Scene #6435: Old Content 1:

Owner	Pose
Tomoe	Floating Castle Aincrad Floor 33 Tomoe had the quest sitting in her log for some time and had finally had some time to get around chasing after it. It didn't say much other than the map also seemed to have a faded message on the back of it. The only thing she could make out was the word help which left her wondering just what was going on with this quest. She'd put out the call and had given a location to meet up, a strange bit of the forest with a looming tower, there were no mobs about oddly leading up to it and Tomoe was leaning on the wall near the front door waiting for the others to arrive, and as for the weather it was a slightly warm sunny with only the hint of a breeze it was a fairly nice day. She had some sort of window open and was clearly looking at her UI as she waited for her friends to arrive, hopefully, this would just be a simple bit of fun and a small adventure. Once everyone had arrived she would get up and heads towards the door. Oddly on the door seems to be something that almost looks like a barbell of some sort but it's very stylized. "Hey ready to get going?" She grins widely. "It should be fun right? Or it's a final screw you from Heathcliff."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia could hardly turn down a call from one of her honorary ladies-in-wating! Plus, a video game adventure sounded like it would at least be fun and Sarracenia is always trying to stave off boredom. She arrives in a fox suit power-up (partly because she needed to fly, and partly because it is just cute!) and waves to Tomoe when she spots the warrior at the door. "Heathcliff? People are actually named that?" she says as she looks at the door, then smiles to Tomoe. "How are you? I hope you have enjoyed the dress I gave you after that dinner with Lilian." She looks around after that. "...this is inside a tower, is it not? How is the land so expansive? It looks as though there is no border. Is this because it is part of a video game?"
Alexis	An old forgotten quest they fished up. Literally. Yeah, that was slightly on the odd side, even by Alexis' standards. But hey, another reason to go poking around Aincrad some more, and that was all the reason she really needed. "Either way Tomoe, about time to find out. I just need the proper fit to the scenerio." She plucks a pokeball out and gives it a lazy lob in front of her to release some kind of round rodent-like critter. Who's round mostly because it looks like he's wearing spikey armor made out of bark and thorns. "Quilladin!" Despite the stout form with squat limbs he manages a reasonable attemtp at raising an arm and posing dramatically.
Staren	"Well I hope they didn't need it /urgently/." Staren comments, reading the back of the map. "Hopefully this works on videogame logic, so it doesn't matter that you saved the world, slept at the inn a bunch, and haven't played the game in awhile." Staren frowns behind his tinted visor at the mention of Kayaba by alias. "Hmph. Hopefully not. CARDINAL was the one in charge of quests, right?" Also, Sarracenia is here in what appears to be a mascot costume and/or fursuit. He doesn't comment, remembering the misunderstandings that led some of the SAO survivors to assume he was a furry in a medicuboid. Either the costume is useful or she likes it; both are perfectly acceptable reasons to wear it. "The floating tower Aincrad is really big. And at least originally, each layer was open to the outside -- so you don't see any surrounding walls, just sky. Unless you were fairly close to the edge, you wouldn't see that you're on a flying island."
Kirito	On the subject of Heathcliff, Kirito is silent - he merely gives Tomoe a LOOK. As if maybe one should be careful of speaking that name too much lest he appear like some eldritch monster. But he has come, geared up for battle. The Black Swordsman is dressed in his usual dragonleather black coat, with a single sword equipped in a back-worn sheath. Vox Unitas, one of Lisbeth's masterpieces, and by now quite familiar to just about anyone who's seen him around a lot. But he arrived by gently swooping in from above and landing near Tomoe, and is patiently waiting with an eager smile. "An old quest that's survived through everything we've been through? Sheesh. The curiosity's a killer on this one." He sounds pretty laid-back... and yet, with Sarracenia showing up, the youth blinks a few times. Then stares. -WHAT.- As she is taller than him, fairly pretty, and dressed in one of the WEIRDEST outfits he's seen yet. He slaps his forehead once, rubs it... and takes note of the others present. Alexis is recognized. And Staren... Staren gets a friendly, familiar, welcoming smile as Kirito rotates on a foot and plants it back down to face him. "Of course it works on video game logic. This is still Aincrad." The boy comments lightly. All in all, Kirito seems to be in a good mood.
