymore. It's the key to the prison, not the lock.

It shouldn't be kept so close to the thing it's meant to keep sealed.

Being Elites, they are likely far more resilient than even trained soldiers. But they may already be subjected to the sound of whispers, of something like a mass of black centipedes crawling its way towards their 'self' from all around the cavern.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    And... His suspicions are validated. Reiji has heard these stories before- children left behind for their own safety. Parents sacrificing themselves to save the ones they love the most. Reiji has heard these stories.

Reiji has lived these stories.

    He's silent as the spirit speaks. His expression has settled into a neutral mask- the emotions that try to fight their way to the surface never make it there. There's business. He can't afford to be distracted now.

But...

It's impossible to deny that it hasn't affected him.

"...Of course," he says in a softer tone; one filled with notes of sympathy that only Xiaomu would be able to recognize. Those kinds of feelings hardly ever make their way into his voice, but... "The next time, we'll return when we're not in such a rush," Reiji continues, turning toward their destination as the winds begin to whip all around him. His hand grips tight around his long-blade's hilt, "Just be safe until then."

Frozen cave walls race by in an instant as he's hurled bodily through the air. At the last moment, just as the winds vanish, Reiji kicks off the ground. His blade is drawn in the same motion, spewing clouds of twisting flame as he hurls himself another step forward. In that instant, his eyes flicker up to the pyramid- and the creature and its tendrils. For that brief second, the walls seem to crawl as if they were alive, and his ears are filled with otherworldly words.

    And then, with a narrowing of his eyes and a sharp KIAI, he focuses his will and turns the alien will away. "You there," he yells at the two Robot Masters, "Surrender that crystal and you'll be allowed to go peacefully!"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu nods to the young yuki-onna, silently confirming Reiji's promise; she's just as familiar with the splitting of a family for the child's sake as Reiji is, if not QUITE as closely personal.

Then the windborne thrill ride into the main cavern, and Xiaomu stumbles a little as she's deposited. "Whoooooo - !!" Xiaomu shakes her head to clear it after that wild rush down the tunnel. "Yeah, definitely need to stop by for tea or hot chocolate with her sometime ..."

Then she spots the space-warping horror that's starting to wriggle into existence from 'inside' the pyramid. "... yeek," she comments, almost blase about it. "Gonna take more than a Shinra Banshou to shut THAT thing down .... and if it took ice to keep it sealed -"

Oh wait, they're already surrounded by something? Shoot. ... Literally. "Kojin, turn up the heat but don't cook *us* while you're frying the creepy-crawlies!" she calls out to Kenji and his partner; she's already planted her staff in the ground next to her and is drawing her paired handguns from inside her vest. "Got a bit more immediate of a problem to worry about than the Feddies just yet, Reiji! JUU NO KATA!!" And with that, she opens fire on the 'centipedes,' trusting Reiji and Kenji to cover the directions that she isn't - probably roughly dividing the area around the Shinra group into thirds. It'd be quarters if she knew what Shirou's ranged ability was like. And if her companions are pulling their weight as far as thinning out the swarm, she is indeed letting Reiji focus on the Robot Masters, if he's not going to elemental-bug-spray the eldritch centipede-thingies.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Who guessed that a little girl would become a Yuki-Onna... Shirou casts a long and regretful glance at the many frozen here. He's just about to speak up when -- "H-huooah!" They're all blown into the central chamber and subjected to emotional torture of a very different sort.

    That was more people he couldn't save. All he can do is make sure none more ever have to come here somehow and fall to the same fate.

    Hard, though, given what he's suddenly forced to lay eyes upon now. "... This is a seal?!" He's not so sure about this at all. A giant floating Ice Pyramid. what the HECK?!

    The trouble is that looking up on it is making his brain itchy and spreading paranoia. He jumps around and slaps at his arms briefly... a milder reaction than Xiaomu's, but still...

    "Whatever's sealed wasn't sealed well enough!"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man has ordered the regulars out hardware can be replaced right and the really important stuff can be snagged by drones however he's got to wonder now as the thing is getting lose.

"You know sometimes I wonder about this like of work, Crash Man."

"...SO this was the seal wasn't it?"

"Yes, this better be of use." Then the Union comes piling in.

"Of all the nerped up..."

Metal Man looks at Reiji. SO often does the Union say this and so often they expects it leads to a fight.

"Yes it looks like our old one pal's waking up."

