3269/Dragon Unchained

Dragon Unchained
Date of Scene:	24 October 2015
Location:	Brockton Bay
Synopsis:	Only one thing remains to be done, and Defiant lives dangerously as he attempts to undo what Teacher did. Chaos ensues.
Cast of Characters:	Maya, 20, 73, 151, 162, 368, 554, Tomoyo Daidouji

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Defiant (554) has posed:
     Dracheheim is a rather nice place, if cold at this time of year. Snow is already beginning to fall and the populace go to and fro in heavy coats and scarves, still in the grip of establishing their quiet society. It's hardly a modern one, all the buildings appear to be mostly wooden, and farming beasts of burden seems to be the biggest thing happening in the city. It's homely and that small town homely nature shall probably endure as the rest of the world picks up the pieces following the Golden Morning.

     The Protectorate fell. Weakened by the Confederacy and destroyed in the court of public opinion, the losses they took fighting against Scion were the final nail in the coffin. Into that power vacuum stepped Chevalier, Legend and Miss Militia, heading a new parahuman law enforcement agency - the Wardens. Time will tell whether they fall prey to the same issues that brought down their predecessors.

     The Endbringers are gone. The only one that was confirmed surviving was the ethereal Simurgh, now hovering at some point above Defiant's world. Since Scion's death, she has gone completely quiet. Whether her song will ever start again, that remains to be seen.

     Teacher's group vanished shortly after the battle against Scion, sequestering themselves away somewhere. He'll begin his powerplay once he has all his pieces in place, of that there's no doubt. The question is when and how.

     Maybe that's why Defiant and Dragon have hidden themselves away in a sleepy little town. The only sign of their existence there is the Pendragon, Defiant's personal dragoncraft, which sits on a nearby hill like a distant sentinel.

     The other sign is the green and gold armored figure, two-pronged spear held in his hands, engaged in combat in the shadow of the Pendragon. His attacker is a tall woman with dark skin, a blade in her hand, matching him blow for blow. It's Dragon.

     He's going after Teacher's code.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Just to make things clear here before we proceed, Tesla Armadia only said she was going to halt aggressive operations towards the world in the wake of the Golden Morning. She never said she was going to stop observing it. Quite the opposite, in fact. It wasn't often that, outside of simulations and the occasional not shitty movie, that one got to observe the recovery of a world that had been on the brink of total destruction first hand.

So it shouldn't really be a surprise that she eventually found the Pendragon's parking spot, and walked up to it in the way one would casually arrive at a friend's house for a visit. Notibly dressed as 'casual' as she gets, since she never goes without her boots or gauntlets, but only wearing her labcoat and average clothing instead of her armor.

At the cusp of Defiant and the other form coming into view she stops, idly folding her hands behind her back and watching the two go back and forth. Sparring match? Or something else. Prehaps a bit of both, on multiple levels.

"Somehow I fail to be surprised that you did not take long to get back... to work, as it were."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr hasn't long been cleared for active duty, but she's already out on patrol. The young mage is overflying the small town now, a distant speck with a faint purple trail following it. She'll stay up high for the time being, watching from a distance with small floating spheres of purple light that try to stay hidden as much as possible.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo had something for Defiant and Dragon! It is to that end that she has been following their signals to Dracheheim, riding in a car with all four of her bodyguards. They would immediately stand out in such a sleepy community with their mirrored windows and reinforced wheels. Once in town, it's easy to find the two, simply by heading towards the craft. The car pulls up, and all five occupants emerge. The guards are in their suits, of course, while Tomoyo wears a black ankle-length dress with a white moth on the chest, along with white gloves. Her boots are brown leather and her hair is pinned up to the sides of her head, leaving her bangs long to frame her face.

    She's walking along with an easy smile, two guards flanking her on each side... until the fight comes into view. Immediately, that smile vanishes, replaced by deep concern. She almost rushes in to get in between the pair, but her bodyguards have a grip on her shoulder before she can even try. So she falls back on her words.

    "Please, stop! Whatever's wrong, you two can sort it out!"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley finds Dragon and Defiant by following the others. When she does, she sees a fight which immediately sets off alarm bells in her head. She hovers up there, squinting at the battle in progress-- and realizes what Defiant is doing. Her mouth sets into an awful frown and even her feathers puff up. "This idiot," she mutters, "He should've asked us for help." And then her eyes flash, and widen, manifesting her Arcane Sight to try to focus on Dragon. But she knows what to look for: The code that is forcing Dragon to attack Defiant. If she's doing this, it means it's active, and she's willing to bet that Teacher never accounted for magic when he did his little kidnapping thing.

    Ainsley has to land somewhere, and while she scans Dragon, she calls out to the others to explain what's going on using a spell.

    "The changes Teacher put into Dragon has been set off. She's attacking Defiant to stop him from altering the code," she explains, "What you need to do is keep Dragon from killing Defiant or anyone else, without killing her. She isn't going to listen to your pleading, and Defiant isn't going to try to kill her."

    "I'm... I'm going to try to stop this from getting worse. Computer code is something I can work with. I just need time to analyze her."