Tomoe	Tomoe would make sure everyone had properly registered with her odd world's physics early so the party was all set up at this point. "Yes he used that name it was the avatar of the man who created the death game. It's a long story that I think I owe to tell you at some point princess why? It used to be a VR game called Sword Art Online it's now a part of our reality I wasn't born like this." She gestures to her pointy ears. "We can go for a flight later and I'll show you it from the outside if you like. This world is not quite normal even for one in the multiverse." Tomoe seems to approve of the pokemon that Alexis picked. "I don't think I met you before Quilldain before hi!" She looks back to Staren for a moment. "Yes CARDINAL is more or less Goddess now of our world, yes. Near as I can guess they are just putting unused content back into play." Kirito arrive and that gets Tomoe grinning pretty widely as she had for anyone else. "Totally old content we might end up just power bombing it given our levels now. Still, it could be fun, right? Tomoe will push the door open and enter into the tower the floor here is almost like a fantasy version of a lobby and ahead of the group are musclebound Orcs, about half a dozen or so charge at the party and Tomoe pops her tanking abilities pulling some of their attention off her and leaving them more open to the rest of the party through the odd thing why do the Orcs have sweatbands on?
Alexis	Alexis stuffs her hands in the pockets of her overcoat as she follows Tomoe to and through the doors. "His name's Checkpoint. Kinda the knight to Braixen's mage. Felt fitting for kicking around an RPG world." Not two steps into the new location and they've got aggressive spawns looking to pick a fight. "Heh. Doesn't look like this place has changed much... Checkpoint, tag-team Rollout." Alexis calls for a move that typically involves curling into a ball, so it's not really a shock that Quilladin does so by tucking his arms and legs inside the bark and moss 'armor' in sort of the same way an armadillo or hedgehog would. The name and the spikes would imply more towards the latter. The tag-team part? That would be Alexis stepping up and using a good old fashioned soccer kick to launch the ball'o'thorns at one of the orcs' faces.
Kirito	Recognition strikes. Kirito's eyes go wide. Then narrow. He does squash down overt signs of his suspicion, but he remembers Sarracenia now. The voice is clear. The goofy array of inventory items is telling. Last time these two met they were at each other's throats over some Digimon. And in the ensuing time... she and Tomoe have become friends? He'll just have to keep an eye on this girl. But he sticks his hands in his coat pockets. "I guess you could call it a tower." He explains to Sarracenia belatedly. "Its official name is Floating Castle Aincrad. One hundred floors. Though its shaped like a cone, so the lower floors are the biggest. Each is tens of square kilometers, easily. Stacked on one another like pancakes." He points upwards at what, at first glance, looks like a sky... but something seems off about it. Like it's a flat painting of a sky, after one looks closer. The far horizon, where one can see through the grates of the castle's walls, the sky moves quite differently...
Staren	Since the monsters attack as soon as they get in the party's aggro bubble, Staren's fairly certain they're not people, so he just starts shooting the orcs as they approach with his beam cannons." On top of a portable arsenal he can also fly, so melee mobs aren't a real threat. Only after the fight does he notice the workout gear. "They were wearing sweatbands. Is CARDINAL being weird again? Then again, I suppose if we can have an entire floor made of edible stuff..."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia seems to take the staring as a compliment, especially from the dashing Kirito. She moves to flick her hair, but blinks as there is none available to flick at the moment thanks to the full body suit. Still, she smirks and curtseys despite her lack of a skirt at the moment. "Hello. It is good to see you again...Kirito." She says his name with some emphasis and her smirk turns to a light grin. "Do not worry. I have not held our first meeting against you. It was all just a disagreement about how things should be handled." She waves to Alexis when she appears before looking curiously at the spikey rodent creature. "Nice to meet you, cutie!" she says cheerfully to the pokemon. Staren being here draw a suspicious glance from her. They haven't met often, but those few times they were not on the best of terms. Still, it has been a while and she has heard he is quite high ranked in the Concord. "Staren." she offers in cautious greeting. When the door opens and Tomoe rushes to meet the charging orcs, Sarracenia hangs back for the moment and reaches into the satchel she almost always has over her shoulder. She pulls out...a hammer just as tall as she is with a head that must be heavier than she is, then charges in behind Tomoe. She leaps and goes into a graceful ballerina spin. She holds out her hammer as she spins and tries to bowl the orcs over much like Alexis and her 'mon! She bounces with each powerful hit much like some kind of spinning top or pinball and heads toward another unfortunate orc.
Kirito	With the doors opening and MONSTERS IMMEDIATELY, Kirito frowns. He can't afford to be TOO carefree... as taking blows now means pain. Real pain, even if it's dulled somewhat. And it could mean death. He reaches up behind his back and draws Vox Unitas as the Orcs close in, dropping into a combat stance. "Heh... there's no point holding a grudge after all this time." He ashoots back in similar spirit, though far less formality. The fact that she went so far IS noted though. A point in her favor. With Tomoe pulling aggro however, Kirito darts off to the side and bolts into a dash, coming in from the side to CARVE INTO the orcs with his blade, yelling fiercely as he lashes out at their bared sides with a blade glowing blue to strike in V shaped swings!
