535/Fortress of the Ancient Gods

Fortress of the Ancient Gods
Date of Scene:	03 September 2014
Location:	Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
Synopsis:	A suicidally brave team of Elites tackle the hallowed grounds of Sen's Fortress, only to find Oscar and his companions have gotten there first.
Cast of Characters:	Staren, Priscilla, 168, 183, 253, 283, 385, 395, Wuyin Tsai, 522, 560
Tinyplot:	Dark Souls TP

---

Priscilla has posed:
(cheesy reused poses)

    As miserable as the weather over the city is, it at least never seems to rain despite the distant rumbles of thunder, and the further one gets away from it, the brighter it gets. From Firelink Shrine, it's a short way through the series of inexplicable ancient elevator contraptions, from the Parish, and through the forest of massive pine trees that surrounds it, diverging onto a lone, paved walkway that goes deep through the woods. The foliage is dense enough that it obscures the destination until one is almost right on top of it; the trees suddenly giving way to a massive keep that just about appears out of nowhere. There is no actual castle around it, and no walls to keep outsiders away, leaving only a huge, stubbornly square building dominating its place in the forest. Though everything from its pillars to its towers are plain and utilitarian in appearance, all cut from reddish brown stone, it projects a rather grandiose air, and the massive iron portcullis in its front seems to have been drawn open. No birds rest among its crenellations, and the only other structure is a little brick rest house by the wayside, probably meant to be used by those who had travelled to the fortress in hopes of besting it before entering. The same signs that Nathan and Chris had encountered last time are still there, save for several more agreeing with the oh so helpful "beware of death" line. Presumably, more pilgrims have tried their luck and failed in the interim. The pair of crystallized snake men - literally like half of a giant snake was glued to a scaly man's shoulders- are still there, slouched against the pillars like a pair of burly bouncers.

    Unfortunately, the warnings just don't do it justice. The second anyone step through the interior front doors, the cramped room immediately opens up into a spacious, lengthy hall into which filters weak sunlight from somewhere outside. Nothing but a preposterously narrow stone bridge straight down the center crosses the length of the room, suspended several floors over a level immersed in dark water or perhaps just oil. Gigantic swinging axes whoosh back and forth over every few steps of the path, which doesn't seem to perturb a several more snake men standing right in the middle of it, too wide for there to be any way around them. More of them can be seen moving back and forth atop a lattice of crisscrossing walkways far above, along with obvious signs of pots, rocks, torches and small siege weapons poised to be used against people below. Even further above, a massive series of gears and crankshafts can be seen turning and rattling in time with the distant sound of thunderous rumbling and earth-quaking impacts. The air smells faintly of ozone, as if someone had just taken down a power line, and the sounds of hissing and screeching can be heard echoing from several storeys up, which don't at all sound mechanical. Huge, lumbering shapes can be glimpsed dragging themselves around in the muck far below, from which elevators of some kind routinely rise to who knows where. Within moments, someone very unfortunate it sent flying from one of the balconies far above and comes blurring past with something impaled through his torso, making a very crunchy *splat* sound as he lands below.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The *splat* of a body (probably of the dead variety) impacting further down makes Yuna cringe, closing her eyes briefly. She does *NOT* want to do this.

Well, more specifically, it's the 'dying messily and horribly' part she'd like to skip out on. Particularly if it's going to happen repeatedly ... which seems very, VERY likely. "We figured that this is as much a test of determination as of skill or reflexes, right?" she asks her companions, trying to make a joke of it.

The humor is probably not as evident as it's intended to be ... but for now, Yuna - still in her basic Light Suit, and outlined by the golden glow of her summoned-Phantom state, murmurs a word - "Shugoseiheki," specifically - and materializes her shield. She glances around at the others. "So ... who starts across the bridge first? Or ..." She trails off, eyeing the snake men.

Protip: Yuna is not particularly hardcore.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Here we are once more. Gaius Van Baelsar stated he would assist in this matter of this place, given the possible troubles that could come from here and he was not a man to stand down from his word. Though this dungeon concerned him a bit. There was many layers too it and he was unsure what those gears were connected too. He understand such things, given the Garlean Empire not only has factories and machines for building there own steel, but they also create machines. The only difference is--what powers them.

The giant swinging axes, the possible water below, and not sure if magic would work in such a place. Really such information would be good to know really, given his magitek would allow him to create a few magical forces. Including that his own wrist blast used a form of ceruleum plasma bolts (Think Star Wars blaster bolts but in blue and more flame like), he had a few explosive rounds on for his gunblade, and the abilities his own armor granted him. Such as slightly more human strength then the average man and greater speed; Not to forget jumping power and a few other things.

All of these things could come in handy in such a place, but surrounded by those whom would be his enemy outside of this place. He was unsure how much he desired to give away, that had not already been formulated about him.

When Yuna asks her question, the Imperial Legatus looks over to her, "There are two enemies waiting for us in the middle and several above. It may be better to remove them first before crossing further."

He then looks back across the bridge, "..or-and finding the means to stop the axes."

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Of the summonings, one brilliant golden phantom pulls herself into existence. Bright like the sun and glowing with a golden light, Kuklos ka Amalthea Schmendrick-Fortuna is called from lands far and distant to Lordran once again. Clad in the surcoat and plate of the Astora knight, the unicorn rolls one shoulder, venting a small gust of steam as she steps forth into the wide entry hall.
    Loppy ears flit at the sounds and scents of horror within, and without question, she paladin draws her blade, shield lashing tighter to her arm.
    "Beware of death, huh. Well that's helpful."

Staren has posed:
    Staren arrives as a gold phantom, not in the red armor he's been wearing lately but in the white-and-green armor last seen in his WMAT match with Alicia Testarossa. It looks similar in style to Reploid armor, but a bit bulkier since it's worn rather than built in. Curved plating, consisting of white helmet, breastplate, gauntlets, codpiece, and tall boots, combined with slightly thinner, sea-green armor on the upper arms, upper legs, and belly to allow mobility. Five small discs on the front of the chestplate serve as forcefield emitters, and a noticeable but not quite bulky enough to interfere with movement 'backpack' unit holds the armor's power source and has clips that hold some kind of scoped rifle. A pistol and a slim cylindrical device are holstered in clips on the side of the armor. The helmet has a transparent, pale blue visor. Pointed protrusions in the helmet allow room for his ears, and his tail is covered in armored segments. Minimissile launchers take the form of rectangular, flat blocky bulges behind the back of the shoulders on each side of the backpack, and the dual particle beam cannons appear as a pair of cylindrical bulges on the sides of the right forearm near the wrist. Last but not least, of course, hanging at Staren's side is his trusty messenger bag of holding -- for combat, it's inside an armored cover and secured to his side by clips on the armor.

    The white parts of the armor look especially golden thanks to the phantom coloring. Staren walks sometimes, but flies most of the way, stopping for a few moments to take in the exterior of the fortress and ask those who've been here before what's up with the snake dudes. And then... it's time to go inside.

    "Woah! Is it bigger on the inside?" Staren notes the narrow bridge with the axes and monsters. "Seriously?" He looks up at the walkways full of traps to fall on those passing below. "What is this, a videogame level? Reminds me of the food level boss dungeon from SAO... Ah!" He jumps back in surprise when a body falls past.

    Staren lifts his laser rifle, sighting the snake dudes through the scope. He glances back at the others. "So, do we need to fight those snake guys? Want me to try just... /blasting/ the traps from here? I'm pretty sure that just smashing everything is a tried and true adventurer tradition, at least when it isn't stuff that you're planning to loot and sell later."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber has been resummoned and is once more on the scene as a mighty Blue Spirit. Fading into existence. He dusts phantom dust off of his phantom longcoat and then looks around for the nearest Nathan Hall whom he will be adamantly protecting, "I'm only gonna stick around until right before the end of this thing, then I'mma hurl myself off a cliff so I don't disqualify myself for the other trials because I really wanna participate in those."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    And then someone goes flying, soon finding themselves on the wrong end of a sharp object. Now is that her authorial sense mocking her or is she experiencing deja vu? She's fairly certain someone died that way the last time they poked their heads in here. She makes a shrugging gesture. Meh. She will have to leave her own cryptic notice somewhere along the line. In fact, she's just so inspired that she decides to share her own idea in response to Amalthea: "Beware of fall. Or perhaps the ever helpful 'beware of sharp objects'." She looks back at her. "Those will be my contributions to the celestial word wall."

    Stepping up to Staren, she sees fit to add in a bit more snark. "It may not be a /video game/, per se," She rolls a hand, "but Gods do tend to have rather esoteric senses of humor. So this could still be a game to -someone-." And she would totally know. Author, and all that. For now, she draws out her wings and her sword, resting both hands over the pommel. And she watches, not at all keen to go rushing to her death until she's had a chance to see how these traps work. Though she does try trapping one of the swinging axes in a stasis field, as before, just to see whether or not the demonite is resistant to magical cheating.

    The Gods' macabre circus. Mizuki nods to herself. This will be an interesting night.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Wuyin is here once more. He is not a phantom. Death is a problem for other people to compensate for.

Rather than his quasi-adventuring gear he was in last time, Wuyin is this time wearing his typical hoodie, tee-shirt and jeans to the inevitably-deadly party. His straight sword, nothing particularly special, remains where it always is, but his elemental focus isn't covered in /sewage/ this time, so he's sticking with that.

He looks up at the gauntlet, watching it for a few seconds. Back and forth. Back and forth. His eyes track the axes and the snake men, for a span of maybe ten seconds, getting a feel for their speed and a vague pattern of movement. Then, he draws his sword, takes a breath --

"Right." Wuyin sprints right for the bridge without another word otherwise. He ducks between axes and gathers lightning in his free hand, using his sword as an instrument to balance himself and his crackling Anima-fueled electrical power to blast the snakes if they so much as inch towards him threateningly.

It's going to be really unfortunate if the bridge is /slick/, too. He didn't really look for what sort of thing.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    Chris Rothschild, hacker-magus extraordinaire, is here.

    Chris Rothschild, hacker-magus extraordinaire, kind of wishes he wasn't, and a corner of his mind is reeling with the irony.

    In a video game he would love a trap gauntlet like this. In a video game he would relish the challenge of pushing through and memorizing and nailing down the timing and situational awareness needed.

    This is not a video game. It is deadly serious. They only get one try, phantom-ness notwithstanding. He has no desire to see what dying is like, even if he can survive it. "...I say it's someone strong," the hacker declares simply in reply to Yuna. In other words, 'not me'.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    There's a newcomer to the gang. Emiya SHirou's here, as a Gold Phantom. Being summoned is a pretty nifty experience, but he's not here for fun at all. once the initial marvel's over, he sets towards business: helping the others storm this fortress, gaining experience with Multiversal crises and meeting others, and oh yeah, last but definitely NOT least, maybe putting this world one step closer to salvation if the tales are to be believed.

    Over his normal clothes he's adorned himself with a basic military-esque form-fitting fiber-weave vest. The encumbrance factor is low but its resilience is quite high, which is just fine for Shirou because...

    "Trace, on." The boy mutters his favored self-hypnosis words, activating his Magic Circuits and weaving prana through the vest in a hurry. It's not the absolute *BEST* Reinforcement job, but the garment will surely protect his vitals, right?

    Or maybe not, considering the size of the swords these serpents wield...

    He flinches alongside Yuna though. "Was that another contender or a zombie?!" He doesn't know, and it's pretty disturbing.

    The Magus brings his hands down to grip the air, and--

    *CRACKLEWHOOSH!*

    Golden lightning flares up from those hands, focusing into the streamlined wireframe of a large, overly-thick curved sword with a katana-like aesthetic. In a few moments the image fills in with texture and proper substance, becoming a proper sword. Auron's sword, to be exact.

    "Doesn't this situation call for a ranged weapon? Those soldiers are ready for us." Then why, oh why, did you just produce a sword, Shirou? It's not ranged at all!

    He finds himself eventually staring over at Gaius... and the Imperial Legatus' Gunblade.

    At the same time, he does take a few moments to examine the layout, the architecture... "Like a gauntlet straight from an action movie."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan Hall is, of course, pale white. And also a white phantom, heyo! Nathan, of course, makes sure to rate up the Beware of Death sign, as is appropos for a White Phantom that gets the chance to see it. It's with a contemplative, cautious sort of pace that he approaches the pendulum chamber, giving a wary berth to those frozen snakemen, putting a hand to his chin.

    A man flies down to the abyss below and Nathan reacts a full two seconds later with a soft of repulsion, stumbling away. He shakes his head now, then looks up. A quick sniff at the air and he makes a worried noise. "It is not just the obvious threats we have to worry about." He says. "Be wary of magically or electrically conductive surfaces, potential chemical hazards, and other similar suchlike. We are likely to see many such hazards aside from the... guards."

    There's a quick aside to Yuna as Nathan begins linking up with Psyber, his designated bodyguard. "That guy, apparently." He points to Wuyin. Staren gets a shake of Nathan's head. "Destroying a challenge does not mean meeting it appropriately. Remember, the reward in this is not an artifact, it is worthiness. We do not know what standard we are being judged on."

    A quick nod to Shirou, and a gesture to Gaius and Staren. "We have some more range-focused capability. I would assume they will take their chances where they can. There is no reason I can perceive not to." He now watches the current runner, and Mizuki's own time-stopping efforts, keenly observing to try to see if he should cross too now. He'd like to, honestly, and he will, if it seems appropriate.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Oi! Don't just go running in!" Shirou blurts after Wuyin, and... without really thinking, goes and does the exact same thing.

    The guy might need help, after all!

Priscilla has posed:
    Fortunately, all magic seems to work perfectly fine within the fortress. There would be no point in preventing mighty wizards and resourceful adventurers from succeeding, now would there? No, whoever designed it presumably feels secure enough in their construction that they don't fear applicants using magic within its halls, and the fact that the fortress is still in one piece after presumably thousands of aspirants had no doubt tried their best to circumvent the way forward by smashing through walls and ceilings is probably a good indication of why. It also seems that Mizuki's hunch is halfway correct. The pendulum axe slows significantly as it is caught in the field, but does not stop completely. More than enough breathing room to walk across, but perhaps not enough for a fight. It also makes the first one extremely easy to get through for Wuyin sprinting at full speed. Blasting lightning at the serpent soldiers on the bridge is also a more than ample way to keep them distracted, however they seem to have no trouble positioning their shields such that the bolts smack straight into them, repelling the electricity in all different directions while dealing very little damage to the wielders themselves. He's just about to reach the first one, when a flurry of little black pots come flying down from the bridge above; shattering around his feet and exploding into a fireball like someone had just set off a pound of TNT. The smoke cloud is subsequently riddled with arrows from the archways in the walls to either side, just in case he isn't dead yet.