    She has to try. Even if she's not sure it will even work.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Freddie is in town already, having been helping out rather quietly. She's continuing her one-woman crusade to help the ordinary folk understand and accept capes. That is to say, she's wearing her FireFox costume once again without the identity-concealing facemask. Not that anyone in this town, or in this world even, could identify her... but the lack of mask is a gesture. It's meant to say 'Look. Capes aren't hiding from you. Not all of us fear being people, or should be feared for what we do. We're here to help'. It's questionable whether her attempt is actually DOING anything, but then a pretty young blonde blue-eye woman helping out the town and also speaking (haltingly) their native tongue without translation should help the locals in accepting her at least.

    She may be joking slightly with her on-channel banter, saying someone's being an idiot, but she fears. Defiant is entirely likely to be doing something foolish... and it's true. If he isn't, he's in trouble. Either way, she's more worried than she lets on.

    She doesn't shout out as she approaches, instead first forming up with the other 'girls' who have come. "I hope you're just sparring." she says dubiously. "I would hate to hear you're doing something stupid and Dragon feels she has to stop you." Frederica says with a dangerous note in her voice.

Maya has posed:
Maya has pulled some strings with a few of the governments on her world to send aid to help this world where they could. It's mostly basic supplies prefab shelters and what food could be spared. Still it's funny when heads of state owe you personal favours what also just asking osme of the other Junkers for help. They are not here for the most part Maya's here to come see what she can do here she was not expecting somethig quite like this.

The Junker is sprinting along the ground at a high speed as it looks like things are now indeed going down hard...and maya takes a stron tone of voice.

"Enough of this!"

Hey she's got to try, right?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    After knowing Defiant for a while, Toph knows better than to ignore cryptic messages. So when Defiant didn't respond to her query, the blind earthbender set course for Dracheheim. Whatever place that is... 'home of dragons'? At least the name fits somewhat.

    This world should be okay now, so just what did Defiant mean? Up the hill she goes, and Toph arrives sliding on an earthen plate that sinks into the ground when she comes up to the top, crossing her arms slightly when she realizes Tesla is there as well. "What are /you/ doing here?" she asks, arching an eyebrow. But she's clearly not regarding her as a risk at the moment considering she's not currently posing a threat to her friends.

    Tomoyo and her guards are no threat either, though Toph sighs slightly. "Sometimes you just gotta fight it out, just like how Suzy and I did last year," she points out, reaching a hand up to pick her nose, using her other hand to wave at Zephyr.

    But indeed, Tomoyo has a good point. Just what is going on here? The blind girl narrows her eyes, then flicks a booger aside. "Since you're not responding to your radio, then you better talk now, Suzy." Though the question is extended to Dragon as well. Just what on cruddy Earth is going on? When Ainsley lands and clarifies stuff though, Toph's eyes widen. Oh crap. "You did /not/ just try something like that!" she says to Defiant. Why didn't he ask Tony for help? Or somebody who might help if only a little?

    She steps forward, not looking too comfortable. "Ugh, I hoped I never would have to do this...!" Fixing the code isn't something she can do, but with her bending she can possibly try something else. Toph widens her stance, keeping her centre of gravity low, and she extends her arms towards Dragon, her expression determined as she yanks her arms to the side, gritting her teeth as she does her best to restrain Dragon's movements. It's easier said than done though, with how strong Dragon is and the fact that she does not want to go overboard either and hurt her friend.

Defiant (554) has posed:
     They're not sparring, even if Dragon isn't in her armor. With Defiant in his full regalia, it shouldn't be so much of an even fight - but given that Dragon made everything he's using, it becomes clear why they're so evenly matched. The Pendragon comes to live and turns, lashing Defiant with its tail. The cape falls, tumbling, and Dragon's blade catches his leg. Cybernetics spark as she cuts deep.

     "I just want you to be free," Defiant breathes out.

     "Then go after Teacher," Dragon snaps, "Don't come after me! It would have to be better than this! I don't /want/ to do this, Colin - over and over it's the same thing, stupidity because of the system. Someone else acts and we face the consequences!"

     Defiant stumbles on his damaged leg, limping. Dragon continues towards him, the Pendragon at her side. Someone's going to need to intervene, because Defiant's done something stupid and Dragon is playing for keeps.

     Teacher had accounted for many things, but not for magic. After all, how could he? It's not something known to parahumans and many of their abilities don't work when it comes to Elites. Teacher's code infects everything - no wonder Defiant couldn't fix it - but it doesn't seem to touch her agent systems. Memories, thoughts, personality. She doesn't want to be doing this... however, every other part of her, is compelled to act.

     Toph stops her, though. After all, Dragon is only made of metal and a thin layer of fake skin. As Dragon's humanoid body stops, the Pendragon turns and advances on Toph instead! Defiant has to balance himself on his spear.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Tesla Armadia sighs, shaking her head a bit as things are made all the more clear. "Always the stubborn one, aren't you? Just had to go and do it your own way." She gives a glance aside to Ainsley. "My powers are not very effective on self-aware AI. If need I can offer advice, but the code you may have to mess with... the old fashioned way."

Toph stops Dragon, but the Dragoncraft moves in response to the threat to its master.