Tomoe	The battle is joined and Tomoe is doing pretty well in keeping most of the agro on her as the hulking Orcs attack, and soon find Checkpoint is being kicked in the face their nature as digital construct becomes apparent however form the first impact as the spike leave jagged red wireframe rather than blood or other signs of injury. Tomoe had no idea that Kirito and Sarra has a past. It might just be she'd met her in a far better situation now. The orcs don't really stand much of a chance. Sarracenia is able to go through them quite as it's hammer time several just get all right and get crushed. Tomoe seems to be working well enough to duck just a bit as Sarracenia get into the mix, Staren's giving her some pretty good cover fire with Kirito following up as Kirito moves in to finish the last few orcs off. As each Orc goes down they explode into shards of light hen vanish several items do drop, Kirito and Staren would both get the work out speedo drop. Whereas Tomoe, Sarra and Alexis get work out yoga pants. "I think you are right, that CARDINAL is getting a bit screwy with her drops again." There's also some money and water bottles that dropped as well. The stairs up don't seem to be a problem but the angle is clearly made to force people to work out and there isn't much trouble from any more orcs as the group reaches the next floor which clearly is some sort of fantasy Gym and there's a door barring the way. Tomoe pauses as she looks at the place for a moment. "Oh you have to be kidding me we got a power seal blocking our way?" BGM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUhVCoTsBaM Pillar Men Theme - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Standing before the party is a hulking beastman of some sort with the head of a seal rippling muscle and is only wearing a speedo and it looks to them dropping a barbell calling out. "DO YOU EVEN LIFT? BRO!?" It then throws the barbell at Tomoe and she's about to intercept it but it's clearly done a bit of a number on everyone else, The Boss hud can be seen for a moment and its name is Power Seal. IT flexes its massive arms causing shockwaves to assault the rest of the party. "YOU SKIPPED LEG DAY! UNACCEPTABLE!"
Sarracenia	Sarracenia takes a moment to look up at the sky painting on the roof of the level and out the grating at the 'real' sky beyond the tower once Kirito has pointed them out. "I see." she says before diving into the orc pile. Once they are all down and they receive the rewards, Sarra raises an eyebrow. "...hmm. I am not sure I would wear such a garment, but..." She stows it anyway and follows after the others. Unless flying is disabled inside the tower, she doesn't actually climb the stairs. She flies up using her fox-suit powers. Tomoe had done such a good job that the suit is still intact! That is, until they reach the Power Seal. Seeing anyone - even an animal man - in a speedo causes Sarracenia's eyes to widen before she covers her eyes. "How dare you?! I never skip leg day! One cannot maintain legs such as these without following a strict regim-rrk!" The thrown barbell hits, followed by the shockwaves...and Sarracenia's fox suit disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving her in her battle dress. Juuuust as she is getting knocked back down the very steep stairs. It probably wouldn't be fatal, but it would certainly smart. "Aaaaaah!" the princess cries out as she falls backward, moments away from beginning a long journey of bouncing her way back down the stairs.
Staren	Staren makes a face at the speedo. He'll, uh, he'll turn that into a vendor or something. He supposes the armor might be fanservice for /somebody/, but not for him. Also. Water bottles? Polyethylene terephthalate is /not/ part of a fantasy setting! "Screwy indeed. What is this, the gym dungeon? I suppose it's still not the weirdest theme dungeon I've seen..." Oh huh it actually is. "Honestly, in retrospect, I'd have expected a 'you must break the seal to enter' pun to show up WAY before now." Tomoe blocks the barbell, but that leaves an unexpected shockwave washing over him. He raised his forcefield expecting SOME kind of attack, but all that does is get it damaged and send him stumbling back. "Oh come on! First of all, what are you even doing here? In Sword Art Online, people increased skills by using them! General strength training wouldn't have done much! And second of all--" Sarracenia goes down the stairs! Staren's wings -- clearly identical to a Cait Sith's -- appear and buzz as he flies down to catch her before she can fall more than several steps. "--You're obsolete!" He's still shouting at the boss even as he sets the princess upright. "Magic and technology can make someone as strong as they like without--" He holds a hand to his helmet. "Oh gods I'm arguing with an NPC..."