    ". . . and here I wondered how many warriors couldst try and fail. This appears not to be a task for a single person. It is no small wonder applicants art allowed to bring companions." Is all Priscilla has to comment on the situation. Of course she's not running ahead. Even invisible, there's no room to slip around the snake men on the bridge and the axes will still hit her if she stops.

Staren has posed:
    "Hey, what are you--" Staren starts, when Wuyin runs into the gauntlet. Staren sights the Snakemen again, and shoots at them while they're focused on Wuyin. "I was under the impression the standard we're being judged on is 'get to the end'. Maybe they're looking for people who think outside the box they've been presented with. And maybe the traps regenerate after destruction... it's at least worth trying."

    Staren looks slightly alarmed when explosions rain down. "Wuyin! ...Is he okay?"

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    Chris is too busy staring at Shirou to catch Wuyin's running in, at least until Shirou calls attention to it - and then promptly does the same.

    "Whoa- wait a sec-!" It's a surprising moment of Chris being something other than 'quiet and kind of introverted'; the other guy suddenly running in after the first is more than a little alarming.

    And maybe, just maybe, he wants to know what the hell Shirou just did with a sword. Possibly.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius watches as it seems Wuyin gets himself in one hell of a problem. "Fool." Is all the Imperial Legatus has to remark on this. He then watches another go after him. He pulls his Gunblade. He takes notice of where the arrows fired at.

There was a flicker on the near void lens beyond the blue glow of where his eyes are thanks to being a blue phantom, but the Imperial Legatus was attempting to zoom in on the spots. He couldn't see an archers, but mechanic-- which means disabling them would be problematic. He does the next best thing. He takes aim with his Gunblade and starts to fire at the two serpents in there way and in the zone of the trap itself.

The gunblade has a near sniper precision and is in the hands of the master himself. They fire off several times as he tries to give some semblance of cover fire. He is also slowly walking forward, though does not go past the first axe. No he keeps his distance and his gauntlet is ready with a faint blue glow around it.

He will activate his barrier if he needs too, but that takes up power-- and he only has so much on him.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    When it comes to the bridge and traversing the horrible bladed pendulums swinging, there is one thing that gives Amalthea an advantage.
    She has a jetpack.
    Though in passing one hand pats Chris on the shoulder, with Wuyin rushing ahead, there's not exactly all the time in the world to wait up. A quick jump and while staying close with the group she hops ONTO a pendulum, taking ahold with one hand and shoves her sword away to draw the streamlined black figure of her KRISS Vector submachinegun. She's taking aim for those serpentine men, the flickering glimmer of the smg's laser sight dancing over a shield before she aims higher to try and catch a neck and head, squeezing the trigger several times for a flurry of several two round bursts as the pendulum blade swings with her on it, trying to cover the sudden impromptu advance.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Hhggghaghk!" Shirou wasn't expecting all of the hidden traps. Still, SOMETHING catches his attention on time. He stops JUST quickly enough to avoid being fully caught in the conflagration aimed on Wuyin. Instead the fringes of it scorch him and knock him back. Stumbling on this bridge is NOT smart at all, and oh look, an extra arrow comes soaring down at him.

    While somewhat off-balance, he still does something pretty crazily out there, swinging the mighty Katana about just fast enough to place it in the arrow's way. The arrow shatters! ... But Shirou's off-balanced even more, and lands face-down on the bridge.

    Thankfully he's quick to struggle back to his feet and retreat back towards the group! "Hidden traps and ambushes! These architects aren't leaving anything to chance!" Wil Wuyin pull out of that?!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber has an idea for this fortress. Instead of going through the fortress and avoiding the traps, he's going to brute force a solution. Not in the usual way of 'break through walls', since that could bring the fortress down and also this place seems pretty well constructed. Instead he plans to mess with the traps instead of the structure. It's not elegant and it certainly isn't going to work for EVERY trap. But as Mizuki slows one of the pendulum blades to a much lower speed, he walks up and coils back his leg for a heavy fireman's kick right to the flat of the blade as it passes.

    If it works on a pendulum, there's the chance he can hit it hard enough to screw with its arc and jam the blade on a bad swing.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Wait, there are things that throw BOMBS here?!?

Yuna lets out a high-pitched yelp at the sudden explosions on the bridge, and would jump backwards from them if there *was* a 'backwards' to jump towards ... well, without risking bowling one of her allies off the end of the bridge, or what have you. She catches her breath again, and wills her pistol to appear before she hunkers down behind her kite shield, looking across the parapets above - where did the bombs get thrown from?

... hmmmm. She addresses her allies on the radio with her idea, and keeps her eyes peeled for where the bombs might be getting tossed from. If the bomb-tossers are too well hidden, maybe their exploding pots can be dealt with before they hit the bridge. It's going to take some awfully good shooting, though.

(As for the arrows ... she's got nothing.)

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    You know, she's starting to think that Priscilla has the right idea with this whole invisibility thing, and she's probably going to head into the next room invisible herself. For now, though, she might as well be non-existent; the others are doing a fine job of attracting attention. She is, however, quite surprised when she sees Psyber vaulting for the blade. Her eyes go wide. "Crude, but..." She finishes the thought in her mind: 'If it works, we shall have to replicate it if more such traps are present beyond'. Next, she bets he's going to recover the busted pieces the maneuver yields and wield them as a scythe.

    Oh, no, hold that thought. He has no need for a scythe; he's probably still itching to do a suplex.

    Meh. For now, she simply watches the efforts of the others from afar, while perhaps moving along calmly behind Nathan and trying to remain inconspicuous. She -could- fly up and start killing things, but she's not really in the mood.

    A metaphorical voice from the relative future returns, 'Well, get in the mood, then.'

Priscilla has posed:
    Whatever those tiny shields are made of, they sure can take a hell of a beating if deflecting high powered bullets and lasers is within their ability; possibly due to the strange sigil inscribed on the face of each one. While certainly looking very strong and are no no doubt able to deal with arrows, the snakemen can't move faster than a bullet or the speed of light, and so the first couple of them stagger back under the barrage from Staren and Gaius, blood spurting from between their scales, until one after the other they slip and fall from the bridge, disappearing into the murk below. This clears the walkway of obstructing enemies, even if not the other threats, meaning a quick dash across it /should/ be possible. Unfortunately, it is just as Andre said. The mechanical parts themselves, having been fashioned by the fortress' titular divine architect, are heavily reinforced with titanite, meaning that even someone with such ridiculous physical strength as Psyber is only able to leave a nasty dent in the side. This is likely the reason they haven't already been blasted to pieces by magic slinging applicants before.

    Yuna is able to sight the serpents peering down from above, if only just barely due to the height difference between them. Their bridge has railings however, so knocking them off is likely out of the question. Sustained fire would probably do the trick in wounding or at least distracting them, or else possibly blinding them if she can shoot that straight.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "There is also the matter of the fact that this place is, if I recall correctly, run and possibly maintained by giants, who I would rather not contend with." Nathan says, back to Staren, with his usual monotone.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    In response to Mizuki and then his plan doesn't work as well as he'd hoped, Psyber shrugs. The titanite reinforcements hold against his heavy kick and he lets out a slight scowl, "Ah well, can't win em all."

    Unfortunately, Mizuki has now set herself up to be the victim of Psyber's harassment for the night, since Nathan needs to focus on working out a plan. The half-angel idly drifts over to Mizuki, "Intrepid author. How h ave you been?" Be inquires before planting his hands on her back and hoisting her up and onto his shoulders without much warning.

Staren has posed:
    "Yes!" Staren sees the snakemen go down. "But they have to have been defeated before... I wonder where new ones come from?"

    Nathan gets a bit of a shrug.

    And then, Staren's wings appear and he runs-and-flies off, following the trail blazed by Amalthea. Once he lands on a clear stretch of pathway, he stops to look up at the walkways above. Okay, so Psyber showed that destroying the traps is a no-go... but what about attempting to detonate the exploding pots prematurely? Staren looks over the distant walkways above for pots that haven't fallen yet over the path ahead, and tries to shoot some before Wuyin and Shiro get to them.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "There are times at which the most effective solution is the most simple." Nathan says, simply, taking a position over near Psyber that makes it look like he's gonna try a run shortly. "Mizuki. Is there any chance you can invert your stasis effects for those crossing the hall traditionally, in order to more comprehensively address the full extent? For Priscilla, especially; if the rest of us die, we can simply be re-summoned if she can make it through."

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Wuyin runs straight in like a Goddamn moron. On the one hand, this is a /terrible idea/. On the other hand, it got everyone else moving like bats outta Hell, so... win/win?

The shields come up, and Wuyin stops chucking lightning. He dives between two more pendulums, narrowly avoiding death by swinging blade trap and drawing himself up short just before another takes off his over-extended face. He raises his sword, rising to a stand, bitter cold whirling around his other hand --

-- and then he gets pelted with Greek fire with an extra helping of deadly arrows.

When the smoke clears, he's a crumpled heap, pinned to the ground by a dozen arrows. His sword is still in his hand, the blade driven into the narrow bridge. He is most definitely a charred pincushion, a corpse that is in no shape to go anywhere or be anything.

MEANWHILE
ON THE OTHER SIDE

Wuyin blinks a few times at the black-and-grey landscape around him. Everything is monochrome. He doesn't see anyone, or anything, except for the locus of power that a particularly potent summoner represents. He looks at Priscilla for a moment, considering. Would his reconstruction here strain the bonds?

"Probably," he says with a sigh. His voice is muffled in this weird spirit world, as if it had nowhere to go. Wuyin knows that it has to take immense amounts of power to reconstruct a body like his, even with the aid of a force such as the Buzzing. He turns, and starts running, rushing back towards the scene of his untimely demise.

It'll take him a minute.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    With the bomb-flinging lizards on the higher parapet brought to her attention, Amalthea is off the pendulum. A sudden roaring combat-jump of her flight pack launching her clean upwards before she lands, boots setting on the railing, gun in one hand shield in the other.
    "Hi boys." She greets, sighting the smg in her hand and aiming to just unload the rest of the magazine at shields and armor. When it runs dry she just HUCKS her gun and flings it at the nearest one as hard and violently as she can before charging with a snarl, kicking at one, punching at another, swinging her shield like a blunt instrument before a firebomb gets flung in her face.
    Amalthea is now not just furious, but on fire.
    Though her flailing increases, and the sheer levels of her violence skyrocket for a moment longer but. Railing or not, she miss-steps and topples clean off the side, flailing and growling, missing the bridge on her way down and being grossly incandescent all the way to the depths below.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki looks up to Psyber with a warm sort of smile, apparently completely unphased by the casualities he's copping in spite of the oppressive environment. So, with all of the usual dignity, she folds her arms behind her back and replies: "I have been well, thank you. Just yesterday evening, I was treated to a --" Wait.

Wait, what.
She's flying. But she's not flying.
Wait what the hell he's carrying her what is this.

    As she's lifted, she goes completely silent. Her complexion might even pale a bit, and her expression has all of the astonishment that she should have had when the bombs went off earlier. But eventually she regains her faculties, clearing her throat. "W-Why, exactly, have you put me on your shoulders like so many children in amusement parks?" She twists her head in futile attempt to look at him while she speaks. "I cede that this is a very different sort of playroom, but this is absolutely ridiculous. And besides, wouldn't any conversation be better conducted when each of the speakers can make eye contact?"

    Then Nathan speaks to her. H-He... doesn't see a problem with this? Well, he probably has his own things to worry about, but. "Well." She bats her eyelashes a few times. "Yes, I can. My stasis fields do work both ways on a whim. Also, I can remove someone from the normal passage of time outright for a brief period, which should give the person in question ample time to do whatever in Creation they wanted, short of killing our enemies." At that, she turns to Priscilla... or at the very least, where she last heard her voice coming from. "If you wish, I can do so to ensure your safe passage, and then speed the movement of others as Nathan requests. Does this sound like a decent enough plan?" She was addressing Priscilla and Nathan both with that, naturally.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The Imperial Legatus watches as one of the snakes goes down and while others try to deal with the ones above. There is a place of cover ahead of them, but traps along the way. Possibly more arrows. Possibly more items to come crashing down with an explosive force.

Tip-toeing right now, isn't going to get them anywhere and apparently the one named Chris is a non-combatant. Though the discussion on the radio is sadly met with poor Chris finding out that no one touches Garlean Magitek-- or at least comes to try and understand it.

Yet Gaius Van Baelsar walks over to Chris and attaches his gunblade to his backside. He then lifts up the same hieght man as himself as if he was a piece of cloth and then swings him over his shoulder. Embarrassing? Maybe.

"Remain. Calm." Is all mister Vadar of the Garlean Empire has to say with that calm voice even under fire. The gauntlet on his wrist makes a click sound, before his boots also seem to glow-- actually the whole armor does in that moment. A Barrier field comes up like a Protective bubble of magic with a hexagon like field.

His feet shove off with a great deal of power that may leave a bit of a crack in the ground and he charges ahead with a great more speed then a normal man can produce even /while/ carrying someone. He goes to time each step to get him past the axes, but the real question is... how fast does those machines fire those arrows and can his magical barrier protect them.

Though if all this fails-- Chris may find himself thrown to safety.. hopefully-- it wont come to that.

Priscilla has posed:
    There are, in fact, big baskets of explosives sitting on the platforms above, for easy picking up and lobbing down at the poor unfortunate sods who have to run around down below. The place must be absolutely terrifying for the intended audience of fantasy reinnassance inhabitants, but it loses some of its edge when flight and lasers get involved. Shooting the baskets with a directed energy weapon is more than enough to cause the explosives contained within to cook off all at once, drowning the upper bridges in a wall of black smoke with a thunderous *KABOOM*. This creates the perfect cover for Amalthea to reach their height, blasting in through the hanging smog and ripping the skinnier serpents manning the ranged weapons to pieces with point blank fully automatic fire; though it takes some considerable bullet-riddling to actually bring them down. A fight breaks out, and despite their stupid appearance, it seems they are easily strong enough to at least put up a fight with the unicorn. By the time she slips off, there's just one left.

    Priscilla seems to be watching the violence with a sort of detached interest, fascinated by the unorthodox methods the multiverse has of clearing a gauntlet that would take Achilles himself a hundred tries to conquer. She almost misses it when Mizuki speaks directly to her. "I see no issue with it. As little as I care to be put upon a pedestal, Sir Hall's assessment is correct in that I am currently the only achor holding most of thee to this world." She turns back to the spectacle just in time to see Gaius bulldoze the length of the bridge; arrows pinging off his barrier as he makes the first successful attempt at crossing.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Now that he has a moment to get his bearings while the smoke's clearing, SHirou first lays eyes on the serpent soldiers' weapons, both of them - although, aside from some minor variations in their rust patterns, they seem interchangeable. "No way, those things are way too heavy to use here..." This situation won't be solved with a sword!