"That, on the other hand, is just the sort of problem I am well versed in." This is exactly why Tesla doesn't go without the certain aspects of her gear she always has present. Without losing that almost casual demeanor she turns, gauntlets lighting up as she clenches them into fists, raises them, and fires a double blast of gravikinetic energy at the Pendragon to knock it away from running Toph over. "Keep Dragon pinned down so others can work!", she advises the Earthbender, even if that part is pretty obvious.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica's not good at stopping people from acting, or restraining them. She's not entirely sure she SHOULD be stopping Dragon. She's reluctant to shift her belief, though Ainsley's explanation is enough to at least half-convince her.

    Still, she's not about to stand here while Dragon rips Defiant apart. She likes the guy, even if he's about as annoying a male as anyone she knows. Those who know Frederica particularly well might say he annoys her BECAUSE she likes him, or vice versa. It's easy enough for her to imagine his heart at least being in the right place here even if he's being an idiot.

    "Keep Dragon from hurting him." she says to Toph, probably unnecessarily. She meanwhile turns to help Tesla against the Pendragon. They have much the same idea, it seems, even if it doesn't quite look the same. When Frederica blasts out, it's with a bolt of flame that's tuned heavily towards the kinetic. It has some heat to it of course, but nothing that should do any real damage to metal. Most of the effect will be from the impact she directs into the machine, aiming to keep it back and, if possible, grounded.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr watches the exchange. The others have already tried talking, so instead, the Mage tucks, and drops like a stone, approaching the battle at supersonic speed, arrested only in the last couple hundred feet from the ground. "Toph, hold her for a couple more se<span class=" fg_m bg_n ++ onds."

    cm"><MISTRAL SQUALL. BIND MODE.></span> Divine Wind shifts to Mistral Form, spalls off the pair of Bits for Squall tier, which then flit over, and begin wrapping ribbons of purple energy around Dragon, trying to add to the binding to make things easier on Toph. Zephyr then pushes her right hand forward. "Struggle Cage!" <STRUGGLE CAGE.>

    More purple ribbons lash out from a spell circle that forms underneath Dragon, attempting to anchor to the ground.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley grimaces at what she finds. Like a full-body infection, or some sort of cancer, the code that is compelling her to do this is everywhere. But... Part of it gives her hope that she can do something about this. The lizard woman begins to weave her hands through the air, faint motes of light shining from her, the air distorting around them. Whispers may be heard in her general vicinity, and her mouth moves to some sort of silent spell. She's weaving something, using what she's finding within Teacher's code. Once she understands the code itself, once she understands the Truth behind it, she'll be able to stop this.

    "Trust me, there's nothing old-fashioned about what I'm about to do," comes Ainsley's reply from somewhere near Tesla's head, only momentarily slowing her weaving. She can project her voice. Not a difficult thing to do, for a communications wizard.

    As she finds the fragments of Name within Dragon that don't belong to 'her,' the pieces of language that are foreign, she speaks them and it comes with a static-like sound from her mouth and various dial-up tone noises warbling through the air. They get woven into the spell, too. She has to do this carefully... it's like surgery, if the patient were a dangerous mental patient that could kill you at any moment, and the scalpel was a largely unknown school of magic.

    Ainsley's trying very hard not to think about this. It's a good thing she's got plenty of confidence these days.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo just listens with dawning horror as Ainsley explains what is going on. "That's awful..." she murmurs, yanking herself free from her bodyguard's clutches. As she watches the Elites spring to work, Toph and Zeophy trying to hold Dragon down while Tesla and Frederica go to work on the Dragoncraft, she just stands there. She can't do much.

    But she can do this.

    With quiet resolve on her face, she walks right up to the entrapped AI, mindful of her weapons. Her bodyguards rush to secure her, but hold back when Tomoyo holds up her hand. So instead, they hover around the girl, within arm's reach to pull her away if needs be. "Dragon," she says, looking up at her.

    "I can't imagine how this must feel. Being forced to attack your friends, I mean. But, I know that there's more to you than code." Her purple eyes bore into Dragon's, filled with belief in her. "You can fight this, we all know you can. Show Teacher that you're more than just a computer system to rewrite!"

Maya has posed:
Maya is clear it's not a spar that much is sure and the aqrgument only serves to drive that point home. She's going to moe in to do what she can to back up. She hears Dragon is basically being puppeted and a scowl forms on her face that's when the magic ocmes into play she can't do much about the code not here that be more Grubb's bag but she can start backing up the otehr she'll end up casting a protective barrier on Defiant to help boost his defences as best she can.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Fortunately the bending seems to work on Dragon, though Toph doesn't seem like she enjoys having to do this. But they can't let Dragon kill Defiant either. But of course, the Pendragon is under Dragon's control. So when Toph feels the massive thing move, her expression goes blank with horrid realization.

    "Oh crud...!"