Alexis	Alexis holds up one of the pairs of yoga pants. Of course with her luck she got the pink pair as well. "I know these sort of 'games' like thematic descriptions, but this is a bit off the wall even for CARDINAL." She shakes her head a little, but tosses it in her pack anyways. Meanwhile Checkpoint opens one of the water bottles and starts chugging it down while they're walking up the stairs. Or more like doing an cardiovascular workout up the stairs. "Anyone else getting a weird feeling about the way this is go--" The finally step takes them into some weird workout floor "--Yeah, like that." Complete with one big buff bro-speaking boss. Checkpoint scampers to the front of the lineup... only to be sent rolling backwards when his stumpy legs are not enough to withstand the flex-wave. He bounces off a dumbbell and ends up stuck against a wall on his spikes, unable to shake free no matter how much he squirms. Alexis fairs a little better, holding an arm up to shield her face and bracing her feet against the ground. He ponytail and the tails of her coat flap about in the shockwave but she does better at staying on her feet and standing ground. "Good thing I brought this guy in case we need to move any osbtacles," she mutters as she digs for less often used pokeball and tosses. "You better check yourself before you get wrecked, cuz we brought a better gun show!" The pokeball bounces off the floor and cracks open with it's usual burst of energy. It rushes upwarn to consolidate into a form as equally large and swol as Power Seal, but a bit more humanoid, and wearing a teeny speedo with a big bodybuilder belt/brace. "MAAA" He flexes both of his big muscular arms "MAAAAAA!" ... and then the -second pair- of equally muscular arms upward after unfolding them from his back. "CHAMP!" Then heaves forward and swings a 1-2-3-4 combo of punches at Power Seal as much fast as they are powerful. While Alexis is trying very VERY hard to not start laughing at Staren's little dilemia.
Kirito	The Orcs don't pose much of a challenge. Especially not with Kirito striking into their vulnerable backs! But as they disperse into pretty vectors and he goes over the Item drops, Kirito scrunches up his nose. Most gear is just hnot worth it, and... Orc Speedos are DEFINITELY not something he likes the idea of. The implication is these things were already worn... He quietly closes that window... "This reminds me of that quest with the orcs who were always wearing hockey masks and wielding chainsaws..." Kirito exclaims bewilderedly at the bizarreness of this tower. "It's like we're right in the heart of Muscleman Tower or something." As WEIRD as the beastman standing before them is, Kirito's not going to take its ridiculousness as some sign that it's not a THREAT. He braces himself, whcih is good, because... SHOCKWAVE FLEXES?! Kirito's BOWLED over and stumbles around, only to flip back to his feet missing some HP and wincing. "Oh man... are we ready for a boss...?!" It is, indeed, a VERY bad pun. "I'll use my own workout routine. TEN HUNTING QUESTS A DAY!" Kirito shouts back at the boss. It's hard to tell if he's joking or not! Now MUCH more serious, he ducks low, dives forward, and zigs then zags for the boss, aiming to slash at the thing's legs and zip past it to get behind!
Tomoe	Power Seal has sent Sarracenia protest that she does not skip leg day and she's sent flying the good news is? The Power Seal is ignoring her for a moment which is good news with Starens help she might have some time to recover from the attack. Tomoe, on the other hand, is getting power punched and she's clearly feeling it. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. Staren goes to aid Sarra and that drops him lower on the aggro table for the Power Seal which will give him a chance to do something the Power Seal does reply though. "Working out is never obsolete!" It's however busy dealing with some of the other damage deals to really like Alexis and her team which are doing quite a number on the Seal is getting punched by a Pokemon as ripped as it is and the Seal is sent reeling from an assault. "Only ten hunting quests are you taking breaks now Kirito?!" The Power Seal is getting hammered by Kitos attacks as well it's legs get it from behind the Seal Staggers and it seems to have lost the first of its life bars from the all-out assault of the party so far. It seems to be starting to fall back to a new phase. "Right then time for your work out missy!!" It will move to grab Tomoe and forcible shove her into some sort of workout machine which will start to inflict injuries as the weights are dialled up too hard for even her strength to deal with. "WEAK! PUMP MORE YOU WILL NEVER GET IN SHAPE HERE!" It seems to be some kind of tankbuster attack. "A little help here!"
Sarracenia	Sarracenia curls up in preparation for falling and bounces a couple of times...only to start flying without a suit? She blinks and opens her eyes, peering out between her arms at...Staren?! "...Staren?" she says, skeptical that he saved her despite being carried by him at this very moment. When she is set down again, she lets out a sigh of relief before taking stock of the situation. Kirito is after the boss, so she goes to help Tomoe! "Kyaaa!" With a spinning swing she tries to break the lifting machine that has Tomoe trapped. "Come on, Tomoe! This is no time to be building up your biceps!" It also gives the somewhat sheltered princess an excuse to -not- look at the two speedo wearing muscleheads duking it out over there. "Why do all the muscular creatures around here wear so little clothing?!" she growls, trying to hide her embarrassed blush.