    Then he gets a view of Wuyin's apparent corpse and his breath catches tight. Failure. The guy was running in blindly, but he failed to protect him....

    Shirou's face goes rather twitchy and tense! What he thought would be a systematic operation is instead quite chaotic, and someone seems to be dead. It's fine enough if Wuyin's a phantom, though, isn't it?

    Finally Shirou can be a little relieved and make his own move. He tails after gaius and Chris, careful of the swinging blades but determined to leave this chamber behind and get somewhere that -isn't- a gaping pit.... muttering under his breath.

    With the main threats apparently cleared, he stops by Wuyin's fallen body and, at least, attempts to drag it by the legs to the bridge's end and off the bridge itself. They might have to come back this way, and having someone step on a body just seems wrong.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    "Whoa what-"

    Oh god, Chris is being carried by a man in a rocket-powered magitek suit with a shield.

    It is a flailing, startling experience at least at first, but after a second he actually manages to get himself under control and holds still. And as a matter of fact, as they surge across...

    "Look, uh... don't flip out, alright?"

    He pulls out his PDA and begins tapping on it a few times. It takes him a second to figure out how to actually integrate the spell; most of the danger is passed by the time he actually sets it off. But by the time they reach the end of the walkway, the barrier projected by Gaius' armor is crackling with electricity, its shielding power reinforced. The boost doesn't last too terribly long, indeed probably going away as soon as he switches off his barrier. But it is probably easy to notice.

    Once he's set down, the look he gives Gaius is... well, under the usual 'I can't help looking like I'm scowling all the time', is that a hint of smugness?

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Aaand the Imperial Legatus gets across, which as he does, he puts Chris back down on his feet and kneels down. The blue lines that were there for a few moments are now gone. Though hard to sometimes pick up thanks to being a Blue Phantom. It is easy to see though he is looking over at Chris thanks to the fact those void black lens can't hide that ghostly blue glow of where his eyes are.

There is also a strange smoke coming from a part of the Gauntlet, which he looks at. He then does some odd sliding of the metal, before seeming to pull out a small crystal-like orb. It is actually cracked. He lets out a faintest of grunts, before crushing it in his bare hands. He then opens his hand and bits of powder float down from his hand.

Then he slides the piece closed before another 'click' is heard. "We now know what happens when you overcharge a piece of the magitek." He says very calmly. To calmly considering what they just went through. He is also looking at Chris again.

Lord Vadar-- we mean Lord Van Baelsar is looking at you kid.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I'm going to have a lot of free time while I'm playing support for Nathan," Psyber explains to Mizuki, "And normally I'd bug him but he actually needs to concentrate at the moment. So instead you're going to serve as my Backup Nathan for the day," He's pretty straightforward to her about it. Priscilla is lucky she didn't grab his attention first.

    "Let's get across the bridge now, yeah?" Psyber says, waiting for Nathan to take his run. The half-angel would try to match the librarian's speed, keeping close by in case he needs to shove Nathan out of the way of an attack and take it himself. Of course, he's also doing Mizuki a favor while he runs:

    "VROOOOOOOOM!"

Staren has posed:
    Staren's eyes are on the walkways, so he doesn't see Wuyin's state of... not-being. "Amalthea!" Staren shouts, when she falls. But it happens too fast, and he can barely see what's happening through the smoke.

    That does leave him with his eyes on that last serpent, though -- Staren snipes it with the laser. If it blocks with the shield, then while Staren keeps up cover fire with the laser, one of his micromissiles launches from his armor's wrists, snaking up in an indirect path the ram and explode into the lizard from behind. Hopefully, one or the other will be enough to knock it off the walkway. "That's one problem down..."

    Staren waits for Mizuki and Nathan to catch up, then joins them and Psyber. "How long will it take for Amalthea to be summoned again?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
True to the plan, Yuna is watching carefully at the bomb-throwers' parapet - or rather, their bridge - as Amalthea flies up to get their attention, and she starts squeezing off careful shots, aimed as precisely as she can manage. A lot of it is Amalthea's credit, though - Yuna's probably not doing as much good as she'd like to, and she doesn't dare hit the robo-paladin by mistake.

Then an explosion lights Amalthea on fire and sends her hurtling into the muck below - dirty water or some kind of oil, if Yuna were watching she MIGHT be able to figure out whether it ignites or not when a burning robot unicorn falls into it. But Yuna is screaming Amalthea's name, and riddling that last bombardier serpent-man with as many energy bolts as she can squeeze off from her pistol, no longer concerned about precision ... just laying out DPS, as well as she can with her blaster pistol.

She actively doesn't CARE at this moment whether the lizard dies from excessively concentrated beamspam or plummeting to its doom. Amalthea just got killed, THAT is what's driving Yuna at this moment.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Whenever Mizuki can begin doing that inverted stasis plan, Nathan's planning on making an excursion to cross the hall. While Priscilla is the priority, Nathan Hall would really enjoy not dying, and so hopefully he'll be able to use accelerated reaction time and speed to be able to avoid those axe-swings. He tries to get this timed with Gaius Van Baelsar's crossing, as well as conveniently when Yuna Kagurazaka, Staren, Amalthea, and others are doing their cover fire, if at all possible here. He has no intention of repeating Wuyin's death, even if it would be harmless, and would rather not be an inconvenient burden or anything similar.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Wuyin was, notably, /not/ a phantom. He was totally human. RIP, That Guy; you died as you lived, rushing headlong into certain death.

It is troubling that this is completely accurate.

Wuyin runs across the bridge in Anima form, the glowing shapes of the living near his body visible to him. He gets close, looking around, and then looking down at his burned and bloody body. "That's no good," he mutters. He takes a deep breath, focusing his will, trying to put it in two places at once. It's... weirdly easy.

(Something buzzes with restrained amusement very, very far away.)

THE REAL WORLD

Wuyin's body abruptly discorporates. It turns into an orangish light, motes of it flying up from the ground and into the covered space. It reforms almost instantly with another white-orange flicker, and there he is, with all his gear and clothes seemingly good at new. He's pale, though; he looks tired.

"Good work," he says. He offers Shirou a quick nod, apparently of thanks. Then, Wuyin reaches into a pocket and pulls out a taco that wasn't there before. He unwraps it and bites into the obviously still-hot morsel without pause. Death tacos are a thing.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    She doesn't quite know how to respond to being Psyber's backup for teasing, so she just flat out doesn't. She nods her head flatly, her expression hinting that the situation still hasn't fully registered for her. But she understands, at least in words, that she is not on the back of a military official, in a dungeon, and he is running across a narrow bridge while emitting childish car noises.

    She has written a lot of books, yup. Read a lot, too. But she doesn't think she's ever encountered a scene like this in any of the untold quantities of literary media she has consumed. Nope nope. But she can fight back, considering her position -- even knowing the phenomenal danger that it puts them both in, Mizuki... places her hands over Psyber's eyes as he begins running, only removing them when he slows back down. She is having none of that, and if she could, she would be folding her arms at him -emphatically- right now.

    "... this is degrading enough without the sound effects, sir. So please..." Is she... blushing again? It's a good thing that keeps happening in dark places where no one else is paying attention. "... please. For the sake of our spectral longevity, don't make me do something that we will both regret." When in doubt, hurl out the empty threats. Creation knows Psyber hasn't heard 'em all already.

    But ah. The silliness is distracting her from something remotely productive that she could be doing. She glance back at Priscilla, bowing her head in concentration. "The sensation you feel once I tear you out of this time continuum will be strange," She warns, "but it should not feel that far removed from simply being back in Ariamis. You will adjust, and when you do, find safety on the other side of the crossing. We shall be there shortly, with the rate at which things are progressing. Ah, and -- when you feel the usefulness of the removal has been exhausted, you need only will yourself back here, and all will return to normal." She nods to her, and to herself. "Now then."

    For Priscilla, the world would fall deafly silent. None of the traps, people or other aspects of the environment are moving in the least. While the world is not, as some stereotypes would tell you, 'black and white', the colors are a bit more dull, and it would appear that the entire world has been glossed over with a thin film of gray paint. But as promised, this should provide her all the 'time' in the world to move to safety.

    What's that? Time is relative? Why yes, yes it is. And it remains as such as Mizuki then summons up another stasis sphere, which expands around Nathan before it contracts, literally affixing itself to him. Essentially, he is his own speeding field at the moment, and the world around him may seem to move far, far more slowly. A bit like being drugged, minus the nausea.

Priscilla has posed:
    With the last snakeman taken care of, the procession across the bridge begins. With the arrow traps reloading from Gaius and Chris making their way across, there is a short gap that allows Shirou through, then Psyber and Mizuki, then Staren (though he doesn't even take the bridge), then Nathan, and finally Priscilla who reappears with an ambivalent expression and a pointed stare at Mizuki. This is followed by Wuyin resurrecting himself after being dragged out of the line of fire by mister Emiya, leaving only Yuna behind as she fixates on Amalthea's temporary death. It's not like she can't just fly across though, especially without an active crew of fortress bouncers to get in her way. The end of the walkway leads to a corridor set into the wall, making for a sheltered covering from anything else, with little in the way of prominent features save some generic statues of knights in armour, and then a staircase, as if to say "level 1 complete! on to level 2!". Unfortunately it is the only way to go. At least there's no risk of getting lost, right?

    The next floor goes from the expansive chamber of the level below to a tight, twisting labyrinth of bottleneck corridors and blind corners, making it the perfect site for several ambushes in a row. Judging by the fact that there are enormous, steel harpoons laying before the walls around several such dangerous turns, it seems someone has already been through and tripped all the pressure plates, and recently at that. Rounding the corner makes this pretty much a fact, as half a dozen dead serpent men can be seen littering the floor, which is absolutely drenched in blood. At the center of the circle, lie the prone forms of two of Oscar's companions: Indra, the silent easterner with the katana, and Sebastian, the pale, surly man from Carim who went on about the curse at the first trip to Firelink. All the bodies in the room seem to going under some kind of disintegration; fading away at the edges as they turn into drifting motes of white light, like ashes being blown from a dead firepit in a slow breeze. Obviously this means the six 'knights' had made the last attempt, and presumably they went through the only door leading forwards; straight out into a much wider corridor that slants gradually downhill to the left, and uphill to the right.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "H-huuwagggh!!" Consider that one spooked Shirou. Upon noticing Wuyin's body just DISINTEGRATING he recoils away in case it's gonna explode or something, but then... then there's Wuyin again. "Erghk--" Shirou gurks out a meaningless stammer, staring. He's amazed, on so many levels. So very, very many. "Wh-what kind of person are you? You're not a phantom, but you don't even die when you're killed!?" Good word how creepy can things get.

    Shirou slaps a hand to his forehead and rubs at it. "... I thought you'd bit it.... thankfully not." Phew, he didn't mess up. Well, no, he did mess up, but Wuyin got better. So at least there's no.... apparent... consequences?

    Shirou stares sourly at the taco, then as if heavily bothered by Wuyin, turns his back and tromps on up to the next floor.

    The sight that awaits him KEEPS him silent. His face is pale and grim, and unconsciously he squeezes his Projected sword's grip hard enough to make his knuckles go white too.

    "How did they get here and leave the previous chamber ready for us? Were they coming the other way?" He finally blurts.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I'm used to the sensation of dying! I've done it three or four times now, but it'd be your first. I bet you're more scared of our spectral cessation of existence than I am~." He points out to her, though he does stop with the sound effects at her request. Instead switching to hopping up and down while he carries her across the gap and up onto the next level.

    Keeping Mizuki gripped on his shoulders, Psyber opts to pick up one of the steel harpoons that are laying around and look around a bit, spinning it in his free hand to hold it like a spear, "So. This was fortunate, I guess. It cleared the way for us."

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Somewhere, back on Njorun, Amalthea wakes up violently, flailing and kicking, until she falls out of her bed in the repurposed SAO ward. Breathles and shaken, if she could sweat, the unicorn would be bathed in a cold one.
    But she can't. The best she can do is catch her breath and struggle to shake off the cloying reminder of Mortality itself shoved upon her in that brief instant of terrible death, as she steels herself to be summoned once more.
    It takes a short bit, but with only the pendulums in the way, the glowing golden figure of the unicorn appears at the back of the group holding her skull and looking excessively sour.
    "I'm back, I'm back." She mutters bitterly before nearly stumbling on Indra's corpse.
    "Jesus fucking christ, I guess we're not the only ones having a hassle of things here."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
It might be Elner poking her that shakes Yuna out of her stupor (or whatever the right word is) - but she does blink 'awake' and make her way across the bridge, still keeping her guard up in case there are any threats that HAVEN'T been neutralized, whether temporarily or permanently. Still, with the threats that HAVE been dealt with, she catches up with the others in fairly short order, making her way up the stairs last ...

And at the sight of six dead serpent-men and two deceased familiar faces, Yuna winces, closing her eyes. "No ..." she whispers. "How are we supposed to --"

She doesn't finish the sentence, forcing herself to stand up straight again and open her eyes. Curling up in a ball won't help those who've already fallen along the way; neither will feeling sorry for herself. Besides, compared to those who HAVE fallen on the way through this gauntlet already, Yuna's done very little to help her allies. It's true, she'd rather not be here - but she *IS* here, and she has to do her best to help, or at least not slow the others down.

And then, Amalthea. Yuna lets out a deep sigh of relief, then turns to greet the unicorn paladin. "I'm sorry about that ... I guess I need to take point next time, huh."

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
When it seems Wuyin just-- shows back up. Gaius stares at the man for a long time. Whatever thoughts he was thinking was kept to himself. He gives Chris though a comforting pat on the back, as if just to insure the young man that he wasn't going to be strangled by the Imperial Legatus for blowing up-- whatever that was.

Though as they head for Level 2, the Imperial Legatus can be seen messing with the device still. Clicking it a few times, taking a tool at it for adjustments, a few more clicks. Like someone tinkering to make sure a clock is on time or a gear turns /just/ right.

Once he done with that, he takes notice of the tight spaces and a few of the traps that has been activated. He checks to see where Chris is, before looking back over to the group. Then back at the different directions to take. Simply saying, "This is problematic."

He also watches the dead bodies start to vanish away almost like aether-- but not. Curious.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    Having been set down at last, Chris takes a second or two to compose himself. The fritz-out on the Garlean's armor, however, has him looking a bit embarrassed... and, quietly, resolving to fix the problem next time. But there may not even be a next time, both because they might die, and because he's got boosting spells that shouldn't interact with the magitek armor directly at all. It is at this point that he looks up and...

    ...Wuyin is still alive. Or re-alive. Or... something.

    Chris stares at Wuyin. Then at Shirou. Then at Wuyin again. Then... "...wait, did Amalthea just fall down in that pit? Doesn't... doesn't she have a jetpack? Uh... are we... are we gonna go after her, or..."