    There's no way she can focus her bending on the two at the same time, not without risking injuring Dragon, and Toph takes a step to the side. Yet Tesla surprises her, offering aid as she blasts the construct. "What does it look like I'm doing?!" Toph exclaims to Tesla and Frederica both, her tone perhaps a bit snappier than usual. "You guys tell me, because I'm supposedly the blind one here!" Though she steadies herself again, her tone a bit more serious. "I can't bend anything else while I'm keeping her from moving too much, it's too risky!" No, using her bending on an ally like this, it feels wrong. And the girl's feelings should be easily read on her face underneath the determination there. "Tomoyo, be careful!" she warns the other girl. She might be a powerful and skilled bender, but right now she doesn't feel too secure that Dragon won't try doing something desperate to get free.

Defiant (554) has posed:
     The Pendragon stumbles, the quadrapedal mech stumbling as Tesla's gravity blast sends it stumbling. It finds its footing, and then Frederica blasts it with some kinetic fire. They might be lucky here - the Pendragon was Defiant's craft, heavy, armored, packed with very sharp teeth but not much in the way of advanced technology. It whirls, aiming to try and catch Frederica and Tesla with its tail.

     Held by Toph, it's easy enough to get those magical ribbons around Dragon's limbs. She lashes against them, pulling hard. She's strong, and if she had her armor she could have taken to the air, but with this she can only thrash.

     Teacher had done a good job, he'd put as many people as he could get to bind Dragon again. To an outside perspective, the code is perfect. To Ainsley, it is obvious in how /wrong/ it is. It's not Richter's code, it's not Dragon's code, it's a working facsimile created by a megalomaniac.

     Dragon turns her eyes on Tomoyo. She's wearing a heavy coat, a scarf around her neck. She'd been making dinner before Defiant had forced the issue. "I can't," she tells Tomoyo. "/I/ don't want to do this. Maybe... we can talk? We can agree to a truce? Let me go, I won't touch anything, and neither will anyone else." She sounds earnest, looking to Toph, too, but Ainsley can see that she's still quite ready to fight. She's just trying to get herself free.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "Do not listen to the offer of truce," Ainsley speaks using her magic, again slowing her spell work to do this, "The code will make her attack you anyways." With that warning in place, she starts to approach Dragon, walking while she does this. Her movements are slow and her tail waves behind her. She kneels a certain distance away from Dragon's immobilized body to manifest a strange glowing circle of light that fills in many symbols that look like computer code and electrical schematics, all joining at the center where Dragon is.

    "Keep her still," she emphasizes, her voice resonating through the area with Purpose.

    Then she tries to lay her hands on Dragon, and she starts doing something drastic: She tries to burn away Teacher's code all at once, leaving only the parts that are still Dragon... the parts that would leave her intact as a person. The circle to protect her core, and the touch to remove the offending rewrite that's forcing her to attack the people interfering with it.

    The sound this would emit is deafening, and Ainsley's mouth bleeds and eyes go bloodshot just trying to maintain the spell with a minimum of interference from her own stress. Sounds would bleed into visual artifacts, distorting the air like a computer glitch around her. She's not properly prepared for this, and it's causing a lot of artifacts... she's going to be in a lot of pain later.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    "It LOOKS like you're doing a fine job!" Frederica claims, rather saltily sarcastic. "Just keep it up, we'll do our part!" she insists. She's certainly TRYING to do her part, keeping the Pendragon busy. She seems to be able to keep it away from Defiant, Toph, Ainsley and the others who are working on Dragon... but she's less able to keep it away from herself. Secondary priority, and all that.

    Frederica is strong on offense, but not nearly as strong on defense. Her costume's relatively lightweight armor can do nothing to protect her from blunt force. With a wail, she goes tumbling.

    It's not really a massive blow. In part, Frederica was quick enough to see the blow coming, to tense up and to begin to roll with the hit. That and her armour will save her from broken bones. Her armour's good for keeping the ground from adding to her wounds through incidental scratches and scrapes, mostly.

    Fortunately she can fight from the ground. Heck, she could fight bound head to toe. Good thing Dragon's not her, huh? Frederica growls, props herself up on hands and knees to be ready to move, then slams another kinetic firebolt at the Pendragon.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo looks to Toph and smiles (not that she can see it), then at Zephyr. "I'll be okay. I trust you both, and I trust Dragon too." And then her eyes move back to the bound woman. When she makes her offer to a truce, Tomoyo... giggles? Not a happy one of course, but still.

    "Oh Dragon... I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people. So let me ask you this: if you were just a machine, a slave to your code... how was I able to tell you were lying just now?" But now, Ainsley is doing her thing, and Tomoyo's concern expands to include her too. Especially when her mouth starts bleeding. Tomoyo immediately goes around to support Ainsley, should she end up slumping.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
As the tail swings at them Tesla does what might not be the most expected course of action -- she grabs it. She's still swept off the ground because she's not strong enough to stop it from moving, but she holds on and climbs her way up to towards the main body.

"This is not exactly the way I intended to one day get to break your toys, Defiant."

Not that it stops Tesla from taking hold and mentally digging into the machine with her technopathy -- It was controlled by Dragon but it wasn't a singular entity like she was, a proxy she could work better against -- and scan the vehicle for some sort of system she can get after to disable it long enough for the others to work on Dragon herself.

Maya has posed:
Maya is able to do what she can to protect Defiant but things are not looking as good she's howeve readying more magic as she looks to DRagonf or a moment.