Alexis	"This overgroan seacow," no that's not the same thing as a seal, that's exactly why Alexis is using it as an insult, "is a few knee bends short of a squat routine. You can't -force- people to get in shape, that just makes them feel negatively about working out in general." He still put Tomoe in real trouble, and since Staren helped out Sarracenia she doesn't have to worry about that as the Princess goes to do the same. "Take up the aggro for her!," Alexis shouts, not wanting the boss to turn his full power on the damage rush that is Kirito. "Maaachamp!" <I'll get you into a shape!> The muscular fighting-mon lunges to grab Power Seal in wrapping his upper arms around the buff beastman. Then starts hammingering Power Seal's sides with Cross Chop with the two lower hands. <Broken!>.
Kirito	With Staren and Sarracenia briefly distracted, it's leaving just three targets for the Power Seal! And Kirito knows he's one of them. After delivering his first furious series of slashes and sinking in a score of damage, he backflips away from the boss and nimbly evades a backhand swipe by just a foot. A mere foot. The Swordsman hits the ground expertly, skidding backwards with one hand scraping off momentum against the ground and the other holding his blade to his side. Just in time for him to see... "... TOMOE!" The RIDICULOUSNESS of this attack and imprisoning Tomoe has him beginning to panic. There's really no telling what to expect from this fight... No more taking this like a game. Kirito rapidly flips through his menu, and hits a fateful 'equip' command. Blue light shimmers along his back, materializing in another scabbard - one holding a golden-hilted sword. The boy raises his free hand to that weapon.. and draws HOLY SWORD EXCALIBER. "I'll keep its attention! Staren, see if you can free Tomoe from that thing! Sarracenia! Bombard the boss with all you've got!" Kirito charges straight to the forefront of the fray, moving like a whirlwind, and quickly activates a potent - but brief - attack skill. Both of his blades glow as he slashes this way and that, up and down, left and right, leaving glowing trails in the shape of a hexagon and then STABBING THROUGH IT with a crimson-glowing Excaliber!
Staren	"YOU KNOW WHAT?" Staren shouts back. And then Tomoe's thrown into a trap, which Staren works on disarming by trying to break the machine with repeated application of energy weapons. He keeps shouting at the boss though: "There's nothing wrong with working out if that's what you enjoy! Get that runner's high, feel the burn, be proud of your big muscles! That's your choice and there's nothing wrong with that! But don't force it on other people!" "Also, we're going to kick your ass no matter what because you're a video game boss and this is a battle, not a debate!"
Tomoe	Thankfully for Tomoe's own well being? The purple haired Salamander has some help with Sarracenia working on taking out the workout machine. It might take some time with just one person at it, then Staren joins the party machine which thankfully does not remain in the thing for much longer. Given it's HP is low compared to the boss? They have too much HP all thing consider it won't take long to get Tomoe free but it's clear she's going to take a moment to recover given the debuff she has which is called Forgot to Warm Up. Thankfully she does not get hammered by the Power Seal, for Alexis pokemon have got aggro of the boss and at this point a little more than half of the boss' HP bar is gone the boss is clearly an older lower floor boss and the power of the Elites here have long surpassed it and it's being worn down fairly fast. Kirito the Beater, the Black Swordsman, and downright mythical hero on at least one other world. The force of his blades is well known and the Power Seal is not ready for this Kirito's attacks. Which savage it and when all is said and done the boss is down to the last quarter of its final health bar and the Power Seal Turns red and starts wildly smashing those who have aggro on it at the moment it also lets out a powerful cry which is a low-level aoe damage attack. It may also have a def up buff now too. "MY MUSCLES DO NOT LIE!" It has no response for Staren futher verbal burns...
Staren	Another AoE attack sends Staren stumbling back, but... really, staying out of melee, he hasn't been HIT with much yet. They are pretty overleveled for this boss, after all. He just stands in the back and keeps shooting the seal (it's a large target, at least) with his beam cannons every few seconds after they cool down. "It's not about lies." He states flatly. "Not only do we have superior might, but you're a videogame boss. Your only purpose is to challenge us and, ultimately, be overcome by us. From your very conception, loss was built into your very essence."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia hears Kirito's order, but doesn't actually turn to do anything until Tomoe is free. "Ah! G-got it!" she calls out to Kirito. She is still a few moments as she watches Kirito show off his sword arts. She blinks as she realizes she should be attacking as well, then grins. "Alright. Bombardment incoming. I suggest everyone get to a safe distance!" She doesn't know if friendly fire is on or not! She plants her hammer in the ground head first, then reaches into her satchel and pulls out a large black box with an equally large red button. She pushes the button then tosses the box, and it starts to unfold and reshape until it forms into a boxy cannon...large enough for a person to stand up in! "Here we go! Bonzai Bill!" Sarracenia shouts as she pulls her hammer free. A dark shape emerges in the depths of the cannon, just far enough for everyone to see a big shark-like face on what seems to be a gigantic artillery shell. Sarracenia spins and gives the cannon a smack on the back, and with a thunderous 'KABOOM!' it launches a shell the size of truck! It sails through the air at a fast sprinting speed. One might even think that it is laughing as it flies...but that turns out to be Sarracenia's semi-maniacal laughing. When the Bonzai Bill impacts, it explodes like a small nuclear bomb, sending out firey shockwaves and a mushroom cloud!