    Oh. Everyone's moving on.

    ...Everyone's moving on to find some of Oscar's companions dead. Oh man. Chris liked those guys, too. Well, kind of. "Hey, we should, uh... whatever happened to them could still happen to us." So he reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like an iron marble. After a moment of staring at it, he crouches down on the ground, sets the iron marble on the floor, touches it with a finger, and starts mumbling. Shirou will be able to see what he's doing; enhancing the marble's density, its mass, making it heavier and heavier. About the weight of a bowling ball, in fact, concentrated into that tiny little space.

    And then he pushes it down the hallway, watching to see if it sets any floor panels off.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
"I'm a bee," Wuyin says to Shirou nonchalantly. He holds up a wrapped parcel. "Taco?"

The situation is never so dire that you can't mess with someone.

He keeps munching, rapidly looking more... himself. He's absolutely ravenous. Rapid regeneration apparently leaves him with an appetite. He wonders if it's actually a biological necessity, or if he'd get by without it for basically ever. He doesn't have any real desire to fast, though. Wuyin chews thoughtfully, and when Amalthea shows up again, he offers her one of his seemingly-endless tacos, too. He knows it's apparently 'not a taco,' but it's polite after someone just got offed.

Gaius's and Chris's stares get noted and filed away. He'll answer questions if they ask them (maybe), so he moves on with the group instead. Chris's marble trick is neat, though. He looks a little impressed.

Priscilla has posed:
    Chris has the right idea. A second after his marble makes its way into the corridor and begins rolling down the incline, the reason why there is an incline to begin with becomes obvious. An enormous rock, so perfectly spherical that perhaps it was instead solid metal poured into a mold, comes rumbling down the passageway at lightning speed. The earth quivers violently as it passes, followed by the sound of the marble being cracked, flattened, and then violently exploding as the compression spell comes undone; followed by the increasingly distant booms of the boulder bouncing from wall to wall before finally coming to rest. The fact the hall isn't backed up with them already means there must be some kind of recovery mechanism at the bottom to bring them back to the top.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "If you absolutely -must- know," She narrows her eyes, "I have a profound interest in death, and what it might feel like to die. Even if it would be more painful than any vulgar image I could hope to conjure for you as we speak! T-Truly, my interest far surpasses my fear! Yes." She nods to herself. "Because fear is an abstract, and something that authors beyond time need not have." That sounded decently convincing, except for that one, midsentence stammer. In fact, the longer she prattles on, the more she begins to sound like she's artificially quoting things from one of those novels she loves so much. Probably something by Edgar Allen Poe, or some novice existentialist trying to mimic him. But whatever the case, Mizuki maintains the facade to the best of her ability. She has a social scene to balance with this little condensed bubble of embarrassment!

    Doing her utmost to 'fight back', as it were, Mizuki rests her hands on Psyber's head and rests her head on his. From her vigil atop the crimson tower of guardian angel, she holds a flattened palm above her eyes to get a look at the 'covenience' Psyber is calling attention to. "A spear?" She swivels her head around his shoulder, peeking at it. And then she sees the splatter of carcasses, and the bevy of triggered traps. "... oh-ho." Pulling her hair into her hands to keep it safe as Psyber swishes the spear around in examination, she continues to glance around. "So much death. So many traps." She nods to herself. "Indeed we are 'lucky' -- a good number of us might've died simply upon entering this room had these poor souls not been here before us." She attempts a reverent bow in respect to the departed, but she can hardly ne serious given her current position. And even if she had had some success in her meditations --

BOOM.%r
    A rock SLAMS into the wall, and then goes off swiveling down the passages beyond the door. Her eyes aren't as wide at that visual as perhaps they should be, but she is clearly surprised. "Hmm." She looks to Nathan, and to the rest. "I feel that my abilities would serve us well here as well. Either to slow the boulder itself, or to allow you all to move more quickly. It's a bit difficult to do both at once - metaphorical wire crossings and whatnot - but theoretically possible." She looks to Nathan and nods. "Whatever you deem would be the best course of action, however, I will defer to." As a final aside to Priscilla, she also adds, "And if your little sojourn through the aperture of true absence was not overtly offensive, then perhaps I can see to your safety first again that way."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou seems to have some ideas of his own. With a moment of peace, however transient, he bends down to have a really good look at the fallen warriors' weapons. "I hope they're the local kind of undead who can get back up and try again..."

    But he refuses to let their failures be in vain. They just need to reach this guantlet's end.

    Shirou lets Auron's sword down, resting it against a wall. It's too bulky for these narrow corridors and demands too much strength. He needs something smaller, slimmer, lighter. His eyes rapidly flicker across the assorted weapons...

    In a matter of moments and a small surge of prana, golden light that streamed up from Shirou's hands again fades, revealing an exact copy of the fallen warrior's Uchigatana.

    He's done in time to see Chris' antics and promptly boggles. "Alteration magecraft?"

    And then, BOULDER. "........ Man, what vicious architects."

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Thusly returned, excessively surly, when Wuyin offers a taco... Amalthea does not turn it down. Unwrapping it and wolfing the not-taco taco down with a voraciously hearty appedite of her own, the gold phantom makes a vague hand gesture motion at Yuna.
    "Fanksh." She mutters, mouth full, to Wuyin, first before swallowing. "What? And have me miss all the fun?"
    She takes a few more steps before the GIANT BOULDER goes right on by.
    She pauses right then and there after Chris' marble meets massive boulder.
    The rest of that taco is getting shoved in her mouth and GULPED down.
    "This place is some kind of nightmare."

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius watches the marble, it was-- a very neat trick. Though right now he wishes Nero was here. The man rivaled Cid on the genius level when it came to working with machines and though Gaius has leaned a great deal from them both, he is not the head master of such things. As this wish comes as he watches the traps get activated. "We are running out of time, but I am sure that is highly obvious. Indecision right now is costly. We need to move."

The Imperial Legatus then goes to follow where the marble had show it is safe. His eyes are scanning the area to see if there /is/ magical runes or any mechanisms that may be able to be tampered with. He looks over to Mizuki, "I would suggest slow. It will give everyone time to react and reaction is better then speeding ahead in this case."

Also Gaius will check any corners before going around them, because seriously. Traps and monsters.

Priscilla has posed:
    Gauis making the bold move again and bursting out into the hallway confirms something alarming. There are no pressure plates or sigils to be seen. Looking up the ramp, a few storeys above, there seems to have been a hole drilled in the ceiling, where the sunlight beams down. The ramp and some conveniently placed arches just barely allow line of sight to the opening, where he can see something very large stooped over and peering at him through the hole. Something several times the height of a man, with stony grey skin, and some kind of massive metal helmet obscuring its face. Yes, this is probably a giant, and upon seeing Gaius, it immediately backs up out of sight, and then drops another massive boulder into the room below, just out of view. There is a deafening, percussive thump, and then the rumble of another boulder accelerating down several ramps towards him.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius does make a bold move, thankfully its called looking around a corner, this means taking one hell of a step back, if not a few backpedals. If he can time it right though-- He is going to try and actually use the plasma bolt to slam into the bolder with high power and see if he can even /damage/ the thing.

Oh, he has stronger stuff then the plasma bolt, which will explode with some force on impact, but it will give him an idea if he should use it-- but seriously. Giants with bolders! Or what he would call in his world-- savagae damnable beast men Gigas.

Staren has posed:
    MAZE FULL OF DEAD GUYS

    MORE TRAPS

    Presented with the wide, sloping corridor, Staren watches the boulder roll away. "Damn. I'm almost surprised that there isn't just an endless procession of boulders dropping, rolling a ways, and falling into a bottomless pit."

    Staren looks up at Mizuki from where he's walking along with Psyber. "The deaths I have experienced were quick, with little opportunity for pain or suffering. Still, it was not... pleasant." Staren frowns. "I suppose it was realizing what had happened immediately afterward, that was more traumatic, and dealing with a backup plan that still needed some kinks worked out of it." Staren sighs. "I've got a working system now, though. Maybe each time it gets easier. Although... I really hope any further deaths I experience continue to be the quick kind. I imagine drawn-out suffering would be... another deal entirely."

    Staren looks ahead. "Well, /they/ seem to have it in hand well enough so far."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    NATHAN HALL DID NOT ENJOY SEEING ALL THOSE CORPSES.

    This has produced a small delay in meeting with the group, as he was temporarily disabled by some nausea.

    He comes around just in time to watch Chris Rothschild save Nathan from accidentally bumbling his way under a HORRIBLE GIANT BOULDER OH FUCK. He winds up stoically freezing with a soft worried noise that's thankfully hidden by the explosion. "Well." He says. "I believe moving quickly now would be best. I think approaching this matter in terms of a plan may be less viable since we have less mechanical option to work with."

    Then he peers out into the hall where Gaius is reporting, then back to... Wherever. He just sort of looks in any direction when he talks to Priscilla, honestly. Even if she's not invisible, he's gotten into the habit of just talking to thin air whenever he talks to Priscilla. "You need to go seperately from the rest of us, I believe. If Yuna is correct, you will be able to bypass the trouble regarding the boulders entirely. The rest of us will need to determine another route..."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Things Psyber has learned:

1) Traps around here are ridiculously well made.
2) He can't brute force himself through destroying traps due to thing 1.
3) There are a huge number of traps, all of which seem equally well-made.

    Therefore...

    "Hey I have an idea."

    Psyber figures if all traps are equally constructed and all traps cannot be brute forced by him alone, perhaps he can brute force a trap with a different trap. That's why he turns around (with Mizuki) and heads back into the prior room. He grabs pretty much every harpoon and runs back into the other room with them, politely waiting until Staren has finished his Yelp review for Death.

    Then, through the lined up windows, he starts trying to chuck the harpoons at the hole the boulders are coming through hard enough to embed them in the wall at various angles and positions.

    The logic is that if he can't destroy a trap, maybe he can clog a trap with a different trap, using the harpoons to clog up the hole and, if they're build strong enough, serve to stop boulders from pouring in.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
"You're welcome," Wuyin asides. Not-taco it may be, Amalthea seems to appreciate it. Maybe it's comfort food?

"We can speak on the matter of death and mortality another day if you like, Mizuki," he says, looking up at her atop her Trusty Psyber. Then, he looks forward instead, wincing a little at the huge rock. He doesn't really want to get crushed to death... but Psyber has a plan, so he lets him have at. He sits back, pretty much better now.

So he asks Shirou a question in the meantime. "Can you create any weapons at will, or just a select few?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
It says something about this place, and about Yuna's internal reactions to it, that a huge-ass boulder rolling down the corridor is LESS disturbing to the gold-phantom blonde girl than the monsters and other deathtraps thus far have been. Just a boulder ... getting rolled down the sloping corridor by a giant ... and there might even be a simple solution, albeit probably a very temporary one.

"Right. Jiina, going to need your help here," Yuna says, and one of the specks of not-quite-gold light next to her flares brighter, green blossoming within the gold aura. A few seconds later, Yuna's slight frame is much bigger, thanks to the bulky exoskeletal armor of her Powered Form. It adds quite a bit to her height and bulk ... although probably not enough of one that she can actually stop those boulders physically.

"Wish me luck, guys," Yuna says with a wry smile to her companions. "You might want to get a head start or something, but if this REALLY doesn't work ..." She trails off, grinning sheepishly, and readies her shield and the full-sized Matrix Divider. Extra arms are a *godsend*. So is Psyber's attempt to start gumming up the works with spears. Anything has to help, right?

In any case, once she's prepared, Yuna starts heading up the ramp as fast as her hover-thrusters will go, staying alert for any boulders starting to head her way. She DOES have a more complicated plan than 'try to stop the boulder with physical brute strength,' too ...

Although it's more 'try to stop the oncoming boulder with all the firepower she can throw at it, and THEN hit it physically if necessary, and try to get past it to keep the giant from throwing MORE boulders.'

So yeah. Simple plan, really. Probably foredoomed to failure ... but if she can buy enough time for her allies to get down the ramp safely without another boulder flattening them? It'll be worth it.

Staren has posed:
    Staren watches Psyber... then realizes what he's doing. "OooOOoooh, that's clever!" To Wuyin's question, he comments: "We tested that. It seems like his swords are best, other edged weapons are decent, and nothing else seemed to work." And then... Yuna runs out ahead! "Good luck!" He shifts his stance, ready to start running as soon as the boulder's out of the way!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki nods to Staren from her perch. "Well, at the least, thank you for your account. Any such stories make good information to store in my archives, granted they lack the obscenities some are wont to place in their descriptions." She shrugs at that. "And I suppose sometimes if they come with those curses, too; I just prefer that the passages I store away in my libraries not be so crass. But I digress." She nods. "I am certain, if you and others have died so much as to alter the definition of death from 'being quite permanently removed from the world', that I, too, will have my chance one day. And until then... until then I certainly won't spend my life wishing for that day to come. I shall just accept it gracefully when it does." Sure, she says that now.

Now just you wait. Still plenty of time to die before the night is out, after all.

    Psyber's antics earn an approving 'Hmm.' from the girl, as well as another mildly poetic tidbit: "So again with the story of the dragon whose hide could only be pierced by a weapon made from its own talons. Just, in this case, the talons are spears and the dragon is this sadistic complex here." She smiles and nods to cement her interest in the idea. "Crude yet effective, as always. You're fairly clever Mister Psyber!"

Priscilla has posed:
    As Gaius is mercifully left unsquished, the impact of plasma against boulder brings the thing to a sudden, juddering halt, boring a massive crater in its front side and causing it to stick in the hallway momentarily. Though it looks to be on the verge of snapping in half, having not been turned to fine powder, it slowly starts to roll again, gradually accelerating once more until the sound fades from hearing. Psyber's reasoning, though unspeakably asinine, is actually reasonably effective. His sheer strength is enough to jam the titanite reinforced harpoons into the walls, presenting a crisscrossing grate for the boulder to hit before it picks up enough speed to smash through. Though it barely seems to restrain it, and it seems that it might slide free after perhaps a minute, that's plenty enough time for Yuna to dive out into the hallway guns blazing, swiftly battering the oversized sphere into pieces that steadily decrease in size, until finally the top half of it is just about entirely gone, giving her a clear, if narrow line of fire towards the giant. After a handful of shots explode against its helmet and stony body, the thing makes some kind of sound almost too low to hear, making the corridor rumble as it backs away from the hole.

    Priscilla decides to take Staren's lead at this juncture. As soon as Yuna has things taken care of, she bolts down the corridor after him, though not at nearly as impressive of a pace. Going downwards, she keeps running until she finds another set of stairs set into the side of the wall, just large enough for someone to duck into. Anyone who wants to come with her will have to do it quickly, because after a short while, there is the sound of another boulder being thrown down, followed by a second, third, and fourth, as no doubt the giant is just upending a stack of them into the launching apparatus. With quadruple the weight behind it, the next volley will be absurdly dangerous to Yuna if she lingers for even a moment too long.