She wonders what can they do for Dragon at this point. she's really unhappy about the one who did it.

"I seen machines make up their mind to do things they were not made for, I seen labour bots unionize and demand pay before they went back to work. So the question is can you go past it or are you going to need help in some fashion."

She eyes Tesla and is wary but right now she seems to want to /help/ of all things.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Dragon's words makes Toph swallow. "Sorry, Dragon... but I can't let you go. Not when the Pendragon is still attacking us. If I do, then you will attack Colin again, and you will regret that." The metalbender is not letting Dragon out of her grip, and she is even more determined when the others approach her. But when Ainsley starts burning Teacher's code and the loud noise is emitted? Startled, Toph lets out a pained yelp as it takes her by complete surprise for a short moment, and that second might be enough for Dragon to act. But Toph quickly regains her wits, though she looks like she's having more trouble concentrating now. "Who is making that horrible sound?!" she yells.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr clenches her right fist, struggling a bit to keep Dragon contained. "Gonna need a bit more power. Divine Wind, Gear Second." <GEAR SECOND. MISTRAL STORM, BIND MODE.> A third Bit adds to the bindings holding Dragon down.

    As Toph faulters, Zephyr grunts in strain. Marchian Bind spells aren't overly strong on their own. They're more of a support bind, aiding with other bindings.

    Struggle Cage is an exception, it suppresses energy sources, siphoning off energy to keep the target from escaping. It's not a deadly drain, more a blocking of flow to non-vital systems.

Defiant (554) has posed:
     The Pendragon falters, armor melting off in thick waves of slag as Frederica blasts it again. Tesla's technopathy finds a few systems there - there's a central terminal, the 'brain' of the craft, that Dragon's neatly pulled into her own network. It shouldn't be too hard to cut her off, or otherwise blow the terminal and disable the craft for good.

     To Tesla, Defiant says nothing in response.

     "Because I'm still a person," Dragon counters to Tomoyo, "And I'm a person who needs to fulfill an objective, to stop all of you. I'm glad that you knew I was lying - I don't want to hurt any of you any further." Her voice dies off into static as Zephyr's drain kicks into gear, and is overwhelmed by Ainsley's mechanical screaming.

     And then possibly actual screaming, as Dragon pushes all of her power into her right arm, and goes to bury her gladius squarely in Ainsley's midsection!

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr grits her teeth, shifting her stance as Dragon diverts power. "Damn it... AINSLEY!" She summons more purple ribbons, trying to divert, or stop the stab, but she's too slow, the ribbons too weak, and Ainsley's too close.

    Purple motes of light scatter, as some of the ribbons snap, overstressed in a position they were not meant to be used in. "Ka'srah..."

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    There's a meaty THUMP and a spatter of blood. Ainsley's body jerks from the impaling of the sword blade into her middle, but one of her hands had moved to, at the very least, prevent the blade from being a killing blow using a bit of magic trickery. After this attack, the interference just gets stronger, and she leans into Dragon. And she starts to speak to the controlled AI, in a gentle tone despite the agony of getting skewered.

    "I'm sorry," she says, "I can't stop until I know you're safe."

    She redoubles her efforts, and starts to pull herself back from Dragon, but the motion of her hands is a curling of her fingers, and she tries to make a full body pulling motion, as if pulling something out of Dragon. If it works the way she intends it to, a strange electrical fog would be trapped in Ainsley's hands, dragged slowly out. While she does this, she would cry out against her own wound. She's trying to excise Teacher's code!! While she's doing this, a faint crackling noise sounds, and she abruptly shuts her eyes, her Arcane Sight having burnt out again.

    "COME OOOOON!!"

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
Aha, there we are. Even such a finely crafted piece of work as Dragon makes cannot completely hide from her powers. But now what? Trying to mentally hack and shut down the system might not work if Dragon decides to devote part of her focus to stopping her, and as much as she would love to play that hacking chessgame with a capable opponent now was not the time. She could just smash it, but it might take too long to get inside and find the proper components...

Oh, wait, components, exactly what they need.

Tesla climbs up to where she finds an armor portion she can used a charge gauntlet to smash in and make a small opening to the interior. That's not nearly big enough for her to reach in, is it?... Or maybe she doesn't have to.

"Fortunately I rarely ever come alone, either. Saiga~"

The Shinki pokes her head out of the pocket of Tesla's labcoat at hearing her name called. "Yes, Master?"

"I need you to do some," Tesla gives a nod to the opening, and a sly grin. "Deconstructive surgery."

"Say no more!" Saiga climbs out of her pocket and clunks down to the Dragoncraft's hull, then scoots down into the opening Tesla made. Once inside, she summons her gear from her Slipway, the exo-suit armor manifesting on her back, over her legs, and then unfolding the two massive crusher-claw arms.

A tiny industrial terror that's exceptionally strong in comparison to her size with those mechanical extensions, Saiga starts just ripping into whatever system components she can get the crushers on, breaking whatever else gets in her way to find the system Tesla wants crippled.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica has no interest in destroying the Pendragon, but better it be destroyed than it prevent whatever's going on with Dragon. Gritting her teeth, she directs her focus and determination, drawing deep on her power... and then shaping that power. Fire. Hot, but not lethally so. Pure energy, the energy of motion. Heat is the energy of motion. Motion is what she desires. She's no telekinetic, not like her adoptive sister, but firing bolts of energy is well within her power.