HE looks to Reiji and set the crystal down, he's got full scans of it and it can be recovered later he doesn't feel like being in a three way fight, he does know this wasn't the operation's main object as he sets the crystal down and starts backing away, the Joes form up Roman Legion style using their shields to cover he doesn't know Reiji after all he might expect something out f the union. There are certain operations they pulled off that he'll not forgive them for.

"We're leaving and do say hello to our friend there it likes to get in your head."

With that they are making for the gate. Crash Man isn't happy but well this could serve to distract the union right?

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Reiji lands and Xiaomu... starts going all guns akimbo on the cavern walls and everything. He takes a moment to just look in her direction before breathing a long- but wholly internal- sigh. He heard about foxes being easily distracted, but...

But he can make that joke later.

    Metal Man backs away from the crystal, and Reiji... Well, Reiji is admittedly not used to people just /backing off/ from the mystical artifact of doom when he gives the order to. He pauses a moment to draw Gold and holds it level with the Masters as he approaches, never keeping his eye off them until he had the opportunity to holster his firearm again and throw his crimson coat around the brilliant crystal.

    "Don't worry," Reiji says levelly to both Metal Man and Shirou as he begins scooting the crystal back toward the Yuki-Onna cave, "I don't intend to let that thing out of its cell. We know a thing or two about keeping ancient evils under tight lock and key."

He shoves the crystal the rest of the way- towards Emiya and the others. "Take that thing back into the caves. I'll cover you. We're bringing it back home for analysis."

Caster (701) has posed:
Shots are fired at the hallucinations of crawling black bugs, only for them to vanish moments later when Xiaomu's attention is pulled away by Reiji. Yeah, whatever's up there is no good. Metal Man has surrendered the crystal, and he, Crash Man, and his robot pals, are getting the heck out. They exit through the Warp Gate and are GONE. Within the ice pyramid, the ball of shadow and writhing shapes seems to be moving more and more fluidly. Two slits appear and then open more fully. A pale essence that seems to erase light and darkness alike emanates from the 'eyes'. A jagged maw splits open and begins to 'breathe', sucking in color and life from the surroundings. The blue energy that is the spirits of all those snow spirits is being drawn from the crystal and towards the monster that they died to lock up. They must not have been able to escape after the job was done.

Right now, the only purpose it seems to serve is as food for the prisoner. Whether the crystal is gotten out of here or blown up, it can't be allowed to stay in this place. And maybe sending those spirits along their way would be a mercy.

For a moment, the icy caverns seems to be made of blood, with countless giant spider legs thrusting out of the walls in the flickering of light and darkness dying together.

Thankfully, Reiji is already hauling it out when that happens, and the hallucination of the surroundings reverts back to normal quickly. The further they move away from the sealed prisoner, the less their minds may feel under attack. The more normal things become. And even the little snow girl's tunnel may seem less haunting, as - even if only for the time it takes for the Union to pass through - the rest of her family returns home.

....

Back in the cavern, the Prisoner loses his mobility quickly, his writhing slowing and stopping, and then empty eye holes and bottomless mouth both closing together, back into shapeless darkness.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Fortunately for Xiaomu, she doesn't have much opportunity to waste ammo before Reiji gets her attention on the radio, and she re-rolls her 'resist illusion' check.

*BOY* is she steamed when she realizes the abomination managed to wriggle its way into her head and make her start seeing things that weren't there. "Reiji, are you sure just taking the crystal from here is a good idea?" she asks, gradually salvaging her composure and shoring up her mental defenses. Either way, *getting out of here* is probably a higher priority than deciphering just how yonder abomination WAS sealed up - although the ice pyramid, combined with the young Yuki-onna's story, does make a reasonably sound explanation ...

It's a puzzle that'll have to be solved later. Xiaomu keeps her handguns ready just in case anything that's NOT an illusion comes after them, and covers the others' withdrawal from the cavern.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Another illusion... Or is it? Light and darkness melt and become one in a fine blend of oblivion as whatever that... THING is begins reaching a state of wakefulness. The walls turn to blood. Great, spidery limbs creep out of the shadows behind his eyelids. He growls as he tries to force it BACK only for it to... retreat, as they pull the crystal from the monster within the seal.

Reiji recognizes the essence bleeding away from the massive crystal-- which can only mean...

    ...Well, at least he'll be able to give them a passing reunion. But he can't exactly let the crystal- or the girl- remain in this place for long.