    The next floor shows yet more signs of battle, but the echoing hiss of more serpents indicates that it is just about to reset and restocked. It's best to skip level three and hurry to level 4, which seems to be the last floor before the roof. Here, the floor opens up over a chasm even more preposterous than the one on the first floor, with a stone walkway so narrow one would have to tightrope across it. Interspersed over it are very obvious pressure plates, which one would have to hop over to avoid, without losing balance and plummeting. Both walls show the ends of ballistae sticking through the pillars, but more pressing is the overwhelming reek of ozone prevalent throughout the room, congealing into a very faint fog. It's pretty obvious where the impaled body fell from, and there are only two candidates as to whom it belonged to, because Adalbert - the jovial knight in the onion shaped armour - and samuel - the gruff but friendly farmer making his trip with incredibly sub-optimal gear, both lie deceased at the far end of the gap, in the middle of a rather large and ominous scorch mark on the floor. The elevator at the far end of the room, clearly going to the roof, whirrs into motion, lowering down a pair of unfamiliar figures clad in heavy armour; one bearing a massive slab of metal that could charitably be called a sword, and another that might be called a shield; whilst the second has some kind of extremely elaborate looking machinery vaguely resembling a crossbow. Both of them are tinged with a bloody red light, indicating them as phantoms. The moment anyone steps into the room, the first lowers his shield as a kind of pavise for the second to duck behind, bracing his crossbow over the top and taking aim.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
That actually worked better than Yuna thought it would, although she hadn't quite expected the donations of additional firepower from Gaius and those helpfully-placed harpoons courtesy of Psyber. She makes the necessary opening, even more to her surprise, and manages to force the giant to back off. "Move it while you can, folks!!" she calls out to her allies, continuing upwards. May as well press her adva....

Correction. Press her *luck*.

Except it's more that her luck has just turned bad and is pressing *HER* instead. Not even Powered Form can stand up to that much weight ...

And this is not what Bob Dylan meant when he sang about 'everyone must get stoned,' one may be sure of that.

Staren has posed:
    Staren runs when the way is clear! "Don't stop, Yuna, come on!" he calls, but he doesn't wait for her. And then... the next level is clear too! Convenient! After running through that, they come to... another narrow walkway! Staren is just considering switching to cat form, when a couple of figures arrive at the other side. "Oh no, none of this nonsense." One of the flat boxes behind his shoulder lifts up, and a couple of missiles launch out -- flying in arcs on opposite sides of the walkway before flying around /behind/ the two phantoms and then trying to explode them from behind. This time, it isn't a dinky micromissile but a couple of plasma minimissiles. Those are the ones that usually turn anything remotely burnable in a 30' sphere to ash.

    "You didn't think we were gonna walk into your line of fire /that/ easily, did you?" Staren calls.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    Somewhere a dungeon master is weeping, Chris muses to himself. He has never seen a set of dungeon traps so thoroughly abused. And even the giant involved in reloading the traps is getting pissed about things. It is, indeed, time to be somewhere else. Very, very quickly.

    Granted, when they finally come to the narrow walkway, he finds himself wondering if maybe the entire building falls under 'it's time to be somewhere else quickly'. An obvious trap across a narrow walkway, with two people on the other side getting ready to take potshots in a makeshift sniper's nest. They are in some deep trouble here - at least, those of them who can't fly are. But at the same time... maybe he can upset the balance a little here.

    Up Chris steps in a couple quick movements, tapping at his PDA, loading spells up quickly. He's going to tire himself fast at this rate, but if they can get past this with minimal casualties, they're in a good position. So his first order of business is to call up and fling out a rusting spell towards the two phantoms on the other side - specifically, at the shield being used for protection.

    His second is to cast a spell on both Amalthea and Gaius; one the robot unicorn knows well. Gaius will be seeing it for the first time - a flowing liquid metal that shifts around his form, moving to where attacks are fired to blunt those attacks and ablate in the process - reactive shielding. Strangely enough, it also carries a very mild electrical charge, enough to energize Gaius himself. And none of it interferes with his armor, either.

    Naturally, in Amalthea's case, it will bond to any damage she takes, forming on-the-spot repairs, but that effect is disabled for Gaius.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
"Ah. Unfortunate that it's so limited. Maybe you'll be able to fix that later." Shirou, you'd better figure out things other than stabbing implements /some/day.

Wuyin runs in as soon as the path seems to be clear. He ducks up the stairs and hustles to the fourth floor, doing his best to keep up and not overtake the group. He already did his senseless act of stupid impulse for the evening, and /this/ time he's not going to be the one setting off all those pressure plates!

Probably.

Maybe.

Possibly...

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius Van Baelsar has become apparently Chris' bodyguard for the evening. Though he is glad to see that the boulders could be damaged and well, it would seem they pissed off the Giant. If not for the line of people, the Imperial Legatus be almost /tempted/ to throw an explosive up there, but that be a waste.

He makes sure Chris is ahead of him and he makes sure the young man doesn't trip up. If he does see that Giant get up, he can only glare at the monster as he passes by. Yet what really concerns him is the next room.

There is a thin walkway and some red phantom guards. Those 'blue' eyes of his are looking in there direction as he reaches for his Gunblade carefully and goes to take some cover. Then when Staren just opens fire, Gaius looks to the other young man, "Interesting toys."

Staren-- may recognize him now they are actually now close-- or at least the voice. "Though I do not believe it was the wisest of ideas.. nice if I was wrong." Gaius does admit that last bit as he goes back to studying that walk way. How-- does that trap trigger work? Was it inside the walkway? Then what is it connected too?

While Staren plays aggressive, Gaius takes a moment from his safe location to get a glimpse at what he can.

Though when he notices the magic cast over himself, he looks at Chris in that moment with a curious sense. He is tempted to ask why-- but-- the answer was simply-- it just would not change anything once this was over.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber cracks his knuckles and then takes Mizuki off his shoulders, "Thank you for the compliment, though I think you would be best served off my shoulders now," He notes, taking Mizuki off and setting her down on the ground again before dusting her off.

    "I wasn't planning on staying around to the end anyway, remember? Plus I finally get to do...This!" The true nature of the blue spirit is to punish the red ones, even at the cost of their own life. Psyber knows this intrinsically. And these two? Well they've been very bad~.

    The half-angel sprints across the floor towards the two spirits, taking little regard for traps and pressure plates and probably getting it by a fireball or a lance shooting out along the way, staggering as he does so. But that doesn't phase or stop him. He also hopes the missile in the air will give him some cover.

    He swings a haymaker punch right towards the one with the huge shield and the huger sword, trying to just cause him to go on the defense a bit, "You're too slow like this!"

    He rolls across and up over the shield, trying to land behind the big one. He wants to grab him around the waist and then wrench hard, suplexing them BOTH off a ledge and into the bottomless abyss below.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan Hall is running while things are clear. Thanks, Psyber, and Yuna Kagurazaka! Even though apparently the latter might possibly have fallen in the process, which Nathan does his best to avoid watching.

    Predictably, in the intervening sequence that involves the corpses, Nathan is, once more, averse to looking and reacting with disgust. We won't dedicate too much screentime to that.

    This time, when he enters and sees the more terrifying red enemies, Nathan first takes a position behind Psyber, because Psyber's his bodyguard. When Psyber goes dashing off, Nathan keeps his position - figuring Psyber will remember him there and handle any protection he needs - but keeps his head down.

    Eyes out and up here. Let's see... Any white signs with relevant information? There's also another ability he brings to bear: SCAN. A magical effect that attempts to identify any of the targets' elemental, anatomical, or spiritual weaknessess, at least in the abstract sense. He'll be calling out any data he can get from these two terrifying sorts, while Nathan himself tries to assume a posture of 'ready to flee and dodge' whenever he can.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Swords, axes, spears, probably more things, but swords without a doubt." SHirou answers Wuyin simply. He's gained some conviction in this idea. If this is his one ability, and he needs to maser it to be able to search for his home safely, then by all means, he's gonna do that.

    All the more so if he can do something useful and save those in need with it!

    Focusing on that makes it easier to deal with the vast array of people running off without much organization and hopefully NOT getting gruesomely splattered. Like Yuna there.

    And then, passing the nasty chamber with the rest of the group and coming across an even CRAZIER deathscape, Shirou just jawdrops.

    How's anyone supposed to make it across that?

    He stops near the fallen warriors much as the other two... then notices the scorch mark. Since Staren's focused on the knight, Shirou scans ABOVE, Reinforcing his Eyes on reflex to get a really clear look. What made the scorches?!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki heaves a sigh of relief. "-Finally-." She folds her arms. But in her pouting gestures, she does manage a faint smile. "Please preserve a record of the death in your memory so that I may interrogate you on the matter later." Without even the faintest hint of sarcasm, naturally. She bows to him as he flies off to his may-or-may-not-be doom, turning her own attentions instead to the next horrific gauntlet that faces the party. For the time being, she spreads out her wings and attempts a gentle flight to the other side of the long bridge to get a look at any perils that might await them past the tightrope of horrors. So they're prepared when they get there, you know?

Priscilla has posed:
    Staren makes the right call in firing first. The crossbowman seems to have him in his sights. The plasma missiles have plenty of room to maneuver as they streak across the room, converging from opposite sides of the bridge, before twin bolts of electricity suddenly lash out from the parallel walkways and arc towards the obvious metal objects; detonating them both prematurely. The blast manages to incenerate the closest pair of ballistas despite being well away from the epicenter of the explosions, and in each gap opened up by the loss of their seige, more goddamn serpents can be seen. Though the group has been fortunate in not having to fight them so far, these ones appear to be a class above. Not only are they cobras instead of the anaconda looking ones below, they have four arms; two of them dual wielding what appear to be flamberges, and the other two obviously used for casting lightning spells, immediately answering Shirou's question. The hissing grows to a frenzy as they crowd around, machines turning to aim at the Elites piling in.

    Psyber is immediately struck by a hail of scorching lightning, having to duck another volley of arrows and sudden blades dropping down from above like guillotines as he trips every pressure plate in succession, but Chris' spell seems to have done its work. Clearly this particular red phantom has not made a trip to Andre, because the rusted shield shatters at the punch, setting him up for an easy grab, and then a long, screaming fall all the way down to a messy end. The first few spears from the ballistae fire straight in Gaius' direction as he runs into cover, slamming into the floor behind him, and if he isn't fast enough, punching right through the pillar he ducks behind to skewer him through the chest. The second set rains down on Emiya, and an unfortunate Nathan Hall standing nearby, aiming for simple saturation fire rather than precision.

    After seeing the blast caused by Staren's missiles, the remaining red phantom drops to a fearless crouch and fires his weapon. The sound of a steel prod snapping to shape rattles off several times in succession as the contraption begins simply pumping out bolts, each of them screeching through the air at lightning speed with a faint blue tinge ahead of them, all reinforced with destructive magic. Squishy Nathan and Chris are passed over for the big floating target that is Mizuki, as the cobras begin slinging lightning left and right at her, likely to shoot her down through sheer numbers. The remaining few focus their efforts on Amalthea, blasting her with similar quantities of high voltage, though much less likely to fry her with Chris' ablative armour coating her from head to toe.

Priscilla has posed:
    Nathan's SCAN reveals that the mage serpents are obviously resistant to most forms of magic, but their physical attributes are lower than the ones below, and are succeptible to fire. What is more pressing, is that he picks up much larger signatures from just above them, with physical parameters through the roof, and no weaknesses save for, paradoxically, lightning. Let's hope the giants are just there to run the fort and not to interfere with adventurers as well.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    It's a moral victory for Psyber. He gets to plummet to his death and make himself ineligible in Sen's Fortress. He also gets to help clear the way for the others! All in all, he'd consider it a good, if painful, way to resolve his desire to help out and his desire to go fight things!

    And so as he plummets to his screaming and painful death, with the two of the spirits colliding with the bottom-most floor of the Fortress with a heavy, echoing crash, he doesn't have many regrets about dying.

YOU DIED

    He takes off the glasses he was wearing in his office to project himself for summoning and stretches out in his office chair, reaching into his desk to take out a bottle of amber liquid and down a slug of it.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The Imperial Legatus almost gets nailed by the ballistae. Thankfully maybe some of Chris' magic comes into play, or just by sheer luck. The bolt goes across the surface of the armor, scraping across a great deal of the metal work.

As soon has that happens, Gaius levels his Gunblade with his leap back and fires, not normal projectiles, but ceruleum shells-- Shells that explode on impact with a great deal of force and blue flame from the stuff within them-- being ceruleum is very volatile stuff.

His plan is to hopefully damage the ballistae. Yet as he impacts the ground, he rolls a bit and his hand has to come around quickly to grab the ledge. A normal man shouldn't have that form of finger strength he is showing-- but the armor is flickering a blue aura as his fingers dig into the stone.

Without being able to himself up in this position, he makes himself useful- until something probably blasts him off-- or-- someone actually goes to grab him-- though he doubt anyone would be crazy enough to do that.

He raises up his gunblade and fires off several more explosive rounds, attempting to take out any red phantom that may be still standing and a few serpents.. even as his fingers start to slide slightly.

He silently wonders if one dies here-- do they return? Be interesting to experience what death is like-- beyond this not being how he ever thought he would go down.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    With the crazy phantoms coming in to be assholes, and the serpent mages revealed... there, over there, the mages who scorched these two! And will interfere terribly if left alone.

    No time to think twice about it! Pouring prana through his leg muscles, Shirou takes a remarkable flying leap over the gap!

    It is, however, slightly misjudged. He puts in TOO MUCH power and slams into the wall in front of one of the sword-wielding serpents.

    Though a shoulder's bruised and he's a little winded he manages to dive into action with a hot-blooded yell! The magus swordsman puts all of his heart and soul into an offense, catching incoming slashes along the fragile Uchigatana's flat and countering with graceful but speedy slashes!

    He's gotta take those mages down...!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
As for Yuna ... when she wakes up back where she was before Phantom summoning, she is not knocking back a drink. She is however giving serious thought to nabbing a painkiller or something. Even if it's just magically psychosomatic, her everything - literally, *EVERYTHING* - hurts an incredible hell of a lot.

In fact, the residual ache and the all-too-fresh sensations of getting killed are bad enough that she just works on centering herself again, mentally and spiritually, to the best extent that she knows how.