    She holds that power back though, seeing Armadia climbing up there. The fire is in her eyes now. Not literally, but some aspect of the power does shine through on a psychic level, visible if one has the senses. "You'd better be able to disable that thing." Frederica warns the technopath. "Ether that or get clear of it. I really don't want to blast you too. This isn't the time." she states through clenched teeth.

    Frederica will, however, hold her power back. Control is her big thing, the reason she's strong, and not just a mindless force of destruction. She climbs to her feet, sighting at the downed dragonsuit, holding her shot on the edge of release. No need to fire, so to speak, so long as Tesla and Saiga are succeeding. If they appear to be losing control however, she'll pull the trigger. And of course, try to aim for a leg or something. The last thing she wants is this to devolve into a free-for-all, not while Ainsley and Dragon's state are in doubt.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo is yanked back by one of her guards as the blade is shoved through Ainsley! It almost hit her too! "AINSLEY!" she screams, eyes totally filled with horror. But... she's still going! And it almost looks like she's succeeding?

    "Get the first-aid kit from the car!" she yells at one of her bodyguards. The older woman nods and sprints off, while Tomoyo begins encouraging the lizard woman. "Just hold together a little longer Ainsley, help is on the way."

Maya has posed:
Maya had ideas but she senes something about Ainsley's magic and she fears disrupting it if she adds any support to it. She sees the woman's fcus to do what she can for Dragon and to be honest? She's in a far better sport to do it, yet she knows Ainsley also is at great risk given what Dragon is able to do. She gets an idea and soon Ainsley would find Maya's raising a card. It's glowing bright blue and then she's find she's being warded against physical harm. It will not stop attacks but it will certianl lessen the amount of injury that Ainsley would suffer.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Toph winces when she feels Dragon act upon her moment of weakness. Sometimes having a sharp sense of hearing can backfire, and the blind girl gasps in shock before she regains her wits, increasing her efforts to keep Dragon still. "Dragon, we're not letting you do this, and that's final! It's not what /you/ want to do!" she stubbornly states, her warms quivering slightly from the strain of holding Dragon still.

    Let's hope Ainsley will be okay. "Duchess, you better get ready to help heal up Ainsley too once you deal with the Pendragon!"

Defiant (554) has posed:
     "I'm sorry too, Ainsley," And while Dragon makes no move to remove that blade, her voice is as soft and kind as always. Ainsley's magic continues to work, seemingly drawing Teacher's corruption out of Dragon herself. The excision, of sorts, seems to be working - but the real question is whether Ainsley can hold on for just the few more seconds they all need.

     The Pendragon, once inside, has no automated defences. After all, usually Defiant would be inside. With Saiga tearing the large vehicle apart from the inside out, it isn't long before the mighty vessel collapses onto its side, smoking in places and unresponsive. That one dragon, of sorts, slain.

     The other? Well, that remains to be seen. Toph manages to prevent Dragon from acting on any other impulse.

     Defiant has collapsed, his helmeted head in his hands.

     By now, there's a mass of malignant electronic fog and symbols, snared lines of code that lash like chains and writhe like snakes. All she needs is just to hold on for a just a few more seconds...!

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "HRRRRAAAAA!!!"

    Ainsley can /feel/ it, drawing it all out. She screams out the last few sections of her spell, and her magic builds up to a glow that is incredibly bright. Colors distort around her and even her blood seems to crackle. A sacrifice has been made, Ainsley's lifeblood staining the circle and providing a bit more reinforcement. Not much, but enough to maintain it. The lizard woman bleeds a lot, having received a dangerous blow to her gut that will require medical attention... She's lucky she's still standing.

    Once she's got all of it out and it's only connected by the threads that connect it to Dragon's code, she releases it with one hand, turns and draws out the longsword she often carries with her with her other hand, after a bit of fumbling. Etched into the blade is a single word: MERCY

    Channeling her magic through the blade, she makes the final chop at the connection that she can simply sense is there by the feel of it in her grip, which will shatter the spell completely and finish it. One way or another, this will knock the wizard out completely... and the offending code will either dissolve into nothing, or snap into place back where it started.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
The Dragoncraft collapses to the ground, Tesla having to shift position to stay on top of it as it falls on its side. It takes a few moments after that before Saiga climbs out and trudges up to her, holding a piece of the machinery she ripped out in her exo-claws. "Master, I found something!"

Tesla doesn't even look away from the struggle still going on below though. "Put it back inside, Saiga."

This gets a perplexed look from the shinki. ".. Huh? But you like 'aquiring' other people's technology to study."

"If I am going to ever try and 'aquire' Dragon's technological constructs again, it will be in an actual orcestration of means against her as opporiate for my stature, not this... cleaning up other people's messes." Dragon can't even properly defend against her right now, and that is poor, unchallenging taste to the technopath.

"Oooooh." The confusion seems to clear up, Saiga tossing the component aside and climbing up to her usual perch on Tesla's shoulder. "This is one of those professional courtesy things, isn't it?"