Alexis	As everyone else is dealing with the boss or breaking Tomoe free Alexis hustles over to grab her Quilladin, put a foot against the wall and tug a few times to pull him free. Machamp tries to hold on, but even with four arms he can't keep Power Seal completely bound when the Boss starts thrashing around like he's got an Ability that makes his attacks super stronger when he's barely got HP left. Eventually he's shrugged off, and then flung across the gym-floor by a blow and slams into the opposite wall and sends bits of excersize equipment clattering about. He grunts, grabbing the sides of his impression in the wall with two hands to pry himself free, a third hand rubbing the side of his head. That scream wasn't very pleasant either. "Uh.." Alexis stumbles back a step as Checkpoint finally comes free, and holds him up for a moment. "You okay?" "Quilladin (Only my dignity is hurt)." "Good." Alexis held him up over her head, back towards the fight. "Pin Missile!" The armored hedgehog half-curled and growled as he essentially flexed his whole body to send several of the thorny spikes shooting off his back towards the Power Seal. It's.. actually, it's a pretty weak attack, despite it's ability to hit several times in a row. What it also is, is a good diversion to give Machamp the time to get back into the fight. As he dashes back in he clenches three of his fists. One bursts into flames. Another gets covered in ice. The third crackles with electric sparks. Machamp leaps in shortly after the Banzai Bill explosion, throwing the Fire-Ice-Thunder Punch trio in quick succession at Power Seal. Those hit reasonably hard, but at the same time, they're also to keep Power Seal's attention occupied. Occupied so the apex of his assault, the move with the most power but the lower accuracy, won't get intercepted. Machamp clenches his forth hand so tightly it makes a sound not unlike leather being crumpled, and with muscles fully tensed swings the Dynamic Punch upward into Power Seal's midsection and center of mass.
Kirito	"Let me show you the RESULTS OF MY TRAINING!" Kirito roars like some shounentard - in clear mockery of the trope really, and unleashes another series of slashes. This time he draws a few half-moons in green light, carving deep into the Power Seal's thighs... and then wisely LEAPS away after catching its blow between crossed swords and getting knocked back five feet and almost bowled over. Just in time for Sarracenia to open fire.. he VERY carefully makes sure to duck and be far away from THAT when they go soaring past. "You're taking this WAY too seriously..." He mutters over at Staren. Though he looks a bit embarassed having just yammered out that quote. It just seemed appropriate.
Tomoe	Tomoe is back in action thanks to the time she has been given to recover and use her own status curing abilities kick in and with her on her feet she'll start chanting, golden runes dance about her body as she speaks in very accented Norse, maybe not as bad as it used to be but still rather bad and then comes not light or fire as she's normally known to use. Or even wind, nay this time lighting, it seems Tomoe has lighting and a bolt strikes the Power Seal damaging it and gets the thing up for others at this point. This boss will take a moment it will look at Staren it's not like Brick, Bolt or many of the other town and quest NPCs who are clearly people or so close that might. Yet it still turns to Staren and attempts to double-fisted punch him, it breaks off. With Kirito's epic interception? Staren should be pretty damn well okay and not a pancake cat thanks to him. It's about to do a follow up when Sarracenia does her own thing she uses a Bonzai Bill and that attack slams into the Power Seal exploding it and does enough damage to overload it's defence buff allowing the further assaults to do a heck of a lot of damage. It's HP bar drops even further and Tomoe is quick enough to look away and not get blinded. Staren's shots have done some more damage and the Seal is rallying again moving to thunder down at Alexis Pokemon pal but the Machamp just unleash its fists of fury, all four of them. The assault batters most of it's remaining HP down With the power punch leaving it with just' just saving the thing down the power punch finally fells it. The Power Seal staggers and falls over. "Don't ... forget to work out." It then explodes into a shower of shards of light. The words Congratulations appear hoving in the air before the party, Tomoe visibly gets an unhappy look on her face, at it. The entire party will find they got cash some more sane consumable and more gym themed drops but some of them are not too bad aide from gym clothes? Alexis Pokemon gets the Seal's briefs which will mysteriously fit it perfectly if it wants to keep them. Tomoe would take some time looking about the dungeon room and finds a locker which inside has more loot and pauses for a moment as she finds a key and uses it to pop a near by door within there's a very tired looking pair of Dark Elves. "Your not the monsters, could you ... get us out of ... wait?! Is that the Black Swords Man and Iron Lily?!"