Staren has posed:
    "YOU!" Staren shouts at Gaius, but... well, they're on the same side today, so he hrmphs and looks back to the two phantoms... "Aw, dammit!" Staren cries out when the missiles are shot down. Maybe he should have used more. While he considers what to try next... Everything happens. Psyber charges across and sacrifices himself to take one out, lightning and bolts fly everywhere... including at him! The first bolt hits his forcefield, which manifests as a thick, transparent amber hollow sphere around him, with a chunk shattered out by the impact -- Staren stumbles back, and another bolt hits the field, breaking away another chunk (the damaged portions just become showers of amber sparkles that fade away) -- this time his wings manifest and he takes to the air, trying to dodge bolts while flying to put some serpentfolk between him and the red phantom. The forcefield is heavily damaged by that time -- Some outer layers completely destroyed, and some of the discs on his armor crackling and smoking.

    As for the cobrafolk before him... he draws his beam sabers and CHARGES, trying to parry or cut the sword with one saber while stabbing them in the gut with the other and, hopefully, ramming them clean off the walkway.

    At least, Staren /hopes/ it will work that way...

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    And now -she- has the great pleasure of being the center of attention for the enemies for a change. Marvelous. Really, that wasn't her intention, but she was suddenly feeling a bit of a lust for adventure and excitement! ... as if she wasn't getting enough already. But really, all of these stupendously heroic deaths and suicide dives have really moved her into something of a state of frenzy that may well cast doubt on what she was saying before about 'loving peace'. But we all have moods we cycle through, right?

    Well, this is one of hers, and apparently it makes her something of a living lightningrod. A veritable war line of cobras fire their magic at her, as if they were the cannons on the metaphorical battleship of the opposite wall. She deftly dodges the first few bolts with a swoop here, perhaps a flourish there, but her hubris certainly gets the best of her after that; the moment she returns from her second aerial swoop, she's struck almost directly in the side by one bolt of lightning. And that one is paralyzing enough to leave her vulnerable for another, and another, and -another-, meaning the combined efforts of the reptilian mages easily 'cook her goose', so to speak. Her wings cease to function, and she plummets as a living comet toward whatever perils await her on the floor...

    ... but ah! What sort of adventure would this be if she died before she reached the roof? No adventure at all! She must survive long enough to see the breaking down, or at least die in a fittingly cinematic way. So she shrugs off much of the pain to stir her wings to motion again, gently shifting them so as to right her. And when she is in the proper position, she rockets back up, hugging the wall that serves as a fortress for the fiends, trying to get up close to them. She stops and lets the already built inertia of her flight push her ever higher into sky as she switches positions, gripping her blade and angling toward one of the mages. Then, regardless of any magic that may again be coming at her, she dives in at them, using one of her inverted stasis spheres to amply her speed.

    If that strike is successful, she wouldn't stop there, rushing in to end the lives of as many others as she can with a series of swift, powerful thrusts. If she misses her target in the initial dash, though, she would likely slam into a wall, making herself quite the easy target for all of them.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Oh right! Hails of Ballistae fire. Unless Gaius Van Baelsar's assault on the ballistae manages to interrupt the second volley, or someone else can effectively tank for him or provide cover besides some of the pillars that just don't seem to be working as cover, he'll probably wind up skewered through once or twice. If such an event does come to pass, he'll probably wind up quietly gasping in severe pain for a moment before succumbing to wounds.

    If someone DOES managed to intercept that saturation fire and protect him, though, he's gonna keep to cover, being a good escort-mission-NPC or something like that.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Wuyin watches the ensuing chaos. It makes him a little bit happy inside. Explosions that aren't centered on him kind of tend to.

Physical attacks and fire, he thinks, listening to the voice on the airwaves. He can handle that. He steps out of the reasonable cover of the entrance to this level, having already taken stock of the surrounding area. Then, he starts forward, beginning by sweeping his free hand upwards and forming a crude wall of ice between Nathan and the potential murder weapons. When he judges himself close enough, he flicks his wrist in a different manner, Anima charging in the form of a roiling ball of flame and casting it towards the mages in a big, flashy display. 'Watch out for me,' it seems to say.

*flicker*

Wuyin vanishes, teleporting in a series of two quick hops to close with the serpent-mages. When he reappears, his sword has ignited, the edges glowing red and orange from the Anima-fueled flame. He lays into them with a dizzying series of circular slashes, a trail of hazy light left behind manifesting in the shape of a hovering, spinning dagger. Once there's a half-dozen of them, he sends them sailing, launched outward from him with nary a touch into the same things he's fighting. They don't hit very hard, but they do leave /nasty/ wounds before they disappear.

Priscilla has posed:
    The ceruleum shells do exactly what they were designed to do alright. A single direct hit blows the wooden siege machines to pieces, sending jagged shrapnel clattering into the echoing depths below. The serpents manning them are likewise easy targets, tossed around like rag dolls from the explosions. The crossbow wielding phantom is hurled back by a direct hit, landing in the elevator, dazed, and then suddenly pulled out of view by the chains spinning to life. The mages however, are more difficult targets, swatting shells out of the air with arcs of electricity, not even having to aim to intercept pieces of metal. Emiya doing the hotblooded, suicidal thing has a mixed payoff. Even though the cobras are casters rather than soldiers, they are far stronger than he is without reinforcement magic, and are wielding two massive, wave-bladed swords. He might be breaking that uchigatana several times before he manages to overpowered one, and then another, though thankfully they go down fairly easily once struck; the clash of scale giving way to hissing shrieks as scales split and blood pours out of the clean, slicing cuts the sword makes. Staren has a little bit of an easier going with his power armour and beam saber, but it still takes several exchanges of blows to cut the things down; both swordsmen working opposite sides to slowly mow down their numbers.

    Mizuki and Wuyin charging in from the opposite end seals their fate, creating a swiftly toppling domino line of humanoid snake corpses as the girl's lightning fast lunges and thrusts skewer them one after the other and the young man's fire-enhanced swordplay sends dismembered body parts flying this way and that. Thankfully, Nathan is spared a rather (read: unbelievably) painful end by the wall of ice the Dragon member has so thoughtfully erected for him, leaving the ballista bolts held in the ice after having punctured halfway through. That taken care of, the battle scarred room falls into eerie silence. Priscilla finally pokes her head out from the stairs in, having left matters to her army of expendable phantoms. Quietly, she walks straight over to the narrow bridge, and surprisingly enough, balances along it fairly easily, feeling no need to try and jump to an adjacent walkway. Stepping over the blades left by Psyber's bullrush, she finally reaches the other end as the elevator comes down, with the disintegrating corpse of the red phantom lying prone on it. Still without saying a word, she leans forward and looks up into the elevator shaft, hands on her knees, before finally turning around. "The lift goes straight past the exit and continues up into a ceiling affixed with spikes. Please do not wait for it to come to a halt before disembarking, as it will not." Architect 'being a dick' status +1.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Things were a little touch and go there. In the chaos of ballistae, red phantoms, and electricity, somewhere in the fray only Amalthea's wits, reflexes, and Chris' liquid metal repairing armor spell kept her in relatively one piece, rather than chalking ANOTHER horrible death to her tally.
    It's adding up, and the truth is, she's not really liking that.
    So whilst Psyber dramatically renders the red phantoms a moot point and others focus on the ballistae and serpent men, Amalthea finds another way to make herself useful.
    Suddenly, a golden hand and gauntlet reaches down, clasping around the gauntlet of the blue phantom hanging from the ledge.
    "Hngnh! Jesus you weigh a fucking ton." Amalthea grunts as she holds tightly to the legatus' wrist with one hand, shield in the other as she HEAVES with every ounce of her strength to haul Gaius back up the ledge.
    Sure if he died he'd be fine, but it's less of a hassle to have to summon again, less of a trek, and frankly less of a terrible experience to let someone else go through.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki lets her arms fall slack when all of those things are dealt with properly. She takes some time to collect herself, taking a few deep breaths to pacify her quickened, erratic breathing rate. Whether he's paying attention or not, she would address Wuyin afterwards. "E-Exciting, wasn't it? Usually, I don't much care for fighting, but that certainly woke me up. In a figurative sense, I mean. But ah, we mustn't dally -- onward, onward!" Then she takes to the sky again, alighting on the ground near Priscilla. Her warning gets a quirk of her eyebrow.

    "Truly? Hmm." She forms a checkmark with a pair of fingers. "A 'sadistic architect' indeed." She smirks. "I should have liked to have met them~." And with that, she casually strolls into the elevator shaft, not showing any clear signs of apprehension.

    ... but don't worry. She's probably not distracted enough to end up with a rusted spike jutting out of her eye.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    And then, all is silence, so to speak, and Chris, much like Priscilla, pokes his head out of safety. Once he's fairly sure they're not under further attack (for the moment), he takes a step out, stopping for a moment to check on Gaius; assured of the Garlean's safety by Amalthea's aid, he decides to go on ahead for the moment, stepping onto the bridge right behind Priscilla. He waits at the bottom, however, not stepping on until she's pronounced her recommendation for elevator safety. "...whoever designed this place is a total dick," he mutters, more to himself than anyone else. It's perfectly audible, though.

Staren has posed:
    Staren grunts when the stab /so/ doesn't one-shot the cobra. His beam swords glow red with fire-element as he has an intense little sword duel with it, but he emerges victorious!

    And, in fact, everyone seems to have emerged victorious! Except for the people who fell. "Everyone alright?" He calls, as he flies to the far side.

    Staren furrows his brow as Priscilla explains the next trap. "Sheesh. Who designed this place? Do they know about trial-and-error gameplay videogames?"

    Once Priscilla GATHERS HER PARTY AND VENTURES FORTH, Staren readies himself in the elevator, dashing out as soon as the next floor is in view!

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Garlean Steel may be lighter then normal steel and Gaius may indeed have some cloth-leather mixed in with it, but no matter how much, someone lifting a fully grown man in even what he wears is /no/ easy task.

When Amalthea tosses Gaius back up, his hand almost let go. I was a close call really-- a very close call. He rolls along the ground when he is thrown and just--- lays there for a moment. He raises up his Gunblade, checks the chamber, clicks the chamber back into place and then hears Priscilla speaking about the Elevator.

Also-- from the player's note of minor forth wall breaking-- it takes skills to roll in an armor that has side horns.. but anyways!

Gaius goes to get back up and grunts as he does so. He then looks over to Amalthea, "..Thank you." He says with a genuine tone in his voice. Now as for that walk way-- if it requires some crazy footwork of twinkle toeing-- screw that crap. He'll shimmy it by his own hand strength. If it isn't /that/ bad, he'll just walk across it with care.

When he does get to the other side he looks over to Priscilla, "Would it be against the rules or unwise to punch the man in the face of his horrific designs?" Its hard to say if he is being sarcastic-- or honest.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou quickly realizes his mistake after the second copy of the Uchigatana breaks. To him it's as if time freezes in that instant with a sword closing in on him and death at hand. While the fragments of the second Uchigatana fall around him, he sees another good candidate. It's perfect. Not too long, not too fragile. A straight blade with two edges.

    He's focused not on the enemy in front of him, but the faraway blade. Even so...

    Even so, His stance changes ever so subtly and the Uchigatana's hilt is dropped, in favor of a new weapon appearing. Prana sizzles, forming into a translucent vague shape just in the nick of time. "Not one deviation or compromise from the original... capture the creation model, form basic framework, replicate composition, mimic the maker's skill...!"

    Clang! Sparks fly as the still-forming sword's taking on a life of it's own. SHirou might not be the strongest warrior, especially not next to his model, but the chinese Jian that he's crafting knows how to fight these enemies. It JUST DID.

    With movements almost like a cobra's he bats aside weapons, taking swaying and sweeping strikes and then LUNGING in with great slashes and thrusts once he's battered down defenses. His upper body's SCREAMING from the strain, but Shirou shuts out the pain. The first Serpent falls and Shirou rushes forward, the gleaming bundle of sizzling prana gaining ever more definition. He's putting ALL KINDS of work into this one compared to the previous endeavors.

    This one is worth it. Entirely worth it.

    "Reproduce construction... account for growth and experience..." Every minute detail's captured, by all accounts, flawlessly. Wuyin Tsai's favored Jian goes into action as Shirou forces prana into his protesting upper body. Every clash brings a grunt and a groan from him, but he presses on.

    "Excel at every step... all processes clear!"

    With a final swing, the Jian clears the prana miasma and DRIVES straight for the second Serpent's heart!

    It's going down.

    When it does go down, SHirou's left staggering and leaning on the longsword, gasping for breath and struggling to keep his eyes open through what seems to be some kind of agony.

    These super accurate Projections still take a lot out of him.

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
Sometimes the Dragon saves your life, and sometimes he pushes you into a crevasse. Nathan seems like he'd die slowly and embarassingly, anyway. He should take more care to avoid it in the future!

Wuyin slides his free hand over the sword-blade once the mages are dealt with, extinguishing it before the fire can do anything to damage the blade itself. He's not certain that it won't, given how rarely he actually does that. He quirks a brow at Mizuki's commentary, catching his breath. "Are you certain you're alright?" She seems kind of... manic, to him. Unproductively so.

He sees something oddly familiar off to one side. Wuyin stops, turning to watch the remaining monsters get finished off. He observes Shirou's mimicry, brows raised, clearly surprised and impressed both by how well it worked. He can tell, though, that he's not used to that kind of channelling. Did he try and use his own magical power with the copied blade like Wuyin uses Anima? That's... dangerous.

"Hey, kid." Wuyin goes over to the exhausted sword-mage, proferring a blue glass bottle like a smaller facsimile of a beer bottle. He's popped the cap already. It smells sweet. "You look like you need this." He'll get to the Elevator of Your Sudden Demise momentarily.

Priscilla has posed:
    "As I believe the designer to be a demigod, and I hath only the slightest idea where he may be found, punch at thine own discretion shouldst we ever meet him." Priscilla's reply to Gaius is terse, but oddly good humoured for how she usually treats Confederates. Waiting for each couple of people in turn to take the elevator, nicely slowed down with the weight of several adventurers on it at once, she comes up on the last trip, making sure to wait a little while for Emiya to get his breath back after that frenzy of sword-butchery, and stoops out of the way of the spikes to get through the doorway. What a goddamn gauntlet.

    Finally, everyone is let out onto the roof. The sunlight, even as pale as it is, is almost painful after so long in that dim interior. It's nice to simply see the sky instead of worrying about what lies on the floor above, though for some odd reason, the shape of the clouds seems to ripple and distort ever so slightly, as if some sort of violent wind were twisting silently in a dome completely covering the top of the fortress. As Nathan had predicted, a trio of hulking figures, only vaguely humanoid in shape, sit motionless on three seperate towers; one by a stack of boulders, one next to a massive crank, and another by the portcullis. One of them turns its concealed face to look towards the emerging group, but the other two seem more fixated on something else. Specifically, the fourth towering shape among them.