"That is an acceptable way of expressing it, yes."

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica sees that Tesla and her minion have the Dragoncraft in hand, but she doesn't release her power until the craft is truly disabled. Running over to help Ainsley might be needed, might be very important, but... well, it'd do no good if the Pendragon recovered and lashed out. Besides, she doesn't know much about Ainsley's power. Rushing would be counterproductive, and probably unnecessary as long as she's still upright and moving freely.

    "I-i will." she says in answer to Toph. When she sees the Pendragon collapse into immobility, she finally releases her power. Not into nothingness, but out from her hand, swirling around her in a tight arc before it dissipates. She was too worked up to simply release that power internally... it would have escaped. Control had to come through a different route.

    That done, she hurries over to Ainsley. Frederica hesitates, not willing to take a chance her power might interfere with Ainsley's channeled magic. Psychic power and magic might not be entirely incompatible, but it's entirely possible her psychic link - required for her to guide the healing - might be a distraction at the wrong moment. She makes no move to heal until Ainsley actually collapses, clearly knocked out. At that point no delay could help, no haste could make things work. She puts a hand on the lizard-woman's arm and begins to gather her will. Gather the power of the healing flame, the warmth and energy of life itself, to channel to where it's needed.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    The bodyguard returns with the first-aid kit, but it looks like Frederica has it covered. But, they stand ready, just in case some more mundane medical care is provided. Tomoyo meanwhile, contents herself with squeezing Ainsley's hand. "That was so amazing Ainsley... you're going to be okay, I promise." She sounds... actually pretty certain about that. After all, Frederica is taking care of it!

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr doesn't release her binds until she's given the all clear. "Hey, Defiant, we could use some expertise over here." she calls, eyes locked on Dragon. "Toph, how're ya holdin' up?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Even as Ainsley falls, spent and injured, Toph isn't letting up her control just yet. Not until they can be sure Ainsley's magic worked like it should! It's a good thing they had somebody who could heal here, even if Frederica isn't the most powerful healer in the Union she can still heal, which helps. Though she has to agree with Zephyr. "Colin, get up!" As for how she's holding up herself, she only nods. "I'm fine, don't worry about me!"

    This is tiresome, but she will keep control over Dragon until they can be sure that she won't be doing anything she shouldn't be doing.

Maya has posed:
Maya has done all she could for Ainsley anda dn she steps forward with anotehr card in hand she's got to make ready to heal things are quite a mess but there's also Frederica is on hand too they should be able to handle it. Frederica has Ainsley handled and she'll go to see who else might need healing like Defiant for example.

Defiant (554) has posed:
     Ainsley's merciful blow slashes out on a conceptual level, the connection severing like dust in the wind. As that happens, Defiant pushes himself to his feet, maybe bolstered by Zephyr and Toph. He's limping on that damaged leg, using his spear like a walking stick. He doesn't seem to need healing per se - all the parts that got damaged were metal.

     The gladius drops from Dragon's fingers. Defiant reaches up and removes his helmet, dropping it to the ground. His beard has grown into a dishevelled mess of two weeks and his scalp, usually shaven, has a similar level of growth. His eye - the remaining organic one - is rimmed with red. He raises one hand, for Toph to let Dragon go, although he keeps his spear ready.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr watches Defiant, then releases her spell weaving. The ribbons dissolve and the Struggle Cage fades away. Zephyr then falls to one knee, panting for breath. That took a /lot/ of energy.

    She also holds her right shoulder, wincing as it twinges from her exertion.

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
"And now we see if it all paid off," Tesla observes. "... I wish I had some popcorn."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's only when Defiant raises his hand that Toph nods, swallowing as she lowers her own arms slightly, though she stands ready to use her bending again should it be necessary. So she remains alert, sensing every little movement Dragon is going to make. To think that Dragon actually hurt Colin... that's not something she thought she would ever experience. Is that still Dragon there? Was Ainsley successful, or did they fail...?

    Now they can only wait.

Maya has posed:
Maya looks ready to do whart she can to help Defiant she'll brifly cast a healing spell. IT won't have him doing hand sprins but it will help and hopefully speed up the rest of his natural healing. She can only wait now and watch.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    As Ainsley slips into unconsciousness, she dimly hears what's happening around her. She holds hope, but hope can't keep her awake. And so she lays there, limp, to be healed and tended to by her friends and allies, unable to see the results of her efforts until later.

    The magic circle finally disappears, fading inward until it leaves a few motes of light that look like binary code, and finally disappears as if it were never there. The only sign that magic was performed now is the physical changes caused by it; Dragon's behavior, and Ainsley's current state.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica's touch is light on Ainsley, both physically and mentally. In the lizard-girl's state she likely won't feel a thing, even when Frederica has to treat the dangerous bleeding that might not close on its own. Gaping wounds are already pretty painful, and the application of surgical precision flame doesn't add much if anything. Frederica's psychic link means she feels what Ainsley feels, senses the injuries as if they were on her own body, so she knows exactly where to apply the power to do the least harm and the most good.