Alexis	"You just might want to wash any of the drops before actually using them." That's probably a good idea, and Machamp tosses Alexis the briefs to stuff in her inventory for the time being. No good getting someone else's sweaty butt stank. Good thing she's got a lot of inventory space even without being part of the MMO, cramming the gym goods in one of the pockets where they won't contaminate anything else. "I think that fight was a better workout than anything he was ranting about." Alexis walks over to give Sarracenia a pat on the shoulder. "Next time we should borrow one of those bullet things and see what happens when you Fling 'em."
Staren	Staren starts to back away, but is saved from certain death... well from uncertain punching anyway, by Kirito. Sarracenia's attack possibly does more damage to him than any of the boss's, yet another shockwave washes over him. "Why would you need to wash them?" He asks Alexis, innocently. "Polygons don't sweat or shed dead skin cells. I guess there's no harm in it though..." And then they let two dark elves out of a locker?! "Wha?! How long have you been IN there?!" Staren asks, for a brief moment forgetting they're NPCs.
Alexis	"I don't trust CARDINAL's cracked sense of humor to not go for extra authenticity," is Alexis's reply.
Staren	"Yeeeeahhh that's a good point." Staren concedes.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia watches the Power Seal explode into light effects before she hmphs smugly and gives her hammer a stylish twirl. "Never question my fitness." she says before resting the hammer over her shoulder and following after Tomoe. She looks over as Alexis pats her on the shoulder. "You...want to try throwing a Bonzai Bill yourself?" she asks Alexis uncertainly. She looks around at Kirito and Staren after that. "Were you able to get clear before the Bonzai Bill exploded?" she asks them. She's mildly concerned, but they seem plenty durable enough to survive such an attack. She also giggles at Kirito a bit. "Him? You were the one shouting like some kind of cartoon hero!" she teases, though her smile is cheerful. All the clothing drops, if viable outside this world, will probably go to Sarra's servants. She certainly isn't going to wear them! When those dark elves emerge from a locker...Sarracenia stares. "...I know this is some sort of artificial world, but...people inside of boxes as a prize for defeating a boss?"
Kirito	Explosions and swords and Pokemon and all sorts of other things... the boss doesn't stand a chance. But Kirito's arms a little sore from tanking those blows head-on with Cross Block! As it goes down and explodes, and the words appear... he blatantly ignores the words in the air, instead checking his loot. He walks along with Tomoe afterwards, checking the place for anymore surprises... and boy, is there ever one! "Wh...UWAH?! Trapped in there...?!" Dark Elves. Dark Elves of all things. They're not a playable race. They exist only as NPCs within Aincrad, to his knowledge... has he seen any in Alfheim? Kirito briefly starts to think on it... but nah, he breaks from that and focuses on the matter at hand. "Yeah. It's safe now. We'll get you out of there! What happened here...? Place was run by..." He really doesn't need to say it. He doesn't want to say it. But, the situation being quite dealt with, he strikes the air as if flinging blood from his blades one after another, then neatly slides them back into their scabbards on his back. Only to actually blush and try to hide it a moment later at Sarra's teasing. GEEZE, he can't win. "It's not a prize, Princess.... they're clearly hostages." There's a mild amouhnt of grumpiness in his tone. Seems he may be protective of the 'just NPCs'.
Tomoe	The first elf a male look to Staren for a moment and says "Feels like an eternity honestly, thank you." The other is still trying to stretch a bit and shakes her head a bit and looks down. "That monster kept making us work out and wear these strange clothes." She makes a face and looks to the people who have rescued them. "We were not in there that /long/ bother." She makes a face at him and whaps the male elf before looking back to Kirito. They also pause at the mention of Cardinal and peer, but have no idea about the term and don't want to press their saviours. "If there might be some sort of nearby body of water were we might clean up that would be wonderful." Says the woman, while the man sulking a bit notes "I hate to ask but we have no weapons thanks to the monsters if you could help us get back to the nearby human town it would be appreciated. We can make our way from there." At the talk of being a prize the male elf looks at the Princess and deadpans. "Oh yes we are prizes...wait are you really thinking we are? They kidnapped us when we were obtaining supplies for Lady Kizmel's expedition to the round ears lands below!" The female elf pauses for a moment "If you are looking for work or adventure I doubt Lady Kizmel will say no to more sword arms or just help in general. You have our thanks these monsters seemed mindless...it was disturbing I fear a offer or work may be the best reward we can offer you all at this time." Thankfully elves Gear and supplies can be found in one of the other lockers near by.