    At the center of the towers, the square roof of the square fortress creates a perfectly square, flat and level arena, in which stands a figure in armour eight times the average man's height. On closer inspection, it does not appear to be /wearing/ armour, but /made/ out of solid black iron; standing motionless and resting its hands atop the hilt of a gargantuan metal axe. It appears plain and austere; completely functional save for the strange hole in its chest and a very spartan ornament atop its helmet. There is however, also a fifth figure. This one not so massive. On a crenellated walkway, just feet away from the obvious battleground the golem stands over, is a knight who's blue surcoat matches amaltheas; face obscured by a beaked helm and clutching a sword and shield. At the sound of the elevator coming up, he turns his head, staring through the slit visor of his helmet.

    "Oh. It's you." That seems to be all Oscar has to say today. It a remarkably cold tone. Far from the friendly knight many members of the group had met three times already.

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
The Imperial Legatus keeps his opinions to himself on the matters of gods and demigods, but he gives a nod to Priscilla, "Duly Noted, my lady." Though he has to admit-- that Elevator was.. intimidating and not a fun ride when it came to actually /getting off/. Yep. He really wanted to carry out that punch to the face.

When he does arrive, he thanks the sunlight, even if it is not much-- its better then within that Gauntlet. Yet what they come to find is-- not what he expects to see. He takes a moment to study what is before him, including the one that speaks to him.

He tilts his head ever so faintly, but does not speak. He does not know this man, but it seems others do. Silence, is the better option for now.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan Hall has one of those rather terrible moments where a large projectile is barely deflected. A ballista bolt strikes through an ice wall and reaches about an inch away from his eye before it stops. Nathan doesn't react, despite this entire situation being completely terrifying. He's gonna stay behind this wall until it's time to go... And then, they clear the room! The horrible corpses left behind are terrifying to him on a personal level.

    Oh, spikes on the elevator. That's not gonna be fun. Nathan follows along with a lot of worried noises, and a quick aside to Wuyin, a simple, "Thank you for the assistance." He's extremely careful about those spikes, looking up almost the entire way. And then, finally, a friendly new face! OSCAR!

    "Ah, salutations, Oscar." Nathan says, either ignoring or missing the coldness of the tone. "Thank goodness. I had seen so many of the group you worked with dead that I worried for you as well. Are you alright, or would you like assistance?" He also waves the other group in a calming fashion. "Try not to aggrivate the giants if we can avoid it." And then back to Oscar himself. "We have suffered some losses on the way up ourselves. I am unsure what other challenges there are yet to be faced, and this fortress has even our own group faltering. It may be poorly timed and impudent to ask, but could we offer our assistance to you, and request your own to help us move on?"

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    It takes Amalthea a second for so to get her breath and balance back. But she simply waves one gauntlet at Gaius. "Don't mention it." She replies, steam venting from several joints in a quiet hissssss. "I don't care if he's a demi god or not, I'm going to kick him in the balls when we meet the architect of this nightmare madhouse." Up the elevator though to the roof and the first thing to draw her attention is not the figure of metal and steel, but the smaller armored figure of the man matching her attire, the unicorn's lone eye focusing on him.
    "... Oscar?" Oh she recognizes his voice and garb, but his demeanor is less chipper than when she last saw him. "Are you well?"

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    For the moment, Chris decides to hang near the back of the group, silent. This is 'talking to someone who is in a fragile emotional state' and that's... not his strong suit in the least.

    He does, however, start glancing at Shirou occasionally, and tapping away at his PDA.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou is fit enough - he's trained extensively... but not in these exact motions. And not contending against such brute strength! And his existence is uniquely suited to the reproduction of swords. That shouldn't be any danger to him...

    ... but 'no danger' isn't the same as 'damn that was hard.' He's breathing hard, and continues doing so for a few seconds after the bottle's offered. "I'm still getting used to this." He mumbles. It's true, but he DID pull it off.

    Then he takes the bottle, and sniffs. "Thanks... what is this?"

    He takes a sip- a gul-- accepting that on blind faith it's not some weird jest and immediately...

    "Hggggghh?!" It's like he's on FIRE from within. Not entirely in a good way. He immediately has to clamp down on his Magic Circuits and control the flow. More energy than he's ever had to process just got dumped into him!

    He's still a bit jittery and now sweaty during the roof walkout, and he's sticking with Wuyin for now. But he's left gaping at the sights that await up there...

    "A giant?!" And what an axe it has...

    He soon takes note of the one living person they've found in this place though. "You made it all the way through that?!" Shirou's stunned. There's really only one question here.

    HOW?

Staren has posed:
    Staren's visor automatically tints to deal with the sunlight. He's looking around for the attack that will surely happen the moment they step off the elevator... no? Hmm.

    Well, that statue is obviously the boss. Staren's missile launchers rise into position, and he's about to throw everything at it when Nathan asks not to. Well... okay, he supposes it's worth asking if they've won now.

    Staren looks at Oscar a moment. Then at the giants. "So, what happens now? Did we pass the test?"

    If the statue /does/ animate and attack, though, it is getting a volley of four (4) plasma minimissiles and four (4) armor-piercing micromissiles from all angles, for a grand total of 4d6x10+12d6 mega-damage. And, y'know, probably some pot shots from the FIWS's plasma beam cannons (1d6x10 MD) while Staren flies back away from it.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki's 'euphoria' persists well past when the group has arrived at the roof. In fact, it only seems to grow. She turns to face the sun -- Faruja's God bless her lack of truly biological eyes that may hurt some when they emerge; she can enjoy it as much as she likes! -- and takes in a deep breath. She suppresses a smile this time, though, instead electing to just look on in her own, personal bubble of serenity. Ah, but she gets this stirring feeling... is there something she's forgetting? Something... oh, yes. She turns to face the group, arms folded behind herself.

    "Now might be a good time to remind you all of a prophetic inkling I received the first time we came to inspect this place. And rest assured - it is trustworthy. It is the sort the is derived from the world itself, not my own, fickle 'genre savvy'. But my preamble aside." She exhales. "I was 'told' by the powers that be that the roof was, by far, the most dangerous area of this entire place. Even if things look deceptively smooth now that we stand in the sun, I advise you all to proceed with extreme caution. Copious amounts of caution even in excess of what you've already exhibited, and what you're already feeling. For I do have this sneaking suspicion that something bad may happen." She casts her gaze now to the distant towers, where the many different foreboding figures rest. "No great wonder why, with them around, but my point nevertheless stands."

    Her explanation finished, she takes a step back and bows her head to signify that she is done, and that everyone should turn rest their eyes elsewhere. Like on Oscar, for example! She doesn't recognize him in the least, but she's more than interested to hear how he became acquainted with those she's travelling with.

Priscilla has posed:
    It's impossible to really tell what kind of look Oscar is giving Nathan with that full face helmet on, but for some reason, nobody present really gets the present it's a nice one. Turning the rest of his body to face him, Oscar completely ignores the iron collossus for the time being, apparently confident it wont move until he steps into its arena. He's probably right. After all, everything had been very strict so far, playing within a precise set of rules. "No, I think we've had plenty enough of your 'assistance' so far." Comes the inappropriately terse reply. "At first I thought I didn't mind seeing some friendly faces in that Asylum, and was even glad you made it out of there alive, but let's not fool ourselves here. I know you aren't from here. You aren't from a distant land somewhere I've never heard of. Griggs already figured out the lot of you are from another world entirely."

    One can almost hear the straining of metal with that white knuckled grip he has on his sword as Amalthea joins in. "Am I well? My companions and I have been wandering this land for months, seeing death at every turn, scrounging around in hopes of breaking this curse ourselves. After three attempts on the parish, we arrive to find that someone else has rendered all of our hard work for nothing by flying through and ringing the bell themselves. Then, the lady Rhea decides she would rather be escorted by a group of people she's never met before rather than the trusted men who saved her once before, and came within inches of being abducted. We waste another week scouting for the second bell, and only after braving those depths twice do we find that someone else has used our map to run ahead of us and do the same thing. We had to turn back with our tails between our legs after all of the suffering we went through to get there. Finally, it seems the way ahead of us is clear and the bells won't even matter, and all six of us come this way again and again, confident that at least one among us has to be the Chosen. After my companions sacrifice their lives over and over again, only I remain here, and before I can even take on my duty to them in at least trying the best this place once and for all, a gaggle of strangers with no reason to be here and no idea what it is to be cursed, all show up to take over again and resolve it their way."

    It's an unbelievably bitter speech. He'd seem . . . let down the last time anyone had seen him, but a lot of things must have happened since then. Things that have obviously embittered him to the idea of offworlders trying to nose in on a sacred rite of passage. "Yes boy. I made it through. On the backs of my comrades and the days of blood and sweat we poured into this, here I am. Don't you think I at least have the right to do something myself? Don't you think I, born in this world, deserve a chance to save it before someone completely safe from what plagues it, here only out of some sense of noblesse oblige? Stay right there and watch. I'll be damned if I let the whims of outsiders succeed Lord Gwyn's sacrifice."

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius listens to the long rant. He does not know this man. He is not invested in this man. If the man desires to go forth and tackle the giant being alone, then so be it. Though he does know only a fool would not take the aid of others when faced against great odds-- but again-- who is he to speak.

So Gaius crosses his arms over his chest as he shifts his body weight to one side. He'll let those who are far more invested in this man try to talk sense into him-- if they so wish to do so.

Chris Rothschild (283) has posed:
    "...there's one thing you're wrong about," a voice says, from near the back.

    Of all people, it's Chris. Standing up straight, rather than his usual slouch, his gaze surprisingly hard, even considering his usual expression. His posture, for once, puts his full six feet, two inches of height to good use; even if he might not be the bulkiest person in the group, he can at least stand tall, can at least meet Oscar's gaze.

    "...Not all of us are outsiders. We're here because one of our allies is from here. Because it's her world at stake and she wants to fix it. I'm not... I don't exactly have a lot of what you'd call friends. Barely any." A little shake of the head. "...So anyone willing to stick their neck out for me, I'm willing to do the same. I'm not good for much. But I can at least pitch in for an ally."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Any reply Mizuki could give here would be snide well beyond the the call, and would likely rile more than just him, so she holds her tongue. Certainly, she could be snide. She could pipe up regarding these issues that she knows nothing about and chastise him for his sense of bravado and childish 'entitlement to the mantle of Gwyn', but thankfully, she -did- take something away from her speech with Priscilla. Giving the woman a brief stare in reverie, she recalls this: that she might not know the whole story, and that she may be misunderstanding something. Here that is almost certainly the case, as one who has lived in this world as long as this 'Oscar' has is certain to have seen things that have driven him to the brink many times over. And now... now, in the wake of everything, he is most certainly not thinking rationally. It would take an extremely egocentric soul to miss these things.

    So she wisely yields the conversation to people more capable of placating him, like Nathan, while she looks again to the foggy sky. Her thoughts drift to the city of Anor Londo, and the secrets that it holds, and the beauty. If any were wondering how, in the face of all of this insanity, she could still be so exuberant, that is why: her prize of prizes, a visit to that most reticent relic of this world's Gods, is close in coming. No matter what, it seems that she will have the privilege of seeing it soon.

    Her thoughts continue to drift and swirl, and within mere moments she is as far as can be from the would-be conflict on the ground. Off in the clouds somewhere, most likely, but at the least, it encourages her to give the rest of them space.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Despite her lack of helmet, Amalthea may as well be wearing a stone mask. As Oscar slides into his embittered ranting, she is silent, responding little save for the occasional flit of her ears and flick of leonine tail. She lets him get it out, not interrupting, not trying to get a word in edgewise as he list every single sin the group has committed in trying to help. It's true, they have denied the Undead their rite to passage.
    And at first she sighs. It is a long suffering and tired sigh of someone who has thrust her nose in far too many quests and trials, whether she wanted to or not, and the truth is she can't help but agree with him. That still does not stop her.
    Like a sudden snap of lightning, the unicorn is in motion, violent and swift, she drops her shield, and she drops her gun, the mechanical paladin reaching to snatch Oscar of Astora by his surcoat, free arm reeling back in a sudden SWING, intending to crack her gauntlet across that beaked helmet in a single merciless punch, before her shoulder and elbow vent steam.
    "Cease your -bitching- Oscar of Astora. This is not the proud and noble knight we met in the Undead Asylum, what stands before me is a child right now." She snaps. The stone mask is gone, and now that lone eye is cast upon the Undead, baleful and endlessly deep. "Think you we had an easy time of it? That we haven't tasted death every time we set foot in this land? That we're here for fun and games, that we can just dance a little jig and giggle and say 'twas but all a jape! Let us merrily caper while the Undead suffer!'?" She counters venemously. "We're here on YOUR behalf, on Indra's behalf, Sebastian, Adelbert, Cassius. For every Undead now, for every Undead there will be, to prevent any further Hollowing."
    That said she reaches her hand out. A less aggressive motion, simply offering it. For a shake if he's still standing, or to pull him to his feet if not. "Now rise. You're a knight, -RISE-. Do the damned trial and do not complain for pride or rights of passage. DO IT. This time, we're all right behind you."

Staren has posed:
    And then, the 'friendly' knight tells them how terrible it is to be helped. Staren's missile launchers lower again. He turns to face the knight again. "Oh. Yes. We're just complete /jerks/ for trying to help people." Staren snarks. "I admit, I have no idea /why/ noone gave you a radio and told you what we were doing. That mistake's on us, yeah. But you say we shouldn't be here to help?" He steps towards Oscar. "I don't freaking care what others think. I'm not going to let people die, or worse, slowly watch themselves and their friends become monsters, because of /pride/. If you're cured, your life will go on. So will all the others now cursed. You can complain that you didn't get to be the hero. Or you can find a purpose with your new life, like helping others. I know that even though I have little personal stake here, aside from a request from a local friend to help," he nods at Shirou, "there have been plenty of times where /I/" he holds his hand to his chest, "have had to stand by helplessly and watch as all my power, all my might, isn't enough to save friends, or even countless innocent lives." he sweeps his hand in a short, sharp gesture. "For awhile, I decided it was pointless and gave up," he shakes his head and throws up his hands, then looks right at Oscar. "but you know what? I realized that there are times when I /can/ help. And that what /I/ can do, is help when I can. Make a difference. Improve lives. YOU," he points at Oscar, "May be a native, but that doesn't mean you get to deny help for all the others of your world. We're here. We want to save people. If you think that's wrong, you're seriously screwed up."

    Staren crosses his arms. "Despite the name, being Chosen isn't about fate, or pre-determination by the gods... Passing this test is the process by which one or more of us will /earn/ that title." Staren half-turns, and lifts a hand to indicate the colossus. "Now, you can enter that arena with your pride, and who knows, maybe you'll even win. But if you fall alone, will you really be happy?" He turns back to Oscar. "Or, you can step into that arena /with/ us. Remember, becoming the Chosen isn't about pride or fate -- it's about who wins today. Now, will you do whatever it takes to become a Chosen, even if it means allying with a bunch of outsiders who will improve your chances? Or is pride more important than helping your people?"