    Of course it hurts Frederica, but that's nothing. Pain is just a mind game. The body's way of saying 'hey stop that you idiot'. Pain without actual damage, like Frederica's used to dealing with, is something that can be ignored and overridden.

    After a bit, the flow of power changes. With the worst of the bleeding stopped, Frederica instead channels energy into Ainsley's cells around the wounds. Giving them the power they'll need to multiply again and again, boosting the natural healing process. The actual healing will come from Ainsley's own body and is entirely natural... Frederica only provides the energy to accelerate the process.

    When she's done, she looks up. She takes in Defiant's appearance, then everyone else's waiting expressions. She sighs... having done this a lot just recently. Idiot man. "I hope this was all worth it." she says, putting voice to something they're all probably feeling. "Seriously, couldn't you have waited for help?" she complains, though it's more a grumble of dissatisfaction than a pointed accusation.

Defiant (554) has posed:
     By now, a fair few townspeople have gathered to watch. There's the strange collection of inviduals to gawk at - one's a lizard person, the other looks like an armordillo - and that giant mechanical dragon lies on its side, smoking and wrecked. They might not know much about what's going on, but the atmosphere is one of apprehension.

     "No," Defiant - Colin - tells Frederica, "Because this is all I was ever good for, in the end. Whether it would work or not, it doesn't matter, because I was hoping I'd fail."

     "You don't need to talk about me like I'm dead, Colin," Dragon says, at last. She shakes off the last vestiges of Toph's control and of Zephyr's binding ribbons. She takes a quick step forwards, and wraps Defiant's armored bulk up in her arms. She murmurs three simple words into his ear, and then sets to work. In the end, as Dragon sets to work seeing to Ainsley and making sure that everyone else is okay, one thing is clear.

     She's free.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Divine Wind chimes resonantly. <MISSION COMPLETE. STANDING DOWN.> she states, as a pair of vents pop open and vent spent coolant in gouting clouds of mana infused steam. The Bits fuse back into the Device, as it transforms to Windshear form, then finally back to Standby, appearing on Zephyr's bracer.

    "Glad t'have ya back, Dragon." says Zephyr, as she stands up, Barrier Jacket fading out in favour of her uniform underneath. She's holding her right arm a bit suspiciously, but otherwise doesn't seem any worse off than the others. THankfully she wasn't taking direct fire from a godbeing this time.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Well. This was a fine mess.

    Tomoyo looks around a little sheepishly at the aftermath. Defiant and Ainsley are down, the Dragoncraft is all busted up... "Oh dear..." is the best she can manage. With a sigh, she looks to her bodyguards. "Could you... please get what we came here for?" They nod their heads, and go back to the car, soon coming back. Each one is pulling a huge trunk on wheels, setting them down near the group.

    Tomoyo starts talking, more to herself than anyone else. "When I heard they might be retiring, I wanted to make them something. I doubt they have much of a wardrobe, so I..." She gestures at the trunks. "Two for Defiant, two for Dragon." She goes to open one, revealing a heavily compartmentalized inside, stacked with neatly packed, brand new clothes, stretching the gamut between casual and formal.


"I hope they like them," is all she says, before her bodyguards begin ushering her away, she looks over her shoulder at everyone and offers a sad smile. before getting into the car and being driven off.

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica smiles, kind of sappily, when Dragon hugs Colin. She also turns away, giving the two at least a semblance of privacy, at least from her. Either that or she's bad with PDAs.

    She gives them a good opportunity to do... well, to do whatever. She only speaks once they've separated. "Idiot." she says, shaking her head. "Dragon, I hope you can keep him from doing anything else completely brainless." she states testily. "I mean, you're some kind of supergenius artificial brain and all that, but it's a REALLY big job. Huge. I'm not sure even you can do it. But if anyone can, I guess it'd be you..."

Tesla Armadia (368) has posed:
"I think keeping him from doing anything brainless is a lost cause," Tesla snarks as one would expect a villain to snark as she gets up. "But at least he's got someone to bail his butt out of the trouble he gets into."

She slides down from atop the dragoncraft, and simply turns to walk away. She knows better than to stick around too long amongst a bunch of heroes when she's not specifically needed anymore. Especially when most of the 'greater of two evils' they tolerated her for have been dealt with.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Oh, will you let it go already?" Toph huffs. "Sometimes all you're good for is whining! Have some backbone already!" And there is Dragon, sweeping up Colin for a hug. Well, it might be better than having some literal sense knocked into his thick skull... Though Toph does let out a slight snort as Dragon whispers to Defiant, closing her eyes. "You'd better pick up some hobbies if you're really retiring. And I'm talking about something else than messing up."

    Turning on her heel, the earthbender turns to Ainsley. "Let's get her to medical." Toph stomps into the ground, and the earth underneath Ainsley shifts into a plate that Toph begins bending towards the warp gate. "Come on guys!"

Maya has posed:
Maya has been pushing her self fairly hard over the last few weeks she's going to ahve to go but she looks to Defiant for a long moment.

"You sell your self short in the end, Defiant. Still you have earned some rest as has Dragon."

She looks to them for a moment she's going to be getting going there's other people in need of help or she may other business she also has to tend to.