Staren	"They're not a prize. They were obviously shoved into a locker by jocks, because CARDINAL learned cultural memes." Then he blinks. "Wait... someone is planning an expedition to 'round ear' lands below? Yes, we should go talk to them as soon as possible!"
Sarracenia	Sarracenia lets out one of those cute-filled 'aawwww~' sounds as Kirito actually get embarrassed. "How cute~" she exclaims. But, then it is her turn to be embarrassed as not only does Kirito correct her, but the dark elves themselves. "W-well how am I supposed to know?! Alexis uses some human-looking creatures to fight for her!" She hasn't played actual video games, much less done quests on video game worlds. "And servants are quite valuable! Is it so strange to think that the creatures recovered might be servants of some kind?" Staren's reference to a cultural meme gives Sarracenia pause, and after she thinks about it for a few moments she blinks in realization. "...oooooh. I see!" She stifles a giggle. "A computer came up with this?" Rather than looking for the elves' equipment, Sarracenia pulls out a pair of suit power-ups. One a fox and one a hammer sibling suit. "Here! This should work until you can get to town. And they will look cute on you two!"
Alexis	Alexis .... just slaps a palm to her face at Sarracenia. Though from the princess's point of view that is probably a logical observation. "How about we get these folks somewhere that's not in middle of jock heaven and then we can sort out the whos and whats needing to go where." "Quilladin. (You forgot why.)" "We already know why. Because it's a quest.
Kirito	Kirito doesn't seem to be bothered at all by the eloquence on display by these Dark Elf NPCs. As they exclaim their situation though... he pointedly tries to ignore Sarracenia (and is bad at showing). However, the second the name 'Kizmel' is spoken he freezes entirely. Breathing and everything. Then inhales sharply. "Lady Kiz...mel?" He seems CHOKED on the name. Like he just saw a ghost, or something. He shivers right there where he stands, blinking disbelievingly. And come to think of it, he was addressed as 'The Black Swordsman' by these NPCs... a name he hadn't heard for QUITe some time. A sense of dread quite noticeable runs through him. There's nothing else that clenched and grinding teeth could mean for him. Because something here is utterly impossible. And yet it happened anyways. Again. "Haha... that's what happens when you spend all day building muscle, I guess." Is his response to the monsters seeming 'mindless.' "Did you say Lady Kizmel? And she's on an expedition? Hmmmm... well, that sounds like my kind of work, so sign me up!"
Tomoe	Tomoe sighs "We're lucky she's just using that sort of thing." The female elf beams brightly. "Yes, we are curious about the world outside the tower and it would be best to learn about it than be ignorant. Given how vast it is said to be." The pair look at the clothes but will take them and just put them on fairly quick the now powered up super elf siblings seem okay with their strange clothes. They know humans can be strange and the male says "That's excellent news but I agree with your rather tall beast tamer friend. We should make for the town before we speak further on this." With that the two Elves will fall in and Tomoe notes to them. "Count me in too." The suits wil be so strange even the NPCs in town will stare a bit before the elves get a chance to change.
Staren	Staren is paying full attention to the dark elves now as they talk about the initiative to explore the outside world... and then is disappointed when they stop talking about it. Well, HE'LL still talk about it. "Listen, I will HAPPILY tell you whatever you want to know about the outside world. I'm from there! Well, sort of. This planet, Earth, is actually part of a multiverse, made up not only of alternate timeline versions of Earth -- I'm from an alternate future, myself -- but also entirely different worlds, as different as Aincrad and Alfheim are from Earth or even moreso!" He will continue exposition unprompted the whole trip and even as they walk into town, passing spare tablets to the elves so they have internet access.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia follows after the others, not entirely sure what anyone is talking about when it comes to the elves and Kimzal. One good thing for her that came out of today...she felt like she did something heroic! She slips her hammer into her satchel again. "I will also help if I can. Lady Tomoe is a friend of mine, after all! And Kirito obviously needs my help~" She seems simultaneously smug about it and flattered that he felt confident enough in her abilities to call on them. And Kirito is famous enough that even Sarracenia has heard of his exploits! Oh, and Staren is there, too. She hmphs at him and crosses her arms. "...thank you for rescuing me from falling." she says begrudgingly.
Staren	Staren interrupts his exposition long enough to reply with a brief, "You're welcome." in a friendly but not /too/ friendly tone. He had already explained on the radio that they were allies today, after all.
Tomoe	The elves seem curious about the pads which they will take, though they note they will examine the items once they are somewhere safe like town. One also comments they intend to give one of them to the Lady as it it might be a good scource of intel.