    Staren looks around. "...You know, you must be a serious badass to make it this far. So, know that I'm not saying 'Oh hey, come with us for a free ride' -- This challenge before us is the toughest yet, and you and we /both/ need all the help we can get. Will you help us, and let us help you, and together we can help your friends and all the other cursed in this land?" Staren extends a hand, offering a handshake.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Ngh-" What's Shirou supposed to say to that? The redhired magus blinks several times indeed. There is this person in front of him who desperately needs help, even as he's rejecting it. If he doesn't et help, he'll probably die. He's crying inside and disheartened.

    "That kind of thinking is wrong!" He blurts heatedly, anger flaring on his face. Anger, and desperation. "It's not just wrong, it's stupid. Take that thing on yourself just to prove you can?" Shirou gestures angrily to emphasize the point, glaring at Oscar.

    "We passed by your friends on the way here. Bloodied, slain. Compared to them you've barely a scratch to show for it! I don't even know you and I can say this. They died, and you lived. If you cross that line, face that giant alone and die, then all that work, all the pain, the misery, would have been for nothing. A lie, their sacrifice completely in vain. I don't care how you live for them, but don't you dare die for them!"

    He roughly tromps forward, glaring fearless at Oscar. "We're all working toards the same goal. That means we've been on the same side all along, and you're looking at us like enemies instead. Should a knight really be that selfish? There's no justice in that way of thinking at all!"

Wuyin Tsai has posed:
"Cursed?" Wuyin echoes. "Cursed to do what? To live and die, over and over? Perhaps to stand apart from the rest of your world because of no fault of your own," he suggests, his tone implying that he knows exactly what both of these are like. "I think there is more commonality here than you believe."

"We are simply here to attempt to save this world of yours. I can understand how someone like you would be hesitant or loath to accept our aid. Please." He makes an inviting gesture, as if to proceed, and then folds his arms. "If you think your strength will be what leads to the salvation of this place, or that you can shoulder this duty..." Wuyin shrugs a shoulder slightly. "I would rather someone who knows this place's plight in his heart be the one, in the end."

Priscilla has posed:
    There is an ear splitting *CLANG* as Amalthea's gauntlet strike's Oscar's helmet; a handful of sparks flying off just for dramatic effect. The knight abruptly shoving her off of him the moment after he reels back. Having dropped his sword, he grabs his helmet to try and quell the ringing in his ears, finally staggering to a stop. His hand balls into a fist, seemingly on the verge of a much more violent outburst this time, and then pauses mid motion as Amalthea's seemingly self righteous ranting goes in the opposite direction of where he most certaintly expected. Dropping his fist to his side, there is a long moment made especially tense by the fact nobody can read his face; simply left to watch as he hears Amalthea out, only to hunch his shoulders with the effort of listening to both Staren and Shirou; especially at the latter bringing the fact that he alone had survived the fortress into the equation.

    "How about this then." His tone is even and steady, but nothing even close to warm. Diplomacy seems to have had a mixed effect. "I'm certain you could win this without me. Even if I were to join in with you, the outcome would have been the same if I had not. Allow me at least this one chance, so I can look my friends in the eye after this is over and said that I took the chance they gave me and I gave it my best. If in the end, I do not win, you may attempt to save me in whatever manner you wish, and I will not utter one more word on the matter. You may go to Anor Londo and I will say nothing. If you truly believe I absolutely cannot do this, I perhaps I would not blame you, then step forth and fight in my place, but I will not have any part of it."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan's lack-of-reaction seems less calculated and more inarticulate, imperceptibly. A dry, blank, stoic look is given to Oscar that seems somehow more so than usual. And yet, he does seem to be in thought about this, putting a hand to his chin and looking down for a moment.

    There's Amalthea's first response, which gets a wince out of Nathan. The harsh drill-sargeant approach can work... But Nathan's not so sure it'll work here. He has the feeling it needs a bit of contrast to help. So he approaches this as well. And... Staren. Nnnh. Staren with the traditional lack of empathy to this. And Shirou with the traditional protagonist sort of thing. Wuyin gets credit for a less absolute approach, but...

    There's a heavy sigh from Nathan. He adjusts his glasses and initiates the Word-Fu.

    Nathan doesn't directly speak about Amalthea, but what follows up is clearly meant to be in contrast. There's also a hand on Staren's shoulder. "He does not get to decide for his whole world." Nathan says. "But, as a native, and as someone who has helped us enough that we all owe him many favors, as a knight, subject to the codes of honor therein, he is entitled to what we in my own land refer to as 'first dibs'. If he falls, so be it. If we fall for lack of an ally, it will be on his conscience. But we will not know until we give him a chance."

    Then to Shirou, an eyebrow quirks up. The eyes narrow slightly. The response Nathan gives is more to all the points as a whole, though. "His interest is sensible and logical. We are outsiders. We are not beset by the blight of undeath. And we are trying to be the ones who take up the cause of their exhausted leader. His motive is not pointless honor. Nor, I feel, would it be a dishonor to his fallen allies for Oscar, even if he fell against that foe."

    There's one last heavy sigh. "Oscar of Astora." Nathan crosses his arms. "You have the right to feel tension towards us. We are unknown quantities inserting ourselves into unfamiliar conflicts. We can give you no assurance of our intention besides some... Poorly worded attempts at conveyance. But you overestimate us. We have suffered no less than some half-dozen fatalities in our efforts." His glasses take on a shine. "However. Should you take no issue with our losses and risks, and wish to do this on your own, you may do so. Should you fail, we will try. Should we fail, it will be because of our group, you see, currently having its heavy damage-dealer missing, due to having died in the penultimate level... And having no replacement for him." He gestures to Oscar himself.

    Arms recrossed. "Do what you must." He says. "But understand what your failure might mean. Understand the weight of what you are doing. If you decide to go and fight alone, we are not your safety net. Understand the weight of this decision, founded in your... Tension with our group."

    "May it sharpen your blade in the battle yet to come, if you choose to." He gives a glance to the rest of his group. "However righteous I believe our attempts at generosity may be, it is important to remember /what/ we are /saving/."

Priscilla has posed:
    At the end of everything, Oscar gives Nathan a peculiar look, which is strange because all the looks he could possibly give appear the same with that helmet on. ". . . you have my apologies, Sir Nathan Hall. All of you do. It wasn't my place to speak so unkindly of you, and unbefitting of a knight to let his temper outpace his conduct. I . . . thank you for understanding this. As much as I know I need your help, this is simply something I must do." With those words, he takes a deep breath, turns towards the golem, and walks forward.

    The instant he steps over the boundary of the arena; a visible seam between the stone of the walkway and that of the roof; the iron creaks to life. A bright flame bursts into existence in the hole in the statue's chest, and as it flares, its limbs begin to move. Its gauntleted fingers wrap around the hilt of its utterly enormous axe, causing a layer of long gathered dust to shift from its armour plating as it moves for the first time in years. Oscar takes but two steps forward, shield raised, before the golem swings; still well out of range even for the great length of its arms. As the axe scythes through the air, the image of the golem wavers and distorts for reasons unclear, until the vicious howling of wind splits the quiet and a compressed plane of solid air slashes through the cobblestones straight towards the knight. So the golem is the one maintaining the air barrier around the roof to prevent someone from climbing.

    The knight takes it head on; sparks flying from his shield as the sheer force of the attack sends him flying backward like a thrown doll. For a moment, it looks as if he is going to hit the ground and go tumbling off the edge right then and there, and yet with remarkable agility for a feudal knight in plate armour, he flips himself around in midair, lands with his feet to the ground, and skids to a halt just short of a long fall. Without even so much as a battle cry, he goes charging right back into the fray, utterly without hesitation or fear despite the overwhelming difference in class between his opponent and himself. The golem throws another blade of air with a horizontal sweep, which Oscar dives beneath, sliding into the furrow left by the last one and coming sprinting out the other side. Leaping between the automaton's feet, he swings straight for its thickly armoured ankles, and by some miracle, his blade cleaves apart the solid metal straight and true. A flash of blue light accompanies the spray of sparks, being the distinct mark of an enchanted sword.

    The golem reciprocates by moving to simply stomp on him; splintering the stones beneath it with the sheer force of its weight, only for Oscar to dive out of the way into a nimble roll, slashing at the opposite ankle on his way past. A devastating overhead cleave comes his way, and yet again he is just out of its reach as the gargantuan blade comes down, filling the air with the sound of armour scraping on the axe's edge as it comes that close to having his arm. Despite the iron beast's collossal size, it wastes no time in heaving its weight around, wrenching its weapon free, stepping back, and laying about with three seperate swings of its axe; firing explosive blades of wind with every strike. Oscar dodges one. Then another. Then takes one straight to the chest, sending him tumbling against the crenellations with a sizeable rent in the front of his breastplate. Again, completely fearless, he leaps to his feet, ducking a followup blade and lunging back into the fray.

Priscilla has posed:
    Somehow, despite not exhibiting a single iota of superhuman strength or swiftness, he narrowly deflects a grazing blow with a swipe of his shield, and then plunges his sword deep into the golem's ruined foot, causing the black iron to creak and strain with the effort of holding up its master. One mighty wrench yanks the sword free and severs enough metal that the ankle gives out almost entirely, dropping the golem to one knee. Sweeping at him with its left hand, it catches him in its grip, hoisting him aloft and making as if to spike him down off the cliff past the end of the fortress with a single throw. At the very last second, the knight frees an arm from the collossus' crushing grasp, and plunges his blade straight through its thumb, allowing him just enough space to climb free and throw himself desperately to the arena floor.

    Standing up, readying his shield once more, breathing heavily enough that everyone can hear it, and yet completely undeterred by how much he's been beaten up, Oscar looks to the golem's arm as it readies its axe; pausing for just a moment, as if to fake him out, before bringing it down twice as fast as before with a devastating chop. Inches away from gruesome death, Oscar hops backward only a foot, expertly judging the weapon's length, and then leaps /on top of it/. Running straight along the haft of the golem's armament, as he must have practised many times on that narrow bridge in the final room, he leaps from its raised end and delivers a flying, two handed sword-plunge straight into his adversary's helm. The golem reels backwards, reaching for him with its free hand, and then the damaged ankle snaps completely, sending it leaning, falling, and then toppling backwards, smashing against the edge of the fortress as it tumbles from the lofty roof, and goes careening off the cliff below. For a few seconds, it seems Oscar had gone with it, until at last, the Astoran knight can be seen pulling himself up off the ledge with his shield hand, gasping with the exertion before rolling over onto his back and just lying there.

    And beneath him, a circle of light simply appears. Fading into existence, a bright golden band encircles him as he sits up, and serves as a beacon to the beating of wings from above. From over the sheer, impassable mountains that lie to the east of Sen's Fortress, beyond which lies the city of Anor Londo, a flight of /things/ spiral down. Some sort of gangly, bone-white humanoids with batlike wings, horns and tails, they would by all accounts, be stereotypical demons, were it not for the fact that upon surrounding Oscar, they grab hold of him as a group, and then begin to fly back; like a flock of grotesque angels carrying someone away to heaven. As he is flown away, Oscar manages to wiggle his arm free just enough to give a knight's salute to Nathan, Amalthea, Chris, Gaius, Shirou, Wuyin, Mizuki and even Staren, before becoming too small to see.

    Then the realization sinks in.

    If Oscar is now the chosen, the Union will absolutely /have/ to win the Battle of Stoicism, won't they?

Staren has posed:
    Staren sighs and shakes his head at Oscar's choice, but doesn't protest further. He settles in to watch how the golem fights, ready for the Union's turn later.

    Somehow, Oscar wins. It's pretty impressive! Staren claps and everything. "Holy cow! That was amazing! Congratulations!" he smiles, and... um... gives the 'angels' an odd look. Of /course/ the angels of this world look like that.

    Staren turns away from the fallen golem. "Alright, if he could do it, then working together, we should definately be able to do this!" The missile launchers raise, and Staren turns back towards the remains of the golem, waiting for the room to reset. He looks at the giants expectantly.

    Eventually it is, presumably, explained that this was a one-time deal.

    "WHAT?! You're kidding me... So, we came here to help, and... when we could have had /multiple/ chosen, he just took it for himself?" He takes off his helmet and scratches his head. "Well, I guess he certainly got us back for ninjaing his quest, huh... Still, /kiiiind/ of a dick move. So, what now?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan stares at the finale of the epic battle, especially troubled by Oscar's victory parade. "I may have made a tactical mistake. I thought he was going to lose. Though I am not sure if that procession is, strictly speaking, indicative of victory." There's a quick worried noise.

    There's a moment where he just sort of stands there, and then, there's a simple, "Oh." As if he just remembered he left his oven on back home, putting a hand to his chin contemplatively. "Well I suppose I am unable to continue, in that case. The only option now is the Battle of Stoicism. Even if named as such, I will be unable to progress."

    There's a long silence from him.

    "Worrying."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    SHirou's left completely astounded. Well, they probably saved the knight's spirits and that probably counted for something, but...

    ".... ....Battle of Stoicism?"

Gaius Van Baelsar (522) has posed:
Gaius continues to stand by as the talks go on. He does though-- watch the fight with great interest. Each swing, each movement. The Imperial Legatus does not take his eyes off the battle until it is over. He watches as then creatures come to take away the Knight and gives a faint nod.

It was an impressive show-- a skilled warrior at that. Though when Staren kinda goes temper tantrum, the Legatus looks over to the boy and speaks calmly. "'Tis better that one of there own gains the privilege then that of outsiders. He fought the creature with a noble heart and such a victory should not be tainted."

"Be glad for him as it may turn in good gracious later."

Then as Nathan speaks up, Gaius then looks over to him. His head tilts slightly, "Stoicism?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren pats Nathan's shoulder. "It's alright. You were trying to do the right thing." He looks at the newbies. "Yeah. It's a fighting tournament. So named because the entrants can expect to die a lot, even the eventual winners. So, you have to be able to just stoic through a lot of unpleasantness." He scratches his head again. "I guess we'd better learn the rules and find out how many people can win that one."

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla has that nasty habit of vanishing whenever locals are around. After all, she's only been persecuted by them for what, a thousand years? As Oscar finally leaves and she deems it safe to reveal herself, it is with a look of disbelief every bit as great as everyone else's. "Indeed, that was . . . something to behold. I do not suppose Anor Londo will replace the war golem with another if there is truly to be only one Chosen. The Battle of Stoicism is therefore, our best option." To Emiya and Gaius. "A tournament where phantom warriors compete against each other, duelling to the 'death' until one has achieved enough victories to grand them passage to the city of the gods. It was once a prime form of entertainment."